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Just got this from Wisp:
Quote:
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sarah Duck
Wisp Resort Adds Ten New Trails & 2 Quad Lifts
McHenry, MD - Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort will celebrate the addition of The North Camp, a $9.1 million dollar new 10 trail and two Quad Chairlift expanse, with a groundbreaking ceremony at 2 pm on Tuesday, June 21.
The Wisp Pumphouse atop Marsh Mountain is the setting for the ceremony which will feature remarks from Wisp Board Members, Wisp founder Helmuth "Ace" Heise, and Dennis Castleman, Assistant Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development, among others. A reception featuring light refreshments will follow before a tour of the $3 million dollar state-of-the-art snowmaking pumphouse facilities. The ceremony concludes with a question and answer session with Bob Yaste, Wisp Vice-President of Planning & Development.
"Our goal is to continue to build upon the dream that Ace Heise began in 1955," says Karen Myers, Wisp Board Member. "The addition of the North Camp, along with 4 years of extensive Wisp renovations, is designed to continue to enhance the guest experience at Wisp."
Comprised of ten trails located on the northwest side of the mountain, the North Camp will offer two Quad Chairlifts and a variety of terrain for beginners, intermediate & expert skiers and snowboarders. Offering a mix of man-made and natural snowmaking, the North Camp will open for the beginning of the 2005/2006 Wisp ski season.
"The addition of the North Camp solidifies Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort as one of the Mid-Atlantic's premier destination ski resorts," says Hank Thiess, General Manager. "The North Camp will feature some of the most exciting terrain available at Wisp while still being versatile enough to accommodate every level of skier or boarder."
Along with state and local dignitaries, the public is welcome to attend the ceremony.
In June of 2001, "Ace" Heise sold Wisp and passed his inspiration on to four of Garrett County's most respected business owners. Karen Myers, Gene Frazee, Gary Daum, Steve Richards and Robert Rudy realized the potential of Wisp and its impact on the county. Since 2001, Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort, Maryland's only four-season resort, has undergone more than $27.3 million dollars in renovations and additions including two new triple chairs, Bear Claw Snow Tubing Park, the expansion and renovation of the Lodge and the interior and exterior renovation of the adjacent Wisp Resort Hotel.
Wisp is less than a three-hour drive from the metropolitan areas of Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh. Morgantown, WV and Cumberland, MD are just 45 minutes away. For more information on Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort, visit wispresort.com or call 301.387.4911.
Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort
296 Marsh Hill Rd.
McHenry, MD 21541
www.wispresort.com
Now THAT's an expansion!!! I have never skiied Wisp, but will be trying it out next season. What do folks who have skiied there think of the place?
Wisp is an aggressively well run ski area with great snowmaking capability. It opens early and closes late and offers conditions that match or exceed any ski area in the mid-Atlantic region. Like all of our local hills it is geographically challenged and has (or had) a vert of just over 600', but skis bigger than that number. Not sure what this expansion will add to vert, but for quantity of terrain it should now nearly match Seven Springs (and Snowshoe, less Silver Creek and the add'l length/vert of Western Territory). There is a trail on the backside of Wisp called Mainstreet that while not super steep, offers a continuously advanced pitch that may be superior to the North Face at Seven Springs.
What Wisp does not have compared to those other two is a large quantity of slopeside accommodations/restaurants/non-ski stuff. Instead, overnighters utilize a large pool of vacation homes surrounding nearby Deep Creek Lake, a popular rec area that draws more visitors in summer than winter. The ski area is overall probably less crowded than the other two also. Not sure about your home location, but from the DC area Wisp is much easier to reach than Snowshoe. Wisp is a ski area definitely on the ascendance, even before this announcement.
If you search DCSki you'll see that several of us have done trip reports on Wisp.
We have all been looking forward to WISP owners developing Tory Mtn. After this effort at McHenery, there might not be money enough to develop Tory any time soon.
The Colonel
Wasn't it stated recently that Tory Mtn was just a logging operation only?
Colonel, Ya know bawalker calls wisp "manasas on the mountain".......my daughter spent some time in the area, she's an architect in NJ and planning to move west a bit. Deep Creek area won't work for her but she found that there's an amazing amount of residential construction going on in the area.
I'd think that by the time they've finished selling slopeside lots on the new "terrain expansion" maybe they'll be flush w/cash and ready to bring Tory on. With the price of realesate in CV, why not?
I'm wondering how accurate that map is. It appears that there are only 4 trails in phase one as well as one chairlift. Does that mean Wisp pushed ahead with say phase 1-2 at once? Plus while that terrain looks great, it'd only be moderate in distance. Not even as long as Boulder Run or Muskrat. So I'm willing to bet that this is going to be a multi phase completion project for this winter.
Let's not get dyspeptic, folks! This is the biggest ski expansion in the mid-Atlantic since... well when? Whitetail opened? I vote that we lay off the skepticism and give Wisp a solid two thumbs up for this move! It's nice to see a ski area that still takes skiing as an important component of their business plan. And frankly, if they're willing to do this, it gives me a little more confidence in thier acquisition of Tory.
I second Tick- this is a great announcement. Would be nice to see a few more like this.
We can only hope that others will follow. It's always been depressing to me to realize that someplace like Vail can open an area like Blue Sky Basin by putting in a chair lift and saying, "We're opened!" (I know it's not quite that simple, just let me run with it) Here, you have to clear out the trees (hopefully leave some), run water and air lines, and then put in the chair. You might even add in lights for night skiing. This is a HUGE expansion for this region!
Roger Z, I live in Christiansburg. Perhaps we need to carpool to Snowshoe next season!
Really looks like Wisp is making a solid effort to move into the first tier of Mid-atlantic resorts, a category currently occupied by Snowshoe and Seven Springs (first-tier in the sense of being destination resorts). My brother-in-law and his family may be spending next Christmas with us, and was thinking of spending a few days at Snowshoe on the way out from the Midwest. I may advise him to look into Wisp.
Two big thumbs for Wisp. I agree they are on the verge of becoming tier 1. I will deffinately have try them out again this season. Wisp skis big for 600 Vert, this means they will jsut ski all the bigger.
More beginer terrain will be a huge plus for them as currently their green terrain is sort of limited compared to other resorts.
Kudos
"..Plans are in the works to add a scenic mountaintop village, offering expanded skier services, new homesites, retail shops and restaurants designed to blend into the majestic mountain landscape. In addition to the adrenaline-rushing fun of Adventure Sports Center International, Garrett College is building a new athletic and community recreation center located on top of Marsh Mountain. The Garret College Athletic and Community Recreation Center, a 130,000-square-foot facility, is expected to open in 2009, and will include three gymnasiums, a weight room, basketball courts, an ice skating rink and two swimming pools. New slopes also will be constructed on the north face of Wisp, increasing the resort's skiable terrain by more than 50 percent. The first phase, opening in the 2006 ski season, will include beginner and intermediate slopes and trails. As expansion continues, slopes and trails will follow a natural progression from intermediate to advanced. For the more aggressive snow sports enthusiasts, we'll also be building a new terrain park with a variety of challenging pipes, trails and rails. "
excerpt from (
http://www.deepcreekmtnresort.com/ourfuture.php )
Quote:
Let's not get dyspeptic, folks!
definition
Yes this is good news, i too have always had a good time at Wisp. Speculation about their planz for Tory may be prelusive, but still fun.
I have to admit, their construction of a new town (virtually) at the top of the mountain isn't something I'm a huge fan of, but it's easier to digest knowing that they are significantly expanding their ski terrain. Wonder what their later advanced terrain will look like?
Maybe we can convince them to turn Tory Mountain into the no-frills, low budget mountain that the mid-Atlantic needs? I mean, they'll make all their money back on logging, clear cut the mountain, and then all they'll have to do is string a rickety old double chair up the barren hillside and voila! Ten dollar skiing on a resort that will make Blue Knob look like a Sierra Club poster child for good stewardship.
Tick yeah the Blacksburgian contingent (you, me, Murphy) should meet up this fall for an introduction and some discussion of ski trips.
Thanks Jimmy. I was feeling too lazy to look up the word dyspeptic but when I saw your definition posted, I felt compelled to learn something today.
Didn't someone once say that either the south side or the north eastern sides of the mountains have more vert? If so I'm wondering if they might develop a trail to be able to say they do 850' of vert, although that would be misleading at best.
Snowshoe does it, why not Wisp? :P
I was poking around Wisp today looking at the expansion and it is VERY impressive. The main part that looks like it will open this year is a very broad, open bowl type area with quite a few interconnected runs spilling down from the Possum/Wisp trail area near the summit. Not a lot of vertical, but it looks like it will be a great new area in its own right. Sort of reminds me of the giant steps area of Seven Springs.
Further around the mountain to the west, however, is a whole different ball game. I suspect this is phase 3 as they are just starting to cut trails. The main one that is clear looks to be a lift line, and it's a straight fall line shot. The base appears to be about 100 or 150' (this is a complete guess - could be more) lower than the current base on the other side of the mountain, and the fall line is very pure. From the looks of things, I'd guess several significant black diamond slopes, and, depending upon the final grading and clearing, could be as fine as anything in the mid atlantic with the probable exceptions of Shays and OTW. In any case, the add-in on the Wisp trail map doesn't even begin to do justice to the terrain expansion they've got going. This is going to significantly change the playing field of area resorts.
WOW!
Ok Snowshoe time to step up!
Quote:
Thanks Jimmy. I was feeling too lazy to look up the word dyspeptic but when I saw your definition posted, I felt compelled to learn something today.
You're welcome, Roy. Knowing that I helped you stretch your vocabulary has made this a most eupeptic day for me, and i hope for you as well.
[quote
Knowing that I helped you stretch your vocabulary has made this a most eupeptic day for me, and i hope for you as well.
It good to hear that you are just enjoying fine digestion, Jimmy. I sure don't want you to be feeling hercine on account of this thread.
Tommo, Hercine, no way. I still ride the lifts, no teleski.
There is a picture at the wisp website,
http://www.skiwisp.com/winter_expansion.htmTommo, is this the "Open, broad bowl with interconnected trails" you mentioned in your post? If so, where would the additional expansion on the west side that you mentioned be?
The above link also states that the vert after the pictured expansion will be 700 ft.
Wow - that's an interesting picture.
I couldn't take one like that, being airplane-less...
I believe that is the area that struck me as "giant steps like." I entered into it from the dirt road/trail/construction track at the bottom of the V in the lower left of the new area. The other "runs" - or what certainly appear to be future runs and a lift line - are to the right, well out of the picture. Assuming, of course, that I am seeing what I think I am seeing. The picture looks like a LOT of dirt has been moved in the very recent past. Also, based on the amount of work done here versus the runs not in the picture, it may be at least another year until they are ready. Or, perhaps, the other runs will be left narrower, more natural, and much more difficult. It's hard to argue with their decision to put in more green and blue slopes first, though, because Wisp had very limited terrain for the huge numbers of beginners and kids that go there.
