Hey fellow skiers,

I'm trying to put together a ski trip for some friends of mine, and I'd love your input. We've narrowed it down to 7Springs and Canaan, and we're having a hard time deciding between the two. Each place seems to have some major bonuses and some major down sides for us.

We're going over MLK weekend (I know, holiday crowds, but its the only option for some of us), and we have 2 advanced skiers, two total newbies, and two "seasoned beginners" (including myself - been skiing for years but never often enough to get off the greens or easy blues), so a varied group. We're also looking for a little post-ski relaxing too.

I've been to 7S, and loved it, but it IS a bit crowded, particularly on the holiday weekends. I've never been to Canaan, but I've heard that being much less crowded, it is better for newbies. Canaan is also significantly cheaper for the packages we're looking at, but 7S has a bunch of stuff we'll miss at Canaan - good restaurants, the outdoor hot tubs, being able to ski right from the condos (even though the Boomerang trail sucks).

So, can you guys offer any enlightening words?

Thanks!
Anya

If your group can afford 7S, that's where I would take them. 7S has much better snowmaking than CV (or Timberline for that matter). In some years, that has meant that CV only had limited trail offerings even as far into the season as MLK whereas 7S was 100 percent. Also, there's virtually no night life at CV whereas 7S has some of the best ski nightlife in the region, not to mention other off-slope activities ranging from bowling to roller skating. If you were planning a trip in mid-February, I'd say save the money and go to Timberline or CV, but for MLK (still early season in this region), go to the Springs, Wisp, or Snowshoe. That's probably where I will be and I own a place at Timberline.

PS There are no ski-in, ski-out properties at CV--only at Timberline. Are you confusing the two mountains? What I say about CV also applies to Timberline but to a lesser degree. Timberline has slightly better snowmaking than CV and generally gets more terrain open by MLK. Still, we often have 3 trails in early January whereas 7S and Snowshoe are going at 100 percent.

PPS For green circle skiing, I'd recommend Wisp. 70% of the new trails being developed there are green circles and Wisp's snowmaking is generally first-rate.

I pretty much agree with John, although he is being awfully modest about the beautiful CV/Timberline region. Maybe he wants to save first MLK weekend tracks for himself?
His warning about potentially less ski terrain being open in mid Jan could be significant for the better skiers in your group. Overall, for the rest of the group Seven Springs provides a more complete resort experience. But since you've been there and are curious about CV here are a few of the plusses it offers:
-Very likely to be less crowded on MLK weekend then Seven Sprs (and cheaper). CV is a beautiful natural environment and is a little farther off the beaten path than Seven Sprgs.
-The CV area is more mountainous with a higher elevation, and while resort snowmaking may not be as awesome as Seven Springs, there may actually be much more natural snow on the ground and hence a more wintry general atmosphere. A visit to nearby frozen Blackwater Falls could be a fun non-ski activity.
-If you track the weather and catch good conditions in mid January you'll have the option of skiing multiple close-by areas; Canaan Valley, Timberline and x-country at Whitegrass.

In case you didn't see, here's an article about an enjoyable trip I made to CV last January: http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=782&mode=search

Wisp may also be a very good choice as suggested by John. Amenities-wise it's about halfway between Seven Spgs and CV. Terrain and snowmaking will rival or exceed Seven Srpgs due to new expansion this year. Here's an article about an enjoyable overnight trip I made there a couple years ago: http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=128&mode=headlines

Thanks Jim and John - your comments were very helpful. Just to clarify, I was referring to the ski out condos at 7S, not at CV - thats one of CV's downsides for us. We're leaning towards making 7S the big trip, but taking a day trip to CV sometime during the season too, to check it out.

Do you know if Wisp offers condos or cabins to rent? I didn't see any on their website, and thats what we'd prefer, which is why I haven't included them so far.

Thanks again,
Anya

For condo rentals at Wisp, check out the bottom of this page:

http://www.skiwisp.com/lodging_partners.htm

Also, in defense of the Canaan Valley area, Timberline would be a good place to go if you guys are interested in slopeside accomodations--be sure to get a place either on Salamander or Winterset trails. Timberline Realty, Mountaintop Realty, and Canaan Realty offer rentals. For lower intermediate and beginner terrain, Timberline should work ok for MLK, although you might be skiing the same trails over and over again. With that being said, Salamander (at 2.5 miles long) is the longest beginner trail in the region, and most of Timberline's trails have a 1,000 foot vertical--quite respectable in this region. Most of the stuff at 7s and Wisp is less than 750. Still, snowmaking is always an issue for the early season and that's why I tend to recommend Snowshoe, Wisp, of 7 Springs for this weekend if you are booking in advance.