Question - Getting to Whitetail or Liberty when...
December 8, 2005
it is snowing or has snowed around here.
We are planning to go to Whitetail tomorrow afternoon and I was wondering how are the road conditions to Whitetail after a snow storm?
As you know, when it snows around here (DC/VA/MD), it is just mayhem and it is very hard going anywhere.
Assuming that we can get to 70, how are the 7 miles between 70 and Whitetail?
How about Liberty?
Thanks!
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... how are the 7 miles between 70 and Whitetail?
Twisty, with icy patches. I was one of the first people on the scene where an SUV hit an icy patch and headed off into the woods, miraculously ending up between the trees rather than hitting one. I almost followed him.
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How about Liberty?
Well-plowed state highways all the way. The road is wider and flatter than the one to WT.
The whitetail road is dicey in heavy snow. Slow it down plenty because there are plenty of places where the road dips and turns sharply at the same time. It's definitely doable but just take it easy.
Given fresh snow in the 12" range possibly frosted with ice, I would recommend Liberty. It's interstate until just short of Emmitsburg and the rest of the way is pretty flat with wide curves rather than the tight kinks and rollercoaster effects at Whitetail. The only real question is how much each resort has open and what you are prepared to go thru to get there.
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Assuming that we can get to 70, how are the 7 miles between 70 and Whitetail?
How about Liberty?
As long as Whitetail employees are able to drive to Whitetail, so can we. Same with Liberty. Just get into Winter driving mode.
Last time I went to Whitetail after snowstorm, the road is fine as long as you see the road being plowed and salted.
Given that Whitetail's expert terrain will not be open on Friday, don't be shocked if you arrive and all the terrain has been groomed. (Not a guarentee, but likely.) There may be more fresh snow on the roads than on the slopes...
Been doing the regular Herndon to Whitetail commute for 5 years now and never had a problem. No matter what the conditions.
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Assuming that we can get to 70, how are the 7 miles between 70 and Whitetail?
How about Liberty?
As long as Whitetail employees are able to drive to Whitetail, so can we. Same with Liberty. Just get into Winter driving mode.
Last time I went to Whitetail after snowstorm, the road is fine as long as you see the road being plowed and salted.
The key factor on the road TO Whitetail is to just slow down. The trickiest corner going to the resort is just after you pass the church on the left. The next tiny left hand turn is slightly banked the wrong way and can suck you into the guard rail. MD is usually quicker to plow Blair's Valley road then PA (the last two miles are in PA), but PA started getting better last year for normal snows.
If the roads are still covered coming home, the two hills leaving the resort give snow driving virgins a tough time. I've seen a couple of snoozers veer off into the ditch approaching the lake. The trickiest part is coming in to Clear Spring (as you are leaving farm country). Turning from Broadfording onto Route 68, there's a stop sign on an uphill pitch that you need to run when it's slippery and you don't have 4WD. But you gotta watch out for oncoming traffic too. If there's idjuts ahead of you, wait on Broadfording until they get through the stop sign just to make sure they don't slide back into you.
This time of year the roads are not bad. It's when the snow melts and then refreezes overnight into black ice that things get real tricky.
O yes and please watch out for Bambis, especially between the lake and the resort. There are more hits than usual after a snowfall.
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As long as Whitetail employees are able to drive to Whitetail, so can we.
That's not always true. We're usually driving on the roads before the rookies get in the way. The last time I drove to Whitetail in heavy snow before the roads got plowed (I had snow piling up over the hood of my Rodeo), it was two hours later before anyone else got through (not for lack of trying). 
But that was coming from Mercersburg.
