It probably goes without saying, given the recent weather, but it was GREAT!!

Arrived Thursday. Recent lake effects snows had the mountain looking good, with excellent packed powder conditions and some untracked powder here and there. Primarily skied Cupp and Shays. Cupp was great, but Shays was a combination of ice and piles of loose snow.

Friday morning, the skier's right side of Shays was groomed, and I had a great time carving down it at full speed (first time I remember doing that in many years). This only lasted about an hour before icy spots started appearing, but it was great while it lasted. Cupp was in better shape. I also skied the basin side and had some fun, but it did get crowded which drove me back to Cupp/Shays. There was little or no lift line over there (which continued through the weekend).

Storm snows rolled in early Saturday morning and the remainder of the weekend was excellent skiing with plenty of untracked and loose powder to be found. Much of Cupp/Shays was windblown/windpacked, but there was still some good stuff. Between skiing, grooming, and wind, I never saw more than an honest 4-5" of untracked snow on Cupp/Shays, despite the 12-15" that fell over the weekend, but it was still sweet.

Spent some time at Silver Creek on Saturday to escape the crowds, and it again proved to be the hidden gem of Snowshoe. Bear Claw and Flying Eagle were awesome. Even at 3pm on Saturday, there was untracked powder on the edges of the trails, and around lift poles. In fact, I found some boot deep stashes of snow without trying too hard. Next time I am at Snowshoe on a powder day, I think I will try to hit the black trails at Silver Creek first thing in the morning.

I should also note that we stayed at the Powder Monkey condos for the first time, and they were the best condos we have stayed in thus far at Snowshoe, in terms of location/convenience. They are at the top of the Powder Monkey lift, across the street from Cupp/Shays (and two bus stops), and a short walk from the village.

Craig

Skier, Glad to hear your trip to the 'Shoe was good. We always gave a great time there. We are headed there the 2nd weekend in March. Have thought about staying in the Powder Monkey condos before, but we usually stay in the Whistlepunk condos, which are just about next door to them. But this year since it will just be two of us going, we decided to try out the village central area. We are staying in the Allegheny Springs condos. Anyone stayed there before? Can give us any heads up pointers about staying in Village Central? Thanks....

Hey TNSkier - I have stayed at Allegheny several times over the last couple winters. It is one of the newer/nicer places. Slopeside lockerroom for skis is really convienient. The pool and firepit are supposed to be private, but its easy enough for others to sneak into that area. Either way, its a great place to relax after a long day. All the restaurants/bars are only a stumble away.
They have a laundry room on the lower-level - but I was dissapointed that there weren't machines in each condo, considering the price you're paying.
Another nice feature is the fact that you can check-in and get lift tickets there; skipping the Top of the Mountain.

Allegheny Springs is nice if a bit on the pricey side. There is one serious problem in that the slopeside condos on the 1st and 2nd floors are terribly noisy unbelievably early in the morning and sometimes late at night. The Bombadiers seem to groom VERY early in the morning at the top near Ballhooter lift. Try to get a room on the courtyard or plaza side. If you have made your reservation via phone you can generally request a particular view or room.
Also if you need access to your cell phone be aware that it will work only in west facing rooms; something about Greenbank needs to block signals.

Thanks ddemille and snowcone for your posts. I am not sure which part of the hotel we are staying in. I will call in the morning and find out. Thanks for the heads up on the noise and cell phone service. We have cingular, and I think someone said it does work up there...well at least sometimes...lol.. Only reason we are staying at Allegheny this time, is that because we are going in March when its a little cheaper. And really just chose staying there, because like you said, you can check in at their front desk and at least get your tickets and skip top of the mountain. I do have one question, they told me they have internet access there, high speed, does anyone know if in the rooms, its a data port? or wireless? I think I read that Starbucks has wireless available there. Can anyone let me know? Thanks

All the condos in the village center have a data port. When we were up this last weekend an owner told us that Rimfire, where we always stay, now has wi-fi so I suspect the rest of the high-end properties do too. We bring our own connection cable with us although I understand you can buy/rent one there. The port is usually located on the wall under the dining table; some are located higher up the wall and covered with some sort of artsy decor. Drove us crazy once when we got a condo we had never stayed in before and could not find the port. Basically seek and ye shall find.

Thanks snowcone for the info. Its been a couple of years since we have been to the 'Shoe. I see they now have a Starbucks...(sweet). Anything else that they have added in the past couple of years, that I should know about? All of your posts are greatly appreciated

Thats another reason to stay at Rimfire besides the inside parking ... Starbucks is accessible from a backdoor inside the lodge .. no need to go outside .. can get your coffee in your jammies if you are so inclined.

Changes in the last few years? A bunch. The most useful being: Starbucks of course, MAC for high performance skis, highspeed internet in most condos, convenient activity booking office in village center.

Regarding the internet connections in the new condos -- is it an ethernet jack? Any special procedure for hooking up (DHCP, etc)? I am wondering if it's like hotels where you use DHCP and then launch a browser to sign on.

Just FYI... I called Allegheny Springs today, and they informed me that they do have wi-fi access there. Yayyyyyy. Thanks for the info Snowcone on the upgrades at the shoe. I saw the picture of Starbuck's in this years issue of making tracks, good to know I wont have to go without my Frappuccino We originally were going to stay in Rimfire, but the REZ agent gave us a room at Allegheny for the same price. Gotta love that. It doesnt happen that often..lol Anyways, thanks for the info.

actually there is very little difference in the room quality between Rimfire and Allegheny; slightly better furniture and slightly bigger room ... BUT ... no indoor parking. Believe me the indoor parking is worth its weight when its nasty outside. You unload your stuff in the nice dry warm garage and vice versa for the ride home.
We have stayed at the Allegheny and given the choice of Allegheny or Rimfire at the same price we will pick Rimfire. Just our preference, oh and the sunsets from your condo over the western rim are totally geeeorgous!

Thanks for the info again Snowcone. Next time we stay there, we will definetly try Rimfire. I knew Rimfire had indoor parking, and just assumed that Alleghney did too. I know they offer valet parking, just assumed it was indoor as well. Oh well, you know what they say about assuming things..lol Thanks again for the info.