well, its not really there fault. the weather yesterday and today made conditions less than ideal with above freezing temps and some rain and fog. i guess you could rank it as soft corn, which isn't real bad. just nothing open really. the top of the mountain wasn't open, had to get off at mid station. natural coverage areas werent really skiable. no lift lines tho when i was there. wouldn't recommend a special trip out to tline till a longer cold streak i guess unless you are in the area and have a pass. its still skiing tho!

Yes it was skiing and that's a good thing. I was out a couple of times today and there were some crowds. I hope all of them were staying in the Bunkhouse or were season pass holders because the rate was $30 today.

While the weather certainly wasn't their fault, I still don't understand how they can tout "improved snowmaking" two years in a row and then only have one slope open when Wisp has 23 open. Yes I said one. Woods Hole is the beginners area, Cross Roads in the Lodge area, Timberline takes you from the lift to White Out - the single, 100 yard open trail on the mountain. How can you get 18" of snow in the past week and only have one trail open?

Given where they stand with snowmaking and the current weather forecast, they might not have a whole lot more open by the big holiday week. It is forecasted to warm up to near 60 on Thursdya before getting cold again. Maybe then they can utilize that "new and improved" snow making capability they love to talk about so much.

Clay
------
"Timberline is like a crape myrtle" - Johnfmh

This is always how it is early season at the line, improved snowmaking or not. People come to the resort with huge expectations, thinking that the quality of the resort will somehow match the prices of those big houses on the mountain. The reality of Timberline is that its owners have very limited capital resources. They are good people with good intentions but too poor to be running this type of operation--an operation trying to cater to people who buy 1.1 million dollar slopeside real estate and expect Deer Valley (or at least Whitetail) quality services. I suspect they do not sell because Timberline is making money in spite of its problems, which is actually good news and demonstrates the viability of the place.

If we ever see a new owner, bunkhouses and Boy Scouts will be a thing of the past. Think 4 star hotels and conference facilities, valet parking, spas, and double the crowds. For people who have skied Timberline for many years, the mountain works best for us on an off-weekend or midweek late in the season with no crowds, 100 percent terrain, and snow pounding the mountain. That's why we love the mountain. It's because its one of the few places where one can experience true skiing on real natural snow in this area when conditions are right.

For people who want fast lifts, better terrain parks, and lots of off-slope attractions, buy a place at Snowshoe, which is much more expensive but certainly better run. There's a lot of property available there--some at pretty decent prices.

PS I've learned through hard experience never to make a trip to Timberline hoping a trail will open. 7 Springs YES, but Timberline no. I personally have learned to write December off at Timberline and rarely if ever visit the place during this month.

Just wanted to say John that was beautifully put

Excellent and unfortunately accurate synopsis of the Timberline situation ("the little ski area that sometimes can")! The terrain of the mountain, the trail layout are fantastic. In many ways the best skiers mountain in the mid-Atlantic. But something needs to be done about the lifts and lodge! I do not mind the scouts, church groups, etc. but at least one high speed lift is needed and improvements to the rabbit warren of a lodge.
No, do not turn it into a ritzy place, just an adequate place.
When one major ski resort company (now demised) tried to buy Timberline over a decade ago, their vision was for multiple ski mountains with lifts and trails connecting Timberline to Canaan. What a vision, what possibilities. Now with something like this in place, more hotels, etc would be needed, but what a ski mecca for the mid-Atlantic. And with the limited commercial real estate in the Valley, I would hope that the Intrawest model could be kept under control. Make the Canaan Valley Lodge larger and better, add lodges to Davis, etc. but build the ski slopes of ski slopes in the mid-Atlantic and somehow figure out how to minimize the impact on Chip's operation by preserving adequate cross county facilities.
The Colonel

Something smells in Davis
Ode r to Timberlame


I sit here John, while they ski
at wisp the shoe & springs,
trying to carp a few diems,
your post was beuuutiful indeed
but u no me
i have to say a few things.



Why do you say their intentions are good
as they cater to the wrong crew, U know ?
If they want to cater to skiers then
they need to make some snow!


Was timbers full of cub scouts
or those folks in the empty house?
If they want to make $$$ from skiers now
They have to make some snow.



U know how i love the place
I ~move~ there every year
So i just have to know
Why'd they buy all that gear
If they're not gonna make the snow????????

Jimmy: Beautiful Haiku my friend.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating - while Timberline may have increased its ability to make snow on more of the mountain, I don't believe they can make more snow.

Tom

Man I think you make a valid personal observation...but man that statement is sad to read...especially in an area that has maybe the coldest temperatures in the region and gets and average of 200 inches of snow a year.

As for all or nothing point of view that I constantly hear being made ...delapidated infrastructure but with good vibe and good skiing vs. state of the art(or atleast up to date) infrastructure with ridiculous commercialization and overcrowded slopes..I think if planned well you can have something in between??? Of course that is where planning becomes so critical...

Jimmi..People like us Spend a whole lot of money up in the Canaan area & all we would expect is 1 run from the top of the MTN & a fast way to get there!. I Have Invested tons of money up there & I am about to employ a whole crew of folks up there in a major upgrade at my house...I get to TL Thur Aft with tons of snow around & have to wait till Sat to ski only half way up the MTN! I go to the ticket window & with all the charm I can muster With a serious tone to my voice I Say to the young lady that since all you all want to invest on your mtn is enough money to get us to mid station then I'm only opening up my wallet midway too & i would like just one ticket instead of two(Me & betterhalfski) & i just want a half day ticket & I would ask that you give it to me at 11 am....she could not refuse MR Ski & I got it & put it on my jacket & me & MRS Betterhalski took turns going up to midstation while we pounded down drinks at the pub because of the BOREDOM!..& on top of that I had to watch endless hordes of Ski patrol heading all the way up to the top to ski from the top....B FRIGGIN S!!!! I invest Hundred of thousands of Dollars up there to keep everybody working in the area But I don't have the right to head up to the top because I'm not Ski patrol??!!! You rude ungratfull Bastards!!! LAMEASS SLOW Retarted Good folks that just have to GO! I'm tired of this Crap! They could have had a top to bottom run open for T-Giving for Christ sake....I'd rather see them spend the fire work money at the Snowyluao for snow making....There would have been a ton of folks heading up there for the expected opening day thur morning with awesome conditions....there was snow falling fri till noon...nice big pretty flakes...SHAMEFULL!They need to get off all that Red Spruce bud they are smoking Cuzzz its making them Lazy Lardasses & they need to take thier Blunts & dip them into some of that Hightest Juice I got buried up there to get them motivated!!....Wuzzz up WVROCKS....se ya ran into Betterhalfski on the lift....I was waiting for my jacket Holmes & you was slowing her up!!..Its all good Neighbor..Wish I had met you!.....The beer was tasty At the pub & the food is & service is always good up there & I enjoyed meeting up with some of the Locals that I have met before & meeting a few more new ones...luv the folks up there The Gorgeus ride on the New Corr h & the ride from Petersburg down thru Seneca rocks & up to harman & up to my place just before CV...WV ALPPS in all its splender! ...Frosted Spruce covered peaks.......& then LAMEASS TL...Get your act together...you Owe us better!!!!!!!!....Bring on "ALMOST HEAVEN" TORY Or whatever & CV Can Vedge forever for all I Care!...the place sure is B-U-tifull though..Aint it?.....This has been brought to you by Capn Fish & done Halfskied....Going to be in the 80's down here in the carolinas...Time to stock up on some Fish fillets for the winter!!

Wow....

amen! thats why i got a place up there. if you love the outdoors its almost silly to limit your options to just the lift served areas tho. what whitegrass has goin embraces the essence of the valley. good trails and terrain, great people, food, and vibes, and good exercise just getting out and exploring. hey fishnski, they even have mtn state on tap!

didn't mean for this to turn into a tline operational thread. i was just reporting on the conditions, but i guess the subject line was subjective tline is a great place, but its just a fraction of the attraction to canaan valley

Fraction of the Attraction....Listen to ya, spittin' raps. Speaking of fraction, would have been pretty nice to have your very own fraction of a home in the Valley this past week.....that is if this past week was one of the 3 weeks of ski season you could go within 90ft of the premises....

jimmy and fishnsk,
Beautiful and truthful. Tline better get the message. Sounds like the natives are getting restless. Davis, Thomas and CV natives better get the message and forward it to TL. Next article in the NY Times, or whatever, might be far less kind to this beautiful place. TL...the word is getting out...do not buy until we see the product on the slope and a fast way up.
The Colonel

?? People have been buying and prices rising steadily - despite the ski resort. As Crunchy said - skiing is only part of the attraction of Canaan Valley. I bet most folks buying up there don't even downhill ski. And all those magazine and newspaper articles.... well since they either exclusively interview - or are simply written by - Canaan Valley realtors, investors, and business owners, I wouldn't expect a rush of objectivity anytime soon.

I will agree, the resort condition may affect the value of the relative handful of ski area and slopeside properties down the road - but not much else. Other than Winterhaven, the really big new developments in the Valley - Tuscan Ridge and Davis Riverwalk are up the road in Davis.

Tom

On the other hand, they (the ski resort) must be doing something right - I was amazed that the parking lot was 3/4 full on Saturday and this was not overflow parking from the Bunkhouse. So I looked online to see if maybe they were doing a Wisp cheap ticket kind of thing. Nope. $30 a pop. Maybe they were all pass holders coming to pick them up, but I doubt it.

Hey Colonol sir...I'm always so afraid after one of my Rants & I CK Back for the response & see that you posted after mine that you are going to scold me!..I have never met you but I have a respect for you...thankyou so much for your support!

I am surprised that you guys want fast lifts, more snow making and big high rise hotels and such. I like Tline and CV in general the way it is. Increased snow making is tough if you don't have a ton of water. Wasn't the Mid-A under a huge drought like just a couple months ago? I know 7S and Wisp have large water reserves and lakes for water storage. I never saw similar things at Tline.

There isn't anything wrong with small family owned ski areas. They keep the prices cheap and help make skiing accesible to people like the boy scouts and regular working families and bring new skiers into the sport.

Don't get ME wrong Tim. I like timberline. I also don't mind the slow lifts and i like cub scouts, i once was one! What my beef is they spent a bunch, bunch being relative to TL, on improving their snowmaking capacity and that's their big boast. Snowshoe 17 trails, Wisp 23 trails, 7springs the hole front except goosebumps and i think north face opened friday; Tline had how many trails open?????NONE as far as i'm concerned. They should of bot a bunch of that orange tuna net instead of those snowsticks and the snow farmer from whitegrass could show them what to do with that.

Speaking of plastic... maybe they should lay some of this stuff
down Almost Heaven until February when they finally decide to blow snow over there....

i think tline was making snow as much as they could. mother nature dictates alot! the ground still hasn't really frozen over, no ponds in the area are really frozen over, temps have been up and down. rain, etc. to put it into perspective, the 4000' snowstake at whitegrass on cabin mnt (same mnt as tline) was 18" last wednesday. as of sunday it was 1"! i would fathom a guess than all local resorts have nothing skiable right now. and technically, its still fall

I think the big push will be to have WL open for Christmas. It might have been wise to save what snow is on that trail this weekend and not let it get trashed. Rain and warm weather is going to really eat into every area's base for the next few days. After that, it will be a big push to have enough terrain open for people to justify big Christmas and New Years trips.

And I agree that there is a lot more to the CV than skiing. For me, it's the hiking and birdwatching that keeps me there, not the skiing, although I love it when we have it.

Oh hogwash Johnf!...The lowland ski aeas with very little going for them can thru proper management come up with millions of dollars for fast lifts & infrastructure...Tl has been pilfering the profits for years! Piss poor management is all it is.....if they cannot afford to blow enough snow for T-Giving on, even with the chance of losing it all, they need to get out of dodge & I'll kick them in the ass on the way out! Canaan valley would get 1/8th the interest without skiing....that is the number one reason for commerce up there...everything else just fills in....you all are so wrong on this....Bird watching????!!! be for real...Here is your bird dude!...come on down to the carolinas & ck out all the birds we have down here.... beautiful species of a million sorts....its the beach!!!!that is the money ticket...get it!....there are a ton of mtn areas all over WV that you can mtn bike & bird watch.....you don't need to vedge out the real snow-- real ski country areas...they are for SKIING!!!!!!!

Fishnski,

My local ski hill in Logan is still not open yet. Only 14" of snow on the ground. They need at least 2 more feet before they can open anything. Just sit back and relax. Winter is on the way.

Oh & hogwash to you too Crunch...with all due respect!..give me & all others in the know a break...TL Likes to spend all there money blasting snow at the base...they could use half of that energy up higher on on WL & could have easily had a top to bottom run on T-giving with tons of buis...they could regroup with every other cold snap & nat snow event...I had to spend a few hundred dollars at snowshoe over t-giving with great conditions...I went sledding at TL on mounds of snow from mid station down...we are not talking about a large area to get 1 run from top to bottom..SS had 2 great runs top to bottom at t-giving....LAME & ungratefull for the tons of money by the likes of me & other good spending & loyal cust,,,,& seeing the 20 some odd ski patrolers that ski free all year for free by just doing somthing that they love, ski from the top was an insult to me!

Nobody is stopping you from joining the patrol.....You should go ahead and join up to see just how easy they have it.....Just make sure to give all us DCSkiers your schedule so we can be sure to ski CV Resort those days...God knows none of us around here are going to count on you to save our lives......

Now THAT was a zinger!

"God knows that i wouldn't help you if i was ski patrol'???...where did that BS come from??! God knows that if the chinese were coming over the hill I would be your best man in any foxhole....let me know your schedule buddy.....

Remembering that many of the users of this site are new to the Middle Atlantic and visit this place to try and figure out the skinny on local ski hills I post the following views.

Timberline is inarguably one of the best ski hills in the Middle Atlantic. Depending on your preferences, it may be the best. If you are the type that prefers Mad River Glen over Killington, or Alta over Snowbird, or A-Basin over Breckenridge then you will like Timberline.

If you want lots of amenities or state of the art snowmaking then there are other ski hills that you will like better.

Canaan Valley is beautiful, the locals are excellent folks, it snows alot there, the ski hills don't have alot of rules and the place maintains alot of local color (from tree skiing, to bluegrass, to beer making, to Chip Chase and Whitegrass and much more).

So I for one am quite happy with Timberline as it is, its not perfect, but in many ways that's what makes it perfect. And for all of those that wish for a big corporate infusion of capital, remember the first thing that would most likely go is tree skiing and over time you will lose the local flavor and for that matter, the locals. In the words of that great man Chip Chase "if it didn't rain here in the winter none of us could afford to live here" (paraphrased).

I for one was smiling skiing at TL this weekend. Why you ask, because ski season has begun!!

I've tried to stay away from this thread but couldn't overcome the urge. (need to go to a meeting!)
There is so much going on that has created difficulties for the folks at t-line. Take for instance the "Timberline Realty" advertised on this web site which is not the original Timberline Resort Realty. I won't go into details, but it has had a negative impact on the ski area's operation. Then there are the continuing needed infrastructure upgrades. You can always have a gun, but unless you have ammo, it does no good. T-line also has the philosophy of making deep base on slopes before opening them. You all have a short memory cuz you aren't remembering that last January t-line, due to their snowmaking protocal, had the only advanced terrain open in the mid-atlantic while everybody else was closed or had limited blue/green trails open. I admit they have a lot improvment to make, but there is no other ski mountain that comes close to what they have to offer come February, March, and this year, into April.

TomH, my thanks to you and to johnfmh and The Colonel for capturing what draws me to Timberline. For trails and layout, it's at or near the top in the mid-Atlantic. The slow lifts, well, they give my legs a rest and help keep crowds off the runs. The lodge is not very pleasant, I'll agree. Even though I ski at other mid-A areas more frequently, give me a day in March and it'd be at T-line where I'd ski!

Woody

Didn't say that you would just go all out and purposefully leave me stranded. What I meant was that I would be laying in the middle of a trail that I skied down on from mid-station with a torn ACL (because some new schooler took me out from behind) and you would be off poaching powder on OTW, nowhere in sight....

BTW, If the Chinese ever do attack you are the first person I am calling for backup

Facts, facts, facts. I want to post based on EMOTIONS

The only thing places like BK and TL need more of in terms of infrastructures is more people out in the woods in October pruning back some of those small bushes.

Hey David..I don't even stay at holiday Inn Expresses...How in the hell am I going to patch you up??..Id give you a swig of Rum & a hit of Hightest & tell you to get yo ass up...The Chinese are coming up the hill!!!..Halucinating my butt off :).....Are we having fun yet??!!?

That would be jimmi's job..... lopers, tape, and, and, and,