Ok, this is my fifth try to do something I have previously had no problems doing!
WHERE DID DCSkiers board and ski this past weekend (Dec 7-10)?!
"Did not hit the slopes" is an option; there are 22 total options available. You must take the poll before viewing the results and you can select up to 4 ski destinations (assuming you were ultra fortunate to ski four in four days!).
Enjoy,
The Colonel

Out sick this past weekend.

The early results will be weighted more towards those who did not ski since those who did ski are likely skiing right now!

JohnL,
Unfortunately you are right!
An observation:
After reading many of the postings of folks who have been skiing, and looking longingly at many web cams, the early conclusion is that not many folks, DCSkiers or not, hit the slopes this weekend. I suspect the potential for "underdeveloped snow" weather this weekend and the Christmas busy season account for this. However, it also points to why many resorts do not have a lot more trails open, etc.: a lack of customers at this time of year. I suspect that were it not essential to get a base down for the Christmas holiday period, and get a public jump on the competition, most would not be open at all this time of year if given a real choice, especially during the week. Something to consider when complaining about Timberline not having more open terrain, Canaan not being open at all, etc. Many DCSkiers are diehards and probably represent a minority in the Mid Atlantic skier/boarder/tuber/air boarder population.
Food for thought and further discussion?
The Colonel

I just received a Ski Liberty email stating: "We sure have enjoyed this nice early December opening weekend!
But it is back to midweek tomorrow, and with everyone's busy schedules this time of the year, we realize it may be difficult to get out to the slopes. With the low volume we are experiencing and the rather damp forecast, Liberty has decided to close Monday thru Thursday this week, and will plan to reopen Friday thru Sunday for normal operating hours."
I added the underline emphasis.
The Colonel

Colonel, i agree, it seems this time of year with the christmas season going into full swing people are too busy on weekends for skiing. I attempted to get my parents to go ski this weekend so that i could drive down and meet them at whitetail but they said they did not have the time because of christmas shopping/decorating/parties. Its too bad because it does not provide a huge incentive for resorts to open early seeing that they will not see much of a profit until the christmas season (maybe why canaan is waiting to open??).

Oh and whitetail seconds liberty's decision to close midweek and will reopen next weekend.

Oh and thanks for the Tussey addition. I have to say i was surprised by the conditions here this weekend. Full coverage and quality grooming on the two open runs with no rocks or dirt in sight! Also, there was a pretty good crowd by 2 pm or so when the sun decided to come out. Perfect bluebird skies and soft snow... cant get much better anywhere on december 8th!

For what it's worth, Liberty was great fun on Saturday. Hope to get back there next weekend.

Whitetail was surprisingly good and uncrowded Saturday morning. Soft snow, good coverage, no lines, burnin' thighs.

Now, depression.......
Thurs-Fri and beyond don't look all that promising either.

Yes, I agree we're a hardcore minority, but pre-Holiday or not, I am really bummed about this warm-up. I guess I just have to get used to skiing not being "continuous" during the season anymore.

I skied Snowshoe Saturday. It was demo day but one of the smallest crowds I've seen in a long time. The top of the mountain was foggy but the snow was pretty good. With the warmer temps, the snow was soft and I didn't find any icy spots. Lots of fun. Just hope the cold weather returns soon.

Beautiful weekend at T-line watching my baby girl snowboard for the first time. You guys were right. She picked it up right off the bat with no fear. Watch out Alexis Roland! Yucky rain today is washing away all the snow and the fog is blinding

Too bad it was so soggy at Snowshoe on Sat. Thursday and Friday were a dream. Didn't miss it because I skied Saturday only for two hours since I had to come back to DC to catch a plane to Boston. And even in New England, we've had an ice storm all night. Phoey for Global Warming...

7-springs! we got there i dunno about 10 am on sat. and the lot was kinda full, but once you got out there i did not see too many people on the front side, but then again i did not see too much of anything because of the fog! but we still had a nice time it was great to crank turns again, tho on avalanche i think i was making about 8 turns total from top to bottom but the snow was good sort of heavy but it was nice. we went to the north face that was much more fun , but when we came back to the front @ 3 pm it was so crowded we quit and i was sort of tired as well. knocked back a few drinks while we got our skis ceramic-disked and met a friend for dinner ... just perfect!

Watch out! Next it's baggy pants and sleeping until noon!

I slushed around timberline on Saturday and left for home early on Sunday so I could catch the Steeler loss. God, they suck! Those million dollar big mouths they have in their secondary sure got a clinic....

As you all might know if you read my other post I Half skied TL on Sat & then went home & paid for the
kickbutt Fight of the decade between My boy from England( I'm half english half Norwegian) Rickey the Hitman Hatton Against pretty boy Floyd Mayweather....One hell of a fight!! My Man lost in the 10th round but he was the smaller fighter that had to move up in weight But was in Floyds face the whole fight...well worth the money...unlike my TL Experience!

Yeah I hated to see Hatton lose that one. I can't stand Mayweather. I really would have like to seen him get his face beat on some more......

the wisp. it was foggy, rainy, and you couldn't see 10 feet infront of you. all and all though it was a good time just being back on the snow. unfortunately it doesn't look like any winter weather in the immediate future. ba hum bug

Squirrel, where were you at and what was you wearing? Not that I would have seen you per chance, but just curious if I may have passed you in the lift areas. To show how foggy it was, me and three friends got off the lift there by Wisp trail from North Camp and wear searching for two other friends who ventured off on their own. We went back down happy camper to the bottom and back 3 times. The third time we got off we walked over in to the middle area by the big map/sign. Sure enough those two friends had been sitting there the whole time and it was so foggy we had walked past them 3 times and not seen them. That was the foggiest I've ever see it on any resort.

Btw, did anyone else notice the big temperature inversion last night? When I arrived at wisp at like 10am, it was 36*F. By the end of the day when we left it was 49*F. When going through Oakland it tipped out at 51*F in the car with a bank sign backing that up.

However when I drove down off the mountain and got to Keyser, it was 34*F.

i skied sunday and was gonna ski today, but i forgot to bring my water skis and dry suit. i was wearing a pair of tan volcom pants and a white and blue 686 jacket topped off with a pair of old school smith pmt goggles. if your ever looking to find me just look for a short guy rockin a big pair of AC4,s and technica diablos. the fog was ridiculous i felt the hands of god trying to come up from the slush and pull me down. i like to ski as fast as possible all the time. the conditions just weren't right for my somewhat reckless style

it so foggy that the weather station/web cam at dolly sods is reading the humidity at 103%

I was going to go to roundtop but there was no way in hell that i was paying full lift ticket price for 1 trial and 2 bunny slopes.

Ha ha Clay! She's already started with the "Yo ma, don't worry about me bailing - I got my skid lid on." Out of the mouths of babes...

Was it just me that noticed that Wisp took down half of their tower guns and replaced them with Polecats??

Wow... that would be huge and just another reason to name wisp the #1 place for high quality and high volume snowmaking! I cant beleive the amount of capital invested in that place! You would think after adding many new trails/homes/roller coaster/full out whitewater river they would put snowmaking upgrades in the backseat.... guess not

.... only one thing left for them to do... finally build a freaking high speed left!!!

Finsout.... i agree... its ridiculous that roundtop/whitetail/liberty offer no early/lte season offers. I guess they offer "midweek pricing" but still there is no way they can justify $50 for 4 hrs of skiing on 2 trails!!!

You forgot something....before they build a highspeed lift they need to truck enough dirt to the top to add about another 1,000 ft. worth of vert. Then build a highspeed lift or 2....

Went to Wisp on Monday for their $7 birthday lift ticket. It was foggy and you couldn't see anything. Drizzled and rained pretty much the whole day. I got there around 9:30am, and left around 3pm because my gloves were soaked through and the rain was starting to come through my jacket too.

Still, for $7, you can't really beat it. Hope it gets colder soon.

Wisp definitely did take down half of those tower guns on Squirrel Cage. I couldn't see over on The Face as to whether or not those were replaced, but off to the side of the trees by Chairs #2 and #3 the towers were laying on the ground. Looks like they alternated a tower, polecat, tower, polecat, etc.

Welcome, MikeDC.
If you feel like it, please tell us a little about yourself. Where do you board or ski? Experiences both on the slopes and in life, for example, married?
The Colonel

I'm a relative newcomer to the sport. Just started snowboarding last season around February, and I was totally hooked. I'm tall (6'4") and the rentals never really quite fit, so I bought my own board, boots, and bindings and have been getting better and better. Riding on a Burton King 162" Wide with Cartel bindings; boots are Salomon F22's. The right boots really seemed to have made all the difference!

I'm able to carve with rhythm on green trails, and very comfortable with blues. I've taken on the blacks at Whitetail & Liberty without falling, but moguls and catching any bit of air ends up with me on my butt. Trying to work towards having enough stability and control to carve on the blues without sliding out, skidding, and putting on the brakes. The toughest thing right now is not freaking out mentally when I start to pick up speed on the steeper sections. This year, I think I'm also going to spend some time learning to ride switch. It feels really weird to me, but I've been told that it will be very useful as my skills progress.

Last year I learned mostly at Whitetail and Ski Liberty. This year I have the Advantage Pass, so I'll be hitting those slopes pretty frequently. I'm also planning an Xmas trip with the girlfriend and some buddies at Snowshoe, which I've been told is a great resort in the DC area. And in Feb, my friend in Vermont owns a cabin by a couple of ski resorts, so we're going up with a big group for a long weekend.

Glad I found this board. See you around.

Not another snowboarder!!! No, I am just kidding. Welcome to board! We are glad to have you. You'll find that this is the best place around to find out all of the information you need to know (and plenty you don't need to know) about winter sports in the mid-atlantic (there is even a lot about summer sports too!). Hopefully we can meet up on the slopes some time. Again, Welcome.