Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine ( http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com ) has a feature on backcountry ski options in the south. In the part of the article talking about Canaan Valley, they talk about Baldy Steeps and the Cathedral off of Bald Knob. My question is, are these part of Whitegrass itself? I guess I am just trying to get a sense of how they would be accessed (I really need to get out there this year!)

The article also mentions power opportunities in other states, such as Virginia and North Carolina. For Virginia, the article mentions that there is an area near Big Meadow in Shenandoah National Park. Anyone ever do any backcountry excursions in this area?

wow, cool article thanks! yeah they are part of whitegrass, so get ready to earn your turns. but skiing uphill can be as much fun as skiing down and whats a day pass at WG.. $12? altho those areas are pretty close to the canaan ski area, so you can get a one-way lift pass at canaan for $5 to get up there and access them easy too. theres a big pipeline run between weiss and bald knob. Drop a line if you ever head out there this season and want a touring buddy!

Thanks ! Now that looks like fun and what a great set of pics and I am only half way through. Not sure when I would be up there this year but would love to ski that route. that made my day

Great read! A lot of the info is inline with the tips and advice we hear about on DCski.

Sweet article - how do you access Porte Crayon?

Sounds pretty tasty

LB

Most of my trips to the valley will be with my family (wife + 2 yr old) so I think a typical day would involve snowshoeing with them in the morning and then a couple hours in the afternoon to hit the "in bounds" whitegrass stuff (the Cathedral, etc). Does this seem logistically workable?

Of course I'll probably try to get a couple solo trips to the valley this year, in which case a longer ski touring day sounds pretty sweet.

I think a bunch of us (who are interested) should meet up at Whitegrass sometime and go for a few runs over a day or afternoon. I tested out my AT rig for 4-5 laps on snow after the slopes closed last season, but I have yet to get out and do it for real...

Well,

Currently my "AT Rig" consists of some Alpine Trekkers I picked up on ebay, so I'll see how that works out. I'm hoping to get a chance for some testing the Wednesday and Thursday after Christmas - here's hoping for a blizzard before then.

i can PM you some tips on setting up the trekkers someone sent me when i was gonna get some. something about getting the most life out of em. you probably need skins tho too or if you really wanna free the heel you can rent some waxless skis from wg. maybe we can get denis to go too, and give some dcski knee-dippin' lessons

Oh, I have some skins - just some voile snakeskins I picked up on ebay. Obviously I spared no expense in getting set up Probably at some point I will invest in a real set up, although whether that involves learning to telemark or getting an AT rig, I dont know

Thinking of hitting Whitegrass this saturday - does anyone have a sense of whether the current storm will dump enough to allow skiing in the trees? I'd love to try some of the stuff mentioned earlier in this thread.

Why not check their website; Chip sez:
"Is It Worth The Drive? More snow coming and the next several days oughta be great for skiing. Looks good for Sat am powder going warmer by Sunday..."

you might hit some stuff depending on where you ski since there is no base and coverage varies from drifting snow, but right now there are definatley nice deep driftlines and areas you can ski all around. chip, curtis or one of the guys there can tip you to the best places to ski. you can also grab some xc skis from em and roam the trails which are real nice since they groom em

I read that article but did not see this thread until just now. I know Cathedral but not Baldy Steeps. I probably do know the terrain, just not its name. Doubt there is much I've missed up there. The advantage of WG is being on the Allegheny Front which gets plenty of snow.

I have skied around Big Meadows and other places in the SNP. I once skinned up and descended Hawksbill. I have often admired places in the SNP that would be great with a VT snowpack but the SNP is in the rain shadow of the Allegheny Front and may never see 40+ inches of consolidated base. I do intend to take the Old Rag fire road on XC skis one day, up to the shelter which is ~ 2 miles in. Cruising out on the road would be a lot of fun. I am intrigued by the higher summits in the far SW of VA and NC. I have hiked the Mt. Rogers area. It's a long way in to get to anything that looks worth skiing. Tales of the 'Balds' of the Smokies sound interesting too.

Roan mountain,NC sitting at 6300' & within sight of the beech mtn ski area (Boone,nc) is a good bet for nordic conditions. While not the highest mountain in NC (MT Michell 6700') it sits right on the western front far enough north to get maybe 100" a year...I have been up there in june & found a large chunk of ice off a rock face that I took down to the lowlands to show off as sort of a trophy...didn't last long though!

Yeah, I saw that but wasn't sure if it was referring to the on-trail stuff or the off-trail stuff...like crunchy sez I guess I can always just get some tips from Chip himself.