I got an email today from SkiNet.com and they had a section
section and pictures about the "Dump of the Week".
http://www.skinet.com/travel/2008-10/dump-week-october-30-2008
Lots of pictures of newly white ski areas and a few that skiers had hiked up and were skiing down. But no pictures of the WV and NC Alps areas, especially Cataloochee that opened for lift served skiing a couple of days ago. So I sent the SkiNet editor the email that is below with several pictures of the Cataloochee slopes, pictures that had been on DCSki.

"Really surprised you all missed this!! Cataloochee Ski Area in North Carolina opened on Tuesday, I believe, with lift served skiing, and charging for lift tickets. Go to the Cataloochee web site, or DCSki for details.
It is not often that the mid-Atlantic or Southern Alps get to open as first in the east. Cataloochee made a ton of snow on one slope to accomplish this honor. By the way, the Timberline and Canaan Valley ski areas in WV received over a foot of snow, and Snowshoe received a similar amount, but because of their altitude (4848 feet) have also been making snow for several days.
Maybe we should all pile on and then next week they will announce the real "first in the East to open"!
The Colonel

Get on em Colonol!...There is definetly a bias against any ski area south of the mason dixon. Mother nature is on the WV Alpps side & pure hustle is on the southern Alpps side..I'd have to add a disclaimer to Snowshoe...they got hustle!....a foot of snow would make headlines on any news cast if it happened any where else other than the mid Atlantic Alpps!

You are right about the foot of snow making news, but the Alps nearly always get left out. For example most of the TV weather folks in the Washington market remarked about the heavy snowfall elsewhere, but it was the Poconos, upstate NY or VT, never their own Alps. Maybe we need to educate them with emails, etc. Then hopefully they will check what the Davis weather site reports, or what Snowshoe reports.
And the other part of the problem is that the local ski areas do not call or email the good snow news to the local station weather folks, much less send them videos.
The Colonel

I'll echo what Morgan said. with the exception of the shoe, nobody outside of the immediate mid-atlantic area is even aware of the quality of product in the mid-atlantic skiing industry. Nobody considers the WV Alps to be anything more than "local" hills with the skiing as nothing special. I admit that we don't have the vertical found in the west or the glacier skiing in Europe but it's pretty damn good, considering what nature has provided. I know that WG has made the big time as one of the best nordic area in the east. But, the local mountains need to toot their own horns and let everone know that they won't be disappointed with the skiing, natural snow, and the overall experience.

But Kim if they toot their horn too loud then the little secret we all share will no longer be a secret

I've posted this before..but I used to call all the tv weather f-casters in the dc area & harras them into mentioning Tucker co instead of thier incessant use of Garrett co in any mountain mention. It usually went like this..." & in Garrett co they are a getting snow flurries"...& i would immediately call them up & tell them...its Dumping in Tucker...you..........! or "Do you have any idea what is going on 120 miles due west of the Wash monument"??!!...Doug Hill)Tv weather dude) will tell you he is glad the Mouth moved south!

Here.. Here. Just posted a comment to skinet... Let's see what happens..

How many of you sent Doug (TLines Web Master) an email about the web cam besides me?

The Canaan Valley areas are as good as it gets in the midatlantic. And best in WV for sure. I still preferred 7Springs to Tline, because of consistently better conditions and snow making. But during stormy weather tline is where it's at. I think that its for the best though that they remain mostly unknown, unless a lot has changed neither CV nor T-line are usually able to handle "the masses".

You'd think they would have showed skiing in NC in late October for the sheer novelty of the situation, like when it snows in Capetown or something.