From the Snowshoe webpage:
"Announcement: Snowshoe Mountain will be opening this Friday, November 21! We hope to plan to open 6 runs and 2 chairlifts. Open trails will be Skidder, Crosscut, Spruce Glades, Whiffletree, Heisler Way and a portion of Whistlepunk. The cost of a ticket is just $29... and with all of this snow, that is a deal! Snow continues to fall on Tuesday evening, and since Saturday we've received 29" of natural snow. Snowmaking also began again on Saturday night and has continued around the clock. Temperatures are cold in the region, and the forecast for the week shows more snow and perfect snowmaking conditions. Even more natural snow is possible before the end of the week. Opening Day is now just DAYS away, and Snowshoe is offering early season lift tickets for just $29 from Friday, Nov. 21 to Tuesday, Nov. 25. We also has some incredible deals available via our Smart Ski Escapes Packages. We're celebrating our 35th season this year and want you to be a part of this milestone, so be sure to make your reservations TODAY!"
The Colonel

Wow, that's incredible - 29" of snow! I wonder how much more they will get by Friday!

Now I just have to decide if I'll head to Snowshoe or Whitegrass this weekend.

You know, the weekend has two days in it. Just trying to make the decision easier.

That thought actually occured to me right after I made that post. May as well start the season off with a bang!

I'm booked for Mon/Tuesday! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

I love how things come together. I was toying with Whitegrass on Thursday, and then came in to work to find an e-mail saying I had to schedule some use-or-lose leave ASAP. And then Snowshoe falls into my lap with a $29 lift ticket and what will undoubtedly be great snow for Friday. So I'm cashing in 8hrs of leave for Friday and will be tearing it up at the 'Shoe.

I already saw that Lou will be up there; if any other DCskiers plan to ski on Friday, maybe we can all meet up for a few runs. There will basically be 2-3 unique routes down the mountain, but based on my experience last year it will still make for a great season opener. I am looking forward to it!

Is there any chance that Snowshoe will open up more than 6 runs this weekend?

I guess beggars can't be choosers! ha

I'll be there with a red Spyder suit, red helmet, and Volkl AC-50s

How bad will the crowds be at the Shoe on Saturday? Jana and I are flat-out determined to ski on Saturday, and if HV doesn't manage to open up, we'll be looking for other options. Snowshoe is a bit more of a drive than 7S, but I'd rather ski more vertical with fewer crowds, if that's what we'd get.

Which would be a more likely successful choice?


aaron

U daytrippin or staying over?

Don't know... We've got early plans Friday night, but we could probably head halfway out after that. I think it's about 3.5 hours from Leesburg, so we'd probably head back on Saturday night. The only "staying over" question would be for Friday night...


aaron

sorry to hijack teh Snowshoe thread, looks like i've got a small posse interested in 7 springs this weekend is all. Easy daytrip from wheeling.

Too bad the shoe shoots poachers...... With the natural base they have and a pair of rock boards it'd be fantastic. Betcha patrol is poaching.

Hmmm. Hmmmm.

I think there is a chance. They are sometimes conservative with announcements and will add additional trails when it comes time to drop the rope. I would expect the trail count to increase at least every 1-3 days given the current scenario.

This is why we waited for Mon/Tuesday... they should be able to make snow right up through Sunday... I expect more open by then than is announced now, but either way I'll be happy.

Jimmy - it looks like we may end up at 7S after all, since the gf doesn't want to drive to WV (we'll save the first experience there for when they'll be fully open). If that's where we go, we'll have to hook up for some turns!


aaron

Snowshoe is under another winter storm warning for tonight through 6:00PM Friday, with up to 9" more snow.

I wonder when Snowshoe will start opening up some more trails... I'm thinking about waiting to head over there until Sunday and hoping they have more than 6 runs open!

Snowmaking might be limited on Sunday-Monday due to warmer temps. Don't know if that will factor in.

What they open tomorrow is their usual opening day set of trails, just 5 days earlier than planned. You'd have to think they would accelerate opening other trails. It wouldn't be unheard of them to have 12-14 trails open by next weekend, as long as the brief warmup on Sunday/Monday doesn't pose a problem.

Alas, I won't be able to make it tomorrow. But...I will be there Saturday around 11:30am! I plan to ski until they close (or I freeze). Anyone else plan on being there? I'll be wearing a red Spyder jacket, black pants, and a dull silver helmet. Just yell "David!!" real loud if you see me.

Oh yeah, what does everyone think about crowds? Do you think it will be real crowded? I don't see there being too many people there, but 6 slopes could get crowded easy......

I am sure that we will hear from Craig about his day at Snowshoe, but looking at the pictures on their site it sure does look like an awesome day. I sure wish I could have made it. Oh well, I'll be there with a smile on tomorrow.....

It was great today. Plenty of powder for the first couple hours -- about 10-12" on Spruce Glades (which is just a trail for now -- no terrain park features yet). By lunchtime it was mostly cut up and skier packed, but it continued snowing most of the day and I was finding fresh lines in 3-6" all day long. I think this opening day in November had better snow than all of last season. It was the cold though -- 9F when I got back to my car in the afternoon.

Based on the number of guns running on closed trails and the general condition of the mountain, I would expect many more trails to be open by mid to late next week. They could have opened many more trails today as natural snow only (any place in Vermont would have). The natural snow coverage is pretty good.

The top of the mountain (Skidder) was mostly manmade snow and got quite hard and fast as the day went on. Any natural snow up top was collected in drifts (I found one that was thigh deep, though heavily windpacked and not worth skiing).

If there was a downside today, it was that boarders outnumbered skiers about 5:1, and the slopes got busy once and a while (amazing how 3-4 boarders can just take over and dominate a trail).