Blew tons of new snow all day yesterday -- Fantastic Conditions!!! Everyone should come out and enjoy the new snow.

- Open Christmas Eve from 9:00 to 4:30
- Open Christmas Day from 12:30 to 8:00

We will be coming next week and stay for the week. We have 6 kids in our group. I am looking at the resort web site now. We planned to buy them activity cards. They all need lessons. Will we be able to get the 25% off the kid's program next week? The activity card brochure says "25% weekday only". Does that includes weekday next week? If not, what is the best way to get their lessons?

Thanks,

Jane

Holiday rates are from Dec 26-Jan 1. The activity card does not give you a discount on on the kids programs, call Slope Sliders, or the package deals, call Pathway, not even during the week.

The activity gives you 50% off regular price tickets and 25% off full priced rentals and group lessons. You must be atleast 8 to be eligible for group lessons.

If you need rental equipment as well as lessons then the best value is to sign up for the Pathway program, rentals, 2 lessons and one 8 hr lift ticket on the first day. Then on the second day sign up for Pathway Skills Improvement package.

If you plan to ski for more than three days and you don't need lessons then purchase the activity card. If this it too confusing the send me an email at jkeisler@massresort with your number and I will go over the pricing.

Thanks a lot for your explanation. Now I understand how the activity card works. The only question remains is about the group lesson. I don't see any group lesson on the web site. There is a package of one lesson, rental plus lift ticket for $99 that sound like the same as the path way except it includes only one lesson. Did I get this right? Now I really have to think if it is worth buying the activity cards for kids. We won't get discount for the magic show and comedy night next week either.

Is there a magic carpet at Massanutten? 4 older kids (age 8-13) wants to learn to snowboard this year. The younger ones can also use it to learn to ski.

Making snow right now at MASS. Weather looks good for continued snow making on wed nite.

FYI there is a magic carpet for beginners.

Hey SkiMass...any deals to be had between now and the 1st on lift tickets? Wintergreen Season pass is locked out until the 2nd so looking around for somewhere else. Mass is pretty close but never tried it.

you can buy the special value pass for 199 and ski any night and have the pass for the rest of the season. this pass is good any time but holiday days and saturday days. Years ago we had a night pass and this replaces that with additional benefits on week day non holiday. Unlimited skiing in March. This is a great value. The snow is really good today.

Got back tonight from M'nut. Great skiing Mon-Tue.

I wrote about Slope Sliders in the Family forum earlier. Bottom line is that I think they do a great job. There is a magic carpet. I don't think the snowboard classes use it. The beginner boarders are usually on Geronimo. Need to make reservations ASAP. Sometimes can get in because of cancellations.

The 90-min group clinic is open for age 7 and up. My friend's daughter found it useful last year, which was her second season skiing. She'd made it to Yellow in Slope Sliders and was skiing the easy blue runs with me and my daughter. My college-age niece got the package (lift ticket, rental, 1 clinic) on Tue. She hadn't skied for a couple years and it was a good way to get going again quickly. She was ready for Diamond Jim again after lunch. Usually fewer people at 10:30 or 5:30.

Since an Activity Card is for only one child, rarely makes sense to get one if snow sliding is the main reason for the trip.

Thanks SkiMass

Also saw on your web site you can get a 5.00 discount for using a Ukrops Valued Customer card. Thats 10 bucks for me and my ski partner. Thats enough for breakfast on the way.

GRK

FYI min age for slope sliders is 4 and they are with an instructor for the entire time. this program has a tendency to sell out during the holiday season.

Activity cards are not transferable and should be purchased when you plan to ski more than 3 days and use for the other activities on the mountain, ie waterpark, golf.

what a great day to ride a bike at massanutten. hoping to make snow wednesday or thurday.

Just got off the slopes EXCELLENT CONDITIONS at MASSANUTTEN, should be more of the same tomorrow.

These are starting to sound like advertisements...

I have to agree, and I think it's important to address this before it becomes a problem.

I don't mind ski resort employees engaging in discussions in the DCSki Forums, for example to answer questions that readers might have. It's nice to have easy access to "official" information, so I'm pleased to see resorts getting involved in these communities, and definitely encourage that. (And kudos to SkiMass for jumping in and directly answering readers' questions.)

But advertisements are not allowed to be posted in the message forums. Not only does it blur the line between objective editorial (which readers expect to see in the forums) and advertising, but it's also unfair to advertisers who pay money to support the site and advertise through DCSki's official channels (such as banner ads).

As with many things, there's some gray area between what's appropriate and what isn't appropriate. These are my recommendations:

- If someone is a ski resort employee and is posting in that capacity, s/he should clearly indicate that (for example, by including their title and resort name in their message signature)

- If you're acting in an official resort capacity, I don't see a problem with answering questions from readers or occasionally providing informational updates (such as "we hope to start making snow again Sunday night"). But offering an editorialization on the quality of conditions, etc. will be viewed with suspicion by readers, so should be avoided. That's where the perception crosses from being "informational" to being "advertising," because ski resort employees can't be expected to offer objective commentary on conditions.

I hope that all makes sense. I'm not trying to be critical because, again, I would like to see resorts engage in these types of forums, but I do want to make sure that there remains a reasonable line between editorial and advertising and that readers are very clear when they're seeing one or the other.

Hey are your skies dragging you down bring them down to SkiMass for a free tune this weekend...... rockskies bpowder skies, straight skis teh new skis..... i'm not an employee, jsuta public sarvice aNNouncements, tellum jimmy sentja.

I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I did ski Massanutten.