I can't remember a November this warm in a while...with this late start to the blowing season it's really going to show which resorts are serious about blowing snow and have truly invested in their snow making systems....it will also show which resorts choose strategies to get maximum terrain open in order to capitalize on bringing in the crucial numbers for the holidays...As far as getting terrain open and not screwing around, I would bet that Wisp will blow the hardest w/ Blowshoe in a close second...I will refrain from talking about the weakest blowers ...

I'm gonna go with Wisp and Wintergreen for a two-blow show.

What odds do you give T-Line having WL open on Dec 12th? How many days do they typically blow before they open WL?



Wasn't it three years ago when it was 60 degrees (near DC) until MLK weekend? That year, I remember mowing my lawn and fertilizing in January. Didn't ski until the weekend after MLK. (The rally caps worked, because the second half of that year was the most consistent cold streak I can remember in the Mid-A.)

Wisp and 7S. It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the snow blows.

These resorts will lead in the early season snowmaking effort:
#1 - Snowshoe
#2 - Wisp
#3 - Seven Springs
#4 - Wintergreen
Others of note:
Whitetail, Camelback, and a couple of the NC resorts.
The Colonel

It all depends. You can cover a lot fast and open a lot early, but unless it stays cold, you will close fast too.

It ain't gonna be good blowing weather in the immediate future so I will take the bait K....Yeah, the building the deep base argument...well I hate skiing when the guns are on (usually don't even go out) so I am usually stoked when they blow once and then are done blowing for the season,,,,but I doubt when folks are choosing where to vacation over the holidays for skiing to many are going to say "well we could go to a resort that is almost completely open but we would rather go to a resort that only has two trails open from the top because they will be open later in the season(if they don't decide to close early)"...but then again this blow a deep base strategy w/ a slow opening % does reduce the number of return skiers throughout the season and keeps the slopes uncrowded...reminds me of the slow lifts argument; slow lifts keep the crowds off the trails, well yeah mostly because people don't come back when your lifts are slower then all your competitors...I am going to go out on a limb here but I bet the number of paying customers that visit a ski resort is directly proportional to the % of terrain open compared to the completitions % of terrain open(not including boy scout and church groups that pay less then $100 for a three day all inclusive ski trip)...

Hey just thought i'd take a break from the blowhard thread to see who's going to blow the hardest and heh, silly me you're talking about snow!!

Tucker when i grow up i hope to have your ability to look at something that doesn't make sense, see why it doesn't make sense and have the sense to put into words what doesn't make sense in a manner that pipples like me can appreciate.

JohnL i have a feeling I'll be spending the first few days of my season at 7 Springs. Does it make sense to commute from Bonner Mtn Rd to Wisp?

Wintergreen has the new suppa-slik almost-instant-on system; I reckon that's gonna make enough for a show in this pattern.

I hate letting facts get in the way (especially on the internet), but the actual cost of the bunkhouse for the Snowy Luau weekend(peak season is more) is $145/person. This includes 2 nights lodging, 2 lift tickets, 5 meals, 2 days rentals, and a beginner lesson.

Now back to the topic of blowing.

Yes, Snowshoe does blow the most.

Tucker for Tucker Co Ski Czar!..I'll add to your Lift argu that a fast lift will wear out folks faster sending them to the lodge for food & drink which will keep things in balance & raise Resort Revs. That Fast lift excuse is for Losers.
CV area will BLOW.....the Hardest...

Good catch...I didn't do my research...but ok $150-200..still if your a resort your going to make more in one day for a lift ticket, a meal, and a beer for two adult paying customers- not even considering the overhead to accomodate the "boy scout" deal. If you throw in this overhead and then the two adult skiers rent equipment, take a lesson, or drink more then one beer its not even close probably 10 to 1. No wonder this resort can't afford to upgrade its snowmaking systems to compete? It just doesn't make sense from a business stand point, especially if the resort is trying to sell $300,000 slopeside building sites...but I guess its a free country...although a little more socialized this year...

Very true.. only problem is wintergreen prioritizes their tube parks and bunny hills. It will be a long while before the highlands are open. I think their snowmaking is far overrated.

My list:

1) Wisp
2) 7-springs/Shoe
3) Whitetail
4) Liberty/Roundtop/Mass
5) WIntergreen/ Timberline
5) Whitegrass
6) Canaan

BWAAAAAHAHAHAHA

True, wintergreen prioritizes the tubing park & bunny slopes first (due to the fact that one needs to traverse the bunny slopes in order to get to the intermediates & highlands), but their snow-making overrated? ...hardly. I've been fortunate enough to spend several nights slope side each season (Diamond Hill to be specific), and am impressed with the resort's ability to open trails with only 1-2 days of snow-making. This is what Wintergreen is known for, well that and it's 2 high-speed sixers

I will respectfully pass on any Czar position...but I would like to retain my arm chair/Monday morning quarterback position...so it's all about the stationary/fixed guns or sticks w/ maximum automation because moving guns around physically is not nearly as effecient and wastes valuable blowing time...

Post of the Century on DCSki!

I agree with Jimmy. BWAAAAAHAHAHAHA.

You clearly have not been offered the right Czarship. What can us inside-the-beltway folks do to up the ante?



Monday starts early in the valley. Sometimes it starts on Saturday.

I noticed Blue Knob didn't make the list. What's up with that?

Watts up with That???...U had to ask didn't ya? Well, There's this CO2 Cloud over the Knob thats creating this Infrared Spectrum type of thingy... ...Mother natures going to blow the hardest next day or so..Have a great Turkey Day Denis & the rest of you Ski/Nordic Maniacs!

Thanks and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, all on DCSki, and may all everywhere have enough to eat. My wife and I work with this non profit; she is serving her 3rd term on the board. http://www.facetscares.org/ It's a great organization serving a real need.

As to skiing, well maybe. A friend on the SkiVT-List, a meteorology student at UVM just posted thisI'm making a forecast right now for FIS but wanted to pass this along to
skivt-l... this is the latest local BTV-run WRF model. Its still showing
significant upslope for the northern slopes of the Adirondacks and the Green
Mountain spine.

Mount Mansfield on Saturday and Sunday everyone? The cross-barrier flow
into the northern Greens is insane and I do believe this is going to be a
raging blizzard in the higher elevations. We've seen these storms before
and we'll see them again...this is the stuff that separates the Green
Mountain spine resorts from the rest of the northeast. I'm going to
forecast 12-24" above 2,000ft for the Greens north of I-89 (Bolton, Stowe,
Smuggs, Jay) with 10-18" above 2,000ft in the central Greens (Sugarbush,
MRG), and 6-12" at Killington.

http://tinyurl.com/y994u9u

-Scott"

"

Not all Storms but this one for Whiteface because of thier western location & Jay..Jay..just because its always a Jay peak storm!(Also Ck out the front range of the Whites)..I've been trying to get excited about Killingtons weather for my brother who is heading up to tomorrow & I'm seeing better looking model data lately but trying to get NWS to make a call is like trying to get a faster lift up at TL!...I posted earlier (Snow getting closer thread) that someone in the NE would get a foot+..but 24 inches?..Bring it on!!..Hope my bro gets a foot!...Its only going to get colder & Snowier from here on...

PS..I Mentioned the other day on the Skiing T-Giving post that you & the like would be getting some Freebies Sat/sun...don't eat too much!

Snowshoe blew last night. If Andy and Mother Nature make up their minds and stay cold then hopefully they'll make their Dec. 4th opening day.

There's a few pics on their site. A video too. At this point in the season I'm guessing that most people would enjoy watching snowmakers blowing snow for 1.5 minutes.

http://www.snowshoemtn.com/mountain/dailyPhotos.htm

(12? days ago.I noticed that David was getting tired of the snow posts so I made a F-cast Commitment) I was just going to post that David!..Anyway I won the Bet.Real Snow starting soon!..
PS..Nov 10th I saw this on the Model..took two days to verify..& now its here! Gotta love those Man Made Brains!...Just the Start!!

and just wait! week from now all the cams will be white! I'm now guessing a few scattered openings next weekend followed by the opening of most every resort by the second weekend in December

From WTG website:

"MAKING SNOW! The 09/10 snowmaking season has begun and we are pumped to start sliding very soon."

Mountain top temp. is 23 degrees. Sure, its gonna warm up again but...

So who's blowing snow? Here's the list of players so far.

Snowshoe
Wisp
Wintergreen

SCWVA- so wisp did blow?? their cams are down so i was wondering if they did or did not.

I was surprised 7 springs did not, cams are very white!

In the NC mountains, Cataloochee and Sugar blew enough once the cold front came in to open a slope or two for this weekend, although Sugar had plenty of mud at the bottom too. Beech got a little natural snow and has been blowing as much as possible. But not trying to open until later. App is lower so hasn't been able to blow as much yet.

Got a weekend in Boone planned during SugarFest Dec. 12-13. Certainly hoping they can be open with decent conditions by then. I want to take advantage of the demo tents.

Holy Smokes,,,just saw pics/coverage on the local news that Canaan Valley Resort fired up the guns this past weekend and are still shooting for their dec 11 opener....when you firin' up your guns t-line???

Even if we don't get much snow on the backside of this rain event and miss out on a possible snow this weekend, it still looks like a nice streak of snowmaking weather through at least early next week!

BOOOOOOO:

Just got this from Tussey Mountain (place I instruct):

"This is due in part to a downturn in the forecast that makes getting on snow for the 12th (and even the 19th) seem very unlikely. So, we're off snow whenever we go."

Apparently all hiring this year is going to be off snow.... cant wait to see the impressive crop of new instructors we end up with!

Just dropped to 32 up at Snowshoe Summit...we got at least 2 weeks of Skier friendly weather to go...time to get busy ski areas!

It appears that T-line had the guns fired up this morning!!!

All three have their guns going.. The Shoe is looking to open tomorrow. Pa resorts guns are OFF!!!!