...past 7 days have been best stretch yet this year by far(been out to sample allday/everyday except Monday)...3' of snow since last friday...snow has now consolidated to nice base everywhere...cross country skiing is a go anywhere in valley to thomas(some folks skied from thomas to whitegrass yesterday)...if we get high end of predicted snow totals tonight then downhill trees should be a little more fair to equipment bases...most of goods have now been skied up and/or groomed at tline, looks like plenty of fresh tracks to be had at Canaan still for today...should be plenty everywhere at whitegrass as always...with warming temps predicted for the coming week, it is highly recommended that next few days should be takin' advantage of...all 3 pay to play spots should be excellent surface conditions for weekend, but for freshies all day long look to whitegrass and Canaan---if high end snowfalls tonight come to fruition then tline will be worth laps in the am and maybe pm if crowds are low and it doesn't get skied off...taking advantage of cross country skiing in blackwater and canaan parks is highly recommendable as well...

Tucker is taking over for Ludovic, but reports on the valley as a whole now! Well put. The temps did warm yesterday enough to really condense (or mank) the natural snow eh? Awesome base for more for sure. One thing is for sure, the White Grass trail system should be close to perfect condition with just an extra inch at this point since it was nicely groomed out, so it's nice and smooth, but no, the 'world-class' trail system is not all flat, straight and easy.....after all, what goes up, must come down, and there are greens, blues, and blacks to choose from.... look at it on the topo map! xc rentals...$20, pass... $20, experience... priceless. Come ski a world-class trail system see why we are so proud of it!

Yep its good, got Tues and Wed in at Tslime & Kalame respectively. Good pow crud slayed on the fat sticks.

Need to get over to the BWF park and track that up too.

Hope the warmup is short and basearama comes thru in good shape.

Ride Sally ride!

Thanks Tucker much appreciated.

I am looking at the NWS site and it is calling for 3-7 inches for the valley tonight. Things should be pretty sweet tomorrow regardless but especially if it gets on the upper end of the snowfall range. I might have to try to get a hall pass for the weekend.

not sure about canaan but it's dumpin snow right now at tucker county highschool which sits at 3700' a few ridges over from canaan.

That's great to hear! NWS says snow won't start until 4 PM! Heading there tonight!

Dave Lesher reported that Snow began at 11:30 AM today! At 12:20 PM, it was "moderate snow" and 33 F. Tomorrow could be much better than I thought it would be!

http://data.canaanmtnsnow.com/

Excellent news. Looks like my wife and I are going to head over tomorrow morning early and ski Saturday and Sunday, probably get the ski the valley pass and ski Timberline until it gets skied off and then go over to Canaan to find some more fresh snow. Unfortunately Canaan and Blackwater falls and nearly every other hotel in the valley is booked up for the weekend, I found a room at the Alpine Lodge in Davis. The slopes will probably be packed tomorrow.

Hey Tucker, Todd,

Any guesses as to how much rain prior to the turnover to snow?

...not much rain in the valley at all, before it quickly turned to snow...no snow accumulation yet..temps are droppin, gettin' windy, spittin' snow...

That burst of Snow was the tail end of a system from the upper midwest that was rushing to join the Perfect storm off of NE...like I said yesterday...a very windy few inches off the backside fri eve..

I got lazy with the last storm and just posted the NWS fcast which was a bust..this time i have been doing some homework and even though NWS is trying to jack this one up again I'm only seeing the few mentioned...NWS is getting a little kookie lately...anyway the more the merrier..so cheers to another dump!

Any accumulation start yet or does it look like it the chance for snow is mostly a bust?

...on the valley floor, looks like there were a few inches last night...nothing like the 8"-10" high end of predictions that were floating around yesterday...could be more accumulation on the ridge tops, seemed like it was snowing more up higher yesterday...it is blowing around though so there could be some good drifts as well...still snowing a little bit...will definetily still feel like winter today...

Got more movin in for wed...then got a big storm watch for sat/sun presidents weekend(u heard it here 1st).. I got up early to see this mornings run b4 posting this but after 5 consistent runs of the GFS model it seems promising...be looking out for your front line reports Tucker!

PS..someone forgot to tell NWS that Lake Erie was frozen over...would have been a different story otherwise..

Mr. Fish called this one. Should be great Spring conditions tomorrow (Sunday) with plenty of base everywhere. Brief Friday rain with colder temps with not much new snow with stiff winds equals some "good for you" conditions today.

Things actually didn't ski too badly at all today, sure not like the up to 7 inches of fresh the forecast called for but beggars can't be choosers. Plenty of base everywhere with a few inches of fluff on top. Sun came out wind calmed down. Other than a couple windblown patches Timberline skied nicely. After lunch the lift lines got excessive at Timberline so we headed to Canaan where crowds and lines were nonexistant. Gravity skied wonderfully there. Tomorrow should be similarly fun, hopefully the warm spell will be brief and fresh snow will return so I can get at least one maybe two more really good weekend of skiing.

Ck this out...at 4000' its 36 degrees but at the base of TL its 12.5...Now thats a hell of an inversion!..and it tells you warm air is a comin..

TL is making snow at its base..good for them and good for you TauTog..(Fishy version of 2PTOG)..

PS..Should post weather stuff on the weather thread since this is Tuckers baby but its already started...next weather stuff will go on the weather thread...PRE..not post.
Looks like the storm tracks are shifting a little south and east..still snow for wed but maybe less snow and more blow..and cold for this coming weekend..Models are acting like our govt ATM...

Current Valley Surface Conditions - as of today, very, very sweet on the trails @ T-Line. (A couple of sticky spots this afternoon in the 40 degree temps.) Had a great time in the bumps/whales on OTW and the bumps on Upper Thunderdraft (under the lift.)

Trees today, total mank. Virtually unskiable unless you were in an area that was pretty much skied off. Saw a lot of very bad tracks (sideslips, etc.) in there. I only skied today (day trip.) Anyone hit any good snow in the trees Saturday or Sunday?

Nope didn't find too much good snow in the trees all crusty and dense but yesterday morning some of the trees that were skied off already had a couple inches of fluff on top were fun. Almost heaven was ungroomed with nice soft piles/moguls today, lots of fun.

Yes it was.

Skied T'Line Saturday & Sunday, Made some progress on learning to ski bumps/moguls yesterday on Almost Heaven. I agree with John, nice soft piles, much fun.

Good news is that Dave Lester is reporting 11 inches of base this AM (after the mixed/immature precip last night?) Looks like freezing temps return tonight, with a warm day today but not a large chance of rain...

With some more snow later this week/weekend, surface should be good again. Hopefully bomber base in the trees this weekend.

T-Line really shined this weekend. Check this article out on T-Line Instructor David Faunce:

http://wvgazette.com/News/201302100068

...hey take your slime comments over to the report thread or over to the city park to ruff someone up : )..great write up on David--he's a great stand-up guy, for a skier...for natural snow--pretty shitty warm today w/ a lot of base melt..skied the dog around the back 40 in the pre-dawn am but couldn't make it around in the pm, but looks like colder temps will come back around another time or 2...kinda the home stretch for lift service now after pres weekend...hopin' for a cold shot and some more pow sooner than later...till' then looks like hopin' for things to soften up(this afternoon surface conditions were reported as way more than excellent)...I'll chime back in if things start gettin' good for natural, to give a heads up...until then look for warm temps to provide superb surface conditions w/ soft edgeable snow...the gettin' should be good during the week...0 crowds and local buds...some of the best days,by far, up here are warm week days w/ soft snow surface...

Dave reporting 8" of base @ Canaan Heights; some base building forecast for this week.

Amen to that brother

...there's a barkin' on the local news this am about possible 6" today through tom. am in the highlands...6" of wet would be killer to refresh the surface...6" of dry might not do as much...will go out for sampling during the day and report back in...

sampling.........that's really big a ya mang, someone's gotta do it

...surface is firm this am, had to stay on groomers...boo...however, groomers are pristine, if you are in to that kind of thing...starting to hammer down wet snow now...now onto the second half of the day---using the couch cushion surface to wait for this snow to refresh things, sample a six pack of beer and watch a Champions League match up of epic preportions--Man U. vs Real Madrid...

Quick Question--Does CV groom their powder or do they open au natural when they get fresh snow?? Thanks

they leave much of it ungroomed

Just got thru the "Wet" snow with the front side of the storm...Then almost a lull in the action a little like the eye of a hurricane as it goes thru.. and now the backside..the colder drier windier snow side..let it snow!...some more...

They used to do that. In the last 2 years I have found the Weiss meadows roped off when there was new powder. I wondered if that was a policy of the new management. Whatever it is I don't like it.

I was at Kalame last Wed, meadows 1&2 were open with fresh pow crud.

Was disappointed to see Gravity groomed top to bottom, they used to just groom the bottom runout and leave the steep au naturali.

...looks like only about 2-3 inches of wet snow totals overnight...hopefully this weekend will turn into sompin'...

A little fluffier 5 inches up top prob...maybe 6 at Weiss Knob.

Come'on Denis... Patrol does that on every mountain.... The drop the rope once all the freshies are used up.

Well nobody was ducking the rope, no tracks, and being on teles I knew that Chip would catch some flak if patrol saw me. I just went to the National Nordic instead. At Timberline I would not have worried.

...sun came out and great afternoon yesterday in the valley---I'm sure there were some great pics takin somewhere...superb groomed surface yesterday, if you are into that kind-a-thing...would of been a great day for a terrain park---I wonder if the terrain park concept will ever take off in the ski industry???the 2-3 inches of wet (3-4 at the most up top) from wed. night groomed in nicely on top of the glacial surface below...everything off groomers still dust on crust...there is some snow comin' around in forecast for weekend...how much-hard to say...it will need to be more than a few inches if the surface is to stay good and not get scraped to boiler plate @ pay to play lift service areas w/ the crowds comin'....

...this weekend is booked for valley and guaranteed to be junk show at the resorts that aren't set up to handle crowds...for non-shoulder to shoulder combat, avoiding long lines/poor customer service look for new snow to replenish the surface and head to the woods, the whitegrass, or maybe,if your brave, take a shot at whichever you feel will be the less frequented lift service area...

Heading into the Valley on Sunday for some Birthday turns. Since I'm new to the area, Can anybody give me some insight on whether I'd be better off at Timberline or CV this weekend? I skied Timberline a couple weeks ago and loved it, but haven't tried CV yet, is it worth a shot or should I stick to the trees at Timberline as suggested above? I'm guessing CV will be a little less heavy on the crowds. Thanks

There are two different snow obs...there are the naked eye obs that one observes after the snow has settled like above...and then there is the oficial amount that has been recorded to have fallen from the sky..
Dave lesher at 3715' posted a 4.6 inch snowfall..so I just estimated 5 inches at 4268' which is the top of the lifts (.4 inches more)..and then another pure guess of maybe 6 inches up at nearly 4500' weiss Knob due to the colder altitude...a wet snowfall can be really fluffed up...the snow that just fell could have been a 10 to 1 ratio where as a 30 inch dump in Utah could have a snow to liquid ratio as high as 30 to 1...do the math!...anyway..no big deal..jus sayin...

If you can hold off until Monday, it will be a ghost town at T-Line. Especially after 11 AM or so.

CV is usually a better bet to avoid the crowds. But even on a holiday weekend, the black/double black trails at T-Line are rarely crowded. (Everyone is on the lift/waiting for the lift.)

Trees could be a bit interesting unless the Valley gets a lot of snow this weekend (not likely but ya never know.) Not certain about the snow surface and snow depth.

So what would you rather ski, 10 inches of heavier snow or 30 inches of light blower? I know my choice. (I'd need goggles, not sunglasses but no smiley for that.)

...yeah, I was commenting to the woods in general for cross country skiing---the woods at whitegrass and the woods outside of the pay to play lift service areas...I imagine the whitegrass trail system should be a great surface this weekend as well...

...yeah, I am always talkin' about the naked, shralpable obs...as far as that goes today, we have probably gotten about an inch and is still snowin' pretty good...surface was most excellent on the groomers all day today...some surfaces were startin to get occasional scrapy spots towards end of the day...

condish was pretty sweet last night at Tline for our weekly 'friday night lights' ski society. (come out and join the partay..nobody is skiin fri nights but us it seems like) seemed like a few inches and everything was nice and soft everywhere we skied. looks like another inch or two fell overnight, and fcast has more thru tomorrow. roads are slick because of the temps hovering around freezing and the snow turning to ice almost, lots of cars in ditches. like tucker said, "gonna be a junkshow in the valley" this weekend. All resorts have the opportunity to shine this weekend with fresh snow and a holiday weekend!

'Worked all last weekend, so my reward was skiing Friday 2/15. Posts to this thread helped convince me to check out Canaan Valley. Distance and my Snowtime pass generally keep me closer by, but I try to get to TL and CV at least once each season. For CV, Dark Side of the Moon is my "must do". There's just something about that trail ... the out-there feeling, the views, the big maples on skier's left at the first drop, and the natural snow cover. Always feel it's a special privilege to be there.

Great day Friday. Mostly cloudy, even some upper-elevation fog. Temperature just below freezing, and highly skiable packed powder surfaces on the groomers. The natural snow trails that were open (e.g., Dark Side, Shaft, Prosperity, Weiss 2 and 3, Shaft, Weiss Drop) had been skied, leaving the usual criscrossing in the middle 2/3 and more powdery ribbons on the sides. A few wet spots seeping to the surface, and a few "chunks" (ice blocks, rocks, hibernating box turtles?) added some, uh, interest. Did a nice face-plant on Weiss Drop and still don't know what to blame. Must be my skis.

Anyway, over the course of the day about 2" of snow fell up top and maybe 1/2" in the parking lot. Several runs (including Lower Spruce, Glades) were closed but looked as skiable as the natural snow runs that we're open. Maybe being saved for the weekend. Snow guns were being fired up around 430.

It's nice to see the new beginners area and the stairway around the right side of the upper-right building. And if you're too tired after lunch to hump it uphill 120 steps to the main lifts (sometimes I count), you can ski slowly through the beginners area, catch the B lift, and then sissily schuss down Sissy Schuss to the main lift.

Should be a good holiday weekend in the Mid-A.

Woody

...100% agree...don't know how kosher it is, but if you hang a louie into the woods by those maples and hug that ridge line until you see 32 and then drop down back towards the valley you will be skiing the spoon(come out at the historic landmark sign and then hike back up the CVR entrance road from 32)--the historic first downhill skiing lift served terrain in the valley---there are some great old pics and written stories about that area...when snow is good, it is a great drift line for a few cruising turns---don't run into the hawthornes...I believe someone here posted a vid of that black and white skiing--please post again...

....still snowing and a few inches over night(hard to tell from house, but maybe 3 or 4 inches over night...could be wrong)...callin' for 1-3 more inches today...had observation at both lift served pay to play areas yesterday...long, slow lift lines with lots of stop and go on lifts @ t-line w/ lots of groups and packed lodge...reports of good surface conditions at t-line in the a.m (JohnL and others should be able to give surface report for a.m.)...no lift lines and a higher end clientel at Canaan Valley Resort---bar was packed w/ good vibe at CVR---had a beer, speedy service, in their new slopeside bar/restruant and walked out by the outdoor fireplace w/ some good folks who had good things to say about their day skiing at Canaan, reports of good surface condish---the new facilities and updated infrastructure at Canaan was impressive (they would rule the roost if they would take their snowmakin' seriously)...crosscountry skiing was a little picky in blackwater state park(maybe better after last nights snowfall)...crosscountry skiing in the valley was solid(dog likes to ski--got the scoop that way)....I don't know how whitegrass proper was yesterday---what's the scoop on the grass chaga, please???

...just let dog out and she said it was probably more like 5-6" last night and cold poop this am...should be great surfaces this a.m. at all locations---put your skis on out the door and off you go...

...ok, cross country skiin' today was saweet...I bet whitegrass was rockin'...if this weeks forecast holds true and tuesday stays all frozen precip, then this week is gonna be fantastic in the valley for surface conditions...should be a ghost town after tom. around here as well...Fish whats the good word on the week???

Oh yeah, it's as good as it gets and the timing is great for the holiday. (Saturday was yet another new all time record day for WG with over 700 skiers, and today was the new second best) We spend a lot of time buffing the glades and tree shots so you can pretty much ski with no base, but now that we got base, they are sublime. Id guess there has been about 10" of new snow the past few days on top of the previous based-up snowpack? A lot of blowing and drifting the past day though. Sweet fluffy powder everywhere still.

Takin the dog skiin' right out the door is so much better than just takin' him out hikin! We've been skiin' the heck out of the trails in the national forest on canaan heights off loop rd. Sooo many sweet ski trails all over up there where the snow is deep and lush. Really a sweet place to ski for sure!

...hardly...I might be makin' just as much income as he was for his services here on this site(do the math yourself), but I am not even close to the same caliber as Vic...he is a professional and can provide excellent marketing services...here, I, atleast aim to, play a laughable/laugh-at-able monday morning quarterback character...don't have any dogs in the fight, try to tell it how it is, cut the bs, and place my punctuation in the correct locations...

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of the first hand reports from Canaan Valley... it's great to have you all as a resource for knowing how sweet conditions are over there

Abe you usually know first hand residing at the haywood icebox complex on the heights!

surface and above surface conditions today was the proverbial "bluebird powder day". Started at -5 degrees and went up to high 30's...no real melt except the roads. Not enough to transform the surface from powder. 3-4" more inches expected tues - tues night...

Worst surface conditions this past weekend (this is legit, not JohnL reverse logic/karma/WTF/hey you kids stay off my snow) were on The Drop at T-Line. They decided to blow man-made snow after/during the 7+ inches of blower pow (Utah like) that fell on Sat nite/Sunday. First, the tower guns nuked the entire trail, top to bottom, coating the skier/boarder in 1/8 inch of ice (goggles included.) Second, heavy, wet man-made on top of light blow = major suckage. Crusty surface and grabby snow. Third, they did a crappy grooming job for Monday; eecummings words cant describe the massacre to the snow surface. Crappy snow mixed with uneven grooming. Not even remotely close to terrain features. Even Dew Drop (which usually is not in great shape) had better MM snow/grooming than The Drop on Monday.

We need to find the stupid clueless complainer-in-chief who likes The Drop groomed daily and bury him/her under 240 inches of snow. And I'll back up a snowcat over him/her with blade dug in full...

Good news, every thing else totally rocked at T-Line this past weekend. The baby bumps on Almost Heaven (natural snow only) are reaching puberty (though there are a few bare spots.) Chaga was right about today, "bluebird soft snow day."

Sunday, big boy trees were off the hook. 15+ tree runs that day for me; boot top+ in many sections, was the first one down numerous tree chutes. Skied with many of the usual and unusual suspects. Best day I had on the EC since January 2011.

Finally met Vic on Saturday. He's a real good guy. Despite being French.

...slimy drop--really, shocking...they are callin for rain until noon turning to snow today, then 2-4 of snow through wed...it is startin' out snow this morining---no rain yet...maybe we'll get a little more than 2-4...surface should be good if it didn't soften up to much yesterday afternoon in the sun then refreeze...I'll give her a look---time to make the donuts...

"Looking like an awesome day on mon pres day then there is a system thats been on the radar for tuesday aft..been showing up ever since I posted on sat morn..that one has started to trend up the west side of the mountains so that means maybe a start to wet then to snow..needing a bowlers body language push to get it back in line!"

Made that post a week ago...according to Tucker it looks like that bowlers body language might be working!..(temp has dropped from 40 after midnite to around freezing now)

Im seeing a good early march...Im storm watching for my last 16 hour roundtrip to the Alpps...I know the conditions are ripe right now but I need to see some Snow dumping!!!...so I can move on peacefully to my next.."endless summer"..

I was rushing to get to work and flubbed the jist of my last post...now that i'm at work I can relax

I didnt post the accurate prediction I made to brag..I posted it to point out the fact the todays...wait a minute..ya got me..I did post it to brag ..a little..I have no character!..ok..I missed the point that the GFS had todays storm on the radar over 10 days ago!!

...you hear a lot of posts poo pawing anything over 5 to 7 days out but for guys like me that have such a long way to travel with the expense and missed work the long range f-cast is extremely important..I think that the models have come a long way and are accurate enough at this point to pay attention to...the end..

dude you have PLENTY O ChARACTOr, you just suffer from, as our favorite donut maker puts it, "an absence of tact".

Strikingly scenic drive up US219 Snow Highway yesterday afternoon. Tucker county, everything but the roads are plastered with snow. Garrett County same thing, deep creek lake is white, people out on the snow covered ice. If you are still planning to get in on this you'd better quit planning and GET BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Made it to Timberline (and the Canaan Valley) for the first time this weekend. Place rocks. Off the Wall, Thunderdraft, Almost heaven, and trees all over the place...best terrain variety this side of Plattekill.

But I really don't understand the decision to blast snowmaking guns, in a snowstorm, on a holiday weekend, on both (a) the signature beginner trail off the top and (b) one of the most consistent-pitch top-to-bottom runs on the mountain. It's one thing to endure a some face-pelting while traversing back to the lift as the price of admission for tasty lines through the trees, but holy crap I'd be pissed if I came to Timberline to ski the "longest trail in the South" only to have "snow" guns blast me in the face all day.

But other than that, the place rocked this weekend, as did the Valley as a whole. Can't wait to make it back...

Welcome to Timberline!

...the old "we have your money, you have our sympathy" deal, heh...fun or funny surface yesterday am---3" of new wet mank on top of firm below---super fun on the steeps, super sticky on the flats...seems like it got warm enough monday afternoon and now everything has set up solid...snow tapered off around noon and then started back up w/ droppin' temps and wind in the afternoon...probably got a 2-4 more inches yesterday afternoon/last night but its hard to tell with the wind, cold 10 degrees F this am with howlin' winds...all in all, been great Feb. w/ about 60 inches of snow so far this month and no real melt down...base is good everywhere---all we need is some icing on this cake...will make some laps this morn...

wooot

Based on my out of the wind spot, I'd say we got about 3-4" of fluff in just the overnight hours after the temps dropped. All the snow from the morning/afternoon seemed to have just welded itself to the snowpack since it was like 33 degrees, never adding up to anything measurable by the naked eye, till this morning

...surpisingly, great surface condish today...really good top to bottom drift/windblown snow stashes to be had...no crowds at all, as usual...

...forecast has changed up a bit and looks like we could possibly have another 6" by morning...that would be good...

Doggie ski in Blackwater on the trails by the lake this eve...nice powder on top of good thick base..... graters are out cuttin off snowbanks and drifts on the roads so there is room to push more...
"tis the season" ... ski to the store if you want.

...well, that was a bust...looks like not even an inch--just a dustin'...but it is quite cold---4 degree F...

So what is happening up there this AM? Thinking about CVR tomorrow or Sunday.

light drizzle this am. powder surface isn't really crusty from it yet. dreamy glade powder skiing late yesterday though..the snow and wind stopped skies cleared and it turned bluebird around 3 or so....wow! I suspect the higher terrain and in the woods will fair much better from this light rain, but what else happens today remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, it's just gonna add to the deep bomber natural base for any coming snows, since the temps aren't going to cause much melt in the coming days.

[/quote]

Made it to Timberline (and the Canaan Valley) for the first time this weekend. Place rocks. Off the Wall, Thunderdraft, Almost heaven, and trees all over the place...best terrain variety this side of Plattekill.


But other than that, the place rocked this weekend, as did the Valley as a whole. Can't wait to make it back... [/quote]

Aw, now the secret is out to more folks. We don't need no more flatlanders in our little chunk of paridise even if it's the best around.

Plattekill is on my list; I've heard a lot of praise for it. but I've never really understood why people rave about Timberline's trees. It's pretty limited. The chance to make more than 3-4 turns without crossing someone else's tracks is pretty small. Whitegrass is much better.

...freezing rain and sleet for two or three hours this am...not a snow melting event, but definetily firm and glacial on the groomed stuff this afternoon...

I suspect you hear so much about Timberline's trees because they are about the only wide open Lift served trees in the area. Try skiing in an unmarked unofficial tree run at Snowshoe and you will probably lose your pass.

Sure WG's trees are better, they require work to enjoy. Stick a lift over there and add an equal amount of skier traffic and they would get tracked up pretty quickly too.

Yup. But there ain't none.

YMMV. I got 15+ tree runs in @ T-Line last Sunday. Holiday weekend. Over half the runs were top to bottom untracked, with maybe one short skied out crux. In all runs I got more than 3-4 turns untracked. In the past four years or so, I've had numerous midweek days skiing pretty much untracked all day.

I'm far from being one of the top skiers @ T-Line. But one thing I can do is find/ski lines that most can't. That really ups my untracked percentage. Plus not teaching lessons.

Lower angle more open tree shots are becoming way too popular and are getting tracked out more more quickly. So YMMV. Depends upon what you want to/can ski.

Trees are getting way too popular. Had to stop one time on Sunday since a group of three or so was totally blocking the line. And they weren't ski patrol.

I think we need to post less on the web.

You kids and your online abbreviations...


1. YMMV

Literally means "Your mileage may vary" but is often used in forum talk meaning that your results will vary

"There is a great sale going on at the store, most under $10, but YMMV"

Urban Dictionary

LOL.

Or ROTFLMAO.

gusty winds and freezing rain can make it miserable to be outside...unless you are a husky dog... but a foot of bullet-proof base in the woods ain't a bad thing...waiting for the changeover

and just like that. fierce winds and freezing rain stopped...click..hello snow

I am anxious to see the snowfall totals over the next few days. Hopefully it will make for a very good weekend in "The Valley".

Best news is the Dave Lesher is reporting 11" of base this AM after the rain yesterday. New snow on top of bomber base = bring out the Pocket Rockets.

Barring some unforeseen emergency I will definitely be at TL this Friday (march 1st). Does anyone want to meet up? I can't be there Saturday or Sunday, unfortunately.

I'll be working there Friday; stop by ski school lineup and we can make some turns if I am un assigned.

Hoping for friday as well.

Cool. Let me know if you make it out there. For anyone else that wants to meet up, I'll be at the bottom of the lift (the one that goes over Silver Streak) at 10 am. Me: glasses, goatee, gray helmet, grayish jacket, green ski boots.

Wish I could be out there Friday, but alas, work... I see Lesher is reporting 1.7 inches new this morning, 1.1 the day before, and Whitegrass is reporting 2 - 3 inches of fresh this morning. Webcams look like it is snowing a bit out there at the moment. How are things skiing out there today? Have the temps been cold enough to turn the wet granular base into a man made glacier already? How much do you think will fall between now and Saturday when the snow is supposed to stop? I am looking forward to skiing this weekend. Should be a good way to usher in the month of March.

When I get back home Friday evening I'll be sure to post a report on conditions...

Gotta pay the ski bills on Friday unfortunately, so no go for me.

this is a valley condition thread, not a ski meetup thread

We are currently under a "purple powder alert" for the next few days or more. It doesn't happen often, may be a few times a season. In case you do not know what that means, it means GET HERE NOW...change your plans or do whatever it takes if you want to ski in epic powder on base conditions.

Listen to chaga. I've never met him but he sounds very wise.

Will you be @TL on Friday? I guessing whitegrass, right?

I'll be there...caught a number of PPAs this winter.

WG reporting 5" so far today as of 3:30pm, woohoo!

I'm hoping to head over this weekend...

Lesher reported 4 inches since yesterday, so nearly 7 inches since the rain quit. Hopefully we squeeze out a few more inches per day through the weekend. I'll definitely be in the valley Saturday and Sunday sampling the goods seeing what the "purple powder alert" is all about. Winter won't be here too many more weeks, time to get some while it lasts.

T-line's spreadsheet says it got 5.5 inches, it also says they are still blowing some snow in a few spots. Is that true or did they shut down the guns like most Mid-A places do after President's Day?

I was up at CV yesterday with some friends. Terrific snow in the trees and great powder runs all day long! This is certainly a week with snow conditions that should not be missed!

CV shows 12" on 3/1 and 10" on 2/28 on the "On the Snow" app on my phone. Can this be true?

It has now been changed to 2" and 5", respectively.

About 1" of the most blower of pows here this AM. Guessing the Valley got a nice shot. Unfortunately I'm heading in the wrong direction to play Army and to take a PT test. Boo!!

Anyone skipping out on work any this week?

Spent the night in davis with friends..snowing when we got there...snowed harder when we went out to dinner...woke up to a shake em up xmass bottle while walking the dogs in some deep doo doo..im talkin SNOW...couldnt keep the smile off my face.....The beginning.....

I was there for the Purple Powder Alert and all I can say is "WOW". Today was off the chart.

the skiing can't get any better...only deeper.

cross-country downhill anywhere! random woods skiin in the neighborhood with athey lutz



mount porte crayon is next!

I couldn't agree more... today was utterly PERFECT! There was about 6" of the lightest powder imaginable over another 6" or so of settled powder with a BOMBER base below... you could ski anything! It was still coming down pretty good when I pulled out of Canaan at 4. I'm sure tomorrow will only be better... tlines webcam shows it's still dumping!







It's so tempting to play hookie from work tomorrow, but I might save that for the next big storm coming on Wednesday

Gotta say the Purple Powder Alert paid priceless pow dividends. It just kept snowing all weekend, amazing a place that gets so much snow exists straight west of DC which has got just about zero snow this winter. Skied at both T-Line and CV Saturday and Sunday. (I love the ski the valley pass its the best thing going if you don't have a season pass and will be there for two days) Loved the woods at T-Line particularly the ones between upper Thunderstruck and Almost Heaven, and found a bunch of untracked deep snow in the trees to the skiers right of Twister this afternoon. Next winter I need to get one of you T-line connoisseurs to show me how to get into the Cherry Bowl section, I would imagine that those glades would have been amazing this weekend since they are harder to find, not right next to main trails. The Drop and White Lightning were both skiing excellently, those two were better on Saturday than on Sunday. (since they hadn't been skied up by the weekend crowds yet) Didn't enjoy Off the Wall too much, by the time I got to it, mid day Saturday it had deep snow in piles with some icy scraped off patches on the back side of the moguls, and was littered with about 10 people trying to figure out how to get down so I had to do the human slalom on moguls with deep snow separated by scraped off patches.

CV was awesome as well this weekend, late in the day yesterday I found some shin deep stuff on the sides of Dark Side of the Moon and Prosperity. Today was excellent, plenty of places with light powder shin deep, even knee deep in a couple of places where it drifted nicely. The runs down Gravity, the Meadows and Darkside of the Moon this morning at CV were some of the most fun I've had all winter. I really wish I could ditch work when this next storm comes through Wednesday or Thursday, but I don't think I will be able to pull it off. More than a foot of snow on top of what is already there, Yes Please!

Where exactly is this Cherry bowl??

Don't know, exactly where Cherry Bowl glades are, they aren't on a trail map. I've heard of them a number of times though . I think its past Off the Wall.

Looks like my streak of getting there a day early or a day late continues - Friday was really good but the weekend looks like it was off the charts! Glad you guys had such great conditions.

Nothing @ T-Line is hard to find and all major glades were skied out by noon or so.

John, probably true, but they aren't on a marked or on a map or right next to another trail so many including myself don't go track them out. Some of the glades, even though they were "skied out" by noon still were a lot of fun because the snow was so light that the piles of it didn't really try to grab your skis and what was underneath was fairly soft.

I'll admit to being spoiled by the past five or so years. Traffic in the T-Line glades has increased 3-4x this year. (I'm starting to agree a bit more with Denis.) Very high ratio of unskilled snowboarders who scrape all the snow off a narrow steep section in the trees by skidding sideways downhill. (I'm not anti-snowboarder by any means cuz folks like Tucker and Liz can absolutely rip. But fact of the matter is that a poorly skilled boarder can wreck a tight line much worse than a poorly skilled skier can.)

Plus I'm starting to see some of the stupidity in terms of skill level v terrain and traversing across untracked pow that a lot of the Western hard cores have been complaining about for years.

btw, it looked much the same at snowshoe this weekend. Their trees are a bit more challenging but with this much snow we caught neither root nor branch nor stump. shin deep powder was common. slopes otoh never did cover well, but who cares. it was soooo good.

...if anyone missed it a couple post back, that picture chaga posted wasn't at a ski area-- it was in the backcountry up here...everything goes now...lots of folks firin' up the backcountry this past weekend...now it the time to fire up lines that only go a couple time a year if that...this week is the week to do...

...got about 7" of snow yesterday/last night...that makes for 17" in the last 4 days..local news this morning is calling for possibly 1-2 feet more by thursday...it's monday, the start of the midweek/have the place to yourself part of the week...I would strongly recommend skiin' the valley lift service during the week and letting the legs rest or hittin' whitegrass or backcountry during the weekends when the crowds are around...this week is gonna be a good one...time to make the donuts...

You are definitely right on the unskilled snowboarder scraping off paths in the trees. Actually they are even worse on relatively steep groomers like White Lightning and the Drop where they scrape off huge patches of snow all over. I am sure a lot the stupidity comes in when new skiers see untracked snow they just want to get a taste of it but don't actually have the skills to ski it, so they just ski a straight line across it from groomer to groomer.

I can't claim to be a truly skilled skier, and am guilty of not always skiing in the fall line sometimes skiing around two or three trees with wider turns, though I can slalom around a single line of trees particularly in moderate and lower angle woods. I try to keep my speed moderate in the trees to avoid the same fate as Sonny Bono. But I'm improving and everyone has to start somewhere with skiing ungroomed terrain. Two years ago I took a foray into the woods at Timberline wound up flailing and retreating back to the groomers, now I am relishing them. With any luck, and a few lessons, two years from now I'll be the guy I see now and think, "that looks suicidal", skipping through the trees and down bump runs at speed from top to bottom making it look effortless.

Timberline.

At CV yesterday, the wife complained that there was too much snow.

So... how good was it today?

Really Abe. Must you

Blue Knob and Whitetail were not comparable. Quantity over quality. Quantity over quality......

Hey, that's not stupidity, that's adventurous. Who doesn't want a little taste of the good stuff? The closer woods to slopes are always going to get the traffic. You have to learn somewhere and off-piste is the popular thing now, everyone wants to do it. That chaga pic is marvelous, looks like he found the right spot. Go there!

It turned bluebird about 11am... since my real job isn't at a ski area, I didn't get to ski till 5, but noticed some lower sun baked open areas may have a slight cakey dense layer, but pure powder skiin still elsewhere. Epic headlamp glade runs in untouched powder with the doggies at WG this eve. Skiing has not been this good in a few years here.

Vision is highly overrated.

Actually, I dun't get too upset about snowboarders scraping snow off of trails; plenty of width on the trails to ski around the carnage. Not so for the steeper, narrower tree shots.

With the exception of a couple of spots, I'm not hating on anyone who hits the trees near the blues. Talking aboot some diff stuff. One or two slots near the blues got really trashed, but looking at the trashing tracks, it ain't skiers. (Only way down is via those slots so that's why I get ticked off.) If it's separated by a tree or two from a trail, it's almost part of the trail. So go for that. (I may hate a bit at some of the locals who over-thined a glade or two and made them too accesible.)

If you yard-sailed in da trees or traversed across the entire glade, no worries. (I hug a tree on occasion myself.) Talking about some other stuff which you haven't mentioned.

Nothing wrong with hugging a tree - just don't get too fresh.

JohnL, I'm guessing some of those lines you were talking about on Friday opened up by Sunday?

By Saturday. Or at least I did a better job finding them on Saturday. Can't remember what I was looking for when I skied with you and what I was looking for when I skied with LaurelHillCrazie.

But the main lines (and some of my off the beaten track) lines got tracked out quickly on both Sat and Sun.

But I've also come to the conclusion that
1) Deadfall from Sandy is cutting down a lot of the lines
2) Recent scrub growth is also cutting down a lot of the lines
3) Some of the evergreens have gotten bigger

Head to Canaan ski area..the final frontier..

Canaan should expand and TL should follow with these mini slopes thru the trees..10 to 20 feet wide.
They are super fun and give you a little less chance for a tree hugging event...although..Betterhalfski chose me over a tree when she kind of panicked a little!

Canaan gets the best slope conditions award over TL..
Anybody ski Almost Heaven or OTW this weekend?..I hardly ever fall but down I went down on Almost Heaven after getting used to decent conditions on all the other runs..I wasn't prepared for the ice ...The slope should have been closed!!!...
Every run at Canaan was expertly split between groomed and natural bumped up powder...AND..with a can of food you could ski all day for 15 bucks yesterday and also today with the buy one get one...
Canaan ski area will rule the Roost one day with the potential that mtn has...TOO pretty to fail..I hope!

I'm thinking that this is one of the storms that you need to ski during the storm. Wednesday will be the best, Thursday am might be too late for blower type pow.

...winner, winner, chicken dinner...

the temps for blower pow are not here, that was sunday conditions
it has started snowing, but barely freezing right now. Hope it's not too heavy, for both skiing and power outs...



Uh hello... there is a place between both of those resorts that has 50 kilometers of what you speak of already

I plan on showing up at the Shack starting next year..then even more time over there the next year after Chaga...getting all my ducks in a row for an early retirement...and yes...a skier can not live on alpine alone if given enough time..

I posted on the weather thread that I didnt think the snow would be all that wet after the 1st couple of inches...at midnite it was 23 at 4200' and 27 at 3200'..jus sayin..

Snow on top seems pretty light this AM. Not too windy, knock, knock. Not epicly deep, but pretty solid amount and still snowing.

Tucker was making donuts, Chaga was practicing for Whitegrass, Voila was on every board imaginable, and JohnL was wiping lipstick off his snorkle.

Knee deep every run. Blues were almost unskiable; there was too much snow and not enough pitch. Even on 90mm and on an upgrade to 98 mm in the PM.

Nuff said. Trees need some traffic to make the lower-angle stuff more skiable. Volunteers?

way to get after it John. I guess you'll have to be an army of one. No new snow up here but fun conditions. Skied MRG again today, just me, Vince and Marc. MRG currently has 90% soft fun snow surface and 10% polished rock.
We ski MRG again tomorrow AM then drive back to NOVA. Please get the roads plowed for us.
Here is a link to some photos taken up north last few days.
http://www.epicski.com/t/118891/2013-east-coast-gathering-northern-vermont

JohnL,
Save me some snow, I'll be down Friday. Work is interfering!!!

JimK,

I've been following your posts on Epic. You've been skiing great terrain; Sugarbush, Stowe, MRG. Doesn't get much better than that. And every pic I see of Vince, he is really ripping it in great form. I see a Level 3+ in his future.

Charlie,
Hurry! Hurry!

...yep, made some donuts and even had a chicken dinner...been ridin' the valley 60-100 days a season for the last 13 years and yesterday was as good as any day has been for surface conditions, with the perfect amount of bottomless for the steepest of angles around(anything deeper would have been to much for the pitch)...that sentiment seemed to be the local consensus....with that snow on top of the 80+ inches we have had in the last month it was a fire up any line at high speed kind of day while launchin' anything in the woods at full speed(no turning---just direction changes)....unfortunately, as soon as closing bell, the lift service, pay to play area I throttled yesterday looked like they were going out to groom the most perfect product a skier could ask for....sooo for fresh, western like natural snow surface-- the woods and areas where groomers can't fit will be just as good as yesterday until about noon today when those areas will be all eatin up because of high traffic...With that in mind---for thursday afternoon or all day at one place thursday in the valley, I would recommend Canaan Valley Resort for the lazy folk, Whitegrass for epic powder seekers who ain't scared to use their legs going up hill, and or any backcountry in the canaan area (stick to the higher angle stuff today...things should start to settle a bit for lower angle by friday)...for friday/saturday/sunday, if weather predictions hold true, Whitegrass and/or backcountry is strongly recommendable for all three days---should be plenty of pow and lots of skier's buzz and celebration at whitegrass for the weekend (they really know their product over there)...might be able to still find some fresh at Canaan as well on Friday, but maybe less than usual---seems as though locals are coming out of the woodworks for this memorable cycle...

What a day!
(oups... gotta go)

if you know tucker, you know he is fairly reserved and quiet in real life, so hearing him yell, "F@!# YEAH" while runnin untouched lines in the steep trees on multiple runs, is enough said about conditions here right now.

i managed one pic yesterday...was hopin for more, but as tucker said, "this isn't a stop and take pictures type of day"

Awesome Pic Chagman!...I just posted it to all those folks who I dont know that have asked to be "Friended" on Facebook...I Guess I am seriously the Man now!!

What?..I wear a black n red jacket with the same type of helmet..

Conditions are still near-perfect!
Today's calling for some sun - with a bunch of snow everywhere. Should be nice.
I can get you a photographer on a moment's notice - even on a powder day.
24-hours notice required

The "Special" Local Calendar:
Fri: Lift
Sat: Morning Lift rides
Sat: Working - Afternoon backcountry at White Grass
Sun: Working - Backcountry in the Sods
Monday: Back to the lift

Enjoy Chaga!

...I have no legs, I have no legs...going to need some performance enhancing drugs this a.m. to keep the non-stop day 4 of this seek and destroy mission going....without a doubt, whitegrass will have the best of the powdery goods today before it starts to warm up...

...here is a pic from the whitegrass website of surface conditions at whitegrass on friday...



"Bridger (6) getting his first taste of air friday in Cathedral Cliffs."

A brief trip report (with a few pics) I posted on Epic Ski:

http://www.epicski.com/t/119120/snowquester-and-aftermath-in-west-virginia-3-6-3-10

WVSkier posts as David here.

Nice report! Guess you cancelled those tickets out west...

currently serving fluffy lake-flake powder on base. low angle trees were super sweet last eve with the few inches of new fluff over the crusty base, yet steeper stuff was also controllable and nice, and the drift lines were dreamy...snowed a few more inches overnight too..some of the best conditions of the year...again....can't wait to ski again this afternoon!

Brutal.. I would have loved to be there today!

guess tucker left this column up to me, and I am only speaking of natural snow cover, so..... about 3" or more of snow overnight into monday on about a natural base that is immature corn, but getting a little firmer and compacted. sunday skiing in the woods where there was was 12-20" of manky snowpack was pretty challenging to turn in!....although the best way to combat that is to not turn so much! (winner winner chicken dinner) The extra powder snow made it much nicer today. This afternoon rain/freezing rain turned the powder wet, but skiing this evening was actually pretty darn sweet in the woods as everything compacted and firmed up a bit with the rain and coldish temps. Love the variety of conditions we get in canaan since it is after all in the mid-atlantic....most of which produce some darn fine skiing in there own little way!

...that was the idea from the get go...


...looks like this season whitegrass will be the first to open and the last to close for skiing...

White Grass really rocks - any which way we cut it.
I know i will be on the upper plateau this weekend - deep into the woods - and then having a great lunch at White Grass.

On a different note, here's a classic we will remember for a long time:
"Welcome to Canaan Valley... now go home (scratch that, we are closed)"

Skiing this eve was fast and fun again as it was last eve. With the past weekend of slight warmth and a little rain on the latest powder over the past weekend, then windy cold the past few days, the natural snowpack has become fully settled, firm, and ready for corn season. Could not ask for a better base than this..it could yield great corn skiing for a long time. The cold temps for this week don't look like they will produce any sweet corn skiing though... luckily an inch of fresh this eve just fell on top of it so far and maybe more to come, so for now, dust on crust, even though I will still ski on just crust since I have nothing better to do!

man sorry i so have to call you on this one - "eve" ?!?!? WTF *EVE* ??!!! What like Edger Allen Poe?

ooo - kkkk !

...10 degrees at the house this morning...2-3 inches last nigt, calling for 1-3 more inches today...might be good surface today...looks like skiing should be good well into April if this keeps up...

...just noticed that we just pushed by the 200" mark for the season in the valley...also just noticed that Whitegrass is announcing more than 90 days this season where 100% of their trails have been open with 120 days of skiable terrain---that's far more than both the other valley resorts that have manmade snowmaking....

Originally Posted By: fishnski
"Anyway..get some popcorn..sit back...and hopefully we can enjoy the movie!"

Dont forget the previews this week...getting ahead of ourselves..(end of quote)

Chomp..chomp..crunch.....hmmm..nice preview!
SS cked in with 4...waiting for the main event.

Conditions were pretty sweet today. 3-6" all around the mtn. Drifted in even more if you knew where to look. Although it did sit right ontop of some crusty stuff. Skied pretty nice though.

...another cold, 8 degree, start to the morning...just a dusting last night, but all eyes are focused on the pow event for Sunday Night-Tuesday---could be a good refresher with deeeeep amounts...

..lookin' at the number for the year we are at 50" for the month of march and that brings us to the second snowiest march in at least the last 15 years...if we get 12 more inches(which is likely after mon/tues) then it will make this march the snowiest in at least the last 15 years and will make the combined snowfall this feb/march the snowiest in at least the last 15 years, surpassing the 2003 and 2010 numbers!!!I'll have to look back but, it could go even further...

...the skiing will go well into april at whitegrass, but it looks like the local lift served areas have given up and are throwing in the towel with plenty of product left on the slopes...if they are going to continue to close down with so much snow left on the slopes then hopefully in the future they will make it a priority to open more terrian earlier and not pass on all the snowmaking oppotunities in November, atleast that has been the local opinion from everyone over the last few days when discussing these resorts closing with so much product left that will go wasted...

Sounds like the perfect time to close a resort for 3 days! Come on, it was 80 degrees this time for the last 2 years, might as well close up this year too.

Thinking of hiking for some turns at whitegrass midweek with my alpine gear (I have a harness that I can use to carry my skis on my back). Looks like maybe Tuesday would be the day to do this?

I don' t think WG let's you post hole up. May need snowshoes. Better check.

Post holing up not only sucks to do, but is highly frowned upon at WG. Rent snowshoes if you must. Better yet, just make your life easier and get the most out of the skiing there and rent some of the waxless tele gear... fat ski's (with scales for climbing) plastic boot, etc. Ski up instead of hike up and never have to futz with gear or even have to mess with skins.

Some people are afraid of em because they think they have to tele on them and think it's impossible to make apline turns with a tele binding, but they are sadly mistaken. It's all about uphill efficiency, and the ski's are easily the best vehicle for that when you don't have a lift

Yup. I parallel turn a lot on my tele gear, at WG, and at lift-served.

One year some of us regs took an alpine-only guy to White Grass on his first/only time on tele ski rentals and he killed it in the Baldy Glades, Pipeline, and Natl Nordic.

My first time at WG, 12 yrs or so ago, I snowshoed up and snowboarded down. The ups sucked, as I watched my friends on waxless skis run cirles around me as I switched my gear around. I vowed that day to learn how to go downhill on XCD gear.

Cool, thanks for the advice. I have heard different opinions on how "natural" it feels to do alpine turns in tele gear if you have never done it but I guess the only way to know for sure is to try it and see. If I make it out to WG next week this is the route I will take.

Thanks again!

Well, i didn't say it was natural, only that it's possible. And that I do it a lot.

Ive always known that if I was able to spend more time up at my second home up at the Canaan/area that I would have to take up the "Canaan valley surface conditions"..(to keep on thread)..on non lift stuff..
Next xmass I plan on having all my ducks in a row for an early retirement...I'll be 53 and im going to set myself free!...anyhoot..getting real curious about this gear...can you lock the heels down when needed?

And..what is the ski etiquette at the shack..do we tip the rental staff...is it rude to turn down offers of Moonshine...or is it rude to double sip?...Do we have to eat granola bars..or can we sip on a big gulp with a twinkie...We just want to fit in and would like to understand the culture there...do I have to renounce the republican party?...ect....what is the appropiate distance into the woods to relieve ourselves...smoking allowed on trails?...Ill be there..one way or another..

Whoa, slow down pardner. First things first. 1) Grow a beard.



Look at some of the AT threads on DCSki.

http://www.wildsnow.com/ for edumification.

For limited climbing with full alpine boots and skis, look at (bindings) Marker Duke/Barrons, Atomic Trackers, etc. (Several other choices out there which escape me right now. Salomon and Tyrolia and others.) Alpine bindings that have the heal release for uphill climbs (with skins) and lock down for descents. Burly, but ok for limited uphills.

Don't skin without skins...


I've got some video evidence of its ineffectiveness.

Sometimes my life is one big science experiment...

(censered) on the beard...I wont clog up this thread with questions..Ill go back and ck out the threads and do some Internet research..
I dont like the Idea of heavy Alpine boots though and will prob go with the Tele Waxless I guess...And skiem Alpine style...I aint doing that Knee bending stuff...Ok..one question...What kind of boots do you use with Tele?
I have another question on skins and how they work and how much of a PITA they are to use..but I wont ask it here...

Uh, tele boots.

They need to mate with the tele bindings. Different mating styles.

I see folks walking on the trails at WG all the time. I see the staff poluting the air by burning cardboard and foam then bitching at people for having their own skis on in the parking lot with 8" of fresh snow everywhere.

Fishyski

If you are not intending to tele don't waste your time with tele gear, you will be dissapointed. If you want to tour and lock your heels you want some type of AT gear. The last several years AT boots and bindings have gotten 10X better and lighter. Look around and do some home work. Surf over to TGR read and search the threads, all your questions will be answered there.

Preciate that Budro!

What Scotty said. I rented a backcountry waxless setup with tele boots a couple of weeks ago to ski over from CVR to Baldy. The trip over was fantastic! But the trip down was sketchy!! And I didn't get to enjoy the powder nearly as much. It's rough trying to "fake" alpine turns on tele gear that light. Although, I was able to alpine just fine on the groomed trails at CVR.

PM me if you have any questions. I will help ya if I can.

...skys are starting to grey and snowy forecast is strong for next few days...IF the forecast is correct for tonight, then tommorrow looks like it could be some of the best surface conditions of the season here in canaan valley with deep pow...looks like its gonna be a whitegrass kind of week this week...if you like deep snow and winter weather this is going to be a great week to be in the valley before things start to turn...

So Tucker, with Tline being open tomorrow, does that change your plans to ski WG tomorrow?

...very nice...yes, I am a lazy slave to the lifts and addicted to high speed seek and destroy pow runs...props to Fred for coming around, hopefully he will get a chance to go out and make some turns tom. in some deep fresh powder, have some fun, and see what all the fuss was about...

...for the record please note the "IF" disclaimer...from glancin' at the tops of the vehicles this am looks like just a couple inches last night(maybe/possibly a few more up on the hill)...still should be good surface but will most likely be touchin' bottom...it is supposed to snow a couple more inches today...will have to see how it plays out through the day...

Oh no, we have 5" on the ground down the hill in Winchester and was hoping for an epic day up there! Kids out of school, warm, roads not bad... Still better than work I bet!

And of course, Timberline's webcam is down.
Our Motto: "Anything worth doing is worth doing half-assed".

Any snow totals for da valley?

I could not get off work Monday but gonna give it heck on Tuesday.

Looks like it's thursday or nothing for me. NWS says there is a chance of snow Tuesday and Wednesday so maybe it will be OK.

..ok, the intro to this snow event was one of the storms that rolled through the valley and had extremely varying localized amounts(reminds me of summer time rain storms---sometimes getting an inch of rain in valley, but nothing at heights or davis, etc)...not much at all at my house in the middle of the valley this am, but I'd say probably 8" this am over at tline to start off the day and probably 2" more throughout the day...conditions were very good (2nd best surface conditions day of the year---best condish day going to that bottomless dumper a couple wed'days ago..still touchin' bottom today)...still don't understand the logic behind the widespread grooming of powder--the sweetest surface known to man or beast, but nonetheless the ungroomed surfaces were above average with the already existing base in woods...seemed like a lot of very happy customers over there with the decision to re-open this week...still snowing now...it is recomendable to get out to the valley over the next few days...

Yeah... exactly what he said!
Thanks Tucker for all the hard work - they aren't saying much here because they wish they were still boarding... sorry, I meant SKIING.

Definitely get out there. You won't regret it!!

We call this "do no wrong" powder conditions. The snow wasn't real flaky, but almost graupel, making a medium body powder surface that covers everything real nice. Think plush thick velvet over base. Nice heavy snow bands coming in on and off throughout the day that almost would cover your tracks though the woods after a few hours.....re-loadable freshies. I hate to sound like a broken record, but yet another epic ski day in the land of milk and honey.

Did you end up ditching your friend at Snowshoe?

It's killing me that I wont be able to make it out there on Tuesday, but I am still holding out hope for Thursday. Will the powder locusts (TM) have left anything? Really hoping for some lake effect over the next couple days.

Any word on the storm total accumulation in CV so far?

A couple of inches so far....

Yeah, sure?!
The Colonel

Yeah, is that wrong of me??

Now the question is who had the better conditions?
The Colonel

I can tell you who had better tree skiing...

nope.

Have you ever skied the new glades at Snowshoe, including those new this year? If so, how do they compare with the wonderful glades at TLine?
Anybody?
The Colonel

They don't

David,
Wait, you did not answer the first question...ever skied the glades, especially the new ones this year, at Snowshoe?
I agree, the glades at Timberline "rock", and are different than the more prescribed ones at Snowshoe. But I am looking for an opinion from a DCSkier who has skied both, albeit the more limited glades at Snowshoe.
The Colonel

I've skied all of but whatever is new this year.

I actually skied Sawmill and Knot Bumper Glades this past Monday. They're pretty good, but definitely get tracked out / bumped up very quickly (even on a weekday). They're definitely a nice addition, but still not as a nice as Timberline's glades!

Snowshoe has the best of everything, glades, groomers, plush lodging, a Starbucks, nice restaurants, a village, fast lifts, and lbotta, What more could you ask for?

Why would anyone want to ski Timberline when you can ski the Shoe?

Because it is cheaper all around, closer to DC, has no Starbucks, less corporate, better ski school, fewer rules and is home to a fantastic X-Country resort.

Because their customers mention "Starbucks" as a reason to ski the Shoe.

I see what you did there.

back to the TOPIC of the thread please!

today's (3/27/2013) surface conditions:

It just won't stop... NWS calling for 2-4" more this afternoon!

Any word on how much more the valley picked up in the last 24 hours?

Nearly 2' since monday. 22" in my backayard at Davis.

..."I have no legs, I have no legs"...surfaces will be good anywhere in the valley today...but for knee to thigh deep fresh powder runs head to whitegrass as seen above in chaga's pics...there will still be plenty of untracked pow like that over there...or if you know any of the other backcountry spots, todays the day before it starts to consolidate...

Can't get there until tomorrow. Should still be good and maybe even spring like with bluebird skies. I missed 3 days of almost epic conditions in the valley. Ullr smiles upon the valley people and sends his blessing of copious pow-pow.

Snow is coming down pretty hard right now in the Valley. Powder day tomorrow??

Well, by some standards, yes. About 1-2" on top of softer wetter granular. Firmer and dryer the higher you go of course. But the clouds cleared around sunset, so that should be it for snow. Tomorrow should offer up some decent skiing off piste with powder on top and the base should dry and firm a little more. I bet the low angle stuff will be great, and steeper stuff will be very controllable. (Just an observation after skiing to bald knob and back down early evening)

the hills are currently serving sweet corn

Snowmobiles race well on sweet corn surface?

cringe.... I guess I will leave the doggie at home while skiing soft bumps so he doesn't chase snowmobiles...saturday should be sweet!

I luv me sum corn.

I wouldn't object if your doggie left a present (or two) in the snowmobile course.

...sweet spring surface at whitegrass yesterday...still unbelievable deep coverage on main slope and in the trees...still go where you want skiing over there...good folks out enjoying it...started out as dog ski but lost one dog to ear piercing gone bad with lots of bloody snow---dog should be back in commission for skiing today...

friends hurting friends from roughhousing is unfortunate, but at least no evidence of the bloodbath remains as that snow is in the river now!

For any future nice corn experience, Tline should have the goods on the slopes. The natural snow pack may be still fairly deep on higher northfacing areas, yet there hasn't been any thaw/freeze cycles in a number of days, so it's pretty much mash potatoes. Tline has that solid iceberg packed base acting like a refrigerator and keeping the mank layer in check, though temps should be close to 70 again today, so things are goin fast. fri/sat nights look to have some near freezing temps, so the corn might be great this weekend on the drop and otw.

At least no rain so far to really wipe out the snow....and hopefully a dry spring/summer for mountain bikers and especially those builders!

...really sweet spring skiin' yesterday afternoon and evenin'...nieghborhood gang out with some dogs and beers doing laps, always a great time...its about 30 degrees this morning, so it should have set up last night and should be sweet corn today around nooner or so...

...once again, awesome corn snow skiin' yesterday afternoon in the valley...did a bunch of laps...hate to brag, but I got one hell-of-a good skiin' dog---in the last 2 weeks she has found a pair of sunglasses, a nice watch and 2 wallets---don't worry Mr. Holland, your wallets in the mail...the other wallet is local and should be worth atleast a beer or 2...should be great skiing again this afternoon...was just thinking that this makes skiing everymonth in the valley for the last 7 consecutive months...

Sounds like a blast. As I'm roasting for a month playing here in San Antonio...

I concur on the great corn yesterday. And today was mtn biking followed by some skiing. Can't say that too many places on the east coast. (Ran into tuckers dog biking with his better half today, the doggie did pretty good biking too)
I also concur on the corn today...so nice. Did a few laps on otw with a friend i happened to run into out there. The lost and found continues also....verizon phone, nice gopro mount and even a bra. Labs can find anything..

...aside from some random shorter couple turn shots---stick a fork in a fat lady...2012/2013 valley ski season officially closed...first day Oct. 30th...last day April 18th...ain't to bad really...

It snowed/graupple in Davis on 4-20, my Bday. No accumulation but it looked nice.

kWILL AND I found Thunderstruck April 20 quite nice still "skiable" from almost top to bottom, Just sayin'.

That dog has a ladies bra in his mouth. From a mardi gras tree? Looks like size 42 triple D.

...40 degrees in valley this morning, but still very muddy surface...

Chilly hiking last night in the dark in the Roaring Plains.

..snowin in canaan this am...

..snowin in canaan this am...

Test post

Test2

...2-3 inches of snow this am already, callin for 6-10 more during the day...not bone chilling cold yet...could be best day of the season so far in the valley this season for lift access....

...blackwater state park x-country trails skiing real nice this weekend...lots of trails set already, with plenty of coverage and winter wonderland tree tunnels...should be good all week...

FKNA!

Spent the last three days at Timberline. The fresh, dry snow rocks! Cold smoke....Everyone there is loving it.

Looks great! Did a family trip to T-line Jan. 17-20. Crowds weren't too bad for a holiday weekend. We're heading back up there Feb. 6-10. Anyone want to meet up for some turns? If cover is good, I'll likely be spending most of my time in the trees.

On a slow work day, I often watch the webcams and dream of going skiing.  It looks like it is snowing up in the valley.  The whitegrass report says they have two new inches.  Is it supposed to keep snowing today?

 

http://www.whitegrass.com/White%20Grass%20Webcams.html

WG webcam is showing new snow on the lower slope where there was bare ground yesterday.  Flags show wind from west, both good signs.

 

This system is winding down but it seems to be the begining of a snowy pattern for Canaan...I suspect that we will be seeing some vid posts from the Chagas and like in the next few weeks...im ready for part two of my winter!...(snowbirding)

Current Valley Surface Conditions- Pretty darn nice.