Colorado’s Winter Park Resort is trying a different approach to priority lift access, rewarding passholders who ski during November and early December with dedicated lift lanes and other benefits later in the season. DCSki examines the Rope Drop Club and the growing debate over paid and passholder priority lines at ski resorts.
DCSki looks back at three developments that have reshaped Mid-Atlantic skiing over the past 25 years: the rise of multi-resort passes and corporate ownership, major advances in snowmaking, and substantial investments in lifts, facilities, and year-round resort operations. Together, these changes have influenced where skiers go, how resorts manage unpredictable winters, and how mountains build businesses beyond the ski season.
Night skiing has long been a defining part of the Mid-Atlantic ski experience, allowing school groups, working adults, and budget-minded skiers to hit the slopes after dark. DCSki looks at why available night-skiing hours have gradually decreased in recent years, and why skiing under the lights remains an important regional tradition.
Sustained cold temperatures have allowed Mid-Atlantic ski areas to ramp up snowmaking and begin opening for the 2025–26 winter season, with several resorts launching operations in the first week of December. Additional terrain and activities are expected to come online soon as snowmaking continues across the region. Above, an aerial view provided to DCSki by a skiing pilot shows snowmaking underway at Maryland’s Wisp Resort on December 1.
An arctic air mass has brought ideal snowmaking conditions to the Mid-Atlantic, enabling resorts across the region to prepare for their winter season openings, with many planning to open in early December. Resorts like Seven Springs, Wisp, Snowshoe, and Timberline Mountain are leading the charge, while others are building their bases for upcoming announcements. Photo by Heidi Lews / Hidden Valley Resort.
The recent stretch of cold temperatures has enabled robust snowmaking across the Mid-Atlantic region, and as a result, a handful of ski resorts across Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia plan to open in the coming days. In North Carolina, two ski areas have already opened for the season. In this story, we provide a look at official opening day plans shared by resorts as of November 29, 2023.
Below average temperatures in November have enabled a variety of ski areas across the entire Mid-Atlantic region to open for the season, giving skiers one extra thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
The Mid-Atlantic ski season is already underway, and additional ski areas are scheduled to come on-line the weekend of December 4-5. DCSki presents a complete roundup of open — and soon-to-open — ski areas in this December 1, 2021 update. Above, Pennsylvania’s Seven Springs Resort has been laying down snow in preparation for a December 4 opening.
The 2018-2019 winter season is off to a rocky start, with above-average temperatures throughout much of December. DCSki provides a roundup of current conditions and struggles across the Mid-Atlantic.
The past week saw the arrival of cold temperatures, and the dip in Mercury allowed ski areas to fire up their snowguns. Although lifts have already started running at several resorts, by the end of the December 16-17 weekend nearly every ski resort in the Mid-Atlantic will have kicked off its 2017-2018 winter season. DCSki has the latest opening information here.
