DCSki Newsroom

DCSki examines four Mid-Atlantic ski areas that have inspired years of reader speculation about untapped potential: Blue Knob, Canaan Valley, Laurel Mountain, and Winterplace. Drawing on their terrain, snowfall, infrastructure, ownership, and operating constraints, the feature considers what improvements might help each mountain deliver more of what skiers already value.

From his first turns on Blue Knob’s ice in 1967 to retirement winters in Utah, Jim Kenney has built a skiing life around family, friends, and a willingness to adapt. Drawing on more than 25 years of his DCSki stories, this retrospective follows his travels, revisits memorable days, and explores how he has kept enjoying the slopes into his seventies.

Skiing has become expensive, but bargains have not disappeared. DCSki looks across the Mid-Atlantic for the season passes, night tickets, family programs, lodging packages, and other offers that can still put skiers on the snow without draining the winter budget.

Buying a ski pass used to mean choosing a home mountain. And that was pretty much it. Today, Mid-Atlantic skiers must sort through national products, regional passes, reciprocal agreements, limited-day packages, blackout dates, and prices that change several times before winter. It can be overwhelming! DCSki tries to break through the confusion by examining the leading options for 2026-2027 and the skiers each one serves best.

One of the strongest El Niño events in the modern record is developing ahead of the 2026-2027 ski season, increasing the odds of an active, moisture-rich storm track across the East. DCSki looks at the latest forecasts, lessons from past El Niño winters, and the factors that could determine whether that moisture arrives at Mid-Atlantic ski areas as snow or rain.

Mid-Atlantic ski resorts are preparing for the 2026-2027 winter season with new lifts, expanded snowmaking systems, improved skier facilities, and major lodging projects. DCSki takes a closer look at the enhancements and upgrades underway across the region at resorts such as Seven Springs, Wisp, Wintergreen, Snowshoe, and Massanutten.

Once scattered across the Mid-Atlantic, hundreds of community ski hills, residential resorts, and ambitious mountain developments introduced generations to snowsports. Drawing on DCSk’s Lost Ski Areas archive and readers’ memories, this feature story traces their rise and decline, the forces that reshaped the regional ski industry, and the advantages that helped today’s resorts endure.

Vail Resorts has launched sales of its 2026/27 Epic Pass lineup, adding a new 20% discount on Epic and Epic Local Passes for skiers and riders ages 13–30. Early buyers will again receive up to 10 Epic Friend Tickets and eligible lift-ticket guests from this past season may receive additional savings toward next year’s pass.

After an extended stretch of cold temperatures earlier this month, ski resorts across the Mid-Atlantic were able to make snow aggressively, building strong early-season base depths and opening expanding terrain. DCSki provides a comprehensive snapshot of current conditions across the region as resorts head into the end of December. Photo: Opening Day at Big Boulder, shot by Ella Muir.

Resorts across the Mid-Atlantic have spent the offseason upgrading snowmaking systems, expanding terrain, improving lifts, and refreshing guest facilities in preparation for the 2025–26 winter season. These enhancements aim to deliver more reliable early-season openings, improved snow quality, and a better overall experience for skiers, riders, and families. DCSki provides a summary of key enhancements across the region in this feature story.