DCSki surveys the early-season snowmaking and opening activity at ski areas across the United States, from Mt. Rose and Colorado to Killington and Sunday River. While resorts such as Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, and Wolf Creek have already welcomed skiers and snowboarders, Mid-Atlantic ski areas are still waiting for a stretch of sustained cold weather.
DCSki looks back at nearly three decades of adaptive skiing coverage in the Mid-Atlantic, from early stories about mono-skis, bi-skis, and outriggers to the growth of organized programs, volunteer networks, and dedicated facilities. Along the way, the feature follows the athletes, instructors, and advocates who expanded access to the slopes, including longtime DCSki Columnist Connie Lawn, who eventually experienced adaptive skiing herself.
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.
A new category of “snowmaking in a box” equipment, led by systems like the Latitude 90, is designed to produce snow in conditions that would typically sideline traditional snowmaking. Massanutten is testing one on its tubing hill and Spring Mountain has installed two, offering early Mid-Atlantic examples of technology aimed at stabilizing operations during warm spells and fickle weather. While these systems are unlikely to replace conventional snowmaking across entire mountains, they could prove valuable as a targeted way to protect key terrain and revenue-critical periods when winter doesn’t cooperate. Learn more in this feature story. Above: A Latitude 90 system was installed this year at Virginia’s Massanutten Resort. (Photo by Massanutten Resort.)
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.
The majority of ski resorts in the Mid-Atlantic region are now open for the 2024-2025 winter season, with a variety of trails available for early-season skiing and snowboarding. Additional resorts are set to open in the coming days, supported by snowmaking efforts and natural snowfall. Above, Pennsylvania’s Roundtop Mountain began its 60th season on December 14, 2024. Photo provided by Haley Mowery / Roundtop Mountain.
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 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.
In late December, DCSki Columnist Robbie Allen visited Spring Mountain, a small ski area just outside of Philadelphia. He found that Spring Mountain offers a bit of midwestern-style skiing. He provides this Firsthand Report.
