jonjon

5 minutes ago, RDM said:

Thanks for the info.  I've skied Wisp, White Tail and 7-Springs -   and heard of Cannan, Davis and the others you mentioned.  Just not into cross-country skiing.  

Skied the Springs a LOT years ago and had a big crew of telemark friends there.  I haven't used alpine gear since 1990 when I converted over to telemark/free heal while living in Germany.  Prefer extreme steep stuff with bumps - hard to find around here.  I've got beacons, probe poles etc and did a lot of off-piste excursions in the Alps where you can go anywhere you want (unlike out west where they punch your ticket and/or arrest you for going off-piste).  

But, I'm getting older too and tele skis are hard on the knees, but too much fun compared to alpine gear.  None the less, age may force me to return to the hard shell boot and fat skis at some point.  Thanks again

I think Whitegrass is more than just cross country (maybe I'm not as familiar with the semantics of cross country vs. telemark).  But they've got a 1200' vertical, and the locals not only free heel on their wonderful array of slopes, but also use the slopes of the two downhill resorts in the area.  I believe that area will have the most "free heelers" in the mid atlantic.

2 hours ago, RDM said:

How is Snowshoe?  Never skied it be before.  I telemark ski, or used to.  Haven't skied for a few years and want to get back into it.  

Always heard Snowshoe has about a 1500' drop, but Google Earth only shows about half that.  One advantage they have is altitude, but if they only have 7-800 feet of vertical, is it worth the drive?  

I'm spoiled having spent most of my ski days in the Alps (incredible vertical) or in Japan (fantastic snow), but have always been intrigued by Snowshoe.  How long does it take you to driver there?  Do you go 81 to Stauton and then west via SR-250?  Thanks

As mentioned, other than the two western slopes, most of Snowshoe's vertical is less than 800'.  If you're looking for a "resort" feel its better than most other options (lots of condos, restaurants, shops, etc. in the Village).

Another option that is an easier/shorter drive with as much (if not more) snow is the Canaan Valley area.  Timberline's vertical is 1000' and is a true skier's mountain with interesting slopes.  Canaan Valley Resort has an 850' vertical, I believe, and is nice as well.  If you like to free heel, in between these two resorts is the mid-atlantic's premier cross country ski area, White Grass.  So, three ski areas all right next to each other.  Not as much resort style, most restaurants/shops are in nearby Davis and Thomas.

Cloudier than it was.

Should be coming soon.

Crapiest winter ever so far out here . . .

14 minutes ago, Fozz said:

I've decided to go to Thomas, WV.

It is near Davis and it should be a great spot for this storm.

Watch out for hippies

1 hour ago, nj2va said:

Wisp closing effective tomorrow until conditions become more favorable for snow making and/or natural snow events. I’m actually shocked they were able to stay open this long. 

Timberline was 70% open today I understand.  Unbelievable how they've gone from so pathetic to now having top notch snow making capabilities.

That being said, the region's ski resorts need a pattern change big time.

58 minutes ago, nj2va said:

Wow, 26 here at ~2800'.  Impressive down there!

Yeah, at 3100' I'm high but low so we do well in town on still nights.  I'm sure the ridges here were several degrees warmer.

15 degrees for the low

Temps creeping down into the 30s, maybe some flakes soon?

7 minutes ago, EastCoast NPZ said:

Wow.  I just messaged you about this 10 seconds ago....and sent it to the wrong person.  Lol.  Talk about weird!

Lol.

The trip up here should be colorful, but not a whole lot left once you get above 3k'.

show is over here

3 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

Does town get packed in the Fall with foliage seekers?

Yes, probably the busiest few weeks of the year.  Most people come too late though, they don't realize how early our leaves change.

Couple more.

28 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

Thanks for sharing! I couldn't help but notice the SUV that seemingly wants to park in the building...lol. Talk about taking over half the sidewalk!

Yeah, parking in town here is tough especially during busy times, so we diagonal park in places that were probably meant for parallel just to squeeze in as many as possible.  Sometimes I worry someone will drive right into the brewery.

Full blast colors here.  Have been for a while.  The warm/wet weather setting in right when we neared peak appears to be the perfect combination to stretch out the duration of the wonderful colors.  I'm guessing the colors will be nice for at least another week.

The recent warmth slowed the changes down, but leaves are looking pretty nice at this point (I'd guess 60% looking at Canaan Mountain).  However, with the cooler, drier weather settling in, I would suspect that next weekend we will be getting close to peak colors, and the weekend after should really be colorful as well.  

Its that time!  Noticed substantial colors on the leaves today on Canaan Mountain.

1 hour ago, nj2va said:

Wow!  Is that early for Canaan? 

I need to go back to the last five years of having a place at Deep Creek to see the average first freeze on the weather station data but I'd guess its probably early October there.

Just guessing but I'd speculate mid September is average first frost, so its definitely early.

Yep, very frosty this morning.  Looked like snow on the ground in some places.

Wow, I should visit this thread more often!  Lots of adventures!

28 minutes ago, WinterWxLuvr said:

Hopefully WVU ends up in the ACC … where they should have been all along.

Yep, renewed rivalry with VA Tech would be nice.

Its going to be the end of the existence of a Big 12 conference at all.  I believe if this happens the remaining teams will be absorbed into other conferences such as Big 10 and ACC, and the conferences will be renamed.  

Had to wear gloves on my morning bike ride.  47 degrees at the time.

Nationals channeling some 2019 mojo?

Patchy frost again here this morning.  Sheesh.