Ski Southeast Messageboard

Having a grand time at Massanutten this weekend. Pretty neat to have over 40 inches of snow everywhere and temps in the 20's. Makes for great conditions, especially since Mnut is NOT blowing any snow when the lifts are open. They start snowmaking right at 10pm and keep it up until just before 9am opening time. We're staying in a condo right next to the slopes, so I can see and hear the fans when they are on.



The place was pretty empty all day. No waiting more than a couple minutes on any lift, including the two beginner lifts at the bottom of the mountain. Partially the cold, but also a function of being the first weekend after the end of year vacation days.



It's been cold all week, so no ice to be found. A few spots of hard pack where the snow blows off, but mostly packed powder with corduroy in a lot of places first thing in the morning ParaDice was very nice all day. All powder surface and no people made it easy to fly down without thinking. More interesting contours since so much snowmaking has happened in the last few weeks. DJ was being used for Mnut ski team training in the morning. Will be closed again Sun morning for a race.



Mnut ski team practicing on DJ (about 60 kids in the program)





Lift 6, with Southern Comfort in the distance





Blowing on Geronimo 7:30am

public paved parking lots in front of the flag pole, which is a cell tower

view from Summit #129 of stairs onto Geronimo





Southern Comfort and Lift 5 empty 10:00am





Showtime (blue run off Lift 5) empty 2:00pm, same the rest of the day





snow at lodge can be measured in feet, not inches

usually easy to put skis on either side of this fence





Done

Great pictures and TR! I haven't been here yet but it looks like a great time! Gotta love no crowds!

Looks like a good trip m... I'm up for adoption if you ever need a son

Conditions still looking sweet up there. Nice TR

Even better conditions today! Packed powder pretty much all over. Lapped ParaDice all morning. DJ was closed for a junior race.



Got up in time to see grooming on Geronimo. Added snow to several runs all night. The guns went off around 8:30am except for the CMB terrain park. A little extra snow for a short time on Lower Showtime but over the head not in the face.



Place was even emptier than Sat. Even with the racers and their families, never a wait on Lift 6. They didn't even bother setting out line markers for any lifts today. The public parking lots never got to 50% full.



Marz Jr. went tubing in the morning with the friend who came along. She did some runs on ParaDice and Showtime in the afternoon since conditions were so good. With the warm up coming, it won't be the same next weekend. Definitely will be more people for MLK weekend.



Prep around 7:30am on Geronimo

Lady in blue is Mnut Auxilary











A GS race for juniors, mainly from Mnut, Bryce, Wintergreen

Looked like ages 6-14

Youngest did the run in about 2 minutes, fastest time I heard was about 45 sec











Mountain Grill is run by parents of Mnut team to raise money

open on some weekends only, outdoor





Done

@NCSUsKING 202089 wrote:Looks like a good trip m... I'm up for adoption if you ever need a son



Hmm, think you can handle the responsibilities of a big brother . . . like carrying skis? Do you do dishes?

Thanks for the TR. Glad you had a good time.

@skipink 202239 wrote:Thanks for the TR. Glad you had a good time.



Winterfest at Beech sounded fun too. But I'm definitely spoiled by the empty slopes at the top of Mnut. Plus Marz Jr. got to do the waterpark and snow tubing since our teacher friend was up for both. Between Fri night and Sun morning, I got more than enough skiing time alone on Lift 6 in addition to skiing with Marz Jr. She also got another private lesson for the price of a group clinic. Season tickets are fun to have.

Mass is definitely on our list of slopes to visit. We weren't impressed with WP yesterday, but I'm sure that will change once we can ride the blues/blacks.

@Superorb 202296 wrote:Mass is definitely on our list of slopes to visit. We weren't impressed with WP yesterday, but I'm sure that will change once we can ride the blues/blacks.



I told Marz Jr. that I would take her to places other than Mnut after she could ski the black runs ParaDice and/or DJ. Then we branched out, starting with WTG. Also went to WP, Snowshoe. The bonus was Alta that season. She loved the powpow.



As I figured, after dealing with the Mnut high-speed lift (getting in place to load, not a detachable), she was able to handle any type of lift and she was comfortable any blue in the SE, plus easy blacks. For instance, she could ski the easier runs on the Highlands in good conditions. Of course, she was more comfortable on the Big Acorn side.



WP place in late Feb and March is usually much better than Mnut or WTG. Mid-winter, Mnut and Beech work best for us.