Anybody heard of this place?
I'm on a trip to Lynchburg, VA. Staying in a hotel right by the airport - I overheard someone saying "there is real snow on the ski slope". As I inquired about "what ski slope?", they told me about the Liberty "snowflex" "year-round" ski area. The lady said, "if you fall, you get rug burn."
I had to go see what this was all about. Sure enough, there was a "ski lodge" and a tow lift and a couple of "slopes". There looked to be about 6-12 inches of snow on most of it...but there were several places where the "snowflex" surface was showing through. The run actually looked pretty fun (although a bit short, of course).
I took a couple of pics on my cell phone. Still trying to figure out how to get them up here. The ski rental was $12 for all day and then you paid $7 per hour for a lift ticket. I didn't bring any ski clothing with me. Sun was shining and really didn't feel too cold...I was tempted to make a few runs in my jeans and leather jacket.
Anyway, I'm likely to end up on several more layovers here with my new job...so I'll plan accordingly. Perhaps I can get a few turns in this summer.
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The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
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Liberty's "Snowflex" ski area
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Likeabat
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Here is a website about the "snowflex" surface...
http://www.snowflex.com/
interesting. I'd like to have some of that stuff on a local hill near my house. Then I could rig up a rope tow using a lawn mower and an old bicycle.
http://www.snowflex.com/
interesting. I'd like to have some of that stuff on a local hill near my house. Then I could rig up a rope tow using a lawn mower and an old bicycle.
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Likeabat
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Here is the pic from my phone. On the left side of the photo you can see a guy riding up the lift. The "yellowish" spots are the snowflex surface showing through. The run was surpisingly a bit steep - I figured something like this would have a really flat run. I watched a lone skier make 5-6 runs - there were several snowboarders working the "park", but otherwise nobody there. Looking back, I wish I had just said "to heck with it" and made a few runs in my street clothes just to say I did. I was with another guy from work (non-skier) and he would have thought I was nuts. If I had been alone, I certainly would have given it a shot.
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jbc28
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Likeabat
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I'm wondering what the artificial suface was like on a day like today when they didn't have the "misters" on.
I kept waiting to see the lone skier transition from the real snow across the artificial base. In my mind I pictured the skis studdenly stopping and him flying face first into the carpet. He stuck to the real snow, however.
Some cool videos on some of those other TR's. Seeing it without the snow covering it is an eye opener.
Although I'm sure it can't compare to real snow, if I'm stuck in this hotel for a few days in the warmer months, I'm gonna have to give it a shot (on rental skis). Beats flipping channels on the t.v.
Just had a bit of a "reality bites" moment - at my previous job, I used to have 36 hour layovers in Salt Lake City and would catch the bus from the hotel to Alta. Did this every other weekend in the winter. Now I find myself thinking about skiing on carpet while on a layover in Lynchburg. **sigh**
I kept waiting to see the lone skier transition from the real snow across the artificial base. In my mind I pictured the skis studdenly stopping and him flying face first into the carpet. He stuck to the real snow, however.
Some cool videos on some of those other TR's. Seeing it without the snow covering it is an eye opener.
Although I'm sure it can't compare to real snow, if I'm stuck in this hotel for a few days in the warmer months, I'm gonna have to give it a shot (on rental skis). Beats flipping channels on the t.v.
Just had a bit of a "reality bites" moment - at my previous job, I used to have 36 hour layovers in Salt Lake City and would catch the bus from the hotel to Alta. Did this every other weekend in the winter. Now I find myself thinking about skiing on carpet while on a layover in Lynchburg. **sigh**
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marzski
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@Likeabat 208380 wrote:Now I find myself thinking about skiing on carpet while on a layover in Lynchburg. **sigh**
Wintergreen is about an hour from Lynchburg. Check out the resort description on SkiSE. With all the snowstorms this winter, it's in great shape.
Wintergreen is about an hour from Lynchburg. Check out the resort description on SkiSE. With all the snowstorms this winter, it's in great shape.
2023-24: Wolf Creek in Dec, Massanutten in Jan, Feb; GT, Big Sky; Crested Butte; Alta/Snowbird in April.
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davidski
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@Likeabat 208380 wrote:
Although I'm sure it can't compare to real snow, if I'm stuck in this hotel for a few days in the warmer months, I'm gonna have to give it a shot (on rental skis). Beats flipping channels on the t.v.
Just had a bit of a "reality bites" moment - at my previous job, I used to have 36 hour layovers in Salt Lake City and would catch the bus from the hotel to Alta. Did this every other weekend in the winter. Now I find myself thinking about skiing on carpet while on a layover in Lynchburg. **sigh**
If you are there during the summer its definately worth checking out mostly for the novelty but the stuff does actually function....it'd be funner if you do park stuff which unfortunately I don't
--but during the winter--what Marzski said
Although I'm sure it can't compare to real snow, if I'm stuck in this hotel for a few days in the warmer months, I'm gonna have to give it a shot (on rental skis). Beats flipping channels on the t.v.
Just had a bit of a "reality bites" moment - at my previous job, I used to have 36 hour layovers in Salt Lake City and would catch the bus from the hotel to Alta. Did this every other weekend in the winter. Now I find myself thinking about skiing on carpet while on a layover in Lynchburg. **sigh**
If you are there during the summer its definately worth checking out mostly for the novelty but the stuff does actually function....it'd be funner if you do park stuff which unfortunately I don't
--but during the winter--what Marzski said