First off, I want to say a big thank you to everyone here for the great advice on the trip. I tried to post this while we were still up there, but the internet kept dropping out. Better late than never, I suppose.
Anyway, we got up there the Saturday after Christmas. We had a house off of Lower Salamander ("The Haven", big green metal roof). Sunday was low 40s and drizzling, so we spent the day relaxing, waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive, trip into Davis, a little tubing at Canaan. Sunday evening we went to Ski Barn and picked up our gear.
View from behind the house on Salamander
Forecast for Monday was mid to upper 30s and rainy, but when we got up the temps were in the 20s with some cloud cover and a very light drizzle. I think the forecast kept the crowds away, because we went pretty much all day and there was very little congestion and we rarely had to wait more than a chair or two. The snow was better than I thought it would be; a little lumpy in places, but not bad overall.
We just walked out back and went down Salamander. In retrospect, I should have driven down to the bottom that first day; it was my oldest's first time on the snow, and a wider slope would have been good for him to start on. Got them a couple of lessons each that first day, and even though I put them in group lessons they ended up being 1 on 1. Instructors were all excellent.
Temps started dropping Monday night, and they turned the guns on. The rest of the week was very cold (-10 on top of the mountain Wednesday morning), so the guns were going pretty much our whole stay. The slopes were freshly groomed every morning from Tuesday on. The snow quality was very good for southeast skiing (for what I'm used to anyway). Crowds started to build on Tuesday, and it got a little congested down around the bottom, but we still were able to get on the lifts pretty quickly. I don't think I ever waited much longer than 5 minutes for a lift. Then again, the best part of having a place on the slopes was being able to take a break for an hour or so during the busiest times of the day.
They didn't have much of the mountain open - really only 3 ways down from the top: salamander (green), upper dew drop (blue), and upper white lightning (black). Winterset was opened on our last day there, and the website said that Off the Wall was opened that day, but it was roped off every time I rode by. If I was alone, or with some of my skier friends, I would have been pretty bored after the second day, and would have gone to Canaan or made a day trip to snowshoe. However, everyone else in the group was happy with what was open at Timberline, and it was so easy to get on and off the slopes that we stayed there for all 4 days of skiing. Most of the crew was content to just go up and down Salamander. I did my youngest on Upper Dew Drop the last day, and he loved it. However, since we stayed there, I did three days on a snowboard before switching over to skis. I have to say, I feel it's starting to click for me.
Bottom line, is everyone had a great time. Surprisingly little drama in the house (which is a big deal for my family in tight quarters). Kids are hooked, and wife realized just how much she had missed it (she hadn't been in 12 years).
The End of an Era...We are Shutting Down the Messageboard
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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.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
Timberline Dec 29 - Jan 1
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tyrell
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Other thoughts:
-Maybe it was because it wasn't particularly crowded, but I'm not sure anyone every looked at our lift tickets all week. Again, if it was just me, I might have been tempted to not get new tickets after that first day and try my luck.
-My wife kept telling me I had a creepstache because my balaclava would slip down to under my mouth, covering up the rest of my beard. I kept trying to pull it up... Maybe I'll rock just a 'stache for a while when the time comes to shave the beard.
-Maybe it was because it wasn't particularly crowded, but I'm not sure anyone every looked at our lift tickets all week. Again, if it was just me, I might have been tempted to not get new tickets after that first day and try my luck.
-My wife kept telling me I had a creepstache because my balaclava would slip down to under my mouth, covering up the rest of my beard. I kept trying to pull it up... Maybe I'll rock just a 'stache for a while when the time comes to shave the beard.
I want more life...
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davidski
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Glad to see a TR from the Canaan Valley, you have to go back again when they have full coverage, I love all the places up there. -- what did you do in Davis? Some decent food and very good beer and music in Davis/Thomas
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tyrell
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pagamony wrote:No crowds and laid back staff sounds like the valley to me. Go back one the trees are open.
Yeah, I was scoping out a number of nice looking runs through the woods from the lift. I'll definitely have to get back up there when it's fully open.davidski wrote:Glad to see a TR from the Canaan Valley, you have to go back again when they have full coverage, I love all the places up there. -- what did you do in Davis? Some decent food and very good beer and music in Davis/Thomas
We didn't really do much in Davis Sunday, other than pick up some supplies and cruise around the town. We were scoping out some options for an evening out later in the week, but we never made it out. Most evenings people were either night skiing or were too wiped out. On NYE, my brother and I dropped in on the party at the lodge for a quick round of shots and beers. It seemed pretty nice. He saw some attractive young women there and decided to go back down later on.
I want more life...
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WVULINK
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I also love Trip Reports form C.V. That place holds a special place in my heart and I really consider it almost a summer home to me. I know exactly the house you stayed at. I've even been in it before. I've hiking all over that mountain and the Timberline development. Surprisingly I haven't done much skiing up there as most of my time spent in CV has been in the summer for fall. I've been going to CV for summer vacation for the last 33 conseuctive years. many of the locals there know me and my family well. I agree with Davidski about Davis/Thomas. Riding through it may not appear there is a lot to do or see but if you get out walk around and explore you'll find a lot of hidden gems there. Again, I don't know what it is like in the winter, but Timbers Pub at Timberline is always fun, even with light summer crowds. I imagine its a blast with the winter crowd.