Meanwhile, good snow in M.A.S.H

lookn4powder

New member
Sunday morning, my buddy Tom and I drove to the Canaan Valley and skied at Timberline. It had rained lightly during the night and I hoped that this had produced snow above 4000', as it had for Wednesday. Alas, no snow had fallen. As is typical of March/April in M.A.S.H, the hills of WVA east of Canaan Valley showed only sparse clumps remaining from the season's snow. However, when we entered the Canaan Valley, the north facing slopes began to show continuous coverage.

By 10 AM we were skiing. Although I expected ski spring conditions, a stiff breeze kept the surface frozen. Other skiers told us that spring conditions had developed by noon on Saturday. And sure enough, the surface softened at 1 PM---daylight savings had stolen an hour of primo spring corn. Sigh!!

Through aggressive snow making and the good fortune of recent snowfall Timberline has maintained top quality coverage. Even the trees were skiable. Tom and I spent the afternoon skiing whale humps piled up by snowmakers along the right edge of "The Drop". We were joined by only a few skiers and boarders, as the steep backsides of the bumps, typically with 6' to 9' drops, were surfaced with unforgiving hardpack. If one missed a left turn or blotched an arrest when descending a bump, the misceant was deposited into the trees. But someone had to ski'em and "The Drop" offered the only real challenge and serious fun on the mountain. Unfortunately, the management has groomed the other steep trail, "Off the Wall". Dang!

As is typical for mid-March, Timberline was modestly busy and operated all of its lifts. I predict that the snow depths can support full operation for at least three more weeks--absent a heavy warm rain (uncommon in March). If this year is like most in M.A.S.H, the ski areas, Timberline, Cannan Valley, Wisp, and Seven Springs will close due to lack of interest rather than lack of coverage.

BTW, Liberty Mt. which is in a warmer location than the above, has announced that it intends to remain open another 3 weeks.

Cheers,
Jeff
 
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