Snowshoe Info.

I'd appreciate advice on a possible trip to Snowshoe. I'm thinking
about taking my son to Snowshoe around March 21, which I guess is
spring break for most people. My 13-year-old is an intermediate
boarder, I'm an advanced skier. Will it be absolutely mobbed during
the week? I expect a little extra traffic in the spring, but don't
want to spend the week in line. I've never been to Snowshoe, and am
curious about whether it's worth the 6 hour drive from DC.

DC Skier

We were at Snowshoe on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 19 and 20. There were no
lines before 10:30 on either day, but by 11 on Friday the line on Ballhooter
lift was pretty long, around 2:30 probably 30 minutes. Unfortunately that
is the lift most people have take to get back to the parking lot, to get
lunch, or to the condos.

There are two ways you can avoid lift lines at Snowshoe:

ski/board at Silver Creek -- on the same ticket as Snowshoe, free, rather
haphazard, no-scheduled-times, bus transportation between the two
areas, about 4 miles distance
or
ski/board the Western Territory (black and double black runs) which does
not have the lift lines. But, the services (restrooms and food) are very
minimal on the Western Territory side, so you will have to use either the
bus or the crowded Ballhooter lift.

The Western Territory is by far the best terrain area -- west of the Poconos
and east of Denver. In my opinion, Seven Springs has a far better layout
for convenience, but the 1500 feet vertical drop of the Western Territory is
the biggest in the area. If you enjoy ski/board the Western Territory's
two challenging slopes (Cupp Run is black and lower Shay's Revenge with
Volkswagen size moguls is an honest to goodness double-black) then I would
put up with the hassle of back-and-forth transportation. But, if black runs
are not for you, in my opinion, I would look for slopes with more convenient
arrangement and much shorter lift lines for the blue runs.

Regards,

Ernie

"DCSkier" wrote in message
om...
I'd appreciate advice on a possible trip to Snowshoe. I'm thinking
about taking my son to Snowshoe around March 21, which I guess is
spring break for most people. My 13-year-old is an intermediate
boarder, I'm an advanced skier. Will it be absolutely mobbed during
the week? I expect a little extra traffic in the spring, but don't
want to spend the week in line. I've never been to Snowshoe, and am
curious about whether it's worth the 6 hour drive from DC.

DC Skier

In om,
DCSkier typed:
I'd appreciate advice on a possible trip to Snowshoe. I'm thinking
about taking my son to Snowshoe around March 21, which I guess is
spring break for most people. My 13-year-old is an intermediate
boarder, I'm an advanced skier. Will it be absolutely mobbed during
the week? I expect a little extra traffic in the spring, but don't
want to spend the week in line. I've never been to Snowshoe, and am
curious about whether it's worth the 6 hour drive from DC.

DC Skier

Saturdays have been the worst as far as crowds. Sundays have been pretty
good however. I haven't been up there midweek this year but in the past the
place starts to fill up closer to the weekend. We've learned the work the
mountain like this: Make first tracks at 8:30 run the Ballhooter lift until
the line starts to fill up at about 10:00. Then move over to the Western
side and run Cupp and Shays until about 11:30. Go in for lunch. Run Cupp
some more or if we're getting tired go down to Silvercreek and get back on
the Flying Eagle lift and run that until 3. Go back up to Snowshoe and run
the Eastern side and the green trails at Powder Ridge lift until the end of
the day. There's approx. 7,000 rooms on the mountain so when they're booked
up expect 10-12,000 skiers/boarders.

Mike