Mid-Atlantic The Neverending Timberline, WV: Info, Weather, and Stoke

[Dr. Bighair]

It is 3 weeks from Timberline's advertised opening day, but their electricity, phones, and gas are still shut off because they haven't paid the bills. There is an ALJ hearing scheduled for Dec. 13th to decide whether or not to put their utility company into receivership and there are potential criminal charges for the owners looming. What is the future for one of the mid-atlantics best skiing terrain resorts? If this last press release by the owners is any indication then the future does not look good for anything else besides a realty tv show:

Mod edit: removed political content image

 

[pipestem]

Two orders of business.

1. Hi. My first post here. I'm old and don't ski enough. I live in in da Bull City, dirty D town, NC. On other forums I might be known as pagamony, but here I am pipestem.

2. WTF is up with Timberline W by God Va ? Best damn terrain and natural snow, worst damn situation. Discussion has overwhelmed another site so we thought we might try it here.

Have at it friends.

 

[Tom Holtmann]

You forgot that you the water in the lodge currently has been declared unfit by the State for drinking unless boiled.

 

[JohnL]

So much for the gentle introductions guys, LOL.

 

[JohnL]

Does anyone here still have any time left on their NotsoAwesome pass or did anyone buy this years pass during last years reopening during the March storm?

This will be my first winter in over a decade without a T-Line and/or CVR season pass.

 

[cantunamunch]

So much for the gentle introductions guys, LOL.

Made ME laugh

 

[cantunamunch]

Oh dear, DCski must be boiling over.

 

[The Colonel]

One of the most interesting statements in the TL press release about Sen Manchin’s re-election was the request to join the TL owners and Gov. Jim Justin’s administration in making TL successful. Anyone know what this refers to???
The Colonel

 

[Johnfmh]

Timberline has argued in the past that they deserve some public funding to level the playing field with the Canaan Valley Resort, which is owned by the State but run as a park concession by a private company. This may be what is being alluded to in that strange post.

In the 17 years I have owned a property up there, I have never seen the situation so dire.

Johnl: I have one more year of awesomeness left in my Tline pass.

 

[D.B.Cooper]

Does anyone here still have any time left on their NotsoAwesome pass or did anyone buy this years pass during last years reopening during the March storm?

This will be my first winter in over a decade without a T-Line and/or CVR season pass.

I have one more season and then free from the Timberline noose. I have a CVR pass as well.

 

[pipestem]

How drunk do you have to be to make that facebook post? Is that 4 beers and 4 shots ?
yeah we think dcski already boiled, but it's still bubbling...

really, tline is my favorite car trip expedition - rent a house near the mountain, good coffee shop, great snow, lousy lifts, low crowds, drinking in timbers, pizza and at sirianis,... I was very happy there. I want it back.

 

[D.B.Cooper]

Corridor H is the biggest gift the government gave Timberline. Sadly the owners are too dumb and overlook that fact.

Timberline has argued in the past that they deserve some public funding to level the playing field with the Canaan Valley Resort, which is owned by the State but run as a park concession by a private company. This may be what is being alluded to in that strange post.

In the 17 years I have owned a property up there, I have never seen the situation so dire.

Johnl: I have one more year of awesomeness left in my Tline pass.

 

[Johnfmh]

For me, the mountain is a small piece of Vermont less than three hours from my house. Great snow, cold weather, chill vibe. I just want this downward spiral to end.

 

[JohnL]

Timberline has argued in the past that they deserve some public funding to level the playing field with the Canaan Valley Resort, which is owned by the State but run as a park concession by a private company. This may be what is being alluded to in that strange post.

In the 17 years I have owned a property up there, I have never seen the situation so dire.

Johnl: I have one more year of awesomeness left in my Tline pass.

Rumor from DBH is that Fred visited (or tried to visit) the Guvners office during the recent hearing in Charleston. Plus, for years Fred has had a stick up his butt about “competing with the government.”

My speculative take. They’ve run all their businesses into the ground and have liens on too many assets. They owe everyone. No one will lend them money. They are a “state treasure”, and thus should be bailed out by the state.

 

[cantunamunch]

My speculative take. They’ve run all their businesses into the ground and have liens on too many assets. They owe everyone. No one will lend them money. They are a “state treasure”, and thus should be bailed out by the state.

If that happens without a change in ownership, sorry, management, then the state is run by bigger idjots than T-line.

 

[pipestem]

The vibe is (was) so much chiller than vermont (imo). actually i think it is already near absolute chill. which is the way we like it.

 

[cantunamunch]

The vibe is (was) so much chiller than vermont (imo). .

I'm counting on it - I totally need a tandem skiing destination and they're way too...controlling... up in VT

 

[AndyGene]

For me, the mountain is a small piece of Vermont less than three hours from my house. Great snow, cold weather, chill vibe. I just want this downward spiral to end.

I don’t see that. I think the only thing that sets it apart from other area resorts is the Salemander. Other than that it has a tree run that opens once a year, assuming the lift is running to get you up there. Maybe I’m just not skiing the right places in Vermont.

 

[Dr. Bighair]

Make no mistake...the Timberline mountain has awesome potential with great terrain. I believe the best terrain in the mid-Atlantic, with some potential for some honestly fantastic glade skiing if maintained. The local winters are real with some winters getting 200" or more of snow with temps that are well suited for snowmaking. It is a literal gold mine of opportunity winter and summer for a full year round resort...the potential for a world class mountain biking center is very real.

The local economy is heavily dependent on its success. Before the downfall in recent years the resort skied over 100k + skiers a season. That is a big deal for a local county with a population of around 7,000 people and a household median annual income of around 24K. There is a cult-like following of die hard skiers and boarders who love the mountain. With the new corridor H highway now connecting the county to one of the wealthiest sizably populated areas in the country there is absolutely no reason the resort should not be thriving and the local economy in Canaan Valley should not be booming. The local towns of Davis and Thomas are busting at the seams with new growth. Instead the opportunity at Timberline is being squandered and the owners are running the resort into the ground while throwing the middle finger up in the air to the local community and business owners of Canaan Valley.

The owners actions are now directly impacting the local economy. A popular local business has recently had to close down and another followed suit. 100's of home owners and vacation rental homes are entering week 3 of having to boil their water because the resort's owners have effectively abandoned the utility and taken several 100 thousands of dollars from the utility account. There is currently an investigation under way.

For years public officials, local media, and other forums and social media have been trying to keep this quite and sweep the story under the rug like its going to go away. I get it. The initial reaction is to try not to make it public because it may hurt the tourism industry...people will hear bad things and they won't visit. Well what has happened is the very people who have been keeping it quite have given a green light to the owners to continue their activities and have been enabling the owners to continue destroying the resort and taking money from the utility customers.

It's time to rip the band-aid off. This story needs to be told! These owners need to be held accountable for their actions with the utility and this resort needs saved! A few years ago there was a lift collapse at Timberline that made national news and was the result of failure to install u-bolts on the primary lift tower. There are safety issues for the public. What is happening now is nuts. Case in point... After being laid off since last winter the employees and mountain operation staff from past few years won't work for the owners anymore. The owners are now advertising and selling season passes and taking reservations for a functional ski resort. They have advertised a Nov 30th opening with a million dollars in snowmaking improvements...there have been no such improvements. They are currently making a half-ass effort to resurrect antiquated and broken infrastructure that has not been maintained or touched since last winter literally weeks before the advertised opening date. They now have a tree trimming crew from northern Virginia trying to get some critical infrastructure back in working condition for winter....lifts, grooming and snowmaking equipment. They mowed the grass on white lightning, the signature slope, top to bottom with the only operational groomer.

 

[wgo]

I don’t see that. I think the only thing that sets it apart from other area resorts is the Salemander. Other than that it has a tree run that opens once a year, assuming the lift is running to get you up there. Maybe I’m just not skiing the right places in Vermont.

I must have hallucinated all the pow and glade skiing back in the day.