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JohnL

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The web cams no longer show the main lift line, but the sections of the line you could see in view on Saturday were insane. Confirmed by first person accounts. The singles lift line was well up the hill and the Twister side lift crowd actually extended in view.

They are paying off their 15+ mil investment with increased weekend crowds and Slippery Slope beer prices. Saw the trends starting last year.
 

JohnL

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Place is forever changed, some good, some not so.

On my way west, picked up a car ski cargo box at TM. Arrived late Sunday afternoon. But with the high speed, pounded out 7 runs in the mist from 3:30 - 4:30. Quite the change from 15 years ago.

The Perfects know how to create a high quality ski experience for the masses. They know their Ops. They brought many people from Perfect North. But they don’t get the hard core tree skiing crowd. And probably not needed for business, since the trails have enough challenge for most.

Lots of felled trees in the woods, many for widening the lift line for ski patrol rescue. Even in one of the glades on the map. Lots of clearing work needed to remedy years of neglect. Don’t see that as a big priority for them. If it gets on their radar, don’t know if they know what to do. Not in their wheel house.
 

RickH

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Place is forever changed, some good, some not so.

On my way west, picked up a car ski cargo box at TM. Arrived late Sunday afternoon. But with the high speed, pounded out 7 runs in the mist from 3:30 - 4:30. Quite the change from 15 years ago.

The Perfects know how to create a high quality ski experience for the masses. They know their Ops. They brought many people from Perfect North. But they don’t get the hard core tree skiing crowd. And probably not needed for business, since the trails have enough challenge for most.

Lots of felled trees in the woods, many for widening the lift line for ski patrol rescue. Even in one of the glades on the map. Lots of clearing work needed to remedy years of neglect. Don’t see that as a big priority for them. If it gets on their radar, don’t know if they know what to do. Not in their wheel house.
JohnL the felled trees in the woods are on purpose. No doubt in my mind, they don't want the increased accidents. As you say, they are fine with the trails and making a good experience for casual skier. I don't think they will ever cater to the tree skiers. Next up, a third lift, and increased trails. They have another 200+ acres to develop.
 

JohnL

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JohnL the felled trees in the woods are on purpose. No doubt in my mind, they don't want the increased accidents. As you say, they are fine with the trails and making a good experience for casual skier. I don't think they will ever cater to the tree skiers. Next up, a third lift, and increased trails. They have another 200+ acres to develop.
The felled trees on the sides of the high speed were deliberate, for lift evacs

And more trails means cutting through tree shots.

All understandable, and predicted. Some good times in the past, but TM basically in the rear view mirror for me.
 

Johnfmh

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On Saturdays - could you guess, is there a healthy contingent of people day-tripping from Fairfax County?
Hard to say. It seems like there are people from a different state on every chairlift ride: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, DC, Kentucky, Ohio, etc. I think it Is fair to say most skiers come from N. VA but not just Fairfax County. I’ve met many from Loudon County, which is a pretty easy day trip now to TM.
 

Johnfmh

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Re tree skiing: I don’t know the views of the Perfects on the subject, but I do know that snow is required to ski trees and this year, that’s been a problem. TM has made herculean efforts just to keep snow on the marked trails. That’s been a particular struggle for trails lacking the Polecat fan guns (Upper Heaven, Drop, etc.). The rain and thaw cycles have been brutal and yet, the Perfects have had over 90% of the terrain at TM open for most of the season. What other Mid-Atlantic resort can boast that kind of track record for terrain coverage in this crappy La Nina year? I think we will see some limited glades in the future on terrain that gets residual snow from the guns but that’s it. Does anyone even remember when we last had a 12 inch snow event?
 

wgo

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I've loved being able to ski at TLM the last few years with my teenage son. I just wish he could have experienced at least one 180 inch snowfall year like we got 10 years ago
 

Chip

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As much as I enjoy tree skiing, southern resorts aren’t the place for it. You want to ski trees, well head out west, or maybe the NE on snowy years. To rip on TM for not focusing on glade management is kind of shortsighted. Let them do what they are currently doing as it seems to be better than it was under previous management.
 

wgo

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I don't think anyone is ripping on TM management. They are doing an incredible job. That doesn't mean we can't be a little sad that glade skiing at TM is more and more becoming a thing of the past. But honestly that is as much due to the climate than anything mgmt can do.
 

wgo

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Tbh I was never all that great in the tight trees but I will be bummed if there is never enough natural snow to ski Thunderdraft.
 

Cameron

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After 32 years of skiing at PNS I’ve come to accept the fact that they do not cater to the hardcore skier. Let’s face it those that ski 30, 50, or even 100 days a year don’t spend money beyond a season pass. I suspect they are still trying to figure out what works best at Timberline since it’s a very different animal from PNS since this only their 3rd season. It’s going to be to see how the place evolves. It would be awesome to see some expansion that spurs some investment at Canaan so they can actually open the whole mountain.
 

JohnL

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As much as I enjoy tree skiing, southern resorts aren’t the place for it. You want to ski trees, well head out west, or maybe the NE on snowy years. To rip on TM for not focusing on glade management is kind of shortsighted. Let them do what they are currently doing as it seems to be better than it was under previous management.
Uh, been skiing TM since ~2004, mostly with season passes. I’ve got my miles. And lots of time in the trees, when there were only a few people in there. http://data.canaanmtnsnow.com/ From about 03 to 15, TM was getting about as much snow as Southern Vermont. And the glades were in better shape back then. Really rough recent stretch - and New England has had some recent rough winters also. Now sure what this trend means, but weather seems to correlate over several years.

Back in the Doc/Fred/Traci days, the only reason to put up with the miserable infrastructure and organization was the off-piste and natural snow skiing.
 

Evan's Dad

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How were the trees skiing during the 20-21 season? IIRC, that was a pretty good snow year. I didn't get a chance to dip into the woods since it was my son's first real season.
 

wgo

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How were the trees skiing during the 20-21 season? IIRC, that was a pretty good snow year. I didn't get a chance to dip into the woods since it was my son's first real season.
That year I believe there were a couple decent snowfall events that allowed the trees to be skied within a brief window. 46.5 inches of snow in February that year:

Screen Shot 2023-02-02 at 9.43.25 AM.png
 

wgo

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It's been posted here a couple times, but anyone who has any interest in records of natural snowfall in Canaan Valley should spend some time here: Canaan Valley snowfall
 

wgo

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@JohnL while we are on the topic of TL and glades, when did the poorly thought out logging of Cherry Bowl under Fred and co occur? I think that was before my time.
 

JohnL

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That year I believe there were a couple decent snowfall events that allowed the trees to be skied within a brief window. 46.5 inches of snow in February that year:

View attachment 191170
As I recall, a good month of solid tree skiing - just about anywhere you wanted. That was the Covid year, and I left way too many tree skiing days on the table since I hung low between Covid shots 1 and 2. @Dean - what year did I take you into Cherry Bowl?
 
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