It’s officially meteorological winter so it’s time to talk about “sliding across a wind-blasted frozen hellscape” or more specifically skiing in the Mid-Atlantic.
Are you doing your wall-sits?
It started early
Mid-Atlantic Ski Season Begins – DCSki
A number of ski areas in the wider region opened the week of Thanksgiving. Some higher elevation Allegheny ski areas saw snow as early as mid-October. Warmer weather has closed some areas though.
Mid-Atlantic skiing daytrips from DC
A commuter skier’s guide to ski areas close enough to do in a day from the Washington, D.C. area. Over a decade’s worth of profiles and rankings.
Forecast
A third consecutive La Nina winter is forecast (ABC News) and that’s not great for natural snowfall (National Weather Service). DCStorms has an interesting forecast, perhaps a little optimistic for snow lovers. The Post‘s Capital Weather Gang is not as optimistic. Winter has changed around here.
Last winter, D.C. area was snowless after mid-January. West Virginia was dry as a bone for much of the season. A late-season storm did get me out to Massanutten in March though.
I’m hoping to get several ski days this season. I might even do a Friday night/Saturday full trip to Northeast Pennsylvania.
Cheap skiing for 4th and 5th graders
West Virginia has a ski passport for kids in 4th and 5th grades. So does New York State, but that’s quite a trip from BeltwayLand.
Sadly, Pennsylvania ended their pass during the pandemic, though a large operator may have contributed or so I have read.
Where to get your ski coverage
Independent sites
dcski.com
My favorite spot for keeping up is dcski.com The forum and facebook group are active with knowledgeable skiers through the year.
skisoutheast.com
If you are skiing south of the Mason Dixon line, you can get a lot of lengthy updates and boosterism here. I haven’t waded into the forums yet.
Other independent Mid-Atlantic skiing sites: Ski & Sports Club of Washington DC, Skidome | paskiandride
Further afield: SkiTalk | The Ski Diva | NYSkiBlog
ASSOCIATION SITES
Winter in Virginia – Virginia Tourism Corporation | Ski West Virginia | Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association | New Jersey Ski & Snowboard Council | Ski NY
Another winter sport – Broomball
Do you like hockey? Are you looking for another way to use winter? Check out broomball, a co-ed rec sport played on ice rinks.
Twitter list
If you still use Twitter, check out my Mid-Atlantic-Skiing list
A Twitter List by doubleuefwhy