Snowboarding at Massanutten ... SWAC Daughter & SWAC Niece on the slopes

SWAC Daughter instructs SWAC Niece on snowboarding techniques. This was three years ago ... it's that time of year again.

SWAC Niece's rental board (left) beside SWAC Daughter's Palmer board.

Bindings ... check. Balance ... check.

SWAC Daughter helping her younger cousin.

February 2009 ... Chesterfield County schools were out recently so my sister drove up with SWAC Niece for a long weekend in the Valley which included a day of snowboarding at Massanutten.

It was a perfect winter day ... overcast, snowy, and cold. All slopes were open at Massanutten; temp when we arrived was 20 degrees and would climb to 25 for a high.

SWAC Daughter has been boarding for a while, and her younger cousin has been anxious try it. The two girls got on the snow and SWAC Daughter started instructing SWAC Niece in balance, maneuvers, turns, stops ... patiently teaching all the techniques necessary to successfully traverse the slopes.

SWAC Niece listened, followed instructions, and got it immediately. As SWAC Daughter headed for the chair lift to do more advanced boarding, SWAC Niece headed to lessons to be sure she had a good handle on what she was doing and, when finished, both girls took to the chair lift to try an easy slope.

I was amazed at SWAC Niece because her balance was great and she was keeping up for her first time on a board. SWAC Daughter was zipping over the snow in her usual way.

The winter's not over and we'll be back.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
February 2009

Area ski resorts now open for the 2010-11 season

If you head west into West Virginia, you'll run into 31" of snow after a week of storms left plenty of the white stuff with more is on its way. Sub-freezing daytime highs are scheduled to return to the Valley area by Monday. As of Saturday, December 11, all area ski resort were open for the season:

* Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort in West Virginia has 24 trails and five ski lifts open.
* Wintergreen Ski Resort south of Charlottesville has 13 slopes and trails open along with three ski lifts.
* Massanutten Ski Resort east of Harrisonburg has 10 slopes and eight lifts open.
* Bryce Ski Resort in Shenandoah County has six slopes and three ski lifts open.
* The Homestead ski slopes are open as well as ice skating rink and more.

All have holiday programs and events planned with expectations for another great ski season. It's winter in western Virginia....

Snowboarding at Massanutten

SWAC Daughter instructs SWAC Niece on snowboarding techniques.
SWAC Niece's rental board (left) beside SWAC Daughter's Palmer board.

Bindings ... check. Balance ... check.

SWAC Daughter helping her cousin.

Chesterfield County schools were out recently so my sister drove up with SWAC Niece for a long weekend in the Valley which included a day of snowboarding at Massanutten.

It was a perfect winter day ... overcast, snowy, and cold. All slopes were open at Massanutten; temp when we arrived was 20 degrees and would climb to 25 for a high.

SWAC Daughter has been boarding for a while, and her younger cousin has been anxious try it. The two girls got on the snow and SWAC Daughter started instructing SWAC Niece in balance, maneuvers, turns, stops ... patiently teaching all the techniques necessary to successfully traverse the slopes.

SWAC Niece listened, followed instructions, and got it immediately. As SWAC Daughter headed for the chair lift to do more advanced boarding, SWAC Niece headed to lessons to be sure she had a good handle on what she was doing and, when finished, both girls took to the chair lift to try an easy slope.

I was amazed at SWAC Niece because her balance was great and she was keeping up for her first time on a board. SWAC Daughter was zipping over the snow in her usual way.

The winter's not over and we'll be back.

All trails open at Massanutten Resort

For the first time in years, Massanutten Ski Resort has all trails and slopes open with plenty of manmade snow, as reported by WHSV TV-3 (Harrisonburg).

Below normal cold temperatures have allowed resort management to make snow and build up the base to leave them in good condition going into the long holiday weekend. Cold temperatures are expected to continue next week with a slight chance of snow on Sunday and Tuesday.

Get caught up on all the latest weather at WHSV TV-3.