Wintergreen is not only Virginia’s largest ski resort, it’s the only one with the main lodge at the top of the slopes, so you start the day skiing from the lodge, where the view is spectacular.Įarlier, we’d been taking in that view from an overlook, when we met a father and son who parked and pulled their skis from their car. The storm that brought ice pellets up north had dropped six inches of powder here, where the skies were an impossibly bright blue. But today, these students were just out to have fun.Īt the two terrain parks, we watched skilled freestyle skiers and snowboarders do their thing on jumps and rails, then ended the day at the yurt-shaped, glass-enclosed bar at the lodge, sipping Virginia IPAs and watching the slopes. Although JMU is just 30 minutes from Massanutten, the school’s ski team calls Bryce home, while UVA’s team is based at Wintergreen. Still, to our happy surprise, the slopes were in great shape, thanks to the grooming team.ĭespite sketchy main roads, folks were rolling in mid-morning, many wearing University of Virginia and James Madison gear. We passed on “MakAttack” and called it a day-and a night-reaching our rented condo just as a big storm rolled in.Ī foot of snow was predicted, but the morning brought 4 inches of ice pellets. We hit “Diamond Jim” next, then rolled to the mid-mountain triple that serves “MakAttack” (the mountain’s only other expert-rated slope) and the intermediates “Showtime,” “Mass Transit,” and “Pacesetter.”īehind “lean forward,” skiing’s other key rule may be: Don’t push your luck with “one more run” when your legs are tired at the end of the day.
We picked “Para Dice,” and as Dean took off making lilting turns looking for bumps, I followed, working on turns, while being overtaken by gangs of whooping teenaged snowboarders. But once at the top, black-diamond slopes “Para Dice” and “Diamond Jim” are the only way down. Even on the busiest days, the toughest terrain is a great place to avoid crowds at any ski area. Unlike the lower mountain lifts, the quad to the top had no lines. The line moved quickly, and we were soon atop “Southern Comfort.” Rather than take that gentle beginner slope, Dean and I transferred to the nearby quad lift to continue to the area’s peak. We slid into line at the high-speed quad lift that runs from the main lodge area about halfway up the mountain. But with seven lifts serving 14 slopes, Massanutten is well-equipped to handle an influx of skiers and snowboarders.
Between runs, Ryan Locher tells me that the resort’s planned expansion will include adding more slopes off the mountain’s backside.īy afternoon, Dean and I carved down “White Lighting,” worked on tighter turns on “Revenuer’s Run,” and sped straight down “Locher’s Bowl” before calling it a day and heading south.Īs we wound up the mountain that evening, we imagined a mellow weeknight of skiing at Massauntten, which celebrates 50 years this season.
And in fact, the resort just enjoyed its best year yet.
#Bryce ski Patch#
When I hit a patch of ice-inevitable when skiing in the Southeast-I dug in my edges and, with each run, I felt my confidence grow.īryce’s friendly terrain, with just one black-diamond slope-the short, steep “Hangover”-makes it popular with families. With Dean, they sent sheets of powder flying with every graceful turn, while I stuck to “Redeye,” reminding myself to bend my knees, lean forward, look ahead of my skis, and let them do the work. Both successful regional racers who learned to ski at Bryce, Ryan and Tanja served as our guides. Today Ryan Locher, Horst’s son, is Bryce’s general manager while Tanja Locher, a daughter of Manfred’s, is a mountain regular. When they finally settled here in the 1970s the brothers went on to manage ski operations for Bryce, a member-owned resort, for decades. Established as a summer resort in the 1900s, Bryce’s ski area, spurred by snowmaking technology, was designed in 1965 by Austrian Sepp Kober, who introduced skiing to The Homestead in 1959.īryce had its own Europeans-brothers Manfred and Horst Locher-who began traveling to Bryce from their home in Germany to work as seasonal ski instructors. Nearly all of the terrain is designed for beginning and intermediate skiers and the runs remain uncrowded. Bryce is a great place for a skier to rebuild that confidence.
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