BLOG: Ski Maryland?

Yes, yes, I hear you Maryland skiers and snowboarders.  So far, the winter season of 2011-2012 here in the Mid-Atlantic has been marginal at best.

The good news is that despite the warm days across central Maryland, Baltimore, and the Eastern Shore, the nights have been generally at or below freezing.  That is especially true in the higher terrain that our local ski areas are located in.

So far, places like Whitetail and Wisp have been able to keep most of their terrain and trails open (even if the ground is rather bare between those trails).

This is where you have to love modern snow gun technology, which can produce man made snow even at temps slightly above freezing (so long as the air is dry enough).

As you can see for the attached photo, I had a chance to get an up close look at what I would call slightly "above average" trail conditions at Whitetail this weekend.

Interestingly enough, the roughly 2 inches of natural snow (from the night before) melted off by mid-day, but even after that melt off, nearly all the trails still had a nice base of snow.  Also, later that afternoon, as the the humidity dropped and as the north winds started to drop temps in a hurry,  they quickly fired up the snow guns again. 

So I say go hit the slopes while you still can my friends, and don't forget to thank the guys you see moving those snow guns around!