<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 2/28/00. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>What a difference a week makes. Last weekend in VT I experienced waves of powder washing over my thighs like surf. Yesterday I was shocked to experience waves of water doing the same thing. Not slush - water, from water skiing the ponds and streams on the rapidly melting snowpack of Blue Knob PA. Is it really possible that only a week had passed? The WV areas still have deep bases due to aggressive snowmaking, higher altitudes and colder temperatures. Most other areas in this part of the country are looking at seasons end in the next week or two. <BR> <BR>Sat. I staffed a trip with Teen Winter Sports of Fairfax VA. We had 3 buses of eager and happy teens who all seemed to remain that way through a day of what can only be described as "variable" conditions. Thursday and Friday both saw high temperatures in the 70s in the DC area. On Sat. there was cloud cover so it was expected to reach only 55 or 60. We arrived at the mountain in pea soup fog which lasted all day, top to bottom. Visibility was never more than 100 feet and at times it was 20 or less. The name of the game was to ski where it's white, which wasn't always easy to determine in the fog before you got there. In addition to wet granular snow and standing & running water we had mud, grass, and rocks. It was skiing by braille. <BR> <BR>Before you feel sorry for me, Blue Knob has one great asset which is unique in the mid Atlantic area. It's name is Extrovert and I love it. It is about 800 vertical feet of steep gnarly bumps and it is the only honest double diamond south of Hunter on the east coast. It's better than any of <BR>Killington's bump runs IMHO, and I have spent many a great day of spring skiing there. Like Mad River and Stowe, this wonderful asset has been preserved through benign neglect. The respective reasons are different but the results for skiers are the same. There is no way that run could be <BR>groomed without a winch cat and the financially strapped management will never be able to afford one. It is highly unlikely that Blue Knob will ever be bought out by an ASC or other big time developer. It is located in a backwater too far away from the interstate, further from Wash/Balt than Whitetail and further from Pittsburgh than Seven Springs. In other words it is there - ski it if you can. <BR> <BR>In early to mid Feb. they put every snowgun they have on Extrovert and cover it about 10 feet deep. The guns are always positioned in the same places so the huge mounded "whales" are always in the same places, and since the mounds are never groomed or spread out, the squared off ledges that develop on the downhill sides are always in the same places too. Extrovert is a very good place to stay away from on an icy day, but anytime the daytime highs are predicted to reach 60 in Wash you go there. In 20 years of skiing it I have never seen the bumps so big as they were Sat. In several places the ledge drops were 10-15 feet. The traverse to get there was melted out so I had to walk through the mud to get there. The bottom too was melted out. In between there were about 600 ft. of fantastic spring bump skiing. Last year I was never there when it was open and yesterday was my first Extrovert day this year. It was great; I had forgotten how much I love that run!
Blue Knob, PA 2/26/00
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