First Skiing of the Season

On Wednesday, December 7th, about 8-10" of snow fell on the north side of Weiss Knob, over the mountain from our property. White Grass had many of the major trails groomed, and even though many of the water crossings were wet and/or icy, the skiing was great. After arriving Thursday evening, first thing Friday morning I headed up from the Lodge along Three Mile and Powderline to the shelter. There were staff guys cutting wood for the stove in the shelter, and stocking the shelter with granola bars for skiers. I followed Beechlick Trail up to Bald Knob on narrow trails winding their way through trees and over rocks. Easy going up; not so easy coming down. On top of Bald Knob, you have a great view of Weiss Knob, and completely unimpeded views of Canaan Valley. If you wanted, you could follow the gas pipeline up and over Weiss Knob, down about 2000' vertical, and come right out on the old road just above our property. We've climbed that way to Weiss Knob, but going back down on skis would be another story. Very rocky trails. The way down from Bald Knob was not so bad, and after a total of 11.6 km and a climb and descent of about 1000' each way, I made it back to the shelter and had some lunch. Not to be antisocial, but I didn't see a single other skier all the way up and back. Very relaxing, although 7.2 miles might have been a bit much for my first time out.