Virginia Ski Area Guide -- Very Complete

• Bryce Resort, Basye • 25 skiable acres on 500' vertical
  Specs: Summit elevation: 1750'; Base elevation: 1250'. 5 Lifts: 2 doubles, 3 surface. Uphill Capacity: 3000/hr. Terrain Mix: 34-33-33. Longest Run: 3500'. Season: usually December through mid-March, 7 days. Night Skiing Tues-Sat. Rentals. Annual Snowfall: 30". Snowmaking: 100%.
  The SKInny: Less than two hours from DC, smallish, slow lifts...yet somehow Bryce is seldom, if ever, crowded. Great for beginners, and like every other Virginia ski area, nothing too tough for the solid intermediate skier. Prices are reasonable...ski Bryce if you're a beginner or novice, or skiing with a young family. Ideal place for you, reasonable pricing. Trail names mostly have a bootleg whiskey theme: Redeye, Hangover, Revenuers Run, White Lightning, etc.
  Signature Trail: Revenuers Run.



• The Homestead, Hots Springs • 45 skiable acres on 700' vertical
  Specs: Summit elevation: 3200'; Base elevation: 2500'. 5 Lifts: 1 double, 1 t-bar, 1 j-bar, 2 rope tows. Uphill Capacity: 2,400/hr. Terrain Mix: 34-33-33. Longest Run: 4,200'. Season: usually December through March. Rentals. Annual Snowfall: 50". Snowmaking: 100%.
  The SKInny: If you're a regular skiing enthusiast, Homestead isn't your ideal destination. If you ski occasionally, or have a family where skiing is second to other recreation, The Homestead is your ideal destination. Seldom crowded, never overly challenging, beautiful atmosphere. Hotshots, wanderers and crazies need not apply.


Homestead ski scene from the 1950s


• Massanutten, Harrisonburg • 70 skiable acres on 1,100' vertical
  Specs: Summit elevation: 2925'; Base elevation: 1750'. 7 Lifts: 1 quad, 3 doubles, 1 j-bar, 2 handle tows. Uphill Capacity: 6350/hr. Terrain Mix: 30-35-35. Longest Run: 4,100'. Season: usually December through mid-March, 7 days. Night Skiing 7 days. Rentals. Annual Snowfall: 56". Snowmaking: 100%.
  The SKInny: Of the two mid-sized (800 to 1300 vertical) resorts in VA, Massanutten is second fiddle, and plays to the masses. Like any good southern resort, the novice, intermediate, and expert terrain are all neatly segregated. Lifts move slowly, the pace is slow, and the skiing is...feh. So what is it about skiing in the Shenandoah Valley that is so spectacular? Well, it's never as cold as Vermont, and you can play nine holes before you hit the slopes. When all is said and done, Massanutten makes the best of things and runs a decent ski area. If you want to do a discount ski weekend in VA, book a room in Harrisonburg, ski Massanutten, enjoy.
  Signature Trail: ParaDice.



• Wintergreen, Wintergreen • 90 skiable acres on 1003' vertical
  Specs: Summit elevation: 3515'; Base elevation: 2512'. 5 Lifts: 1 six-pack, 1 quad, 2 triples, 1 double. Uphill Capacity: 9,000/hr. Terrain Mix: 20-42-38. Longest Run: 7,392'. Season: usually November through late March. Night Skiing 7 days. Lessons & Rentals. Annual Snowfall: 40". Snowmaking: 100%.
  The SKInny: Here it is, the best Virginny has. Everything you'd expect in a southern ski area: It's upside-down, lifts crawl, skiers drawl, and you learn that Carhartt is a supplier of ski clothing. Each level of skier is segregated nicely, but you'll positively have to show up early, or ski "Highlands" to avoid lots and lots and lots of people. This is a full-service, four-season resort for the southern gentleman...and if he's a member, he's allowed to cut in front of you at the liftline. A couple of the runs -- Cliffhanger, Wild Turkey, and Tyro -- are well-designed, classic trails. Novices have nice, gentle runs in a central area below the main ski lodge. Be sure to visit Checkerberry Cabin, a mid-mountain snackbar that is just terrific. Because of its reputation as a pricey condo complex with ski slopes, "Wintergreenbacks" is seldom taken seriously when composing lists of important ski areas, but I'm here to tell you that it ranks with the best south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and it would still be respected if it were in New England. A state-of-the-art snowmaking system adjusts moisture content, so the snow is good. Wintergreen also manages to get every trail open well before mid-season, which is a lot more than most resorts can claim. 2005 update: Expansion! New trails bump the skiable acreage and improve flow between "sections." (note the 90 acres listed above is pre-expansion) Plus, a newly installed high speed quad on the Highlands area means that expert skiers will do a lot less grumbling.
  Signature Trail: Wild Turkey.

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Key

Lifts We don't consider a ski area's tubing-only lifts as part of the total. Signature Trail Is mostly subjective. Whether it's history, reputation, the view, or degree of difficulty...it's the run you have to do, even if it isn't necessarily the best the resort has to offer.

Finally, a note about ski area statistics: Although it's hard to believe, some ski areas are (gasp!) less than truthful with their numbers. Like the guy who lies about his, uh, shoe size, some ski areas believe that inflated numbers make their resort sound more appealling. When these numbers are obviously questionable, we put a note: (?!) and will attempt to verify the legitimacy of the claim.

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