Canaan Valley

We spent the weekend at Canaan Valley, West Virginia with some friends. I have written about some of our past trips before - it's an annual trip for us, sometimes multiple trips in a winter. This year the weather has been a bit unwelcoming for lovers of snow. The temperatures have been mild, and most precipitation has come as rain. This could be related to LaNina conditions being experienced in the equatorial Pacific this year. It's been particularly difficult for us - we drove to and from Michigan for Christmas through snow each way, but found little to no snow on the ground while we were there. No skiing at Christmas this year.

Things did not look much brighter as our planned weekend excursion approached last week. It was mild and wet out in West Virginia, with no snow base as late last last Thursday morning. Then a cold blast of air came through, along with roughly 6-8 inches of white stuff - just enough to cover the trails and create ski-able conditions at White Grass, where years of maintenance have cleared rocks and stick from the trails. We got some fresh powder overnight Friday and Saturday, which meant the conditions were surprisingly good for skiing all around the mountain this weekend. Of course we had a great time hanging out with everyone. Group dynamics have changed a bit over the past few years - though the participating families/couples have varied somewhat, we set a record with 5 kids in the house this time - and with three expecting couples, this same group will have 8 kids next winter!

As for plans for future ski outings, we will be somewhat limited for the next three weeks as Tatiana works towards her comprehensive exams. We do plan to return to Lake Placid for President's weekend.

Here are some photos from the weekend and also from Christmas.