WhiteGrass

This post takes a slightly different turn as one of the Adventure Girls went cross country skiing at White Grass last weekend.  Cross country skiing, also known as Nordic skiing or Uphill skiing, is like hiking, right?

Anyway, it was a bitterly cold and windy day when we started the 2.5 hour drive back to Canaan WVa and we were all hoping that we had on enough clothes.  The forecast was not to be warm and it was a 100% chance of snow for that area.

When we arrived, it was mostly cloudy with the sun peeking out occasionally but the wind wasn't too bad.  Here are a couple of pictures of the area and the crowd in the morning.

We got our equipment, which by the way is a great deal, and headed out to hit the trails.  The area use pass and all your equipment can be had for $42.  Lessons can be purchased for an additional small sum.  The Lodge is smallish but always a very warm, if not bohemian, atmosphere and folks are happy to help you.  The Lodge also boasts a very good café which thrown in with the flowing beer and occasional music lends to a party atmosphere.

As the day went on, we wondered where the snow was that was forecasted.  We didn't have to wait long and when it started, it never let up.  The fresh powder was falling fast and furious and made for epic skiing conditions.  Between the fresh powder and beautiful evergreens, I almost felt like I was back in Montana.

 

 

We continued along the beautiful trails and availed ourselves of the warming huts as we came upon them to take a break and eat a snack.  We couldn't stay too long in the huts, though, because the brutal cold would soon sink in and you would quickly get back out there moving to get your blood flowing again.  Here is a picture of the snow barrage from inside one of the warming huts:

 

 

 

We enjoyed the snow, the beautiful scenery, the nice folks you meet and managed to ski almost 10 miles that day.  It was so enjoyable that we are hoping to go back in March and do it all again.  Here is the same picture we took in the morning and what it looked like when we were getting ready to leave:

 

 

 

According to their website, they had over 500 skiers that day but the trails are so plentiful and long that you only felt like there were that many people there when you visited the Lodge or the Yurt.

 

We headed home, weary and thankful for 4WD, but completely content with the day.  If you get a chance to go to WhiteGrass, I highly recommend it.  Lots of fun for all ages and affordable, too.