Thank you ALL for the support and help you gave to make the annual WV State Championship Bike race a big success! Whether you are volunteer, prize donation or monetary sponsor, you all participated in a unique way that really made it all happen, run smooth, and be a big success. Todd Romero I was very excited to do an August ski. I think following the seasons is healthy, but we still have some snow patches in Juneau, AK. May wind up in Tennessee this winter, I could be traveling north to ski with you guys.WINTER APPROACHES. Freeze the salmon, the berries, the rhubarb. It will be a long night! Daniel Kirkwood

WV RESORT FEELS STATE FUNDING IS UNFAIR
The owners of Timberline Four Seasons Resort, WV, are reportedly not happy with the state providing a $21 million overhaul for Canaan Valley, its neighbor seven miles down the road. Fred Herz, vice president and co-owner of Timberline, believes the state should also provide tax incentives to help Timberline upgrade its resort. He thinks there should be "a fair and level playing field," according to The West Virginia Gazette.
Earlier this month, the state Economic Development Authority authorized a $160 million bond issue that will pay for improvements at state parks, universities and the state Capitol complex. Lottery revenues will repay the bonds. Canaan received $20.8 million to build 100 new guest rooms. The existing "modular" rooms were originally constructed in the 1970s. Herz doesn't begrudge Canaan wanting to improve its facilities, but the state also should pony up to help Timberline finance renovations and expansion, he said. Timberline has asked the state to authorize tax increment financing for Timberline's proposed renovations, but state officials gave the idea a cool reception. Instead, administration leaders suggested the resort pursue other economic development incentives - programs that Timberline doesn't believe measure up to tax increment financing. Timberline's owners have spent more than $20 million over the years to upgrade the resort. Not a dime came from the state or federal government, Herz said. He said the state should be spending money on improving infrastructure - things such as water and sewer projects - not "using its deep pockets" to subsidize development that hurts private businesses, such as Timberline.

Leadville, Co by Bob Livingston

The last renegade snow drifts in the east are melting off early in Tuckerman Ravine on Mt. Washington, NH. The last patch of snow visible in the leftmost bowl. During the last several years I have been watching the cam, the snowfield there at about 4,500 feet elevation has melted out in mid to late July. Last year, it made it into early August. Bob Leffler

Been thinking about you guys up there during our sweltering hot days her in Virginia! What a great season you had this year! Looking forward to another one this Winter!!! I found these guys(see pic) on my day hike on the Chessie trail in Lexington Virginia. It used to be the old Chesapeake and Ohio railroad bed. Hope you are enjoying your Summer! Nathan Heatley (FOJ crew member)

WG cafe cooking scholarship awarded to Lauren Birk Diane Hinkle

Baldy View by Casey (now out west climbing 14 K mtns.)

One is of a waterfall deeeeeeeeep in the Big Stonecoal ravine - camping is SO hard!See ya in the hills. BRuce

Proof there was snow! Fred Pollock

Janel and Al We’ve never met but I feel like we have thru your Web site. My name is Ulle, Ron Ulle & I can only assume my powers of being a snow god plus my taking up snow shoeing @ Whitegrass this past winter was the reason we got so much great snow. Last weekend my girlfriend & I came across three baby skunks just outside Davis. We thought they were adorable. Hopefully you’ll find one of the pictures worthy of your website photo collage. Take care & hope to meet you in person this winter. PS: Anne & I enjoy the dinners at Whitegrass & Purplegrass brunch! Ron Ulle

Skiing finally came to an end at Mammoth yesterday, but not before Laurie and I had a most excellent closing day session together. 46+ feet of snow, lift served into July... it's been a very good year. Now it's on to Saddlebag! Photo: Mitch Weber

My daughter asked today what does Whitegrass do in the summer? I told her after this past winter, probably rest. Have a great summer see you when the snows come back. Robert Guynn

Delores & David wet pond jump Chip and Nanette in 1982 : Tool

The Sunday Brunch at the Fiddle was really great!!!! Since my wife and daugthers have gone vegetarian on me, I especially appreciated the Korean beef dish! Tom Renda

a native in Tygart headwaters. geo

The latest stats for cross country skiing show some good news and information that solidly reinforces directions to useful marketing targets.We’ve known about the substantial female segment of xc skiing for years (52 percent of xc skiers) and to parlay the percentages many resorts and product suppliers have created products and services for women. Oprah, it’s time you paid homage to xc skiing!Like most of us, the age statistics of xc skiers continue to show an older skew. More than two thirds of the population is above 35 years old and less than 20 percent are below 24. With regard to other outdoor recreation, xc skiing is amazing with skiers aged 55-64 at 14.6 percent; 65-74 at 9.6 percent; and above 74 years old at 3.7 percent totaling nearly 28 percent of xc skiers aged beyond 55. And xc skiers are an accomplished bunch as 97 percent of the males and 88 percent of the females are college grads. These are significant factors to incorporate into services and marketing.Of course, if you followed the weather last winter you’ll remember the extensive snow covering the south Atlantic states. The industry showed an increase in xc ski equipment sales due to an increase in boot and binding sold as the southern region surged with a 285 percent increase. I always suggest putting stats in clear context so we must recognize that even though the south responded to the snow last winter, that region represents only about 2.7 percent of xc ski equipment sales in the US. But clearly there are many people in the south, who enjoyed new xc ski equipment and went xc skiing and snowshoeing last winter. Should we invest to inform southerners about cross country skiing at resorts every winter? How might we do that cost efficiently?Sales of xc ski gear overall increased 4.16 percent in dollars and 1.33 percent in units in 2009-2010 (last winter) according to SIA. This might not appear like a great report, but remember that the economy was not good. As mentioned above, the statistics were impacted by increases in boot and binding sales and the southern region’s surge in sales. The East and Midwest were slightly up last winter in sales, too. Roger Lohr XCSkiresorts

Television Is A Drug by Beth Fulton from Todd Alcott's poem, Television

Belize and Guatemala on vacation with the family. The White Grass hat made it to the top of of the Maya ruins. Kevin Moore

Diane Hinkle Deb Klein Chip and Ali by MB Gwyer

Send me any new events you have for July, Aug, or early Sept. Jane Birdsong, Coordinator,Community Arts Calendar * Winter is coming...The days are getting shorter Ed Phelps

Kelly Dunn

By the way, we had a great time, as usual this past March and promise to visit more often. Cheers! Marek

Colleen Laffey

Two labs sliding down snowy hillsides * Rick Wunderman * Nate Calhoun kayaks upper B * Hailey will update her blog periodically

Todd

Chipster! I don't know how a person could live a more fullfilled life. You've made a difference in SO many people's lives. Certainly mine. Enjoy your day, however you create it." Laird Knight

"the only mountain bike race to the moon and back" Seth WV Music Hall Of Fame

bigger version pdf Todd Sue Haywood

Tucker Trails

Dave S. Canaan Planters/ Chas GazetteThanks for making Skiing fun again! Whatever deal you made with Ullr this year.....double it for next! Dan Fowler WG Splitboarder

George and I spent Easter Weekend in search of the last bits of snow for some skiing. With the help of Chip Chase, owner and proprietor of famed Whitegrass Cross Country Ski Resort and his sidekick Stro, we navigated the back woods of Canaan Valley atop Weiss Knob and had quite the adventure! We also managed to squeeze in a bit of mountain biking at both New Germany State Park and Deep Creek Lake State Park over some pretty crazy terrain, including snow, mud, and rocks. I have nicknamed this weekend "Keeping Up With George" and I have the cuts and bruised to prove it! And George considers this one of his tamer weekends! Had a blast and have the pics to prove it....enjoy :) Leah

sad to see the snow go! Todd Eardensohn Marc * I was just looking back over some photos of this past winter and I cannot believe what a great season and what great times we had. I just want to thank you and everyone at White Grass for everything you do. Dutch

Stro

just checked in on the whitegrass site and got a lump in my throat when i saw yall closed up and all the happy photos. man, i learned a lot this winter! about skiing and about myself. i love whitegrass, and all the people there, and the great energy that surrounds the place...i will look forward to next season! much love, keri wondergem * * * "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie

Ian / Falls Church Times Too bad there is not a summer WG Sue Haywood

skimuseum.org

Jack Frost Ski Shoppers, Jackson, NH with Mt. Washington * Steve Barnett early tele pioneer near Mazama, WA mid 70's * Dickie Hall woodie ski jumpin' knicker air

Thanks for the great weekend! HSon www.shullphoto.com / Appalachian Aerial Images

A mouse wanted to hitch a ride on Amy's ski. Kevin WG exactly to get my mind right William

Faunce martin radigan

Bud heavy pack plow and Nelson hides out on the annual Winter Camp Out Weekend

feel like the luckiest person in the world beside you Chip * John Reagan Tom Johnson

Sandy Hook, NJ Conditions were perfect for skiing while our buddy, surfer guru Scott Thompson, played in the green room. John Passacantando

Gene with the Mtn Trails Lovers Ski BackBone

it was pretty awesome, drifts were over 6-8' in places I would have imagined the pipeline facing the Sods N facing would have been an epic ski down Darin Crew, Baltimore

Morgan Famous Amos Bowl by Jacob Lutz

Whitegrass here are some cookies made with eggs butter and LOVE as a big thanks you for sending me my lost mittens Jen

Two Feet of Snow / After a couple years of going to WG the kids only want to take the fast way up and the fast way down Bob Amacker

Eddie's amazing Ullr art ski him back and forth up n down forever view that carries us through the week ~ Betty

do you want me to stop now TeleBruce Vic/VistCanaan.com

The Whitegrass Adventure Tour was over-the-top, thanks to the leadership of Stro and Adam, plus the remarkable February snows that we have been getting. If you can continue to arrange with the Telemark gods to have the same fine snow in future years, I will ski the Whitegrass Adventure Tour until I die! Yours, Patrick McGarey

best winter ever SKIP the kids had great fun Stephanie

Never been to whitegrass, heard about it, checked it out on the web, wow! you have some community of people down there! I think If I ever decided to open a cross-country ski area it would be modeled after your place. Whitegrass is an inspiration to the sport of skiing. I'm from the Catskill area of NY and we are a bit sparse on snow this year. It looks like you are being blessed with the white stuff. My friends and I have to get down to your neck of the woods! Kinaed.com

I skied Whitegrass Feb 2nd-4th with buddy Skip Coulter who has been talking up your place for years. Enjoyed it as best ski-touring experience I have had. Skip explained the "snow farming" system and it reminded me of a poem I wrote years ago in Limerick style (although not ribald): Snow fences on farms near the road Help a snow-burdened wind to unload; By sifting and sighing, Without even trying, They harvest what winter has sowed. Keep up the good work-play. (Ideally it's all the same) Namaste. Dave Opilo

Whitegrass is the home of West Virginia cross-country skiing and one of the best places for backcountry fun on the entire East Coast. Chip and Mikey will ensure you have the gear you need, and lessons are available all day for beginners and experts alike. Try your hand (and knees) at Telemark skiing, wind up through the trees to fabulous views from the top of Bald Knob, or stay low in the snow farm where the drifts are high and are guaranteed to last all season. Relax and warm up after your exertions with a bowl of Laurie’s fabulous chili at the cafe then go out and do it all again. A-Frame of Mind

Thank you for taking the time to meet with the New Germany crew. We enjoyed seeing your grooming equipment and getting tips on techniques and appropriate conditions. We also got some new ideas for snow reporting and website design. We even took a look at your signs and shelters while we enjoyed skiing that afternoon. Melissa New Germany State Park, MD & Allegany Expeditions, Cumberland, MD

Robish * 40 turns in 7" snow @ US Naval Academy...Looks like you are breaking all the records this year. Craig

"This was my first time at Whitegrass and it made quite a first impression! I walked into a building packed full of character…huge woodstove burning in the corner, live fiddle and banjo, room packed full of energetic outdoors folk, jovial staff, wonderful scents of soups infusing the scene---I’ll definitely be back." Dr. Steve Godshall

It's gonna be like Santa, but even better-a group of 7 WYEP-ers are coming to get our ski on! Kathi (our local npr station)

stro dave saville Todd

Smiles all thru the lodge and apres' celebrations and vibes of daily bounty are as much a reason as the playing in snow. Passing it on down & all around, ya know? What a special place,thanks for everything. peace, Tomi

Thanks for running such an awsome place, I never enjoy skiing more than when i'm at white grass! Jacob Lutz

. pics of Colo by Geo Bell * Clare's Colorado photos with Chipper and the gang * Dan's Picaso Colo pics from Dec 09 Special Olympics

13. It's how many cups o' Joe you would need to drink in order to even come close to matching the energy level of one Canaan Valley hermit snow gnome many call Chipper. Hypno

Hansi's blog WG visit * ...and watch this video. Short and beautifully done. Elizabeth Gilespie

reasons to buy xc gear from us....we fit the boots and skis to your needs provide free advice buy new or used trade ups anytime and we have done the research on what works for this area and we are the long time small town local experts. We carry about every boot type to help custom fit your foot and have womens as well as mens specific fits. Plus we need your business! Rossi Evo Trail w/Alpina nnn bc and Leki Aluminum pole outfit slightly used for $385

Bert Late 70's in Canaan Us sent by Mark Blumenstein

Nils Larsen mastering his Altai ski techniques Powder Creek BC Rare Merlin catch at Dolly Sods

MooseWood vs. WG Cafe