Wintergreen Slopes Open Early for Season

Good news for Richmond-area skiers (like our friends at the Richmond Ski Club): Wintergreen is open for business. The nearest ski resort to RVA opened Friday, Dec. 7, a week earlier than expected.

Snowmaking at Wintergreen. Credit: Fenton Inn

According to Erin Conway’s report in the Lynchburg News and Advance: Weather around the resort has been colder and wetter than usual this year, “which allows over 400 automated snow guns to produce snow for skiing earlier than usual.”

Of course, the storm that blasted Virginia this past Sunday was also a huge boon to Wintergreen. Some areas around Lynchburg received over 17 inches of natural snow. Click here for the up-to-the-minute snow report on the mountain.

And in case you’re wondering, Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia, another ski destination super popular with Central Virginians, is also open and has already received 23″ of natural snow this year.

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An Insider’s Guide to Ski Resorts Near RVA

Editor’s note: We’re excited to have the Richmond Ski Club come onboard as a new RichmondOutside.com partner. Below club member Heidi Chadwick gives us her “Insider’s Guide” to ski resorts within driving distance of Richmond. And click here to learn more about the club.

 

In case you hadn’t noticed, winter is here! If you’re ready to hit the slopes with your skis or snowboard,
here’s an insider’s guide to what you need to know about ski resorts within a few hours of Richmond.

Wintergreen Resort – close by fun for all levels

Just 1.5 hours from Richmond near Charlottesville, Wintergreen Resort is your close, easy-to-get-to
option for winter fun. Wintergreen features 100 percent snowmaking coverage and skiers and riders
have access to 27 runs and 1,003 feet of vertical drop via five lifts, including two high-speed, six-person
chairlifts.

For upper-level intermediate/experts, the Highlands area is really enjoyable. With some nice blues and blacks and a high speed lift minimizing lift line waiting times, you can get lots of runs in and avoid the busy and overcrowded beginner area. If you prefer blues or greens, these runs can get crowded but are less so early or late in the day and for night skiing (slopes are open 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.). Wintergreen’s Terrain Park offers a chance to hone freestyle skills, with a progression of features that are designed to accommodate a variety of skill levels. To help with the weekend crowd, the resort even runs a dedicated lift so terrain park users can get in as many runs as possible! Wintergreen has lots to do beyond the slopes with a fun tubing park and ice skating. Plus, parking is free (but be sure you park in the correct lots on the correct days or you will get towed).

The Richmond Ski Club offers member trips all over the world. Credit: RSC

Massanutten – slopes, ice skating, and a killer indoor waterpark

Massanutten Resort is located in the Shenandoah Valley, 20 miles from downtown Harrisonburg and approximately 2 hours from Richmond. Everyone can enjoy Massanutten because it has trails for all levels, from the beginner to the advanced skier or snowboarder. The ski area features 1,100 feet of vertical with 14 beginner, intermediate and advanced trails serviced by eight lifts. Beginners are serviced by their own learner’s area and lifts, which is nice. From the summit, advanced riders will find steep lines that will get the heart pumping and legs burning. The resort also has two well-maintained terrain parks.

Ready for something else at the end of a your ski day? Enjoy some good old-fashioned ice-skating fun at the resort’s outdoor rink, which can accommodate up to 130 skaters at a time, or their indoor waterpark, voted among the top 10 waterparks in the country.

Snowshoe – three distinct ski areas/one lift ticket 

Surveys of Southeast area skiers continue to rank Snowshoe Mountain Resort as a favored destination. Located in Pocahontas County, WVa., Snowshoe is the largest winter resort in the mid-Atlantic and one of the few resorts that gets frequent natural snowfall. There are always several inches of fresh, natural powder.

Wintertime and the living’s easy… Credit: RSC

With 60 trails in three ski areas available on one lift ticket, the resort challenges all levels of skiers. Snowshoe Mountain has a large selection of green, blue and black diamond runs, plus two high-speed quads, Soaring Eagle and Ballhooter, to keep the lines moving (although Ballhooter can really back up on busy weekends). Try Widowmaker or Skip Jack, two favorite runs usually with plentiful snow.

Two black diamond trails comprise an area called The Western Territory, boasting a 1,500-foot vertical drop, 60 percent pitch, and 1.5 miles in length. The Western Express high-speed quad is rarely crowded and speeds you up the mountain so you can get lots of runs in.

The third ski area, Silver Creek, is an easy, free shuttle ride from Snowshoe. Quieter and more family- oriented, it’s a good place to escape weekend crowds and has some nice long runs and multiple lifts to use. Plus, Silver Creek offers night skiing from 4:30-9 p.m. if you’re just not ready to stop for the day. The Village of Snowshoe features high quality lodging and a large heated pool/hot tub complex to soak tired muscles after a long day of skiing/boarding.

Canaan Valley – lots of snow and short lift lines

Canaan Valley Resort, also located in West Virginia, is home to long beginner and intermediate trails serviced by a modern chairlift infrastructure and supported by a large snowmaking system. Canaan Valley has limited skier traffic that allows for short lift lines. The resort, approximately 4 hours driving distance from Richmond, is known for being very family friendly and provides ski and snowboard schools.

Skiers and riders have access to 47 trails, a terrain park, 850 feet of vertical drop and an average of 180 inches of snow per year. Other resort activities include cross country skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing and snow tubing. There is also free shuttle service between the Bear Paw Lodge and the ski area. Ski and snowboard lessons and rentals are available as well as child care for 2 to 6-year-olds.

Want to try heli-skiing? RSC has you covered… Credit: RSC

Timberline – a local favorite

Only 2-3 miles from Canaan Valley is Timberline Four Season Resort, a West Virginia favorite. The family-owned and operated ski area provides skiers and snowboarders a peak elevation of 4,268 feet, 150 inches of average annual snowfall and a vertical drop of 1000 feet. Four lifts service 40 diverse runs spread out over 100 acres of skiable terrain, including some great glade runs. The longest run, Salamander, is a leg-burning 2 miles. The black trails are challenging, especially a few that are ungroomed. There’s also two terrain parks and night skiing. For beginners, Timberline’s veteran ski school is one of the best in the region. The resort offers guests the option of staying in their slope side hotel and Timberline Stable’s beloved horses and antique carriages and sleighs make for a picture-perfect (literally!) end of the day memory.

Bryce – one of Virginia’s best-kept skiing secrets

Bryce Mountain may be one of Virginia’s best-kept secrets. The resort, located in the Shenandoah Valley near West Virginia, has long catered to skiing families and is only 2 ½ hours from Richmond. The area has 25 acres of skiable terrain and a vertical of around 500 feet. There are five lifts servicing eight runs. While a small resort with somewhat limited trails, this is a perfect place to practice and get yourself in condition for when you go to the bigger resorts. With 100 percent snowmaking and night skiing, no matter the conditions or time of day you can still get out on the slopes and get your runs in. With help from Mother Nature and advancements in snowmaking equipment, most area resorts maintain consistent, powdery bases throughout the ski season. So grab your skis or board and get out there!

The Richmond Ski Club is one of the leading ski and active outdoor clubs in the U.S. Established in 1954,
the Richmond Ski Club has been providing fun, travel and friendship to Central Virginia winter sports
enthusiasts for over 60 years. In addition to snow sports, the Club offers a variety of warm weather
activities, including biking, tubing, camping, and socials.

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Exploring Richmond’s ‘Poop Loop’

Ever heard of the Poop Loop? If you’re a mountain biker or a trail runner and your answered ‘no,’ you’re missing out. The Poop Loop is an approximately 3-mile, formerly-pirate (i.e. unsanctioned) trail built on city property adjacent to the waste water treatment plant. The area, as you might imagine, has interesting smells wafting through it from time to time (although not that often), thus the name.

The Poop Loop trail begins at Ancarrow’s Landing and heads into the woods south of the park along the river.

But where exactly is the Poop Loop, you ask? It’s south (downstream) of Ancarrow’s Landing in a patch of woods along the river. It was built by mountain bikers over 5 years ago and brought into the official city maintenance purview soon thereafter. But it still flies under the radar somewhat among casual trail users I talk to, especially trail runners. That’s why I was excited to see the Richmond Road Runners, RVA’s long-time running club is holding it’s first “Poop Loop 4ish Miler” on Sunday, October 28th at 6 p.m. I hope it helps get the word out about this underrated piece of singletrack, which sees very little use from anyone besides mountain bikers.

Click here to learn more about the race.

And even if you’re not interested in a trail race next to a wastewater treatment plant (How’s that for a sales pitch?), the Poop Loop is worthy of a trip. The trail itself is a blast for advanced mountain bikers, but I know a number of parents who take their kids with beginner/intermediate MTB skills there because it’s flat, twisty and fun.

See where Brander St. crosses train tracks then goes into the park? The entrance trail to the Poop Loop is in those woods on the south side of the entrance road immediately after crossing the tracks.

To get there, first follow these directions to Ancarrow’s Landing. As you approach Ancarrow’s, you’ll cross a set of train tracks then enter the park. As soon as you enter look to your left and right, you’ll see a trail cutting across the road surface into the woods on both sides. The trail to your right as you enter the park leads you to the Poop Loop. Follow that into a small patch of woods, then out into a meadow along the river then back into another forested area, which is the Poop Loop proper. You’ll see directional signs for the trail. Follow those, do the loop and you’ll arrive back at where you started.

For trail lovers looking to get away from the James River Park crowds or who want to explore something new, the Poop Loop is a great option.

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Who Will Be Crowned ‘King of the James?’

The James River Outdoor Coalition is once again holding its annual competition to determine the Kings and Queens of the James. What is this all about, you ask? The fourth annual ‘King of the James’ is an  adventure triathlon on Sunday, November 11th. Individuals and teams will battle it out as they run the Forest Hill Trail loop, mountain bike Buttermilk and North Bank Trails, and paddle the urban whitewater found deep in the heart of the Richmond’s fall line. In the end, as they say: “There can only be one King of the James.”
This year race organizers are changing it up a bit, due to the size and scale of the race. The race will begin at the Forest Hill Park shelter immediately in front of you when you enter the park from New Kent Ave. Gear will need to be staged in two separate areas. Mountain bikes will be staged in the grassy area just next to the pavilion. Boats and paddling gear need to be dropped off down at Reedy Creek.
The Race: A Le Mans-style start will kick off this year’s event. When the flag drops, riders will  run across the parking lot to their bikes, and make their way down to Forest Hill Park Lake.

The Forest Hill Park trails will feature prominently in the King of the James. Credit: Phil Riggan

1.) Mountain Bike – Buttermilk & North Bank – Clockwise ~ 10 Miles

After a quick lap around the lake, riders will ride through the Reedy Creek culverts under Riverside Drive to pick up the Buttermilk Trail. After completing the downtown loop, climb back up to Forest Hill Pavilion using the narrow concrete bridge over Reedy Creek.
2) Trail Run – Forest Hill Loop – Counter Clockwise ~ 3 miles
Run  through Forest Hill Park counter clock wise. As you exit Forest Hill Park at Riverside Drive, cross under the road one more time, using the culverts. Continue running in the creek and under the railroad tracks using a second set of culverts. Hop out of the creek before you run into the James.
3.)  Whitewater Kayak – Falls of the James River – Straight Down the Middle ~ 2.5 miles
Get in your boat and start paddling towards the 14th Street Whitewater Take Out.  You finish when your boat hits the steps at the take-out. Relax and sit back.  Take a breather.  You just finished the ‘King of the James
The King of the James was created to help support the James River Park. All of the money raised from this event will go to the James River Outdoor Coalition, an all volunteer organization that was formed in 1997 to provide resources to complete improvements in and around the James River Park System and to educate and advise on issues pertaining to the park. If you, or an organization that you are part of, is interested in supporting the King of the James, we have several options for giving.  JROC is a non-profit 501(3)(c) organization and all donations are tax deductible.

2017 Winners 

King – Michael Wilson 01:28.2
Queen – Penelope Davenport 01:45.5
Team – Captain Crunk 01:17.2
2015 Winners
King – Trevor Sayler  1:20:14
Queen – Jennie Belt  1:28:06
Team – Pup N Suds 1:16:25
2014 Winners
King – Adam Tremper  1:24:48
Queen – Jennie Belt  1:45:53
Team – The Ringers 1:22:52
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Monroe Park Reopens After $6.3M Facelift

Yesterday’s ribbon cutting. Credit: Monroe Park Conservancy

I drove past Monroe Park for the first time in a couple of days yesterday not realizing that the ribbon cutting for the 8-acre greenspace had taken place earlier in the day. It looked beautiful, even in the waning sunlight, and I’m excited to go spend some time walking around and soaking it in more fully.

The improvements to the park were not insignificant: 132 new trees and 130,000 (but who’s really counting?) bushes and plants. The new pathways feature LED lighting, and the Checkers House will soon feature a coffee and sandwich cafe. There’s also a police substation that the Richmond and VCU police departments will use. All of this (and more) cost $6.3 million and took 22 months to complete.

According to an article by Mark Robinson in today’s Times-Dispatch, “Richmond City Council agreed to lease the park to the nonprofit [Monroe Park] Conservancy for $1 a year in 2014. The Conservancy raised about half of the money for the renovations, and the city fronted the other half.”

If you have reason to head to the Fan or downtown in the near future, go check out the reimagined Monroe Park. From what I saw yesterday, Richmond’s most central greenspace has returned to it’s former glory.

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Toppling Rocks

Things change quickly in a world dominated by technology. Not six months ago I made a case for geo-tagging Instagram shots because I believe that in order to conserve the land, one must have a deep personal connection to it. So when someone posts a photo of a pristine alpine lake, or a blossoming meadow, why not share that location with others so that they too may experience its majesty and be so moved to advocate for it? Shortly after I made my case, the Leave No Trace Center released their new set of rules including digital best practices.

An elaborate rock cairn on a mountain in Switzerland.

My best estimation of the problem is that we’re mostly a generation of folks without a good example — someone to take us out and show us the ropes. We’re discovering the joy of adventure travel without having learned our manners first, and it’s starting to show in a big way. Overuse of these spaces is glaringly obvious, and finding truly wild places is more difficult than ever. Participation has increased at all levels, which is a good thing, but permitting and visitation limits have yet to fully catch up. The number of annual thru hike attempts on the Pacific Crest Trail has tripled over the last decade, the outdoor industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, and to speak bluntly: we need to start promoting stewardship along with participation.

I’m a bit of an old, curmudgeonly soul and could gripe all day about folks playing open air music, not
carrying their dog’s poop, taking a lunch break on the trail, not giving up hill travelers the right of way,
not letting faster hikers pass, or running straight downhill across the switch backs, but today I dusted off
the pedestal to talk about something else: cairns.

I hiked through Crabtree Falls to get out into The Priest Wilderness not too long ago. Climbing the paved trail to the boot path, I passed hundreds and hundreds of cairns, the biggest patch of them near the top of the falls where visitors took a break for lunch — and undoubtedly stacked all those rocks.

A cairn is a stack of rocks used to act as a visibly unnatural way point for backcountry travelers. You don’t need to know the history of cairns to deduce that rocks don’t naturally stand themselves on top of one another. They are a great, low-tech way of telling other travelers: “Someone has been here,” which is the very essence of what a trail is. For me personally, legitimate cairns say, “Hey, stop! Look around. Did the trail change direction? Can you see another cairn from where you’re standing? Yes, there. Go that way.” They’re vital above tree line where there’s no vegetation to rough in a boot path and can be used to indicate a summit or point of interest.

A cairn in Great Britain.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m eventually going to say, “Don’t build cairns.” To justify that, I have to cover Leave No Trace principals briefly. LNT is widely accepted as the best practices for responsible, minimal-impact, backcountry travel. In a way, the seven LNT principals are suggestions, similarly to “keep right, pass left.” (Wouldn’t that be nice?) In another way, they’re a lot more than suggestions. LNT teaches conservation and preservation techniques that ensure future generations will get to enjoy the same recreational opportunities we have today. The two that are most relevant in regard to cairns are “Leave what you find” and “Be considerate of other visitors.

Leave what you find. In short — no souvenirs. Don’t move vegetation unnecessarily because it’s a habitat for the life present there. Don’t stack rocks because it looks cool, and if you’re doing it for the zen and meditative state it puts you in, make sure you do the responsible thing and redistribute those rocks to their natural place.

Be considerate of other visitors. Going back to what a cairn literally represents: “Someone has been here.” I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t think that’s why people go outside. I think that most of us go to escape civilization — even if just briefly — or to commune with nature and return to a simpler state of being. In folk lore and literature studies there’s this idea of identity in place and time. That we tell stories from a point in time and that everything we do creates a moment that can be referenced in the future. People “create” a moment in nearly everything they do. A cairn is a physical representation of a moment, of a ceremony, that says “Someone has been here,” and when you do it for reasons other than the intended purpose of showing a path, that statement turns into, “I was here.”

A rock cairn marking a trail in the southwest U.S.

I know this is harsh, but that’s about the most selfish thing you can do. We’ve got to learn to ignore the very human instinct to shout me-centric statements of existence into the void — the world does not revolve around you or me.

The abuse of cairns I’ve seen in my travels is epidemic — I knock them over publicly as often as I can, trying to take the time to explain to others what I’ve written here. Our footprint is big enough as it is and it’s no longer okay to simply not be part of the problem — we’ve got to start actively educating every chance we get. I reached out to LNT for some advice with this and they were kind enough to provide their guidelines and rationale on cairns. To be clear, USFS, NPS and other land management agency cairns are not to be messed with. Blatantly “decorative” cairns on the other hand… I’m going to redistribute the shit out of those rocks because they’re eye sores and encourage bad practices.

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Volunteers Collect Hundreds of Bags of Trash During James River Regional Cleanup

Volunteers pick up trash along the James River near Ancarrow’s Landing. Credit: JRAC

More than 600 volunteers in 13 locations yesterday cleaned the James River and its banks of trash and recyclables during the 19th annual James River Regional Cleanup.

In all, 417 bags of trash and 235 bags of recyclable material were removed from 18 sites between Lynchburg and Newport News. The annual event is organized by the James River Advisory Council and partners, including nonprofit organizations, friends groups, businesses, local governments, state agencies and individuals.

“I’m always amazed and thrilled at how many dedicated volunteers we have to help with this event,” JRAC Executive Director Kimberly Conley said. “We’re tremendously grateful and thank everyone who have made the James River Regional Cleanup a success for another year.”

Of the 672 volunteers, 41 were in canoes or kayaks and five were in powerboats. Other volunteers scoured the riverbanks or picked up along roadsides. They pulled 46 tires from the water.

The James River Regional Cleanup is the kickoff for James River Week, which offers numerous activities for people to celebrate the river.

For more information, call 804-748-1567, or email conleyk@chesterfield.gov  or  julie.buchanan@dcr.virginia.gov.

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Beat the Back-to-School Blues with a Trip to Bear Creek Lake

I’d been meaning to post a writeup about Bear Creek Lake State Park for most of the summer when I stumbled across this piece from Virginia State Parks. Turns out Shellie Anne, the blog editor for VSP, did the hard work for me!

A cabin at Bear Creek Lake State Park.

Why have I been meaning to write about Bear Creek Lake? Because it’s an under-the-radar but not out-of-the-way natural gem that’s only a 45-minute drive west (or less) for many Richmonders.

BCL has a little bit of everything. Fishing, paddling and swimming at the eponymous 40-acre lake. Tons of hiking and biking trails in the park and in the connected Cumberland State Forest. Camping at primitive sites and cabins.

Looking for an easy day trip from Richmond before the kids head back to school? Bear Creek Lake has something for everyone. Click here to read more about it.

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Nova 2-for-1 Waterfall Excursion Worth the Drive

For this week’s waterfall entry, I’m sending you to Northern Virginia…

Wait! Don’t “x” out of this page just yet. Hear me out. I’m not generally in the habit of sending people in search of outdoorsy activities anywhere near Washington, D.C., but this one is worth it. Trust me. What I have is a waterfall twofer: one trip, two distinct waterfall and hiking opportunities close together.

Scott’s Run Falls in Fairfax County.

Your late-summer adventure begins at Scott’s Run Falls, which is just down the Potomac River from Great Falls, the second waterfall you’ll be visiting. Scott’s Run is on the Virginia side of the Potomac, which makes it much easier to get to than the Maryland side, where most of the Great Falls traffic goes. (Click here for the Google Maps location of Scott’s Run.)

Scott’s Run Falls sits at the northern edge of a surprisingly large natural area called Scott’s Run Nature Preserve. You’d enjoy the hiking here even if there wasn’t a waterfall to visit. There are many well-groomed trails.

The preserve has two parking area’s, and there are trail options to the falls from either one. If you pick the first lot on Route 193 (traveling west from off the interstate), you’ll follow the hilly Woodland Trail to the River Trail then to the falls. That route is about 2 miles round trip. If you choose the second parking lot, you’ll follow the mostly flat path along Scott’s Run straight to the falls. That hike is about 1.2 miles out and back.

The falls is maybe 15 feet tall and it does have a nice swimming hole at the bottom of it. Swimming is forbidden there because of concerns about water quality, but on my most recent visit there were plenty of people taking a dip. From the looks of it this rule is not stridently policed. From the falls, the widening Potomac is right in front of you and there some more trails along the river to explore.

This is Northern Virginia, so don’t expect to have the place to yourself, especially in summer. But if you find yourself in the area, definitely put it on your Nova must-hike list.

Waterfall #2

Ah yes, the Granddaddy of Them All (in least in terms of notoriety): The Great Falls of the Potomac.

Great Falls was running high when this picture was taken in 2014.

Literally just up the road from Scott’s Run is Great Falls, the beast with the steepest drop through the Fall Line of any Eastern river. Where the James River takes about 7 miles to exit the Piedmont and enter the Coastal Plain, the Potomac does so in less than a mile. And above Mather Gorge, the river narrows from over 1000 feet to between 60 and 100. It makes for a spectacular scene, especially with all the rain we’ve had. If you go soon, the Potomac is sure to still be raging.

There are National Park Service units on both sides of Great Falls. In Virginia, there are 3 overlooks and a series of trails to explore. (Here’s the Google maps link to the park location.) I recommend following the trail signs to hit all three overlooks — you won’t be disappointed with any of them. The River Trail gives hikers a sense of what the Potomac looked like before the falls and gorge formed. Hikers on that path are walking along the ancient Potomac riverbed, now located 40-75 feet above the river’s current location.

Click here to learn more about these hikes and many more waterfall hikes in Virginia.

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Vote ‘Views from the Treehouse’ Podcast in Best of RTD

Riverside Outfitters owner Matt Perry and I have had a blast since January putting out our Views from the Treehouse podcast. We’ve discussed all things in Richmond with guests like James River Park manager Nathan Burrell, local ultrarunning star Bethany Patterson, meteorologist Andrew Freiden, BikeWalk RVA Director Max Hepp-Buchanan and many, many more (click here to see all of the guests and catch up).

Well, if you’ve enjoyed the podcasts (or are just hearing about it now and think you might), we need your help! We’ve been nominated as a”Best Local Podcast” by the readers of the Times-Dispatch, and voting for the winner has begun.

Here’s how you vote: First, click here. Once you’re in, scroll down and click on “Entertainment.” We’re the ninth category down: Best Local Podcast.

But don’t stop getting your vote on there. A couple of the sponsors who help make the podcast possible are also nominated in other categories. Help out our friends Virginia Family Dentistry (Best Dental Practice) and Ellwood Thompson’s (Best Grocery Store), too!

You can vote once a day every day through August 5.

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