Big Bald Knob (4120 ft.), VA

December 18, 2005

Allyson flew in for a visit while on her way to see family in New Hampshire for Christmas. Before her flight, I said, "What do you mean you're not bringing skis? Why are you skeptical about skiing in Virginia?" I added. But I convinced her that if nothing else we could drive to Snowshoe in WV for some lift skiing. Besides, there's plenty of snow in NH, so bring those skis! I picked her up from Dulles on Sunday morning at 7:30am. It was hard making the 2+ hours drive from Richmond -- I only had one hour of sleep after finishing my grading of final exams for the class I was teaching this semester at VCU. Long story short -- I finished grading by 1am Sunday morning, went home to pack, slept of an hour, then drove to Dulles to pick up Allyson.  From Dulles we drove west on 66, then met up with Nicole in Staunton. After a quick lunch in Staunton, the three of us packed into my truck and headed west for Big Bald Knob, elevation 4120 ft. Lucky for us, we skinned from the truck, gained about 1000 vf., enjoyed whatever views we could make through the woods, then "skied" down. We indulged in 1+ inch-thick of breakable crust over detritus and twig-like thingies with sharp finger-eating thorns. I've skied worse. Overall it was a great introduction to skiing in the backwoods of Virginia. The state has potential and I'm now intrigued by the surrounding mountains. I'll continue to poke around for turns. 

More info

Big Bald Knob is neither big nor bald. But it's big enough and bald enough. The trailhead starts at around 2200 ft. and the summit is 4120 ft. To get there, drive to Staunton, VA. Find route 250, go west (like you're going to Snowshoe resort in WV) for about 15-miles. Take a right on Road 715, drive for about 3-miles or when the snow stops you. Keep a watchful eye for property lines and no trespassing signs. People will shoot you in these parts. In fact, we heard tons of gun fire while gearing up. Advice: it's best to wear a bright orange jacket with Kevlar. Anyway, look for a trail and shwack your way to the top. The skiing isn't too bad. It might be tight in some places. Watch out for those nasty, thorny shrubs. I grabbed one to dump speed and it hurt.