Massanutten Resort in Virginia has gone through quite a transformation over the past few years. Over the past three years, they’ve added multiple new ski trails and lifts. Before this ski season, Massanutten added a new high-speed chairlift, sculpted a new trail, replaced snowmaking pumps and hydrants on the Paradise trail, twelve new TechnoAlpin automated fan snow guns, and improvements to the Mid-Mountain Grill.
While the Peak Express chairlift is certainly a big improvement, the biggest addition is arguably Massanuttens’ first double black diamond trail. Called No Hessitation, the piste starts with a steep drop in, then gradually mellows out. The trail also has automated snowmaking and LED lights for night skiing.
Here’s an official description of the trail from Massanutten:
Our new Double Black Diamond extreme difficulty trail (No Hessitation) is a great compliment to the two new Blue Square, more difficult trails (Mueller’s Mile & Ridgecrest) and Black Diamond most difficult trail (Slot) we added last season. The new terrain has dramatically changed the snow experience and flow around the hill. No Hessitation has a steep fall line trail that will increase the challenge factor for advanced skiers and riders.
The new run is named in honor of Kenny Hess, who was a resort administrator for over forty years. Here’s what a Massanutten official said to Blue Ridge Outdoors about Hess:
“Kenny Hess started his career at Massanutten Resort in 1980 to ski as much as possible while studying at James Madison University. He has made significant changes to the Resort that paved the way for major growth, including the major ski area expansion currently underway, and introduced safety and risk management as a priority.”
In most regions, this would probably be a black diamond or an advanced intermediate trail, but it still looks like a blast to shred.
Massanutten currently has 23 trails and seven lifts open. No Hessitation was closed for a little bit due to a warm stretch, but it’s now back open.
Image/Video Credits: Massanutten Resort
