By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 December 30th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Activities, Deep Creek Lake Area Things To Do, Wisp Ski Resort

If you are looking for some activities on New Year’s Eve in the Deep Creek area - the Wisp Ski Resort will once again display fireworks at midnight over the ski area that the whole family can enjoy. Much like the annual Fourth of July show, the fireworks will be viewable from most of McHenry Cove but from my experience the best viewing area is usually near the Bear Claw Snow Tubing Park. The Wisp is also having a New Year’s Eve Party inside the lodge that includes drinks and a live band. Advanced reservations are recommended!

For something  a little more relaxed, Pleasant Valley Dream Rides is once again offering horse drawn sleigh rides. Blankets are provided and the cold, crisp mountain air is sure to leave you rejuvenated. Reservations are required. Call (301) 334-1688 for more info and current conditions. Pleasant Valley is about 20 minutes south of Deep Creek.

With more snow predicted this weekend, if you are seeking a place to snow sled or toboggan in the Deep Creek and Garrett County areas I’ve found that Herrington Manor State Park usually is the best public spot and has some really good sledding hills and trails for kids and families to enjoy. The park’s concession stand does rent sleds along with cross country skis and snowshoes. The park’s concession will NOT be open on New Year’s Day but you can still bring your own sled and use the trails.

(Photo courtesy of Marcia Warnick of Four Wheels Photography - Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Photography.)

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 December 8th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Activities, Deep Creek Lake Area Things To Do, Garrett County News, News, Wisp Ski Resort

Two bits of winter news in the Deep Creek Lake area this morning.

First, after 5 inches of snow last weekend and massive amounts of cold temps and artificial snowmaking, the Wisp is opening for the 2009-2010 snow ski season this Thursday, December 10^th, 2009. Only the Belly Flop trail will be open the first day. Limited terrain will be opening during the weekend. From the looks of it from my office and driving around, the slopes accessed from Chairs 2 and 3 - Squirrel Cage, Road Runner, and Wisp Trail will be open at some point this weekend.

More interestingly, the Wisp Ski Resort plans on opening a 50 x 85 oval ice skating rink this winter. The rink will operate the same hours as the Bear Claw Tubing Park and will feature benches, lighting, and a bon fire area to warm up. They’ll even have a mini Zamboni to clear the ice. Ice skates are available for rent as well as paid lessons. The projected opening of Garrett County’s only ice skating rink is December 21, 2009.

Any additional recreational amenity such as this ice skating rink just continues adding to the long list of things to do and activities in the Deep Creek area. And also in a small way, this ice skating rink also helps out real estate and property values in the Deep Creek Lake area as well - it adds intrinsic value you can’t actually measure with a statistic but when combined with all the other activities - boating, hiking, snow skiing, snowboarding just to name a few - makes this such a popular and one of a kind resort area to buy a vacation home.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 13th, 2009 Category: Community Profiles, Wisp Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

Villages of Wisp is a 135 unit townhome complex that sits atop Wisp Ski Resort and overlooks Deep Creek Lake. All townhomes at Villages of Wisp are ski-in/ski-out with slope access. This development was built in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Beside ski slope access, other amenities include a lakefront area on Deep Creek Lake in McHenry Cove that owners can use, a community boat dock with 10 permanent slips and 2 boat slips for day use only. This lakeside family park has a gazebo and sun deck and can be accessed off of Marsh Hill Road.

There are 2 different floor plans at Villages of Wisp (VOW) - a smaller, 3 level, 2 bedroom unit commonly referred to as a 16 foot unit (because it’s 16 feet wide) - and a larger, 4 level, 2 bedroom loft unit commonly referred to as a 20 foot unit. Each building at Villages of Wisp (VOW) has 5 units - two (2) of the smaller units and three (3) of the larger 4 level loft units.  Clusters of these buildings can be found in various locations around the slopes of Wisp Ski Resort and can be accessed from the smaller private roads and courts known as Bright Passage, Winding Way, Slopeside Terrace, Lakeview Court, and Liftside Drive.

Villages of Wisp is a home owners association (HOA) - not a condominium association - and thus each unit is individually owned in fee simple.  All interior and exterior maintenance is the responsibility of the individual homeowner - not the HOA. The association dues go towards snowplowing, grass cutting, trash removal, the boat docks, and common area maintenance.

Click here for all Railey Realty listed townhomes and real estate currently for sale at Villages of Wisp.

Give us a call or shoot as e-mail if you would like to explore real estate opportunities at Villages of Wisp. We’ll be more than happy to send you a free list of available properties or schedule a time to see these properties for sale - or any others you wish to see.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 August 13th, 2009 Category: Garrett County News, Heritage, News, Wisp Ski Resort

Earlier this week Garrett County and the Deep Creek Lake area lost a true visionary and community leader. Helmuth ‘Ace’ Heise passed away early Tuesday morning after battling a long illness. Mr. Heise founded and built the Wisp Ski Resort at the base of Marsh Mountain in the 1950s and helped grow it to the world class resort it is today. Mr. Heise also built the Will O’ the Wisp Condominiums and the Four Seasons Restaurant on the shores of Deep Creek Lake along with the Lake Breez Motel. His accomplishments and leadership as a businessman in Garrett County over the years have been one of the main reasons why the Deep Creek Lake area has become so popular as a true four season vacation resort.

The arrangements for Mr. Heise are Thursday (August 13, 2009) 7:00 to 9:00 pm, Friday 2:00 to 4:00 pm and 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the McHenry House (the Wisp Ski Resort). The funeral will be Sunday (August 16) at 2:00 pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in downtown Oakland, Maryland.

Helmuth 'Ace' Heise 1927-2009

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 June 24th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County News, Garrett County Real Estate, News, Wisp Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

Yesterday we had a meeting with Karen Myers, one of the owners and developers of the Wisp Ski Resort. She gave us an update on the Wisp Ski Resort, the new Hale Irwin Lodestone Golf Course, and other real estate developments atop Wisp mountain. Here are the highlights of the meeting;

Contrary to any rumors the Wisp Ski Resort is NOT in any type of financial trouble! And they don’t intend to get in any financial trouble in the future by utilizing a plan to be fiscally responsible going forward. This plan includes delaying some of the proposed projects until economic conditions improve and expansion is feasible. The Wisp finished this past ski season (2008-2009) with about 185,000 skier visits - which was slightly ahead of the previous winter season - even with a slumping economy and an unusually warm March which forced them to close earlier than normal for the season. Some in the ski industry have heard reports that most of the other mid-Atlantic ski areas were down significantly in skier visits - if that is true this once again shows the overall strength of the Deep Creek Lake area as four season resort area that can still draw people and tourists even in tough economic times!

Hale Irwin Lodestone Golf Course

First and foremost the Wisp plans on finishing the Hale Irwin Lodestone Golf Club. The first 10 holes have already been “plated” and their is some additional rock blasting to be done on the final 8 holes. Hale Irwin toured the site last week and the course is on target to be done and playable by September 2009. The Wisp is currently pre-selling memberships - full memberships are $40,000 for non-lot owners and $20,000 for a sport membership for those who plan on playing less golf. This golf course will be a private, membership only course and won’t be open to public play.

Wisp Lakeside Club

Second on the priority list is to complete and open the Lakeside Club on Deep Creek Drive with a temporary building. The permanent $7 million building has been put on hold until the economy improves. The location is 1077 Deep Creek Drive which is the site of the old S&H Marina on Deep Creek Lake. The temporary location will have a bar, lounge, pool, TV’s locker rooms, and game rooms.  This club is targeted for property owners in some of the neighborhoods atop Wisp Ski Resort - such as Kendall Camp, North Camp, or Highline - that don’t have access to Deep Creek Lake. The target date for opening the Lakeside Club is July of 2009.

North Camp Ski Slope Expansion

Eventually, as economic conditions improve, the Wisp plans on constructing another Chair Lift and increasing the number of ski trails and ski-able terrain in the North Camp area of the ski slopes. The new Chair will be #8 and will meet at the top of North Camp near Chair #7.

Wisp Mountaintop Village

Lastly, the proposed Mountain Top Village near the ASCI White Water course will be developed. Proposed is a 100 unit residential building that will be ski-in/ski-out along with various retail and food shops. The mountaintop village already has ASCI (Adventure Sports Center International), The Pumphouse Cafe, and the Wisp Outdoors Center.

If you are interested in any real estate opportunities at Wisp Ski Resort or in the Deep Creek Lake area please give us a call or drop us an e-mail. We’ll be more than happy to show you any building lots, residential homes, or townhomes atop Wisp mountain and provide more details about all the happenings at Wisp.

By: coeliangreen cgreen@railey.com 301-501-4122 June 3rd, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Activities, News, Wisp Ski Resort

Yes - you heard correctly, the Wisp Ski Resort in western Maryland hosted its 3rd annual ski and snowboard Tom Wallisch Rail Jam on Saturday, May 23rd 2009.

Wisp Ski Area - May 23, 2009

Despite 80 degree weather, the Wisp was able to maintain a strip of snow for this awesome event.  With over 50 competitors, a live band, and plenty of food and drink a great time was had by spectators and competitors alike.  Competitors were each given three runs to show off their skills on a course set with plenty of jumps, rails and boxes.  Judges scored the competitors, and age group awards were given to the top competitors.

Local competitor, Colin Lynch, winner of the male under 18 snowboard category

Local competitor, Elizabeth Green, winner of the female under 18 ski category

The event is named for local freestyle competitor Tom Wallisch who grew up skiing at Wisp and was a member of the local Deep Creek Winter Sports Team.  Tom has gone on to successfully compete on the national and international level.  This past winter Tom won the  Tahoe Winter Mountain Dew Tour Slopestyle event - an incredible feat for a seasoned pro much less an up and comer!   Tom has also been featured in numerous videos and magazines.  The event’s name sake was on hand to help set up, judge the event and support our local freestyle skiers and boarders.

For more information on Tom Wallisch check out one of his many video clips on Youtube.   See why Tom is considered one of the best slopestyle skiers in the world!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oceLxuO8fLc

Tom Wallisch doing what he does best!

In conjunction with Wisp Ski Area and the Deep Creek Winter Sports Team, Tom Wallisch announced this week that he will be sponsoring a scholarship program.  The scholarship will provide an upcoming junior freestyle skier or snowboarder an opportunity to train and compete as a member of the local Deep Creek Winter Sports Team.    The scholarship will include a ski pass at Wisp and membership in the local Deep Creek Winter Sports Team Freestyle training program.  For information on the Deep Creek Winter Sports team, or to apply for the scholarship, contact Kellyann Green cgreen@railey.com or 301-501-4122.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 May 26th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Garrett County Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

Click on the link below for new real estate listings and homes for sale in the Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Maryland area offered by Railey Realty - Deep Creek’s leading real estate brokerage.

New Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County, and nearby West Virginia real estate listings - the week of May 17-24, 2009

The residential properties are denoted with a push pin and the building lots and acreage are denoted with the balloon graphic. Clicking on the property marker will give you a brief description and a link to additional pictures.

Please contact us if you are interested in any of these new properties - or any others listed for sale in the area. As a member of MRIS, our local MLS, we can assist with any property listed for sale - even those listed with other brokerages.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 March 13th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Area Things To Do, Deep Creek Lake Events, News, Wisp Ski Resort

This past weekend marked the 21^st annual Governor’s Cup Ski & Snowboard race at Wisp Resort, sponsored by the Deep Creek Winter Sports Team.  60 local and regional skiers and snowboarder’s competed for the coveted Governor’s Cup in a 2 day event.   To be eligible for the Cup racers were required to complete 4 race runs, starting with 2 slalom runs down the Squirrel cage slope on Saturday and 2 Giant Slalom runs down the Main Street slope on Sunday.  Winners of the cup posted the fastest 4 run times.  A junior cup was also awarded for the fastest JR racers (under 16).

Fastest Male & Female and winner of the 2009 Governor’s Cup

Derek Berger

Elizabeth Green

Elizabeth Green competing at 2009 Governor's Cup at Wisp Ski Resort in Maryland

Junior Governor’s Cup

Jack Havens

Cara Stough

Snowboard Governor’s Cup

Colin Lynch

Jessica Harvey

Junior Snowboard Governor’s Cup

Kyle Beard

Kesina Woodfield

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 25th, 2008 Category: Garrett County News, News, Wisp Ski Resort

Below are some pictures taken last weekend from what is believed to be the first avalanche ever recorded at Wisp Ski Resort. While it’s certainly not on the same scale as other avalanches out west it is certainly bizarre to believe that one can happen here in western Maryland of all places. But for those of you that don’t own real estate or live here full time the weather in Garrett County can be quite different compared to other nearby areas. When it’s raining in Pittsburgh or Washington D.C. it’s usually snowing here at Deep Creek Lake. Our temperatures usually run 5-8 degrees cooler than neighboring areas. The previous week this area got about 18 inches of natural snowfall and the Wisp was continually making snow because the temperatures never climbed out of the 20’s. Don’t worry though; there really isn’t an avalanche danger at Wisp. This one was probably caused when a large pile of artificial snow broke loose when a few unauthorized backpackers/skiers were taking advantage of the winter like weather. The Wisp does officially open the season this Friday, November 28^th.

Credit for these pictures must go to a user named FlyinGuitar08 from the Teton Gravity Research Forums.

And here is a video of the Wisp avalanche that was recently uploaded to YouTube. For those of you not aware, the Face ski slope is on the left in this video and the slope on the right is Squirrel Cage.

 

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By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 11th, 2008 Category: News, Wisp Ski Resort

Here is a picture I took this morning of the Squirrel Cage slope at Wisp Ski Resort. As you can see the Wisp fired up their snow guns last night- the low last night in Garrett County was 18 degrees! That’s pretty cold for this time of year even by western Maryland and Deep Creek Lake standards.

The Wisp usually tries to have a handful of ski slopes open by Thanksgiving weekend each year. The weather forecast for McHenry, MD looks like they may be able to make snow here and there for the next few weeks. From what I know the Wisp can make snow when the temperature dips in to the low 30’s or high 20’s.

The long term weather forecast is calling for a much colder month of December than normal. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and the Wisp can have nearly all the ski slopes open by Christmas week. Railey Mountain Lake Vacations still has some choice homes, condos, and town homes available to rent for the week between Xmas and New Years at Wisp and in the nearby Deep Creek Lake area. The winter ski season is just around the corner!