Early Season Gives Ski Areas a Lift.

By Joe Miller


You'd think that a weak economy would have the Southeast ski industry worried about whether skiers and snowboarders will have enough money to hit the slopes this season.

In fact, says Gene Brothers, an associate professor at N.C. State University who closely follows recreational tourism, the economy may be just what the industry needs after a couple of mediocre years.

"People in a tight economy tend to pick places that are close to home," says Brothers, who is in the university's Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management.

"When it comes to skiing, people around here, with gas prices what they are, aren't going to be taking a trip out West this year. They'll be skiing close to home."

Based on the cold and snowy start to the 2008-09 Southeast ski season, that's not such a bad thing.

"It's been phenomenal," says Mike Doble, longtime Southeast ski analyst and owner of SkiSoutheast.com and SkiNC.com. "We're off to the best start ever."

Consider:

* Southeast ski areas believe they are off to a good start if they open for Thanksgiving weekend. This year, 10 of the region's 18 resorts met that goal. One, Cataloochee Ski Area at the base of the Great Smokies in Western North Carolina, opened Oct. 31.
* Through Dec. 1, Snowshoe Mountain Resort, the Southeast's largest ski area with 60 trails, had received 65 inches of natural snow -- more than a third of its average for the typical season.
* Appalachian Ski Mountain near Boone had opened as much terrain by Thanksgiving as it usually does by mid-December.
* Virginia's Wintergreen Resort, the closest ski area to the Triangle, originally planned to open this coming Friday. Even though the weather hadn't been quite as cold as in West Virginia and North Carolina and the area hadn't received as much natural snowfall, the resort bumped up its opening to Nov. 29.

Scary economy be danged. Skiers and snowboarders have turned out in record numbers.

"We were shocked by the number of people we had Thanksgiving weekend," says Laura Parquette, communications director for Snowshoe. "Numbers-wise, it was our best Thanksgiving ever."

Record early snowfalls and an unusually long spell of early cold trump economic woes, according to Kim Jochl, marketing and events director at Sugar Mountain near Banner Elk. Jochl is the president of the Southeast Ski Areas Association.

"Historically," Jochl says, "the ski industry has been fairly recession-proof. It's not the economy that is most challenging, but rather the weather. It's our greatest asset and our most challenging obstacle."

So what will you notice withing the region this season?

Subtle things, says SkiSoutheast.com's Doble. At Ski Beech, for instance, management reshuffling has already affected how snow on the mountain is managed.

It may seem odd that snow is managed at all. But considering that the vast majority of snow on the region's slopes is manufactured, snow management can make the difference between a smooth ride down the mountain and a battle with "death cookies" (chunks of ice) and bare spots.

In the off season, Beech invested in two new Piston Bully grooming machines and hired a pair of snow groomers who grew up near Beech but have been honing their skills in Colorado.

"We're already getting e-mails about how much better the snow there is this year," Doble says.

At Sugar Mountain, ongoing efforts to blow more snow onto the mountain have continued. According to Jochl, the resort upgraded 3,000 feet of snow-making pipe this summer.

Look for more snow this season on the expert Tom Terrific run and other terrain near the top of the Yellow Lift (renamed the Summit No. 1 Lift).

Wintergreen has updated its snow-making, adding more energy-efficient fan guns that should help open more terrain earlier.

Snowshoe, which two years ago added three trails and a lift in its South Mountain area, hasn't added terrain this year, but it has made one popular run more enjoyable. For years, a dogleg in the Upper Cupp Run threw a rhythm-jolting kink into the trail, which boasts a 1,500-foot vertical drop, the greatest in the Southeast.

Some trees were removed over the summer and that kink is gone. Also: A midway unloading station has been added to the lift serving Upper Cupp and the rest of Snowshoe's advanced Western Territory.

Snowshoe has also instituted a 72-hour cancellation policy for lodging. Previously, if you wanted to cancel a reservation you had to do it at least two weeks out.

And in a curious twist of marketing, you can buy a season pass at family-owned Appalachian this year and use it to pay half price for a lift ticket to Snowshoe. Granted, $450 for an adult season pass to Appalachian may seem steep. But ski enough weekends at $37 -- half of Snowshoe's $75 ticket for Saturdays and Sundays -- and the pass becomes more attractive.

NCSU's Brothers says you might want to jump on such deals while you can. "It's all a matter of supply and demand."

Continued cold and snow, coupled with low gas prices and an economy that discourages a trip out West, will only make the Southeast ski experience more attractive.

"As soon as they see that things are going great," he says, "the rates might go up. It can happen almost on a nightly basis.

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Runaway Tiger at Snowshoe/ Pocahontas County

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200812010424
Runaway tiger killed in Pocahontas County
By Staff reports

The owner of a tiger on the loose in Pocahontas County put the animal down Monday afternoon, said Hoy Murphy, spokesman for the state Division of Natural Resources.

David Cassell of Cass found the tiger and killed it, Murphy said. He was not sure where or how the animal was killed Monday. He was waiting for a conservation officer's report.

While Murphy said the snowmaking crew at Snowshoe Mountain Resort saw the big cat on Monday morning, resort spokeswoman Laura Parquette said the tiger had not been seen on Snowshoe's property.

"They're looking for it in Cass, on the other side of the mountain," Parquette said.

Cassell, who works at Mountain Lodge on Snowshoe Mountain, was trying to find the animal and tranquilize it, Murphy said earlier in the day. Security personnel at Snowshoe were also looking for the animal, he said.

"We have a conservation officer on his way there now. ...Normally this isn't the kind of wildlife we deal with," Murphy said Monday afternoon.

Cassell had a permit for the animal, he said.

In May 2006, an Asian brown bear owned by Cassell escaped into the wild after someone cut the lock to its enclosure. The 400-pound bruin has not been seen since.

Meanwhile Monday, skiers and snowboarders took advantage of a fresh coating of snow that dusted the 26 trails now open at Snowshoe Mountain.



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Founder of Snowshoe passes away

2/02/2008
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Where It All Started
MetroNews
Snowshoe, Pocahontas County

Without him, there would likely be no Snowshoe Mountain Resort.

A Memorial Service for the man credited with leading the development of the Pocahontas County resort was held this past weekend in Decatur, Georgia.

Doctor Thomas 'Doc' Brigham died last month at the age of 83.

Brigham was a dentist who also liked the outdoors.

He brought skiing to Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain in North Carolina and, later, to West Virginia. In 1973, he lead a group of developers focused on building ski slopes in the Mountain State.

The Skidder, Ballhooter and Cupp Run lifts at Snowshoe Mountain were built in 1974 and Cupp Run, the Resort's signature slope, was cut that year as well.

Brigham was sometimes called "The Father of Southern Skiing."


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Snowshoe Snowguns Blasting Into Winter

Dec 2, 2008 Roger Leo, Associate Editor

Snow at Snowshoe Mountain. Snow at Snowshoe Mountain.

Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia combines massive snowmaking with smart marketing and proximity to skiers and riders.

Snowshoe was one of the first resorts to turn on its snowmaking equipment this season, beginning efforts Oct. 27, one of the earliest start dates for snowmaking in the Southeast over the past several years.

An early season winter storm then blanketed the Pocahontas County resort in nearly a foot of natural snow and, while temps warmed over the following weeks, the region is headed back to seasonal cold.

Snowshoe operators suggest the area's 60 slopes and 244 acres of skiable terrain offer skiers and riders a big mountain experience without the hassles and high costs of airline travel.

The resort has announced three Smart Ski Escape Packages, with budget-conscious travelers in mind, offering winter enthusiasts great deals including a relaxed 72-hour cancellation policy and free lift tickets for juniors. Prices on three-day packages start at $69 per person per night.

Snowshoe annually receives 180 inches of natural snow and an average of 130 days of skiing and riding a season.

On top of natural snow, Snowshoe has 100 percent snowmaking coverage in Snowshoe Basin, Western Territory, and Silver Creek areas, thanks to more than 400 snow guns, including 15 tower-mounted, fully automated, Techno Alpine guns added this season.

More than 40 miles of pipeline provide water and air to every slope. Snowshoe Mountain recycles water from the resort's 40 acre, 101 million gallon Shavers Lake to produce snow.

http://www.onthesnow.com/news/a/4696/snowshoe-snowguns-blasting-into-winter

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