A milestone occurs this winter in the North Carolina mountains. Beech Mountain Resort marks 50 years of skiing on the highest elevation slopes in eastern America.
The resort had a new vision for Southern skiing when it debuted in the winter of 1967-68. It was the only North Carolina resort built around an alpine village, and remains that way today.
“Skiing in the South was just being developed and this was a unique facility at 5,506 feet in elevation with a Swiss Bavarian village. It exposed the Southeast market to something new,” says general manager Ryan Costin. “That continues to be one of our strongest assets – a layout where you can navigate the village and experience all the wintertime activities we have here.”
To celebrate the half century mark, Beech Mountain Resort offers season-long throwback pricing for night sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tuesdays are ladies’ nights with $9 lift tickets – the same price as opening day. Wednesdays are men’s nights with $9 tickets and Thursdays are couples’ nights featuring a first ticket for $14 and a second ticket for just $8.
In addition, the resort hosts a special celebration Jan. 20-28 featuring activities, contests, live music, games and fireworks. Meanwhile, the events calendar throughout the season will include special recognition of the 50th year.
New this winter is a streamlined check-in process in which customers purchase lift tickets and rental equipment at a central location, then go straight through the fitting process and are ready to hit the slopes in less time. Also new this winter is the ability to buy multi-day tickets and multi-day rentals to avoid repeating the same process each day.
“Going into the 50th year, we took a hard look at not only the product on the mountain, but the process, too. That’s one of the elements we needed to make easier,” Costin explains. “We want people to spend as much time outside enjoying activities as they possibly can.”
Other activities at the resort include snow tubing, ice skating, and learn-to-ski programs for adults and youths. For après ski, the resort is located in the town of Beech Mountain, which offers lodging, restaurants and nightlife within walking distance or a short drive of the slopes.
“It’s an exciting year for us and we look forward to another half century of serving skiers across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions,” Costin says. “A lot of people are surprised at just how good a winter season we have. Our infrastructure provides a strong product all winter.”
For resort info, visit: www.beechmountainresort.com or call (800) 438-2093.
Story reposted with permission from HCPress.com / Photo by Sam Dean