Another MLK Weekend has come and gone, and from the looks of some Trip Report photos I’ve seen it appears to have been a very successful one. I’ve got some first hand experience as to just how busy this past weekend was, as I was out there on the slopes myself. I told Mike on Friday afternoon I was planning on skiing on Sunday morning, and he told me I was crazy. MLK Sunday is one of the busiest days of the year for ski areas in NC and across the country!
I decided to check out Beech Mountain. I had good intentions for an early start on Sunday morning. Plans were to leave my house by 7:45 to be at Beech suited up and ready for rope drop at 9:00. Fail. I didn’t even head out of Boone until well after 9:00 and didn’t even arrive to the mountain until 10:00 or so following a drive-thru stop at McDonald’s in Banner Elk. The upper and middle lots were full and we were able to get into the 3rd lot no problem. I thought that was a good sign until I looked up and saw no less than six full sized tour busses. I got my ticket and headed towards the Quad. I’m all about detachable high-speed lifts, and so was everyone else! Lift lines at 10:30 were already pushing 25-30 minutes!
We hopped on and headed straight for Oz Run. The snow was in great shape! The 100+ inches of snow that Beech has gotten has served them very well. I am certain the snow at all of the North Carolina ski areas was in tip top shape. Skier and rider traffic might have been really high this weekend, but with the incredible amount of Mother Nature’s bounty we’ve gotten combined with amazing mountain ops/snowmaking staff at all of the NC ski areas made for awesome conditions.
We made several runs and took a break for lunch at the Beech Tree Bar/Grille around 12:30. After lunch we headed back out and lift lines had grown quite a bit. After a few more runs and even more time waiting in line, we decided it was time to escape the madness and head home around 2:00. Considering I picked one of the busiest weekends of the season, I was very impressed with how smoothly everything was running.
Hats off to staff at all the ski areas! I’ve been getting reports from members of the SkiNC family declaring a good time was had at all the ski areas from Appalachian to Wolf Ridge despite the large crowds. Reports are that even though lift lines were long, staff were helpful across the board and the SNOW was AWESOME!! The snow reports I’ve been getting are that it’s some of the BEST there is for this time of the year!! It’s incredible that even though our NC ski areas are seeing thousands and thousands of skiers and riders that the snow is standing up to it!!
THIS WEEKEND is our SkiNC Summit hosted by Beech Mountain! It’s going to be a GREAT time to get together and ski, socialize, and put faces with names. It’s also BEER FEST this weekend and there will be some great live music from the NATIVE SWAY and the ENEMY LOVERS. For $30 you can ski or ride for the DAY or TWILIGHT session. The ticket is half price and the fun will be priceless!! SO PLAN TO JOIN US FOR SOME GREAT SKIING AND RIDING AND SOME GREAT FUN!!! Click here for more details…
Let’s have a look around North Carolina…great conditions continue!
Appalachian Ski Mountain – 35°- Open today on 100% of the mountain for DAY and NIGHT sessions with .4 inches of new snow. Look for a new setup on AppalJack and revamped features on AppalJam. Ice skating is open today, also.
Beech Mountain Resort – 34°- A fresh powder coat at Beech today with . 4 inches of new snow. Beech is 100% open today for DAY and NIGHT sessions.
Cataloochee – 32°- 100% open today for day AND night skiing and riding only. Tube World in Maggie Valley will reopen on Thursday.
Sapphire Valley – 39°- Open today on 100% of the mountain!! Great skiing and riding!
Sugar Mountain – 27°- Open on 100% of the mountain for DAY and NIGHT sessions. Tubing and ice skating are both open as well.
Wolf Ridge Resort – 34°- Open today on 16 of 23 slopes with 2 lifts. Upper Lodge will be closed until Friday so all lift tickets will need to be purchased at the Lower Lodge. Great Deal: Buy One – Get One Lift Ticket Free for night session!!
For more information on ALL of the ski resorts of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic – visit www.SkiSoutheast.com
THINK COLD! THINK SNOW!
We urge you to visit:
www.HighCountryWebCams.com
www.HighCountryWeather.com
www.SkiSoutheast.com
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