MARCH 19, 2009 ISSUE
Lift Ticket
A Column About Skiing and Snowboarding in the High Country
This Friday, March 20, spring officially begins, but that doesn’t mean we can forget about our local snowsports until winter 2010. Although Ski Beech closed for the season last Sunday, Appalachian Ski Mountain, Sugar Mountain Resort and Hawksnest Resort are all still open and providing respectable conditions, considering the warmer-than-usual weather as of late.
And there’s plenty to do at the slopes, to boot. Sugar Mountain will hold an Easter egg hunt this weekend and live music next weekend, and Appalachian Ski Mountain hosts two competitions this weekend and its Meltdown Games next weekend.
Go play in the (remaining) snow.
Around the Slopes…
--After a banner year that many heralded as the renaissance of the ski mountain, Ski Beech ended its 2008-09 ski season last Sunday, March 15. To honor the season’s end, Ski Beech hosted the Spring-Ding: Beech Mountain Resort End of Season Party last Sunday. The event included live music, a barbecue cookout, a pond skimming contest and the 4Front Skis Southern-Fried Slopestyle Competition. POW Gloves and 4Front Skis sponsored the Spring-Ding. I was extremely impressed with Ski Beech this year. The Costin family and Ski Beech’s dedicated staff worked hard to perfect snow conditions during a winter that was anything but predictable, all while reintroducing live music and community events to The Beech Tree Bar & Grill’s schedule. I look forward to experiencing what the administration of Ski Beech cooks up in the off-season for next winter.
--Appalachian Ski Mountain and Appalachian Terrain Park will host Fresh Fridays 8—the final event in the series—this Friday, March 20, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Candied Appal. As always, the event is free with the purchase of a lift ticket and will sport a low-key, relaxed jam session format where riders can hit the new setup—with new features designed by App’s in-house welder—as many times as they want, in any order they want, just like a normal day of riding with friends. The event is open to all ages of skiers and snowboarders in the divisions of beginner, intermediate and advanced. Registration is from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at Cashier Booth #1 in the lower level of the lodge. The competition starts at 7:00 p.m., with the award ceremony taking place immediately after the jam.
--Appalachian Ski Mountain and Appalachian Terrain Park are hosting the Shred for the Cup Slopestyle Final this Saturday, March 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Marking the end to the third season of the series, the slopestyle final is open to skiers and snowboarders in the categories of beginner, intermediate and advanced, and takes place on Appal Jam. Registration is limited to the first 150 participants, and all participants receive a free lunch and a Shred for the Cup t-shirt. Registration costs $25 in advance and $30 for the day of the event, in addition to a $20 bib deposit. Participants register from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. in the lodge and the event starts at 10:30 a.m. The awards ceremony takes place in Appalachian’s Snowcloud Room, located on the third level of the lodge, 30 minutes after the event ends.
--This Sunday, March 22, Sugar Mountain Resort hosts its 3rd annual Easter Egg Hunt on the slopes. A golden egg containing a 2009-10 season pass will be scattered among hundreds of plastic eggs spread over the lower portion of the Lower Flying Mile ski slope. In addition to the golden egg, 10 plastic eggs containing complimentary midweek, day 2009-10 lift ticket vouchers and five plastic eggs containing complimentary anytime, day 2009-10 lift ticket vouchers will be up for grabs. The event begins at 9:00 a.m. near the mid-lift station on Summit #1 Lift, and each participant must buy a lift ticket to take part. The hunt will not begin until all participants have gathered at the start line. Costumes are welcome and prizes will be awarded to the top three outfits, based on creativity. All participants will receive a complimentary ice skating voucher for the 2009-10 season.
--Hawksnest Resort closed this week from Monday to Thursday but is reopening this Friday, March 20, with snow tubing sessions at 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. The administration at Hawksnest hopes its snow base can last until the end of March, yet they encourage locals to get in some snow tubing runs quickly before the season ends. Starting this Friday, Hawksnest will reduce rates by $4 or more, making tubing sessions cost $18 on Fridays and $25 on Saturdays and Sundays.
--On Saturday, March 28, Boss Hawg brings live High Country bluegrass music to the stage at Sugar Mountain Resort’s lodge from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Admission is free with the purchase of a lift ticket.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Email sam@highcountrypress.com.
Cyber Slope Info…
Appalachian Ski Mountain:
828-295-7828, www.appskimtn.com, www.appterrainpark.com
Ski Beech:
828-387-2011, www.skibeech.com
Hawksnest Resort:
828-963-6561, www.hawksnest-resort.com
Sugar Mountain Resort:
828-898-4521, www.skisugar.com
North Carolina Ski Areas Association:
www.goskinc.com
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