DECEMBER 22, 2009 ISSUE
Mother Nature Blankets Local Snowsport Resorts with Biggest Snow in Decade
Twenty-Four Inch Weekend Snowfall Ushers in Promising Holiday Ski Season
“I don’t ever recall seeing something like this,” said Brad Moretz, general manager of Appalachian Ski Mountain. “We’ve got a deck and we measured 22 inches of snow all the way across it Sunday [December 20] morning.”
“The storm just pounded all of us,” said a representative from Hawksnest Resort, speaking on behalf of the High Country’s four snowsport resorts.
And pound it did. What started as light snow on the morning of Friday, December 18, ended up being a winter wallop that plowed through more than a decade of snow accumulation records across the High Country. By Monday morning, storm snow amounts from around the High Country totaled between 18 and 27 inches—with the highest amounts recorded on Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain and Mount Mitchell.
Throughout the weekend, national television news channels focused comprehensive attention on the storm’s impact on the High Country. Gunther Jochl of Sugar Mountain Resort was even interviewed on The Weather Channel, answering questions about the influx of customers to Sugar since the storm arrived.
“Oh, it was great—great crowds, awesome skiing, awesome snow! It’s finally winter—winter like it should be in the mountains of North Carolina,” said Kim Jochl, public relations director for Sugar Mountain Resort.
Jochl said Sugar Mountain Resort received 24 inches of fresh snow by the morning of Sunday, December 20, and that another two to three inches of snow had fallen that day. The resort now has 15 slopes and 10 lifts open.
Jochl said the resort saw an influx of customers on Friday, December 18, but many left because of the deteriorating weather. By Saturday midday, though, out-of-town customers, as well as local customers, started flooding into the parking lot, and the resort has been busy ever since.
The situation was the same at Beech Mountain Resort.
“Business has been steady,” said Ryan Costin, Ski Beech director of operations. “People seemed nervous about the roads on Saturday morning, but by midday, we had quite a bit of traffic.
“Now, the roads are good. The [Town of Beech Mountain] and the state did a good job clearing our roads,” said Costin on Sunday, December 20.
Costin estimated that Ski Beech received between 18 and 24 inches of snow from the storm. Because of the help from Mother Nature, Beech now has nine slopes and four lifts open and serving customers.
“I think people are realizing that ski season is full-fledged here,” said Moretz, who said his mountain started seeing a large influx of customers on Sunday, December 20, on account of the storm.
Appalachian currently has eight of its 11 slopes open, and with plans to blow snow around the clock on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, December 20, 21 and 22, Moretz expects the remaining three slopes—Hard Core, Thin Slice and the new AppalJam Terrain Park—to open by this Wednesday, December 23.
“This snow will inspire people to travel our way this week and for the Christmas holidays—not just for the ski areas, but also for the wonderful winter scenery,” said Moretz. “We’re going to be wide open with perfect conditions for Christmas.”
According to Hawksnest Resort Group Sales and Ziplining Director Justin Grimes, Seven Devils received “at least 24 inches of snow” from the storm as of Saturday.
“We’ve got snow drifts out there like out west,” added Grimes.
Amazingly, Hawksnest Resort kept its zipline course open throughout the weekend. In fact, the resort set a North Carolina first on Friday, as the Engel family from Bryson City became the first people to zipline as the snow was falling in North Carolina. The Engel family ziplined after more than one foot of snow had fallen at the resort.
“The snow has been wonderful. We are very, very busy,” said Grimes. “With this much snow and cold in the forecast for the coming weeks, this is going to set us up for the best Christmas weekend ever as far as conditions are concerned.”
“The whole state now has the mountains on their minds. What with the big dumps [of snow] we’ve had and all the coverage on the news channels, people are thinking about coming up to the mountains during the holidays, which should help out all the resorts up here,” said Costin.
“This is all good news for Christmas,” added Jochl. “It looks good for [good ski conditions] over the holidays—real good.”
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