FEBRUARY 25, 2010 ISSUE
‘Snowmaggedon’ Got You Down? Don’t Fret—March Madness is Coming Up
Ski and Board for Cheap in March, Enjoy Best Late-Season Conditions of Decade
Nope, we’re not talking about NCAA basketball.
You’d think that the piles of snow outside your front door would serve as a welcome excuse to park in front of the television for hours watching March Madness basketball games, but the copious amounts of the white stuff actually underscores what you should be doing—enjoying the cheapest lift tickets of the season while skiing and snowboarding on what is, arguably, the best late-season conditions ever expected for the High Country.
Winter 2009-10 has already been one for the record books and, due to a prevailing El Niño, it looks like snow will be falling well into late-March and early-April. Happily, the late-season snowfall, coupled with the stocked bases at all four local snowsport resorts, will coincide with March Madness—the annual season of discounts offered to locals and visitors to get more skiers and snowboarders on the slopes during the late-season, a historically slower time.
“We’ve had so much snow this year I think this will be the best late-season conditions we’ve had in years,” said Talia Freeman, Beech Mountain Resort director of marketing. “It will definitely be worth it to check it out.”
March Madness begins on Monday, March 8, at Beech Mountain Resort and Sugar Mountain Resort; on Monday, March 15, at Appalachian Ski Mountain; and on Friday, March 19, at Hawksnest Snow Tubing.
During March Madness, lift ticket rates are slashed by 40 to 70 percent at Beech Mountain Resort. Day Session prices at Beech drop from $38 on Monday through Thursday and $60 on weekends to $20 across the board; Half-Day Session prices drop from $28 and $45, respectively, to $10; and Night Session prices drop to $10, from $20 and $30, respectively.
At Sugar, March 9 will bring discounts of $4 to $16 off each lift ticket purchased. During March Madness, Sugar will also offer reduced rates on ski and snowboard rental equipment.
After March 15, lift ticket prices at Appalachian Ski Mountain will drop by up to 20 percent, making a Day Session price $28 on weekdays and $45 on weekends, a Half-Day Session price $21 on weekdays and $33 on weekends and a Night Session price $17 on weekdays and $23 on weekends.
Starting March 19, Hawksnest Snow Tubing will join in the promotion, offering $18 tubing sessions on Fridays and $25 sessions on Saturday and Sunday. During Hawksnest’s March Madness, two tubing sessions will cost $25 on Fridays and two tubing sessions will cost $35 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Taking the thinking (and the season) a step further, Hawksnest will also offer April Spring Rates, which begin Friday, April 2. During the April Spring Rates promotion, tubing sessions on Fridays cost $15 each and tubing sessions on Saturdays and Sundays cost $20 each. In April, customers will also be able to purchase two tubing sessions on Fridays for $20 total and two tubing sessions on Saturday and Sundays for $25 total.
For more information, click to www.appskimtn.com, www.skibeech.com, www.skisugar.com and/or www.hawksnest-resort.com.
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