Maggie Valley, NC – Cataloochee Ski Area has an early Christmas gift to give to Haywood Christian Ministries this year. Over 20,000 cans of food and over 100 coats were donated to the area during its 5th annual Can-U-Ski Day on Sunday. These in turn will be given to the local non-profit organization in order to stock its pantry for the Christmas holiday season.
Skiers and boarders from across the Southeast came to Maggie Valley to take part in this annual event, where six cans of food or a winter coat could be redeeemed for a free lift ticket for the day.
"What better way to start the season of giving than by giving back to your local community to the folks who need it." said Tammy Brown, Cataloochee spokeswoman. "We appreciate all of our guests who participated in this worthwhile event and thank them for their support." Brown said many customers showed up at the ticket window on Sunday with more than the minimum required to be able to ski for free.
The oldest ski area in North Carolina has been open since November 4 and was the first ski area on the East coast to open and continually stay open this season. Cataloochee is operating on its early season schedule of closing Mondays, opening 1pm until 10pm Tuesday though Friday and 8:30am until 4:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays through December 15 when the area’s holiday hours begin.
Cataloochee plans to make snow during this week’s colder temperatures and open additional terrain beginning Tuesday. Additional snowmaking will occur whenever temperatures permit. Nightly cold temperatures in the 20’s are in the forecast next week which will allow snowmakers to continue slope coverage.
For an up-to-date snow report and more information about the 2006/2007 season go to www.cataloochee.com