Hello, Thursday! This morning we woke up to SNOW on the ground again. There’s not much out there, but it’s nice to see considering it may be a little while before we see any new natural snow. Not only did all the North Carolina ski areas get snow this morning, it’s also really cold so most ski areas are also making snow. I keep talking about ski areas taking advantage of the cold temperatures and it’s great that they are! I’ve seen base depth numbers crawl up by several inches at some ski areas as snowmaking ops help rebound from the couple of mild, heavy skier weekends we’ve had over the last couple of weeks. Conditions today and tomorrow and through the weekend should be nothing short of excellent. I’m talking temps in the 30’s and clear, sunny, beautiful bluebird skies.
SEND ME PICTURES. Ok, gang. Not that I don’t absolutely LOVE (it makes me really jealous, by the way) seeing Trip Reports about Messageboard Family Members heading out and absolutely shredding places like Tahoe, Solitude, and other ski areas with major skiable acreage, but have you guys forgotten about your very own ski areas here at home? If you’re out there at the ski areas around the southeast and mid-Atlantic be sure to take a picture or two and let us know how things are out there! We love to hear from you guys!
We’ve got a weekend weather forecast in from Weather Man Extraordinaire Brad Panovich at WCNC down in Charlotte and it confirms that this weekend is going to be phenomenal skiing and snowboarding conditions! The cold temperatures are will stick around tonight and tomorrow, and while Saturday will begin cold, it’s later in the afternoon that the warming trend will begin. What he also confirms is that this might be last real cold burst and snow event that we have for the rest of February. Brad is sticking to his guns in forecasting one more cold, Arctic blast at the very beginning of March. Check out the full length video here.
Moral of the story? Get out there this weekend, it’s going to be a wonderful conditions following a week of full on snowmaking and a bit of natural snow form this storm. Although it’s been one of the smallest storms with regard to snowfall, it’s been cold for several days allowing tons of man-made snow to be laid down so the slopes should be the best they’ve been in the last couple of weeks. Remind yourself when you’re about to complain about the mountains having snowmaking systems fired up that this weekend may be their last chance to bury the hill until early March.
Over the last week or so I spent a little time talking about snow storms of years past and blizzards that left a huge impact on the country. I mentioned that one I will always remember was the great winter storm of 1993. Brian Bentley, a SkiNC/SkiSoutheast family member, emailed me with a GREAT story about a storm he will always remember and I thought I would share it with you….
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"I have really enjoyed reading your piece this week on famous snowstorms. Sometimes however, it is the freakish, more regionalized events that are forever remembered. Such was the case exactly 38 years ago when on the morning of February 9th 1973 the scene was my third grade classroom. A boy named Buddy over near the windows shouted out, "it’s snowing!!!" Only about half the class even bothered to look as most thought he was joking. But it was no joke. Our teacher Mrs. Fuller quickly interjected, "it won’t stick and it will not last long. I will get you some black construction paper to take out at recess." But…. Mrs. Fuller was wrong…..way wrong…..as the next 24 hours would see 14-16 inches of snow fall on my hometown of Augusta. ZERO snow had been predicted. Not even mentioned. I wore only a light jacket to school. The great storm of ’73 obliterated all existing snowfall records along a path from roughly Montgomery, Alabama through Columbus to Macon to Augusta in Georgia and then on through Columbia before exiting over eastern North Carolina. In fact, you ought to ask your boss Mike about it. I know he is originally from Columbia. If he was there then he darn sure remembers it !!! I am 46 with two older brothers who are also snow lovers 
and there is hardly a day that goes by this time of the year when the events of that storm do not come up some how, some way. Despite 2" in New Orleans and flakes as far south as Hudson, FL (50 miles north of Tampa), this storm made little national news due in large part to not a single flake falling on our media capital in this part of the world: Atlanta. However, it remains the defining local weather event of my generation here in Augusta."
Brian and his brother out enjoying the massive Augusta snowfall. >>
I thought this was a great story and thought all of you might enjoy reading it. If you have memories of storms past or winter events that you remember fondly, or not so fondly, I’d love to hear about them and pass along your tales to the rest of our readers! And, if you have pictures, those are always welcomed and appreciated, too!!
What’s going on in North Carolina this morning? Let’s see shall we! One thing’s for sure – CONDITIONS ARE GOING TO BE EXCELLENT!!
Appalachian Ski Mountain – 20°- Open today on 11 of 12 slopes. Snowmaking has been taking place continuously for the last 24 hours on parts of the mountain during the day and on the entire mountain after the slopes close. Appalachian got a touch of snow this morning with .3 inches. AppalJack Terrain Park will remain closed today for intense snowmaking in preparation for a re-build. Ice skating is also open today!!
Beech Mountain Resort – 12.4°- Open today on 100% of the Mountain. With another 1.1 inches of snow in the last 24 hours Beech’s total snowfall from this storm is 4.1 inches. Snowmaking will continue on selected terrain around the clock!! Beech Mountain’s College Fest is this weekend – discounted rates on lodging and other amenities for students!!
Cataloochee – 21°- Cataloochee welcomes 2.3 inches of new snow this morning, bringing their storm total to 2.4 inches. They are open on 100% of the mountain and snowmaking continues!! Just a reminder that it’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard Season at Cataloochee and with the purchase of rentals you get a free 1.5 hour beginner lesson!
Sapphire Valley – 25.3°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with .7 inches of new snow. The season snowfall is 23.1 inches. Sapphire Valley will be hosting their Annual Outhouse Races in just a week or so!
Sugar Mountain – 15.6°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with snowmaking continuing on selected terrain. Sugar got another inch of snow last night bringing their storm total to over 3 inches.
Wolf Ridge – Open on 13 of 23 slopes with 2 inches of fresh snow! Conditions should be excellent as Wolf has had the snowmaking ops fired up for several days now. Look for lots more terrain to open up this weekend!
That’s all for today folks! Send me stuff… [email protected]!!