TIME TO HANG IN THERE

Snow News is Good News

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Hello Everyone –

So after near perfect weather for the months of December, January and the beginning of this month, things have turned a bit milder, so it’s time to close things down, right? Not so fast mogul breath. Don’t worry about what it looks like out your backdoor (of course if you live at about 4800 ft it is still pretty white) just know that there is still tons and tons of snow on every open slope in the southeast region.

It always amazes me how quick people can turn 180 degrees on a situation, from rooting for their favorite sports team to realizing just how much snow is on the ground at resorts during a mild period. Less than two weeks ago I had dozens of people comment to me by email, by phone or even in person about the best conditions they had ever seen at the ski resorts. Those same people are now commenting to me that they are worried about the amount of snow on the trails. They just don’t listen do they? Just hoping that you are.

Due to snowfall this winter in the various metro areas such as Charlotte, Roanoke, Baltimore, Columbus, Charleston, just to name a few, that send skiers and snowboarders to southeast resorts, people have had a good feeling that there was plenty of snow at the resorts. Now those same metro areas are seeing temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s which means all of the snow is gone just a few hours away. That is just so far from the truth and reality.

During my 16 seasons at Snowshoe Mountain and my six seasons with the West Virginia Ski Areas Association, my biggest challenge as a public relations person was making flatlanders realize mild weather in the city doesn’t mean the end of the season at the resorts. But now I sound like a broken record (oops I mean CD) because people still just don’t listen.

Maybe just maybe it is the fault of erroneous snow reporting of previous years that continue to haunt the industry. If you haven’t noticed, due to the advent of social media there is no way resorts can report perfect conditions when bare spots are showing. There is just too many ways the truth will get out. The days of calling your favorite restaurant close to the resort to get true snow reporting are over. If it is good, one I think most resorts would report that fact and if they didn’t, the first skier or snowboarder down the hill would be letting their friends know as quickly as they can get their phone out of their pocket on the lift.

The moral to this column, don’t worry there is plenty of snow in the mountains of Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. Now go have fun and worry about cutting grass for the first time another day. Summer will be here soon enough.

That’s it for this week, just remember whether it be cold or whether it be hot, we’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather will be. Think about it! See you on the slopes sometime soon, I hope. 

Send your comments to: [email protected]   

Joe Stevens, a member of the southeast ski industry since 1990 is a regular columnist for skisoutheast.com and serves as the Communications Director for the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.

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