We have been busy making last minute revisions to our new web design and hopefully we’ll be ready to debut that by early next week! As promised at the end of last season, we are going with a "three pronged effort" to cover everything about the winter of 2004-2005.
SkiNC.com (SkiNorthCarolina.com) will be just that – everything focused on resorts in North Carolina.
SkiSoutheast.com will cover all of the resorts that we did last season and more!
SnowboardNC.com will be a radically new effort to get those of you who prefer one board to two!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes – As David Bowie’s song says…things are changing within the ski industry. We promise an update very soon with full details. However, all of the resorts are making some substantial moves. Hawksnest has made some innovative revisions to their tubing fun. Wolf Laurel has partnered with developers that have already built a huge family resort at the top of the mountain, complete with a new lodge, amenities and rentals. Sugar replaced their yellow and green chairs, and Ski Beech just took down the old clock tower and are making preparations for the upcoming season.
There’s a whole lot more going on and we promise to be ready to start really pumping out the information over the next few days….so stay tuned.
"Sparky" Agrees with Us! – A couple of weeks ago we posted our Whoolly Worm prediction for the upcoming winter and thankfully Sparky, the winning worm at this year’s Whoolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, agrees with us! Sparky outraced 999 other worms and earned the honor of making the official forecast.
Sparky’s owner/trainer was seven-year-old John Thomas Walsh of Charlotte, N.C. and we’re glad to see that this year’s winning worm was indicative of the vast majority of whoolly worms that we have seen roaming the High Country this fall. Most have about four bands of black at the front and back and there is a dark brown hue in the middle five bands…signifying a cold and snowy beginning and end to winter…and a normal middle period.
Sparky predicts that the first four weeks of winter will be cold and snowy, followed by seven weeks of unseasonably cold temperatures. The winter will end with two weeks of cold weather with some snow.
Welcome to Ski French-Swiss… We want to officially welcome Jim Cottrell, Margie and the staff of Ski French-Swiss to SkiNC’s "family".
In its 36th year, the French-Swiss Ski College is the oldest and best known Ski School in the south having taught over one million skiers and snowboarders the joy of snow sports. No other organization has played as significant a role in the education of the southern skier. Cottrell founded the Southeastern Special Olympics Alpine Games and wrote the training manuals for Special Olympics Coaches as well.
It is impressive to note that French-Swiss instructors have taught U.S. Army Green Beret Platoons, U.S. Navy Seals, West Point Instructors, U.S. Marines and Secret Service Agents.