Fall is a magical time in the mountains as the fall colors start to dot the landscape while we have a plethora of awesome festivals upcoming.
The best part of fall is that the new season isn’t far behind.
With the arrival of the ‘Ber months, things continue to amp up as resorts get ready for the upcoming seasons.
Every resort in the region has been hard at work getting ready for the upcoming season as there is a ton of summer maintenance required – not to mention several host summer activities.
While this isn’t a comprehensive list of improvements and upgrades (we will be working on bringing a more complete list as we get closer to rope drop), here are a few that caught our eye on social media over the last few weeks.
I don’t think you can talk about upgrades without mentioning Hatley Pointe – the resort formerly known as Wolf Ridge.
The Mars Hill, NC resort continues its massive overhaul after being purchased in March 2023. The resort has done an incredible job over on social media documenting the renovation and improvements to the resort.
Hatley Pointe has completely revamped the snowmaking infrastructure, created a completely renovated lodge, and has been teasing some never-before-seen slopes over on social media (including a post where the featured image comes from).
The work that new owner Deborah Hatley and her crew have done so far looks amazing, and we can’t wait to see the improvements this season.
If you don’t follow Hatley Pointe on social, it is definitely worth the look to see all the work being done.
Ober Mountain in Gatlinburg has also had a busy summer as they continue to make improvements to the mountain after being purchased by Joe Baker in October 2022. This off-season, Ober has invested in two new lifts – including the main ski lift.
The old Black Lift has been replaced by a new fixed grip Doppelmayr quad lift, while the second new quad will take visitors to a mountaintop overlook – which is now the tallest viewing deck in the Smokies.
While the lift to the top of Mt. Harrison doesn’t serve any skiable terrain, it is still awesome to see new lifts.
Ober also has invested $4 million in snowmaking improvements.
On a side note – as a sign that the season is quickly coming, Ober Mountain has announced that Snow Tubing tickets will go on sale on October 12.
App Ski Mountain has showcased some of its summer projects on social media including adding new fully-automated SMI Pole Cat Tower snowmakers and a light installation project for Orchard Run, High Line, and Appal Jam.
Beech Mountain has also announced that 5506′ will be undergoing a remodel before the season, while Massanutten continues its series of renovations that were announced during the 50th anniversary – including a big snowmaking upgrade.
As I mentioned, don’t fret if you don’t see your favorite resort mentioned as this is just a small sampling of the work being done across the region.
With it being metrological fall already (fall officially kicks off on Sunday, September 22), we will start bringing you updates on all things fall and snow as we get ready for the 2024-25 season.
If you don’t already, now would be a fantastic time to follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/skisoutheast, and be sure to join us over on our Discord channel.
That does it for today, but until next time, #ThinkSnow!
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