The temps have remained cold enough to make snow across the region but currently only Appalachian, Cataloochee, Sugar and Snowshoe are making snow as far as we can tell. Only Sugar with 4 trails open today, and Cataloochee with three are operating today.
Sugar Mountain adds a couple trails to the "OPEN" status. They are now open today from the top of the mountain. The Yellow Lift will operate, servicing North Ridge, Switchback, Upper Flying Mile and Lower Flying Mile. Weekday Lift Ticket Pricing is in effect. Snowmaking will continue as long as temperatures allow.
Cataloochee began snowmaking on Thursday at 9:30am and made snow round the clock and on Saturday, they will be skiing on three slopes – Intermediate Lower Omigosh serviced by the Omigosh Double Chairlift, and Beginners Easy Way and Beginners Rabbit Hill serviced by the Easy Way Triple Chairlift on a base of 10-22” and a machine worked surface. On Saturday, they will offer one session of skiing only, day skiing from 8:30am – 4:30pm, with a morning and afternoon half day rate also available. And special this weekend, we will be charging a 1⁄2 day weekend rate for a full day’s lift ticket both Saturday and Sunday.
SNOWMAKING WEATHER AHEAD!!???
That is the top question coming in via emails right now. We’ve installed a pretty cool system that actually shows us the days ahead that should provide chances of snow and snowmaking. If things hold up, we appear to be looking at decent snowmaking temps (at least at night) for all but one or two of the next several days in the NC mountains. Next Tuesday and Wednesday look like the only bummer nights as temps rise into the mid 30s overnight. Basically the same holds true for areas north into West Virginia and Maryland…so the snowmakers should be able to crank out some snow if the forecast holds true.
SPEAKING OF SNOW… Congratulations to Gresham Barker of Taylors, South Carolina for correctly predicting the 16th as the day that the local mountains would get our first measureable snowfall. That "contest" was going on over on the messageboard and it appears the consensus is giving him the props as the winner.
See you on the slopes!
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