While we are still in pre-season mode…we have seen some signs that the Winter of 2005-2006 is within days of cranking up. As most of you may know by now, Cataloochee Resort in Maggie Valley, North Carolina made snow last Thursday night and was strongly considering open on Saturday. A big reason that they made snow was that they were hosting their annual season pass holder get-together this weekend. The weather cooperated and they saw a chance to potentially make some snow and give their season pass holders a taste of things to come. On Snow Reporter Austin Beeghly was on the scene this weekend and he stated, "The reason for this weekend’s fun was to get season pass holders together and show them some of the new enhancements and additions for the upcoming season."
Wintergreen Resort named "Best Ski Area" by Washington Post
Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, Wintergreen Resort has made major improvements with resort-wide projects totaling $45 million over the past seven years. These enhancements have been recognized by the resort’s guests, as evidenced by the results of a recent Washington Post survey. Readers were asked to vote for the "Best Ski Resort" in the mid-Atlantic region and they chose Wintergreen as number one.
In awarding Wintergreen Resort with this designation, the Washington Post said, "The 2005 Best Bets Readers Choice Awards winners are those places you can turn to time and again to make your day or heat up your night. Three hours from the Washington area, Wintergreen Resort offers skiing, snowboarding, tubing and other winter adventures in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains."
About the award, Wintergreen Resort President, Bob Ashton said "We’re striving to continually improve and add to our year round resort facilities and services including our winter sports, the spa, golf courses, tennis and many other resort amenities our guests come to enjoy. We are delighted that these improvements have been recognized and appreciated by readers of the Washington Post."
Dramatic upgrades to the ski facilities alone have accounted for $15 million of the recent resort improvements. For the 2005-06 season, Wintergreen will unveil a new ski trail named "Outer Limits", an additional "black diamond" complement to the advanced terrain on the Highlands. Other recent snow sports upgrades include two high-speed six-passenger chairlifts, a new guest services center, additional trails and trail widening, two tubing parks and a state-of-the-art 100% computerized York snowmaking system. The $5 million snowmaking system is the only system of its type in North America and has made a significant positive difference in the quantity and quality of snow that blankets Wintergreen’s slopes. Both the abundance and quality of snow is being acknowledged by the resort’s winter enthusiasts and industry experts.
Wintergreen Resort is located southwest of Charlottesville, Virginia, one and one-half hours from Richmond and three and one half hours from the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel, North Carolina area. In addition to wintertime sports of skiing, snowboarding and tubing, the 11,000 acre, four-season family resort offers 45 holes of championship golf, the full service Wintergarden Spa, an award-winning tennis program with 24 courts, 30 miles of marked hiking trails, swimming pools, gourmet and casual restaurants, and more than 300 accommodations. Wintergreen offers instructional adventure programs for teens, adults and corporate groups; a variety of events and activities; 40,000 square feet of space for meetings and weddings. For more information, visit the website at www.WintergreenResort.com or call 434-325-2200
(Portions of this article were submitted by Frankee Love, Director of Public Relations & Communications Wintergreen Resort.)