Charleston, WV – Old Man Winter began the New Year with fresh snow for West Virginia Ski Resorts. All of the resorts including Canaan Valley and Timberline in Tucker County, Oglebay in Ohio County, Snowshoe in Pocahontas County and Winterplace in Raleigh County all received a couple of inches of new snow and more is in the forecast. The recent natural snow has continued to improve the conditions at the state’s cross-country areas, White Grass Touring in Tucker County and Elk River Touring Center in Pocahontas County, both of which rely on natural snowfall.
The first day of 2010 finds 144 of the state resort’s combined 166 trails open, the most of any state in the southeast or mid-Atlantic regions. “The only way to describe the conditions right now is perfect and they are only going to get better very soon,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association. “It looks like everyone is going to get more snow this weekend, improving the conditions even more.” While the natural snow is always welcomed by the resorts, the consistent cold temperatures continue to allow the resorts’ snowmakers to work around the clock, adding to the slopes’ base depths and open additional terrain.
The West Virginia ski and snowboard season traditionally, weather permitting, continues through early April. The 2009/2010 season has started off strong as visitation has been up at all of the resorts through the New Year’s holiday period. For more information on skiing and snowboarding in West Virginia go on-line at www.goskiwv.com .