Spring has sprung?

By Marie freeman

freeman@wataugademocrat.com

To celebrate the first day of spring, Mother Nature sent a kiss of irony in the form of a blanket of snow across the High Country.

And nobody could be more delighted than Appalachian Ski Mountain’s co-owner, Reba Moretz.

“We are the only slope in North Carolina that is open today. Chataloochee will open tomorrow, but we are the only one in the state open today,” Moretz said on Monday.

The Blowing Rock ski resort’s slopes were filled with skiers from 12 different states and one foreign country to ski in the late season — no one guessed they would be blessed with snow.

“It is snowing like crazy. You better get here now,” yelled one skier into her cell phone as she was waiting to board a lift.

Southern skiing in late March is not unheard of, and according to Brad Moretz, the resort’s general manager and the son of Grady and Reba Moretz, it’s becoming more of a habit.

“This is the eighth time in the last nine years that we have skied through the fourth Sunday of March,” said Moretz.

Three to four inches of wet snow fell on Monday afternoon and covered the bare spots on the slopes, adding to the 45-inch base of snow already covering the ski runs.

“It feels like we are starting a second season with one week left,” Brad said.

This winter in the High Country has been a bit strange, but that hasn’t necessarily been bad for the ski industry and tourism business.

“We haven’t had the extreme cold weather this winter and not a whole lot of natural snow, but it has still been a good year, especially for families. People have held in the past the concept that you don’t ski without natural snow and that is just not true.” Moretz said.

Reba said that this year is again proof that skiing in the southeast is not only realistic but also economically valuable for the region’s economy.

“People have no idea that we have so many people from so many different areas of the country skiing here, staying here and eating here. Our business does impact the whole community,” Moretz said.

Appalachian Ski Mountain plans to remain open through Sunday, March 26. This weekend will feature numerous end-of-season events including ski and snowboard competitions, a cardboard box derby, a pond skim and many other celebrations.