Skiing into April: Slope operators say

warm weather cooled business a bit
By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

It’s all downhill from here.

For skiers, this may still be taken literally at only one of the High Country’s four ski areas.

As spring temperatures reach into the 70s, Appalachian Ski Mountain remains open with all of its 10 slopes in operation and a base between 24 and 55 inches.

“I believe we’re the only ski area in the southeast that has all of our slopes open,” general manager Brad Moretz said. “It looks like we’re going to ski the latest we’ve ever skied.”

The Blowing Rock ski area has never remained open in April, and Moretz expects the slopes will close for the season on April 1. For eight of the last nine years, the slopes have remained open through the fourth Sunday of March.

In celebration, Appalachian Ski Mountain will host its Meltdown on the weekend of March 30 and 31, featuring fun, games and the ever-popular pond-skimming contest.

For that particular contest, staff members build an 80-foot long slush pond at the bottom of the slopes, and skiers are challenged to traverse the frosty mess.

“Most people don’t make it,” Moretz joked.

Until then, Appalachian will offer day skiing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., along with specials through the end of the season, which Moretz said are ideal for beginners and families.

“One thing about this time of year, when it’s warm out, is people don’t have to worry about bundling up and getting face masks and goggles.,” he said.

“It’s a very nice time for families to come out when there’s really nice weather.”

Such weather, though, was also present throughout winter’s traditionally coldest months. Appalachian Ski Mountain opened its slopes on Nov. 22 and operated for five days, before warm weather forced them to close for nine days. The ski area had to close again for about three days in January.

“And then winter kicked back in,” Moretz said. “That’s the first time in 10 years we haven’t skied from open to close, so that’s the one unusual thing about this season.”

Sugar Mountain Resort closed its slopes Sunday, March 25, ending the season with its ceremonial snow-burning festival, where plows collect as much snow as possible and gather it into a giant pile, which is then doused with gasoline, surrounded with kindling and lumber, and set ablaze.

Sugar opened for the season on Nov. 20 but closed Nov. 26 due to warm weather. The slopes reopened for the remainder of the season on Dec. 2.

“We had some really cold days, so we had good snowmaking,” marketing director Kim Jochl said. “We had almost as many snowmaking hours as we did last year, so snowmaking was good.”

To determine the success of the season, Jochl has been examining skier counts, traffic, weather and snowfall.
Those variables amount to what Jochl called between average to good.

“Looking at all those variables, it was an average to good year,” she said.

“Last year was an outstanding year. So, when you come off your best year ever and it being outstanding, you’re always trying to beat them. But with all the variables we have to face, it’s not totally in our power to make it happen.”

Last year, Sugar closed on March 19.

Representatives from Hawksnest Golf and Ski Resort in Seven Devils and Ski Beech in Beech Mountain were unavailable for comment as of press time, but both slopes reportedly closed March 11 and 16, respectively.