Cataloochee Ski Area Report for 12-11-10

Dec 11 at Cataloochee Ski Area, Maggie Valley NC - Skiing on 70 percent of the mountain on eleven out of 16 trails with two aerial lifts and one conveyor lift operating - Advanced Upper Omigosh, Intermediate Rock Island Run, Advanced Alley Cat, Intermediate Lower Snowbird Trail, and Intermediate Lower Omigosh, serviced by the Omigosh Double Chairlift. Beginners Over Easy, Beginners Easy Way and Beginners Rabbit Hill serviced by the Easy Way Triple Chairlift, Beginner’s Luck Learning Area serviced by the Moving Carpet Conveyor lift and the Wolf Creek Hollow Teaching area on a base of 26”-80” and a machine made surface. Please note that some of our terrain features will be available for you to ride Upper Over Easy, right down from the Snack Shack, accessed by the Easy Way Triple Chairlift.

On Saturday there will be one session of skiing, day skiing only from 8:30am until 4:30pm, with an afternoon half day rate also available. Midweek season passholders can ski this weekend as well.

7 More runs and Night Skiing at Beech Mountain this Weekend

Beech Mountain Resort has opened 7 more runs, bringing the total number of open trails to twelve. Please continue to check slope conditions report for more information. On Saturday, December 11, 2010, Beech Mountain Resort will open for night skiing. 

Fresh Fridays Resume at Appalachian Ski Mountain Dec 17

Dec 17 Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock NC resumes its signature Fresh Fridays series. The fun series continues all season long with lots of new features being fabricated for the 10-11 season. You'll find laid back jam sessions on constantly changing, never before seen setups in the parks. Look for more themed events this season, all with tons of prizes to award standouts throughout the sessions.  Best of all, it’s completely FREE to enter!

Cataloochee Ski Area Report for 12-8-10

Snow Report for Wednesday, December 8, 2010 from Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley NC. The time is 8:30pm on Tueday evening, the temperature is currently 8 degrees, and it was a great first day of skiing to the top of the mountain today!

On Wednesday, we will be skiing on 70 percent of the mountain on eleven out of 16 trails with two aerial lifts and one conveyor lift operating - Advanced Upper Omigosh, Intermediate Rock Island Run, Advanced Alley Cat, Intermediate Lower Snowbird Trail, and Intermediate Lower Omigosh, serviced by the Omigosh Double Chairlift. Beginners Over Easy, Beginners Easy Way and Beginners Rabbit Hill serviced by the Easy Way Triple Chairlift, Beginner’s Luck Learning Area serviced by the Moving Carpet Conveyor lift and the Wolf Creek Hollow Teaching area on a base of 22”-80” and a machine made surface. Please note that some of our terrain features will be available for you to ride Upper Over Easy, right down from the Snack Shack, accessed by the Easy Way Triple Chairlift.

On Wednesday, we will offer two sessions of skiing, twilight skiing from 1pm until 10pm and night skiing from 6pm until 10pm with an afternoon half day rate also available. Please remember we are now on our early season operating schedule of 1pm until 10pm Monday through Friday and 8:30am – 4:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays and that midweek season passholders can ski everyday even on the weekends through December 17. Also, don’t forget every non-holiday Monday through Thursday all persons renting skis or snowboards at Cataloochee receive a FREE 1 ? hour beginner lesson! Lesson times this week are offered at 1:30, 3:30, 5:30 and 7pm and you should plan on being at the area at least 30 minutes prior to your chosen lesson time to sign up.

Tube World located in Maggie Valley, across from Ghost Town in the Sky, four miles from the ski area will reopen on Saturday, December 11 at 10am.

Renovations at Beech Mountain include Snow Making System

A new system of automated snow guns will have a major impact on snowmaking capacity this winter at Beech Mountain Resort.  The automated "PoleCat System" is able to produce copious amounts of snow. The guns added last year were the highlights of the Resort's snowmaking, now uping the system 300% by installing six more. The nice thing is this system is self-monitoring and constantly controls the output, significantly increasing snowmaking capability.

Last season's snowmaking upgrades paid big dividends on the Robbins Run and Upper Shawneehaw trails. This year, the resort set its sights on the long, black diamond White Lightning run, along with the Lower Shawneehaw trail, Powder Bowl and Freestyle trail.

The Resort believes it is  almost 100% better than three or four years ago because of the new automated system, plus we still have PoleCats that operate on carriages," said Costin. The 40 JCI tower guns added the past couple years,  dozens of Ratnik guns and the significant money invested in snowmaking over the last 36 months is paying off in the finished product.

Also receiving improvemnets was the alpine village at the base of the slopes. Three outside businesses moved in to lease a trio of storefronts. Skiers can now take advantage of a new equipment rental operation, coffee café and souvenir photo shop. New lockers were installed in the locker rooms, a third lane was built on the snow-tubing run and a shipment of ski/snowboard equipment was added  to the rental fleet.