Skiing in the North Carolina Mountains
North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains are the highest mountains east of the Rockies. The ski season normally runs from Thanksgiving to mid-March, or around 100 days. There's something for everyone here. Rookie skiers, advanced skiers, snowboarders, snow tubers, and ice skaters can all enjoy a scenic and memorable mountain experience. Whether by day or night, the North Carolina ski areas have everything needed, including rental equipment and instruction.
The mountains of North Carolina have the highest elevations and the coldest climates in the South. The weather in your town is probably not indicative of the conditions in the mountains. With every thousand-foot rise in elevation, there is usually a 3-4 degree drop in temperature. Therefore, the mountain areas are usually at least 15-20 degrees cooler than the lower elevations.
To augment an average snowfall of 60 inches, state-of-the-art snowmaking equipment provides 100% slope coverage. When temperatures fall below freezing, the process of making snow cranks up. This is the key to creating great slope conditions. The art of snowmaking involves creating a mixture of water and air under pressure and spraying it out of a snow gun. The mixture then turns to snow and falls to the ground.
Studies have shown that the majority of skiers utilizing North Carolina slopes are North Carolina residents and are loyal to their favorite resort. 40% of skiers come from North Carolina, 18% from Georgia, 16% from South Carolina, and 14% from Florida.
Most visitors primarily come to the mountains to ski despite the growing popularity of snowboarding among the younger set. Over 70% of visitors come to ski, 20% come to snowboard, and about 5% to tube.
North Carolina's seven ski slopes are: Appalachian Ski Mountain, Cataloochee Ski Area, Hawksnest Golf and Ski Resort, Sapphire Valley Ski Area, Ski Beech, Sugar Mountain Resort and Wolf Laurel.
Cataloochee Ski Area
1080 Ski Lodge Road
Maggie Valley, NC 28751
Phone: (828) 926-0285 (800) 768-0285
Fax: (828) 926-0285
Web: www.cataloochee.com
E-mail: ski@cataloochee.com
Hawksnest Resort
2058 Skyland Drive
Banner Elk, NC 28604
Phone : (828) 963-6561
Ski Report: (800) 822-4295
E-mail: hawksnest@boone.net
Sapphire Valley Ski Area
207 Sapphire Valley Road
Sapphire, NC 28774
Phone: (828) 743-7663 (828) 743-6772
Web: www.sapphirevalleyresort.com
E-mail: svma@aol.com
Ski Beech
PO Box 1118
Beech Mountain Parkway
Beech Mountain, NC 28604
Phone: (828) 387-2011 (800) 438-2093
Web: www.skibeech.com
E-mail: skibeech@infoave.net
Appalachian Ski Mtn
PO Box 106
940 Ski Mountain Rd
Blowing Rock, NC 28605
Phone: (828) 295-7828 (800) 322-2373
Web: www.appskimtn.com
E-mail: info@appskimtn.com
Sugar Mountain Resort
PO Box 369
1009 Sugar Mountain Drive
Banner Elk, NC 28604
Phone: (828) 898-4521 (800) SUGAR-MT
Web: www.skisugar.com
E-mail: info@skisugar.com
Wolf Ridge Ski Resort
578 Valley View Circle
Mars Hill, NC 28754
Phone: (828) 689-4111 (800) 817-4111
E-mail: info@skiwolfridgenc.com
