By Nathan Ham
Two of the area ski resorts that pushed through last week’s unseasonably warm weather were rewarded with a cold enough weekend for them to start making snow again.
Both Appalachian Ski Mountain and Sugar Mountain started the snowmaking process this morning.
“We’re planning by tomorrow (Saturday) to have the top open, Gunther’s Way and the Magic Carpet back open. We’re making snow and snowmaking looks very good through Sunday and then again Wednesday and Thursday. We’re going to make snow when temperatures allow,” said Kim Jochl, the director of marketing for Sugar Mountain. “We’ve heard from the lodging people that they’re still getting bookings particularly next weekend so we’re trying to keep winter alive with the help of Mother Nature.”
With the heavy winds it is making it a little tougher to keep the snow on the ground. The winds are expected to finally die down late Saturday into Sunday, however temperatures will remain cool enough for snowmaking to continue.
The cold weather arrived just in time for the Dick Trundy Sugar Cup competition to honor the life of Sugar’s former director of operations and a two-star Marine Corp General. Skiers and riders of all ages are welcome to participate in the NASTAR format event. 100 percent of the entry fees go to the American Cancer Society.
On Monday, customers will receive a 25-percent savings on lift/slope tickets and winter value packages drop another notch in discounts and expand into weekends.
On March 11, Sugar Mountain’s annual Easter egg hunt is open to all children ages 12 and under. A season pass for next winter is among the thousands of plastic eggs that the children will be searching for.
App Ski Mountain is also making snow for the weekend. This Sunday will mark the first Sunday of the month, meaning skiers can hit the slope for just $10 from 7:30 until 10 p.m. If you purchase your tickets online in advance, you get an extra hour of skiing for free.
“We’re excited that it’s cold and it’s extended through the weekend, anytime snowmaking is possible, we’re going to be on it day and night,” said Drew Stanley, the marketing director at Appalachian Ski Mountain. “It looks like another cold front coming through Wednesday night so we’re watching that and we’ll be making snow there to make conditions great. We’re excited to open more terrain as soon as possible.”
Stanley said that they hope to have the top of the mountain open soon but they were not sure whether it would happen by Saturday or not.
“We don’t want to reopen it if we feel like it’s not up to our standards. It will be soon but it’s sort of a day-by-day. We’ll look at it in the morning and see,” he said.
The Appaljack terrain park is currently open and the hope is that the Appal Jam terrain park will be open as soon as more snowmaking happens.
Midnight Blast Sessions are still on going each Friday and Saturday night, giving skiers a chance to stay on the slopes until midnight each night.
Scenes from Appalachian Ski Mtn. Friday morning
Scenes from Sugar Mountain Resort Friday morning
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