Beech Mountain Resort Stays Busy During Summer To Provide Epic Winter Season

By Jesse Wood

 

Beech Mountain Resort is nearly ready for an epic winter season, and guests are likely to arrive once the powder touches down thinking – in a good way – “Whoa, what happened over the summer!”

A plethora of changes and renovations have occurred atop Beech Mountain, the highest ski resort on the East Coast, which peaks at more than 5,500 feet above sea level.

“We have almost wrapped up everything, however we always try and perfect things, so we will continue to work as long as we can,” Talia Freeman, a spokesperson for Beech Mountain Resort, said. “We have worked really hard this summer and I would argue this the most we have invested back into the resort in many years.”

As soon as the ski season ended last year, construction crews set to work on bringing tubing back to Ski Beech, just one of the new offerings patrons can expect to see in the coming weeks.

The new state-of-the-art tubing park is located adjacent to the ice skating rink – in between parking lot #2 and parking lot #3. It offers 700-foot runs on a multiple-lane course that features a new carpet conveyor – dubbed the “magic carpet ride” – and new restrooms nearby.

“They have done a nice job of engineering the design, so I think our customers will be really pleased,” said Freeman earlier this summer.

Constructed in the ‘60s when Beech Mountain was starting to be developed, the Beech Tree Bar and Grille received a “fresh facelift” over the summer. There is a new interior model and patrons will certainly notice the new TVs upstairs and downstairs and the large projection screen downstairs for events, “brew ‘n view” nights and other film premieres. The stage still exists, which is a necessity considering the expansion of the music series lineup, the balcony bar is reopening.

In the basement of the Beech Tree Bar and Grille is a private club, the Red Baron Room, which opened in January of 1970.  The basement is decorated with authentic World War 1 flying memorabilia in honor of the Red Baron, German flying ace Baron von Richthofen, and the remodeled bar features a replica of 1917 French bar with oak flooring. Open to new members, individual memberships start at $100 and family memberships are just $175.

The largest investment of the summer is the improvement to the quad lift.

“The quad was a major investment, but definitely worth it.  It will be running like new again,” Freeman said.

Beech Mountain resort built a terminal over the high-speed quad lift on the top of the mountain to help keep the lift from being exposed to the elements. In addition, Beech focused on improving the other lifts as well.

“We have made a significant investment into the lifts to get them working efficiently, and running faster,” Freeman said. “I think the quality and speed of our lifts is very important to our customers, so we are making significant financial investments towards that project.”

Beech Mountain Resort also installed an additional 14 SMI Super Pole Cat snow guns, which will provide additional coverage in much needed areas and give Beech the largest snowmaking capacity in its history.

The group sales department features new flooring and new space for group meetings and the resort features renovated bathrooms and new stairs throughout.

Beech Mountain Resort hired a new head brewer, Billy Smith, who is a native of New York and graduate of Lees-McRae College. He recently placed in third at the N.C. State Fair for his Beech Blond Ale.

Bald Guy Brew will be back with a new location in the Resort Village, next to the ticket booth, where he will provide specialty drinks and espresso.

New Burton snowboard rentals have been introduced to the fleet and Beech Mountain will be offering free beginner lessons Monday-Thursday (non-holiday) with the purchase of rental equipment for people eight years or older.

“We are very excited to show our customers the improvements,” Freeman said. “Ski Season is, of course, our favorite time of year.”

Today is the last day to order the Super Saver Season Pass for $400. An additional 50 passes were released to accommodate demand.

Contact Beech Mountain Resort at 828-387-2011 or 1-800-438-2093 or click to www.beechmountainresort.com.