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Cold Snap This Week Prompts Blasting of Snow Guns at Ski Resorts in the High Country

This was App Ski Mountain in late October. App Ski Mountain looks to begin snowmaking on Tuesday. Photo by Drew Stanley
This was App Ski Mountain in late October. App Ski Mountain looks to begin snowmaking on Tuesday. Photo by Drew Stanley

By Jesse Wood

Nov. 11, 2013. Right now, staff with the High Country’s three ski resorts know the five-day forecast about as well as the people making those predictions.

It’s that time of year – after Halloween, before Thanksgiving – when Sugar Mountain Resort, Appalachian Ski Mountain and Beech Mountain Ski Resort follow the weather patterns, hoping for an early, sustained, cold snap to build a base of snow.

According to RaysWeather.com, temperatures are dropping into the teens on Tuesday and Wednesday, which has the ski folks excited.

Kim Jochl of Sugar Mountain Resort said Sugar began making snow last night but shut down this morning when the temperatures rose.

“As soon as the temps get back down to snow making weather, we’ll start back up and hope to open as soon as possible,” Jochl said.

Jochl added that if the weather cooperates, Sugar Mountain Resort should be open within a week.

“Just stay tuned,” Jochl said, adding that weather outlooks can change at the last minute – and then change again

Drew Stanley with Appalachian Ski Mountain noted that this week’s upcoming temperatures look “really ideal” for snowmaking.

He added that the temperatures dipping into the teens is “huge” and that the resort will take advantage of every cold opportunity to build a nice base of snow.

Stanley said he anticipates Appalachian Ski Mountain to “fire” up the snowmaking equipment on Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday evening.

As of right now, however, the official opening date for Appalachian Ski Mountain is set for Nov. 22.

Ryan Costin, general manager of Beech Mountain Ski Resort, is looking at the weather like everyone else.  

Costin didn’t predict when the resort would open but said the weather looks good to begin snowmaking and laying down a base in the middle of this week. He called it “waiting game.”

 “You know, we are looking at the weather and making sure the forecast looks good for us in the long run,” Costin said.