Great Skiing Conditions and Comfortable Temps at Resorts During President's Day Weekend

Some of the ski resorts on Thursday and Friday after the recent cold spell allowed for some natural snowfall and manmade snowmaking. Photos by Ken Ketchie

By Jesse Wood

Along with plenty of fun activities off the slopes, President’s Day Weekend is expected to offer some of the best skiing and snowboarding conditions this season.

In addition to a few inches of natural snow, the temperatures dropped enough for the resorts to cover the slopes during the past few days. Now, the forecast is sunny with comfortable temps for mid-February.

“Today is one of the best ski days yet,” Beech Mountain Resort spokeswoman Talia Freeman said on Friday. “We had a great snowfall on Wednesday and have had a few days of snowmaking.”

Beech Mountain Resort has 14 trails open and a base of 22 to 64 inches. Ice skating and tubing are available, too. Live music is planned on Friday night. Columbia, S.C.-based Prettier than Matt will perform at Beech Mountain Brewing Co. from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. See more about the band here.

Sugar Mountain Resort’s Kim Jochl said that the slopes are in great shape and the snow is “lovely” after the recent cold spell. Sugar Mountain Resort has a base of 25 to 65 inches. At least 14 slopes and 7 lifts are expected to be in operation over the holiday weekend. All sessions of ice skating and four lanes of tubing are available, as well.

Sugar Mountain Resort’s Spyder sample sale begins on Friday. More info on the sale is here: www.skisugar.com/sugar-mountain-sports-shop/. The Johnson Brothers band will play on Saturday from 4-6 p.m.

On Sunday, Sugar Mountain Resort will host the iconic, long-time, local junior ski race, the “High Country Junior Race Series” on Sunday. Jochl also noted that March Madness is just around the corner. March Madness, which provides up to 25 percent on lift tickets, rental equipment, and lessons, begins Monday, March 6 and runs through the end of the season.

For more info about Sugar Mountain Resort, click to www.skisugar.com.

Similar to Freeman and Jochl, Appalachian Ski Mtn. spokesman Drew Stanley described the conditions as “incredible right now … about some of the best snow I’ve seen all season.”

Appalachian Ski Mtn. has a base of 34 to 48 inches and all but one of its slopes – Thin Slice – is open for the weekend. Ice Skating is also open.

“This is a really big weekend for us, and we are geared up and ready to go,” Stanley said, noting that the Blowing Rock ski resort has a slew of activities for the whole family lined up.

ASM President’s Day Family-Weekend Event Schedule

Over at Seven Devils, Hawksnest Tubing, which is the largest tubing park on the East Coast, with lanes ranging from 400 to 1,000 feet, will have more than 20 lanes open and two moving carpet lifts operating.

“Conditions will be ok for the weekend, despite the warm weather,” Lenny Cottom, owner of Hawksnest said, adding that this could be the last weekend to tube at the Seven Devils resort if the weather doesn’t change soon.

The following two-hour tubing sessions are running through Monday. Check the Hawksnest website for availability and more information: