The idea of skiing in the southeast may seem, to some, kind of like doing the backstroke in the bathtub, but there actually are a handful of slopes in the southeast that make for a great and snowy weekend getaway from work. . .weather and latitude permitting.
Head west in North Carolina, towards the Appalachians and the Smokey’s, and you’ll have your pick of over half-a-dozen ski resorts. Many are easily accessible from major freeways.
Slice through powder at Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, NC, west of Asheville, NC, in the Great Smoky Mountains. If Monday through Friday proved exciting enough, there are smooth and gentle slopes for those looking to take it a little easy. Intermediate level and advanced skiers have runs like Lower and Upper Omigosh to satisfy their black diamond adrenaline levels.
Appalachian Ski Mountain, about 90 miles from Asheville and 50 miles south of Boone, has 10 slopes of varying difficulties and a season that usually lasts from mid-November to April. The resort also has four swanky chalets, complete with fireplaces and mountainside views, all one mile or less from the ski lodge.
Head just a few miles further west and you’ll hit Sugar Mountain (you’re now approximately 270 miles outside of Raleigh). The largest ski area in North Carolina by about 20 acres, Sugar Mountain also boasts the largest vertical drop (1200′) in the state. Wheee!
Virginia has a couple wintry palaces, as well. Situated only two hours from metro Washington, D.C., in Shenandoah Valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Bryce Resort is a great place for beltway businessmen and women to take their families or venture out for a weekend retreat with colleagues. Most of the slopes are intermediate, but there is a black diamond slope called Hangover waiting for the more adventurous in the group.
Massanutten, Virginia, is the site of a popular ski resort. During the summer, it’s a playground for hikers, fishermen, and water sport enthusiasts. In the winter, its 14 slopes, the majority of which are intermediate and single black diamond, although there are some bunny hills, are spread over 70 acres of winter wonderland.
Those are just a few options; a quick search on the internet will bring up all your choices, which are admittedly fewer than those in the northeast or out west; however, there is a spattering of some pretty good hills in the region. And for the weekend ski bums and bunnies finding it harder and harder to concentrate on what’s on the computer screen, the wait’s almost over — many of these winter resorts open with the next week.
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