WINTER FUN BEGINS IN WEST VIRGINIA

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Greetings –

The sound of snow guns have been heard recently in the mountains of West Virginia. Since early this month, the veteran snowmakers at Snowshoe Mountain have been making snow whenever Mother Nature has allowed, over 150 hours worth of covering the slopes with man made white stuff. Thanks to the snowmakers and groomers efforts, alpine skiing in West Virginia will commence for the 2007/08 season, this Wednesday at Snowshoe Mountain. Nordic skiing actually got underway this past Friday, November 16 at White Grass Touring Center in Tucker County, due to natural snowfall in the West Virginia Mountains.

Mother Nature has allowed Snowshoe Mountain’s snowmakers to produce nearly 200 hours of man made coverage on the slopes. When the ropes drop Wednesday morning at the Pocahontas County resort, six trails will be available serviced by three lifts. A great way to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Even though the ski slopes will not be open, Canaan Valley Resort will be offering family activities such as guided nature hikes, turkey bowling on ice, pie eating contest and much more. Other resort openings include Timberline December 6 and Winterplace December 7 and Canaan Valley on December 22 (earlier if weather allows).

Timberline Four Seasons Resort and Canaan Valley Resort have joined forces for the 2007-2008 ski season to offer guests the ability to ski both mountains at their leisure for one price. Guests taking advantage of the Ski The Valley Pass will have 76 trails and four terrain parks at their disposal and the option of skiing the two mountains when and how they want.

The Pass will be sold as a two-day lift ticket and can be purchased at the lift ticket windows of both ski areas. The cost for the pass is: $40 for a two-day pass during Value Season (Dec. 14-24; Mar. 17-23); $65 for a two-day pass during weekdays in Prime Season (Jan. 1-Mar. 13); and, $95 for a two-day pass during weekends in Prime Season (Jan. 4-Mar. 16). The ticket will not be available during the Christmas (12/25-12/31), Presidents Day or Martin Luther King Day holidays.

Speaking of passes, the West Virginia Ski Areas Association is again offering The West Virginia Mountain Pass. The pass provides 30 passes to each resort in the state and 10 passes to the two Nordic areas. The cost of the Mountain Pass booklet is $2500 and the passes are interchangeable. For more information call 304-720-5466.

It looks like there is a chance of snowmaking conditions and natural snow later this week in the higher elevations. This week’s snowmaking will be critical for resorts wanting to open within the next couple of weeks. For daily news and action photo, go to www.westvirginiaski.com .