Charleston, WV – Skiers and snowboarders heading to the mountains of West Virginia this weekend will find all of the state’s major ski resorts open for the 2014/2015 season.  Winterplace and Timberline open this Friday, while Canaan Valley will drop the ropes on Saturday. Snowshoe Mountain has been open since November 26.  Winterplace and Canaan Valley offered some early season skiing and snowboarding last month, but shut down on-slope operations to prepare for this weekend. Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, which offers one slope for guests, will begin the season when weather permits.

Along with the natural snow in the mountains, temperatures in the higher elevations have been cold enough this week for snowmaking operations, allowing all of the resorts to provide excellent early season conditions, as the all-important holiday season looms later this month.

The snowmakers at all of the state’s ski resorts can produce manmade snow whenever temperatures permit, allowing the industry’s unsung heroes to cover the slopes for skiers and snowboarders.  When snowmaking conditions are at their best (in the low teens), over 20,000 tons of snow is being produced in West Virginia per hour, enough snow to cover 20 football fields with a foot of snow each hour.

Resorts in the mountain state annually attract over 800,000 skier visits and numbers have been strong during the first couple weeks of the season.  “It’s the time of year all of the resort operators look forward to, having all of the resorts open and skiers and snowboarders heading to the slopes,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association and President of Winterplace. The top states providing skiers and snowboarders to West Virginia slopes are Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida. 

The ski and snowboard season traditionally, weather permitting, continues from Thanksgiving through early April. The five-month long ski season in West Virginia has an estimated economic impact of over $250 million and 5,000 jobs at the resorts and other related companies. 

Charleston, WV – Skiers and snowboarders will be heading to the mountains of West Virginia in less than two weeks as the first downhill area will be opening for the 2014/2015 season.  Snowshoe Mountain is planning to open Wednesday, November 26.  The slopes at the other alpine areas in the state will open shortly after, Canaan Valley, November 29, Timberline and Winterplace, December 12 and Oglebay when weather permits.

The cold temperatures and the season’s first natural snow throughout the mountains of West Virginia have allowed the resort’s snowmakers to begin to work on covering the slopes for skiing and snowboarding. 

“The scheduled opening is on-target for the ski industry as Snowshoe traditionally begins the season Thanksgiving week, wherever that holiday falls on the calendar and looking at all of the resort’s webcams the slope coverage looks great right now and will only get better with the forecasted cold temperatures,” says Joe Stevens, spokesman for the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.  “Along with being important for snowmaking the chilly temperatures also help us in the metro areas throughout the region as folks start thinking about skiing and snowboarding when the temperatures drop.”

The snowmakers at all of the state’s ski resorts can produce manmade snow whenever temperatures permit, allowing the industry’s unsung heroes to cover the slopes for skiers and snowboarders.  When snowmaking conditions are at their best (in the low teens), over 20,000 tons of snow is being produced in West Virginia per hour, enough snow to cover 20 football fields with a foot of snow each hour

The mountain state’s resorts annually attract over 800,000 skier visits, and last year that figure was reached.  “The cold temperatures get our blood pumping, all of the resorts are getting ready for the skiers and snowboarders,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association and President of Winterplace. The top states providing skiers and snowboarders visiting West Virginia slopes are Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida. 

The ski and snowboard season traditionally, weather permitting, continues from Thanksgiving through early April. The five-month long ski season in West Virginia has an estimated economic impact of over $250 million and 5,000 jobs at the resorts and other related companies. 

This month's natural snow and cold temperatures means but one thing, the ski season in West Virginia is in full swing.  With last week’s openings of Winterplace and Timberline, all of West Virginia’s Ski Resorts are now open for the season.

Again last week the temperatures were below freezing which allowed the resort’s snowmakers to continue to cover the skiing and snowboarding terrain. The snowmakers at all of the resorts are working around the clock whenever possible to provide the early season skiers and snowboarders as much open terrain as possible.  When snowmaking conditions were at their best this week (in the teens), over 20,000 tons of snow was being produced in West Virginia per hour, that’s enough snow to cover 20 football fields with a foot of snow made each hour.

Early season reservations, especially for the important upcoming holiday period have been strong.  “The weather for the most part continues to cooperate with our snowmaking efforts and that’s critical for providing a good on-slope product for the holiday skiers,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of Winterplace and the West Virginia Ski Areas Association. “For most of us, the holiday period is 35-percent of our yearly budget and visitors have come to depend on West Virginia resorts for excellent conditions during that time frame.” The top states providing skiers and snowboarders to West Virginia slopes are Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida.

The ski and snowboard season traditionally, weather permitting, continues through early April. The five-month long ski season in West Virginia has an estimated economic impact of over $250 million and 5,000 jobs at the resorts and other related companies