Skiing and Snowboarding Available in West Virginia

/in /by

Charleston, WV – Skiers and snowboarders can now head to the mountains of West Virginia as the first downhill area is open for the 2012/2013 season. Snowshoe Mountain opened Wednesday, November 21, Over 40 acres are available at the Snowshoe and Silver Creek areas.

“The skiers and snowboarders are finding very nice early season conditions right now,” says Dave Dekema, Snowshoe Mountain’s Marketing Director. “We are looking to open additional slopes very soon.”

Other West Virginia Ski Resorts will be opening soon as Timberline and Winterplace are all planning to open Friday, December 21 and Canaan Valley on December 26.

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, which was off about 15 percent last year, due to the delayed opening and mild season long temperatures. “It’s great to open on time,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association. 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. For more information on skiing and snowboarding in West Virginia like us on Facebook at West Virginia Ski Area Association.

Skiing and Snowboarding Available in West Virginia

/in /by

Charleston, WV – Skiers and snowboarders can now head to the mountains of West Virginia as the first downhill area is open for the 2012/2013 season. Snowshoe Mountain opened Wednesday, November 21, Over 40 acres are available at the Snowshoe and Silver Creek areas.

“The skiers and snowboarders are finding very nice early season conditions right now,” says Dave Dekema, Snowshoe Mountain’s Marketing Director. “We are looking to open additional slopes very soon.”

Other West Virginia Ski Resorts will be opening soon as Canaan Valley, Timberline and Winterplace are all planning to open Friday, December 21.

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, which was off about 15 percent last year, due to the delayed opening and mild season long temperatures. “It’s great to open on time,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association. 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. For more information on skiing and snowboarding in West Virginia like us on Facebook at West Virginia Ski Area Association.

West Virginia is OPEN for Skiing

/in /by

Charleston, WV – Skiers and snowboarders can now head to the mountains of West Virginia as the first downhill area is open for the 2012/2013 season. Snowshoe Mountain opened Wednesday, November 21, with two top to bottom runs and three lifts at the Snowshoe area and one top to bottom run and one lift at the Silver Creek area. The other alpine areas in the state, Canaan Valley, Oglebay and Winterplace are all planning to open for the season the early part of December. The natural snow that was produced by Hurricane Sandy in October, allowed one of the state’s Nordic areas, White Grass Touring Center to begin providing cross-country skiing last month.

Along with the natural snow from Sandy, which produced over 50 inches of accumulation in the mountains, temperatures in the higher elevations have been cold enough for snowmaking operations to take place, allowing Snowshoe to provide excellent season opening conditions.

“The skiers and snowboarders here for the Thanksgiving holiday found the amount of snow we are opening up with to be great,” says Dave Dekema, Snowshoe Mountain’s Marketing Director. “After last season’s delayed opening, it’s great to open on time for the first time in a few years.”

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, which was off about 15 percent last year, due to the delayed opening and mild season long temperatures. “It’s great to open on time,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association. 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. For more information on skiing and snowboarding in West Virginia like us on Facebook at West Virginia Ski Area Association.

WEST VIRGINIA SKI AREAS OPEN FOR 2012/2013 SEASON

/in /by

Charleston, WV – Skiers and snowboarders will be heading to the mountains of West Virginia this week as the first downhill area will be opening for the 2012/2013 season. Snowshoe Mountain is planning to open this Wednesday, November 21, with two top to bottom runs and three lifts at the Snowshoe area and one top to bottom run and one lift at the Silver Creek area. The other alpine areas in the state, Canaan Valley, Oglebay and Winterplace are all planning to open for the season the early part of December. The natural snow that was produced by Hurricane Sandy in October, allowed one of the state’s Nordic areas, White Grass Touring Center to begin providing cross-country skiing last month.

Along with the natural snow from Sandy, which produced over 50 inches of accumulation in the mountains, temperatures in the higher elevations have been cold enough for snowmaking operations to take place, allowing Snowshoe to provide excellent season opening conditions.

“The skiers and snowboarders here for the Thanksgiving holiday are going to be pleased with the amount of snow we are opening up with,” says Dave Dekema, Snowshoe Mountain’s Marketing Director. “After last season’s delayed opening, it’s great to open on time for the first time in a few years.”

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, which was off about 15 percent last year, due to the delayed opening and mild season long temperatures. “It’s great to open on time,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association. 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. For more information on skiing and snowboarding in West Virginia like us on Facebook at West Virginia Ski Area Association.

See You Next Season

/in /by

The 2011/2012 ski season has come to an end in West Virginia.  Thanks to everyone who skied, snowboarder or snow tubed this season at a West Virginia Ski Resort.  Get ready for the 2012/2013 season as snowmaking should be starting the end of October. 

/in /by

Well the good news is that Phil saw his shadow last week, which means six more weeks of winter.  Now if winter would only REALLY get here.  For the most part West Virginia Ski Resorts have been handling the mild conditions fairly well, making snow whenever possible.  At this time there are over 125 slopes open in West Virginia, the most skiing and snowboarding available in the region, by far.

Now for the big news, congrats to Steven Powell of Westminster, Maryland, the winner of a 2011/2012 season Mountain Pass from the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.  Powell’s name was drawn from all of the entries to this year’s internet contest.

Remember, don’t forget to do those snow dances.  Also everyone needs to remember that during a mild winter in 1993, there was a blizzard in March that dropped over three-feet of snow overnight in the mountains of West Virginia.  So there is hope, but in the meantime the slopes are in good condition so it’s time to go ski, snowboard or snowtube. 

West Virginia Participating In Learn To Ski and Snowboard Month

/in /by

(Charleston) – Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and officials with the West Virginia Ski Areas Association today announced that January was officially Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month in the mountain state. By proclamation released at a news conference held at the state capitol, West Virginia joined the national program that includes ski-industry states in North America.

The Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month, started by a group of industry officials in 2007, encourages children and adults to try to ski and snowboard if they never have done so and also encourage those already involved to try a new way of having fun on the slopes. You can find out more about the program by going to www.skiandsnowboardmonth.org or www.goskiwv.com.

Annually the association’s five alpine resorts, Canaan Valley and Timberline in Tucker County, Oglebay Resort in Ohio County, Snowshoe Mountain in Pocahontas County and Winterplace in Raleigh County, and the association’s two nordic areas White Grass in Tucker County and Elk River in Pocahontas County experience nearly a million skier visits. The economic impact from the five-month long industry is over $250 million, employing 5,000 on and off the resort properties.

The 2011-2012 season has picked up recently after a slow start for West Virginia’s resorts due to early season mild weather conditions but last week’s large amounts of natural snow and large Martin Luther King Holiday crowd have turned the situation around. “We received over a foot of snow last week and that helped create awesome conditions on the slopes,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association and Winterplace Ski Resort. “Along with the snow came much needed cold temperatures allowing all of the resorts to make snow around the clock.” West Virginia Ski Resorts have invested millions of dollars in snowmaking equipment which assures skiers and snowboarders in the region reliable conditions.

New Snow In The Mountains of West Virginia.

/in /by

Charleston, WV – This past week’s snow storm came at a critical time for the state’s ski resorts. Nearly a foot of snow fell in the mountains of West Virginia creating excellent conditions at all of the resorts including Canaan Valley and Timberline in Tucker County, Oglebay in Ohio County, Snowshoe in Pocahontas County and Winterplace in Raleigh County. The natural snow has also improved the back country conditions at the state’s cross-country areas, White Grass Touring in Tucker County and Elk River Touring Center in Pocahontas County.

The snowfall and sub-freezing temperatures came as the resorts prepared for one of the busiest weekends of the season as everyone celebrated the Martin Luther King holiday. “Actually it’s the perfect storm, because most of the snow came early so that will give the highway crews plenty of time to clear the roads for the skiers and snowboarders to arrive safely at all of our resorts,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association and President of Winterplace Ski Resort. “Along with the natural snow, the cold temperatures have allowed all of the resorts’ snowmakers to work around the clock to open additional terrain for everyone to enjoy.” The resorts’ snowmakers will use the cold temperatures to create manmade blizzards, producing 20,000 tons of snow per hour when the temperature drops into the teens (when combining all five resort’s snowmaking efforts at once), that’s enough snow to cover 20 football fields with a foot of snow each hour.

For the holiday weekend, West Virginia resorts provided over 100 slopes for skiers and snowboarders, the most open terrain of any state in the region.

West Virginia Resorts Offering The Most Open Terrain

/in /by

Charleston, WV – The new year has meant new snow and new cold temperatures for every ski resort in West Virginia and that’s been great news for every skier, snowboarder and snow tuber in the region.  Every ski resort in West Virginia, Canaan Valley and Timberline Resorts in Tucker County, Oglebay Resort in Ohio County, Snowshoe Mountain in Pocahontas County and Winterplace Resort in Raleigh County are all providing excellent slope coverage. Not only are the slopes open but all the resorts have terrain parks available and the resorts three tubing hills at Winterplace, Canaan Valley and Snowshoe are open.

This is also Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month so check with your favorite ski school and find out specials are available to learn or just get better when playing in the snow.

See you on the slopes!

Get Winter News In The Mountains Of West Virginia

/in /by

Charleston, WV – Old Man Winter began the New Year with fresh snow for West Virginia Ski Resorts. All of the resorts including Canaan Valley and Timberline in Tucker County, Oglebay in Ohio County, Snowshoe in Pocahontas County and Winterplace in Raleigh County all received a couple of inches of new snow and more is in the forecast. The recent natural snow has continued to improve the conditions at the state’s cross-country areas, White Grass Touring in Tucker County and Elk River Touring Center in Pocahontas County, both of which rely on natural snowfall.

The first day of 2012 finds West Virginia Ski Resorts providing the most open terrain of any state in the southeast or mid-Atlantic regions. “After a soft opening to the season the current weather is perfect for all of the resorts snowmakers to work with and cover additional terrain,” says Terry Pfeiffer, President of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association and President of Winterplace Ski Resort. “It’s great to start off the new year with fresh snow, especially in our market area that stretches from Florida to Maryland.” While the natural snow is always welcomed by the resorts, the consistent cold temperatures continue to allow the resorts’ snowmakers to work around the clock, adding to the slopes’ base depths and open additional terrain.

The resort’s snowmakers will use the cold temperatures to create manmade blizzards, producing 20,000 tons of snow per hour when the temperature drops into the teens (when combining all five resort’s snowmaking efforts at once), that’s enough snow to cover 20 football fields with a foot of snow each hour.

The West Virginia ski and snowboard season traditionally, weather permitting, continues through early April. The 2011/2012 holiday season finished strong for West Virginia’s resorts as conditions improved as the critical three-week period concludes this week.