The Smokies skiing experience

Western North Carolina’s ski resorts are constantly looking for new ways to attract the non-traditional skier and include the entire family. These days, there are all kinds of snow activities to choose, from tubing and snowboarding to cross-country and downhill skiing.

This season, Beech Mountain’s famous Ski Beech plans to attract more women, young skiers, and snowboarders to its resort with an array of special events. 

“Our Ladies Day was developed during the 2002 Winter Olympics to attract more females to Ski Beech,” said Gil Adams, marketing manager at Beech. 

The popular special continues this season with Thursday Ladies Days, (except during the Christmas Holidays). The Bathing Beauty Contest, scheduled for January, allows intrepid women and men wearing beach attire to compete on skis or snowboards in order to win various prizes.

Programs for the younger skier include free ski lessons for children four years old and younger accompanied by a ticketed adult, a comprehensive Young Learning program featuring group lessons, and discounted snow day skiing.  

“We love to get the kids on the slopes, so we’ll still offer discounted lift tickets and rentals on snow days to teachers and students whose schools are closed by snow,” Adams said. 

The first North Carolina resort to allow snowboards, Ski Beech has developed a challenging terrain park and recently increased their snowmaking capabilities. The views from the top of Beech are incredible, and on some days you can see miles into Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

While Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock offers alternatives to non-skiers with its outdoor ice skating rink and one of the best snowboarding terrain parks in the state, this popular family resort also wants to attract new audiences. Events include the New Year’s Eve Fireworks Extravaganza and the romantic Valentine’s Day Fireworks Celebration. 

National Winter Trail Days, a nationwide event to allow children and adults to try snowshoeing for free, will be hosted at Sugar Mountain in January 2009. Sugar Mountain Ski Resort is the only resort offering a snowshoeing park that is closed to skiers. 

North Carolina’s oldest ski area, Cataloochee Ski Area above Maggie Valley, provides several beginner runs for new skiers and children. There’s an after-school ski program for 4th and 5th graders in Haywood County schools during January, February, and March. Snowboarding parks and snow tubing runs are also available at Cataloochee. 

For those who enjoy an easy jaunt down the slope, Hawksnest Ski Resort in Banner Elk, exclusively offers snow tubing, providing four different areas with 20 lanes. A moving carpet ride takes you back to the top for another run. 

Outdoor skating rinks provide another winter activity in the mountains, and these are available at Appalachian Ski Mountain and Ski Beech.  

Whether it’s experiencing New Year’s Eve fireworks on Appalachian Ski Mountain’s slopes or peacefully snowshoeing through Sugar Mountain, North Carolina’s ski resorts are primed to offer something for everyone with some of the best ski slopes in the Southeast.