Sugar Mt., NC 1/2/02

Tom · Jan 4, 2002

Everyone look- a posting from south of the Mason Dixon Line. Anyway, I?m from Ohio and have skied Vermont, New York, and a little out west. My primary stomping grounds are West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, and Western New York. Visiting North Carolina over New Years I thought I?d try some southern flavor. Sugar Mt is the biggest in NC with a 1200 ft vertical drop. Given the warm December they did a fantastic job of snowmaking- 14 of 20 trails were open the day we were there and I have to say it was very good coverage on anything that was open. There was plenty of man-made ?powder?, just a couple of patches of ice. Even late in the day most of the area was still covered. They had 2 of 3 expert slopes open at the top, I skied the trail on the left in the photo and I?d call it a solid black diamond. It was very hardpack, not much ice. The only intermediate trail from the top zigzags down the right side- they really need a better intermediate, this one is too easy and too crowded. Speaking of crowds, that was the major problem- even with their extremely slow lifts the hill was maxed out and too crowded (look at the people behind the snowboarder in the picture). It was pretty much that way anywhere you went except for the two expert runs. Early in the morning was much better. They continued to blow snow all day. Oh, one parting comment- the summit is about 5,300 feet up- looking east you could have a great view of Grandfather Mt, one of the storied places in the Appalacians. Unfortunately it?s blocked by the largest butt ugly condo complex I?ve ever seen. This thing is on the peak of the ridgeline and must be 10 stories high and 400? long. It can be seen for miles around and belongs in Manhattan, not on the top of a mountain. The architect and developer should be strung up. To summarize- I wouldn?t go there on a weekend (try Beech Mt.?) but its pretty good skiing for the south. The lower mountain is a bit flat, most of the vertical is at the upper mountain. Its on par with Snowshoe, Canaan Valley, and Timberline although I enjoy the skiing at those three better. <A HREF="mailto:frontrange@yahoo.com">frontrange@yahoo.com</A> Lets see more postings from Mid-Atlantic and Southern ski areas! I?ve seen many times where they have almost 100% open and the northeastern areas are still struggling. <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/1325.jpg" ALT="Sugar Mt- midstation view"> <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/1326.jpg" ALT="Matt on snowboard and crowd">

Sugar Mt., NC 1/2/02

Tom

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