Industry News
While the West Coast is drowning in a snowy storm front with record snow falls, ski resorts in the Southeast are starting to close after two consecutive weeks of record warm temperatures, far above February averages. The resorts who have snow making facilities have tried their best to provide the best skiing possible for their guests, but unfortunately for some resorts it was not enough to push the season through to their usual mid-late March season end.
Wintergreen Resort in Virginia was one of those forced to close, announcing the decision on its blog on Friday and posting the following announcement on its website and Instagram account on Sunday:
THANK YOU for another Winter Season
It’s 5:00pm and the Last Chair signs are going up the lifts for the last time this season.
We’re skiers and riders, we love winter, and we eagerly look forward to turning on the snowmaking system each ski season. We don’t like closing early – we strive to offer skiing and riding as soon as we can and as long as we can each winter.
But, spring is here, the daffodils are blooming and golfers are out in shorts today. Spring now has its turn, albeit too soon for us, so today, Sunday, February 26, 2023 will be the last day of our 2022-23 ski season.
We want to say THANK YOU to all of our skiers and riders for skiing with us at Wintergreen this season. We look forward to welcoming you back on the slopes again next December. In about 292 days, we’ll be skiing and riding again. See you then!
We announced earlier Wintergreen Quad Pack holders can use their remaining lift tickets at Wisp Resort in McHenry, MD beginning Monday, February 27 through Wisp’s closing day. Wisp is offering a 30% lodging discount if you would like to stay a couple days. Take your unused Wintergreen Quad Pack ticket to Wisp’s Guest Services and they’ll give you a Wisp lift ticket.
Wintergreen Ski Resort is a small resort less than two hours northwest of Richmond, VA, and an hour north of Lynchburg, VA. The resort has 26 runs across 129 acres which are serviced by five lifts. The top elevation is 3,515 ft and the base elevation is at 2,512 ft.
Another victim of the unseasonably warm weather is Silver Creek Ski Area, which also closed last Sunday, February 26, 2023. The ski area was purchased by adjacent Snowshoe Mountain in 1992 but the ski areas are not connected and you have to take a bus between the two. Silver Creek has 14 trails, four lifts and 663-foot vertical drop. Snowshoe Mountain is adamant they will stay open, posting on their site “We’re in good shape on the Snowshoe side and we plan to keep it rolling as long as possible!” Silver Creek season pass holders will have access to Snowshoe Mountain trails instead for the remainder of the season. Snowshoe is part of the Ikon Pass.
There are a total of 16 ski resorts in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic area. At this point, there are still several ski areas open and conditions are fair. As of the date of writing, Cataloochee, NC, which is on the Indy Pass, is still open, although the tubing area is closed now. Bryce Resort emphasizes on their website “We’re still open and going strong!” Canaan Valley, WV, is still open as is Sugar Mountain, NC. According to Joe Stevens’ blog, who used to work at Snowshoe Mountain and now writes for Ski Southeast, local business did not only slow but simply stopped in the last few weeks. Noting that while skiing is still good in the area, it is simply not on people’s minds anymore due to the spring-like temperatures.
So if you’re in the Southeast, why not support your local ski resort for the last few weeks of the season and get some last turns in?
