SNOWSHOE, W.Va. — Folks who live in Charlotte and Atlanta don’t know much about a white Christmas, so many of them pack up their holiday cheer and head to West Virginia.
“We can guarantee them one,” said Joe Stevens with the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.
West Virginia’s ski resorts are now fully open for the season and ready to welcome those out-of-state guests during the three weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s.
“The week before Christmas, the week of Christmas, and the week after Christmas,” said Stevens. “A little more than 35 percent of the entire season business will be occurring during those three weeks.”
This year has gotten off to a much better start for resort operators. Operations in 2012 didn’t get started until late December and caused many to miss the critical three week window. It won’t be a problem this year with a heavy mix of natural and man-made snow on the ground.
Stevens said the resorts are starting to see two areas of growth from West Virginians coming to the areas. Snow tubing, which is glorified sledding, is a big draw for West Virginians especially those who do not know how to ski. He added younger West Virginians are becoming more frequent guests with a growing number of ski clubs and teams in various schools.
You can learn more about the skiing, snowboarding, and tubing opportunities in West Virginia at www.goskiwv.com