6:00: Morning News

Resorts ready as ski season begins

GHENT, W.Va. — Ski season started on a positive note after a cold Thanksgiving weekend across West Virginia, with some skiers already hitting the slopes at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Pocahontas County.

Snow guns have been blowing at resorts for weeks in anticipation of the ski season, which goes through April.

Tom Wagner, executive vice president of Winterplace Ski Resort and West Virginia Ski Areas Association member, said with the weather and snow guns, resorts are ready for ski enthusiasts and families.

“Our phones in the group sales department has been ringing much earlier than they normally have been because we’ve had colder temperatures, and there’s been a lot of pent-up desire out there,” he said. “Once people are out on the slopes, they are excited. They are glad to be there.”

Wagner added West Virginia crews are able to make snow, and thanks to the state’s elevation, Mother Nature provides resorts with some precipitation as well.

“It makes for a long ski season,” he said.

Wagner said Christmas will be the busiest time of the year for resorts, as families go to resorts to make “a lifetime of memories.”

“The other thing that takes place also is that our huge labor force across the state is put to work, and they’re kept very busy,” he said.

Winterplace will open ski season on Dec. 9. Canaan Valley Resort will allow skiers to hit the slopes on Dec. 15.

MetroNews affiliate WMOV Radio in Ravenswood contributed to this report





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