POCAHONTAS COUNTY, W.Va. — A summer season delayed in the coronavirus pandemic begins officially on Thursday, July 2 at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Pocahontas County when the village, lake and bike park officially open with measures in place to limit virus spread.
“Doing everything we can to protect our guests is just, sort of, intrinsic. It’s what we’re used to,” said Shawn Cassell, Snowshoe public relations manager.
“This is a different challenge but I think the people at Snowshoe are well suited to facing it and we’re excited. We hope to have a good summer.”
For the first time, capacity limits have been put on activities to comply with state COVID-19 guidelines along with those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Ski Areas Association.
“If you do plan on coming up, make sure to book your activities in advance,” Cassell advised.
Mask usage was recommended, but not required.
Overall, Cassell said Snowshoe offered people plenty of space for social distancing.
“We’ve got 11,000 acres to play with,” he said.
Typically, Snowshoe begins the summer on Memorial Day Weekend, a couple of weeks after the opening of the Raven Golf Club.
This year, the Raven Golf Club opened for play on June 18 while weekend resort operations were set to begin in time for Independence Day Weekend and then follow every Thursday-Saturday through Oct. 18.
Lodging was available all week.
By the end of June, Cassell said most of the full-time employees who were furloughed earlier this year had been called back to work.
Fewer seasonal hires, though, were being made.
The event schedule was as follows:
July 2 | Opening Day – Bike Park, Lake, Village
July 31-Aug. 1 | Blues, Brews & BBQ
Aug. 1 | Downhill Southeast MTB Race
Aug. 8 | Treasure On The Mountain
Aug. 22 | Pedals & Pints Festival
Sept. 4-7 | Labor Day Celebration
Sept. 18-20 | Pro GRT MTB Race
Sept. 24-25 | GNCC University
Sept. 26-27 | GNCC Racing
Oct. 18 | Closing Day
The GNCC racing was moved from original dates in June while the popular 4848 Music Festival, heading into its second year, was cut from the schedule and postponed to 2021.
Split Rock Pools and the Village Zipline were to remain closed.
This past winter season ended two weeks earlier than planned at Snowshoe because of COVID-19.
Tentatively, the 2020-2021 Winter Season was scheduled to begin the weekend before Thanksgiving, depending on weather and virus forecasts.