CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The ski season came to a close this weekend with a fresh blanket of snow at two West Virginia ski resorts.
Canaan Valley Ski Resort in Tucker County and Winterplace Ski Resort in Raleigh County closed on Sunday for skiing, snow boarding and snow tubing.
Joe Stevens, executive director of the West Virginia Ski Areas Association, said it snowed more in low-lying areas compared to the mountains.
“What it did was — where it snowed in the metro areas, it made people think ‘well, let’s make it one more time for the season,’ so the numbers for the final weekend for both Winterplace and Canaan were really strong. The conditions were really nice,” he said.
The mountains received about six inches to snow compared to Charleston’s 8-9 inches of snow on Saturday.
Stevens described this ski season as a “back and forth” with mother nature.
“Every time the operators have been able to get ahead, make snow and open up more terrain, a mild period would come in or it would start raining and melt the snow away, so it’s been a give and take,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic actually helped the ski industry draw in more visitors last year compared to this year.
“People use their opportunity of getting outdoors and being able to naturally social distance, so the numbers were a little bit stronger last year than this year. We equate that to the fact that some of the milder periods kept people away from the resorts,” Stevens said.
Canaan Valley celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.
Timberline Mountain in Tucker County will stay open until at least Mar. 20. Snowshoe Mountain in Pocahontas County won’t close until Mar. 27.