Letter to Editor: Appreciation for Skiing in North Carolina
Photo by Elijah Mears on Unsplash
I have had the great privilege of being a winter sportsman all my life, including working in the ski industry for many years. I’ve been blessed to have skied and mountain climbed all over the world, and as an active 70 plus skier I have a newfound appreciation for smaller ski areas and gentler slopes, I will leave the majestic and very challenging upper slopes of Europe and great US ski areas to the younger and fitter. For us older but wiser types, North Carolina has several wonderful beautiful alpine and Nordic destinations, and the ones recovering from hurricane Helene our Asheville and Boone areas will appreciate your business.
My younger 60 year old buddy and I just spent a great pre Thanksgiving day skiing Cataloochie followed up by some Mexican food and drinks with my son, daughter and son in law in Asheville, which is open again for business, and many resorts in the area such as Runbling Bald at Lake Lure are offering great deals as we recover, and most of our areas offer free or reduced tickets to 70+ skiers and discounts for veterans. Friends and family are going to try to ski all six of our state’s areas this season. We’re also going to ski NASTAR.
Randy Johnson’s book on Southern snow is the bible for both resort and off piste, and the North Carolina ski areas website has good basic info as well.
At 72, I take each day I get to ski as a special blessing. Look for me – I’m the guy with the old straight skis and the US Biatholon beenie.
Cheers, Mountain Mike
- Reader Submission: 80 and Pushing Ahead - October 23, 2025
- Letter to Editor: Waiting For Snow in the Carolinas - September 2, 2025
- Letter to Editor: Appreciation for Skiing in North Carolina - February 6, 2025
At 80 years old I’m enjoying some smaller resorts in upstate and western New York where you don’t need Ikon or Epic. I recently skied Oak Mountain in Speculator New York where there was plenty of snow with both groomed and powder slopes. $15 for me to ski all day and they have one chairlift and a t-bar. There Lodge has a restaurant and the views from the top are beautiful. What more could you ask for? Other smaller areas along this vein are Snow Ridge, Macaulay Mountain, Titus Mountain, Swain, Song mountain, Brantling, and Hollimont. Some of these are ski for free or a very small fee. Keep on moving everyone!
Mountain Mike
I’m in Clemmons, NC, 1’45” from Sugar.
Would love to meet and ski.
Email at mbhmd@me.com or text
828-610-3604
Brad
I used to really love skiing in NC but with global warming, it has gotten very iffy ski conditions. I have transferred my love to Virginia at Massanutten where 70+ skis free and snow more reliable. 15 years ago I even started snowboarding there when my sons talked me into it. I am 80 and still hitting the black diamonds.
At 81 , I agree with you, even though I ski gore on a regular basis, I get just as much enjoyment just being on the snow at any area no matter what the size. Often I will run over to maple ski ridge outside Schenectady ( where I work) just to take a few runs. Met someone from west va this week at snow basin and we were talking of the small areas there and he mentioned 1000 feet of vertical. If you really think about it many bigger areas have many lifts of that vertical.
Enjoy your time on the snow, no matter where you are.