CityView Magazine

travel Snow Days BY MICHAEL JAENICKE her skates and proceeded to sharpen them. Meanwhile his wife Mary scanned the Internet to find three books for her Kindle. The Fayetteville family, who own a summer home at Caro- J lina Beach, have been anticipating the arrival of winter for more than two months. North Carolina may be more known for its pristine beach- es, timeless lighthouses and iced tea, but the Howells spend the winter months dreaming of snow angels, white-covered mountains and hot chocolate by the fireside, not sand castles and suntans. "As much as we enjoy the beach we really get excited about getting away to the mountains," Jason Howell said. "Our trips in the winter are probably the highlight of our year." To snow snobs, the Tar Heel State's ski areas don't rival resorts in Aspen, Colorado, Killington, Vermont or Lake Tahoe, Nevada, but there are numerous winter wonderlands just a short drive from the All-America City. According to the North Carolina Ski Area Association, the total economic impact of the ski resort industry in the state during the 2009 — 2010 winter was an avalanche of $146 million. 36 | January/February • 2012 North Carolina's mountains offer skiing, snowboarding, ice skating and tubing adventures ason Howell began waxing his skis the last week of November. At the same time his son Jeremy, who is 15 years old, dug through the garage to find his snow- board and his daughter Jennifer, who is 16, uncovered The average visitor spends $131.70 per day, with the bulk of it being on liſt tickets, equipment rental, food, lodging, trans- portation and shopping. The total amount of skiers, snowboarders and ice skaters has increased from 338,000 in 1976 to more than 671,000 in 2009. During that span, resort revenue has risen from $5.7 million to $32.5 million. Liſt tickets at North Carolina ski destinations cost up to $50 per day, ski rentals go for about $20 and snowboards rent for about $34. Lodging ranges from $100 to $400 per night, depending on the amenities and location. While the state doesn't get as much natural snow from Mother Nature as New England or Colorado, resorts in our state specialize in producing mounds of man-made snow, a technology they have pioneered over the past three decades. The previous two bitterly cold winters have been a bonanza for resorts — and snow lovers. "They've had two great years and it's allowed many resorts to put money back into their facilities," said Zack Miller, group sales manager at Wolf Ridge, a ski resort in Mars Hill. "While it's been a lot warmer than normal in the summer, it's also been a lot colder than normal in the winter. As of the first week of December North Carolina has three of the four open ski resorts in the southeast. We're all looking forward to a good season."

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