West Virginia Outdoors....

WEST VIRGINIA SKI RESORTS:

BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER

West Virginia provides the perfect setting and ideal conditions for great skiing. The setting is perfectly pristine and Mother Nature certainly cooperates with wonderful winter conditions, but the ski resorts are making things even bigger and better for the Mountain State snow set.

Each winter, Mother Nature obliges by dumping tons of snow on the state. But the resorts make it even better, providing state-of-the-art snowmaking, modern lifts, expert grooming, varied terrain over dozens of slopes, and a wide host of resort amenities--including slopeside lodging, dining, entertainment, and lots of winter activities.

This year, West Virginia skiing is bigger and better than ever. Thanks to off-season enhancements and more than a decade of great growth and improvements, Mountain State skiing is poised to experience the best year since Canaan Valley opened the state's first ski resort in 1971.

With $36 million in enhancements this past summer and more than $100 million spent since 1995, Snowshoe Mountain Resort has drawn serious attention to the West Virginia ski industry. This summer's capital improvements are the largest for any resort in the history of winter sports in the mid-Atlantic and southeast regions. Owner Intrawest, the leading developer of mountain resorts in North America, expects most of the work to be completed by June, with all of the specific skiing-oriented changes occurring before this season's slope opening.

Highlights of the project range from construction of Rimfire Lodge (part of the new mountaintop Village of Snowshoe Mountain Resort) to the installation of a new quad lift and adjoining trail system for famed Cupp Run. Other changes include: quadrupling the size of the resort's major water source, Shaver's Lake (which will aid future expansion and snowmaking); doubling the lighting for night skiing and snowboarding at Silver Creek; adding 1,500 new shaped skis to the rental program, making it 100% shaped skis; and expansion of the popular Ruckus Ridge Tubing Hill at Silver Creek.

The region's newest high-speed detachable quad lift will service the Cupp Run trail system. In addition to the lift, the current 1 1/2-mile trail system will be doubled in size with an adjoining trail, Shay's Revenge, that will also feature a 1,500-foot vertical drop (the largest vertical drop south of New York). The new trail will also feature 100% snowmaking.

But the cornerstone of Snowshoe's future will be the Village of Snowshoe Mountain Resort, which, when completed, will include more than 400 mountaintop homes and 100,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and service space. The construction of Rimfire Lodge is the first step in the development of the new mountaintop village, a formula which Intrawest (owner of famed resorts like Blackcomb, Stratton, and Copper Mountain) has used successfully in the past.

Real estate at Rimfire Lodge is already a success story. More than half of the original units were sold within weeks of their offering. An early buyer, Fairmont, West Virginia resident Greg Dorfner said, "We felt like we needed to be a part of Snowshoe's renaissance." Skiers across the region will be part of the renaissance when they visit Snowshoe this winter, drawing attention to Mountain State skiing in a big way.

Canaan Valley Resort continues to focus on its successful role as a complete winter playland, adding attractions and services to meet the needs of skiers and other long-time fans of this well-rounded recreational resort. Along with appealing to skiers of every level and offering a great instructional program, over the years the resort has added amenities like cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, a year-round pool, tubing, an ice rink, evening activities, children's programs, and even sleigh riding. If you want to have it all this winter on and off the slopes, Canaan can provide it.

Nearby, Timberline tops the list for skiers in search of something a bit different. Top Timberline choices include a slow ride down Salamander--one of the region's longest runs--the resort's ten miles of mapped and marked backcountry trails (along with like-minded telemarkers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers, who take advantage of single-ride lift tickets). A West Virginia ski season isn't complete without at least one stay at Timberline.

Last, but certainly not least, Winterplace is winding up more than five years of enhancements, a period when they expanded every off-season. Winterplace is a winter wonderland for skiers in search of a full-service and all-inclusive ski resort. This year brings even more snowmaking to one of the most convenient resorts in the southeast.

Whether it's an easy one-day outing or a weeklong West Virginia skiing adventure, you're sure to find something new at the Mountain State's ski resorts. From Snowshoe's historic expansion to continued growth everywhere else, West Virginia ski vacations just keep improving with age.