Wintry Weather Means Good Business for Ski Resorts

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 SUGAR MOUNTAIN, NC — The wintry weather is bad for the roads, but great for the slopes.  Steve Berrious is on a weekend vacation from Florida with friends, and says although the rain has been a bit disappointing so far, it hasn’t been that bad.

“I think all of my friends have been saying it’s better than they expected,” said Berrious.

Kim Jochl is the marketing director at Sugar Mountain, and she says that a few rainy and warm days hasn’t seemed to prevent people from coming up this season.

“We had really good weather for the most part,” she said.  “The holiday period, we saw a little bit of rain and warm weather, but people are up here on vacation during the holidays and they ski anyway, so it’s been a good season.”

Although cold weather and natural snow isn’t always easy to come by in North Carolina, Kim says cold nights allow for great snowmaking.

“We make snow around the clock, whenever the temperatures are cold enough,” said Jochl.

With snow or without, she says local businesses know how to show vacationers a great time.

“All of the businesses and communities around here know what the people want in the winter time,” she continued.  “We have ice skating, tubing, snowshoeing, shopping.  There’s movies in Boone.  There is Grandfather Mountain.”

With colder temperatures and snow in the forecast returning late Friday night, Steve and Kim are excited for a fun weekend ahead.

“Very optimistic,” said Berrious.  “I hope to be able to feel that great feeling of hitting powder.”

“Yeah, it should be a really good weekend,” added Jochl.