Heavy snow brings life – and money – to Beech Mountain

BEECH MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Life’s a Beech… and North America’s tallest town east of the Rockies has been playing in the snow. Quite a bit of it, actually.

“In the last couple of days, we’ve gotten over ten inches of snow,” says Armando Garcia.

Garcia, who works for the Town of Beech Mountain, says the tiny resort community of 600 permanent residents has received roughly five feet of flakes so far this winter.

“We are seeing lots of visitors come up, and of course, all of the fresh snowfall really helps with that,” Garcia beams.

“It really boosts the local economy that depends on that snowfall and on those visitors to make it through the entire year,” Garcia adds.

The local ski resort is certainly seeing that boost.

“It’s been a really strong, good season, and some of the best conditions we’ve had in years,” says Talia Freeman with Beech Mountain Ski Resort.

At over a mile high (5,506′), Beech Mountain is a Mecca of sorts for skiers and boarders across the East Coast – the resort can bring up nearly half a million visitors in a good season.

And this has been a VERY good season so far.

“We’ve seen a strong uptick in customer traffic, and our numbers are up from last year,” says Freeman, “We’re just pleased and happy that people are excited about winter.”

They don’t care how you get there, just get there if you can.

“Whether you want to come up and ski or not, it’s really just a beautiful snowy scenery to come,” Freeman adds, “It’s just a beautiful little town, and we’re proud and excited to welcome visitors here.”

Garcia says just the views alone are worth the trip.

“No matter where you are on the mountain, at one point you’re going to turn around and see those Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. Those views are just amazing and incredible. You can’t get them anywhere else.”