A SCHUSSING GOOD SEASON AT SKI RESORTS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 16, 1992                   TAG: 9202170242
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: NEAL THOMPSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
A SCHUSSING GOOD SEASON AT SKI RESORTS
Jim Crawford took what he thought was a big risk this year and invested more than $600 in new skis, boots, bindings and poles.
The Richmond insurance agent said his fiancee wasn't too happy about the purchases, but his old equipment was just getting too trail worn.
The risk was in predicting the weather - whether the investment would pay off after two warm and lousy skiing seasons in a row.
"What can I say. I had high hopes this year," Crawford said.
Riding up the chairlift at Wintergreen Resort south of Charlottesville, he gloated over his new ski package and bragged that he's used the equipment twice a week since Christmas.
"My fiancee's not happy about it, but . . ."
Crawford's investment is paying off as Virginia and West Virginia ski areas head toward one of their best ski seasons in years. Warm weather and little snowfall had combined for some mediocre skiing the past two years.
This year, the Olympics helped a bit, in getting people to think more about skiing. But mainly, people are hitting the slopes because more trails are open. And surprisingly, it's happened with very little real live snow.
"The nighttime temperatures have just been extremely favorable for snowmaking," said Joe Stevens of Snowshoe in West Virginia.
That has allowed some ski resorts to cash in on hefty investments last year in new snowmakers.
Snowshoe, for example, has had all 33 of its slopes open - twice as many as this time last year. And Snowshoe's 42- to 68-inch base - which is slightly above but comparable to other resorts - means skiing should last well in to March.
Snowshoe and other West Virginia resorts have been a little luckier because they have been getting some natural snow - 71 inches as of last week at Snowshoe. But Virginia resorts have been getting by on the man-made stuff, some of them blowing snow every day for the past month.
"I don't mind this," said Lori Borden, pointing down from a Wintergreen chairlift onto the slopes below. The veterinarian assistant and recent University of Virginia graduate said the abundance of man-made snow has allowed her do more skiing this year than any season since she took up the sport three years ago.
"I think I'm getting better, too. . . . I could get used to this."
Ski resort people will say natural snow affects people's attitudes more than it does good skiing. Natural snow "really gets people thinking about skiing," Stevens said. "When it starts snowing in the metropolitan areas, our phone really starts ringing."
That's why resorts were thrilled to get 1 to 10 inches of snow in parts of Virginia and West Virginia last week as they head into President's Day weekend, traditionally one of the busiest.
Sepp Kober, general manager of The Homestead, summed up ski enthusiasts' reaction to last week's snow: "It's about time."
Kober opened the last of the resort's nine trails two weeks ago. Last year at this time, they worked nearly every day to patch up bare spots just to keep a few trails open.
"There's no comparing this year to last year," he said. "Last year, you made snow, patched it up and then it got warm again."
He said it again: "It's about time."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB