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

DATE: TUESDAY, March 24, 1992                   TAG: 9203240205
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SKI AREAS CAN'T SEEM TO CLOSE UP

Never mind the calendar says it is fishing season, skiers still are schussing down slopes at Canaan Valley, Snowshoe and Timberline resorts in West Virginia and Sugar Mountain in North Carolina.

Monday's report from the Southeastern Ski Areas Association carried the heading: "The winter that won't go away."

"This is some of the best skiing all season," said Joe Stevens, Snowshoe's promotion manager. "Here it is, four days into spring and we have a powder base."

Most of the resorts that remain open turned off their snow guns at mid-month, but that didn't stop the steady fall of wispy snowflakes. Snowshoe got 9 inches of natural snow Sunday. That gave it a total of more than 120 inches since Jan. 10. All 33 of its slopes are open.

"Every time I see that rabbit on TV, I think it is a snowshoe hare," said Stevens.

Located atop spruce-crowned Cheat Mountain, Snowshoe has set an April 5 closing date, Stevens said.

Is there a chance that might be extended?

It is pretty firm, said Stevens, but . . .

When Appalachian Ski Mountain closed on Sunday, Grady Moretz Jr., the owner, said he wasn't kidding this time. The North Carolina facility had announced that it was closed for the season on March 10. It had even rolled up its hoses and stored its snow guns.

Then the weather took a turn and the resort reopened three days later. As late as Saturday it was reporting a 32-inch base. The late finish, coupled with the earliest opening ever (Nov. 9), gave Appalachian 116 days of skiing and a 43 percent increase in business over last year.

"One hundred days is considered a good season most anywhere," Moretz said.

Virginia resorts closed in early March, but most enjoyed an improved season over last year, some reporting more than a 30 percent increase in business.

North Carolina's Sugar Mountain, which languished through a lackluster season last year, was reporting a 23-inch base with five slopes operating Monday. Just how long it will keep going is a day-to-day decision, a spokesman said.

When Silver Creek closed at the end of the day Sunday, it wasn't a matter of being forced out of business. It shares the same mountain and the same excellent conditions as Snowshoe.

"We closed with a 23-inch base and 12 of 14 slopes open," said Steve Drumheller," the marketing manager.

It simply was a case of adhering to a pre-set March 22 closing date, he said.

"Right now, it is absolutely gorgeous, but you never know about March. By tomorrow it could be rain and temperatures in the 70s. In a way it is kind of nice to end on a high note."

Timberline says it may not sound that note until April 12. Canaan Valley has set a tentative closing for Sunday.

"We are questioning whether or not we are going to extend that into April," said Herb Faulkenbery, the marketing manager. "Right now the skiing is just as good as it was in January. It is more aesthetically pleasing; the temperatures are warmer, the sky is blue, the sun is shining."

No question, spring skiing is softer on the pocket book. Most resorts offer discounts. Snowshoe lift tickets are half price; its lodging 35 percent off.

Even so, the crowds are gone, another spring bonus.