THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 10, 1994 TAG: 9412100365
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
After what seemed to be a good, chilly start, the ski season in the southeast is largely on hold thanks to recent warm, rainy weather.
Only two resorts - Snowshoe/ Silver Creek in West Virginia and Wisp in Maryland - are open this weekend.
Most mid-Atlantic resorts had targeted this weekend for opening. But warm weather in recent weeks ate up what little snow had been laid down on many slopes.
``Last year we opened on the 14th, so we're not really behind schedule,'' said Ken Hess, assistant ski area manager at Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg, one of Virginia's four ski slopes. ``We'll open as soon as we have enough snow.''
Massanutten's snow-making machines put down snow around Thanksgiving when temperatures permitted. ``But it was not enough to build a base and it melted over the next few days,'' Hess said.
Conditions improved dramatically on Thursday as the strongest cold front yet this month moved into the mid-Atlantic states. ``We made snow last night,'' Hess said, ``and they're calling for a chance of snow early next week. So we're just taking it as it comes.''
Skiers determined to cut turns in the southeast do have some options this weekend. Snowshoe opened on schedule on Thanksgiving, albeit with minimal terrain.
As of Friday, the resort had a 12- to 18-inch base of snow on six open trails. And the Silver Creek section is slated to open today with similar conditions on three runs.
``The week of Thanksgiving was great'' for snow making, said Joe Stevens, a resort spokesman. ``We were sitting at 12 degrees, making 1,500 tons an hour. In layman's terms, that's a foot of snow on a football field.
``We made enough that we made it through the warm, rainy period Sure, we had some bare spots, but we were able to work around them.''
With colder weather, snow makers have patched the bare spots and are working to expand the amount of skiable terrain, he said.
``And it looks like Ol' Man Winter is finally coming back from the Bahamas, giving us some normal temperatures,'' Stevens said. ``We've got good snow making all the way through next week.''
Despite the recent warm weather, West Virginia tourism officials said they are not worried - yet.
``The season could go into March,'' said Stephanie Hughart, a spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Tourism. ``We're looking forward to another record breaker.''
Skiing and white-water rafting are the key elements in the state's tourism industry. And last year, West Virginia posted a record 677,967 skier visits, up almost 33,000 from a year earlier.
Stevens said skiers shouldn't worry either.
``There's not a resort from North Carolina and Georgia north that can't make snow,'' he said. ``Let's face it, if it wasn't for snow making, there wouldn't be any skiing in the southeast. These guys know what they are doing.'' MEMO: For the latest ski condition reports, call SkiLine Nationwide on
INFOLINE. Dial 640-5555 and enter category 7669 from a Touch-Tone
phone.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff graphic by Steve Stone
A look at ski conditions
For copy of complete text of graphic, see microfilm.
by CNB