Ski Resorts In The East

Ski Resorts In The East

by Chad & Jenny Ison

Publication Date: February 1999

Paoli Peaks

The 1998 brought a year for growth and expansion at Paoli Peaks in Paoli, Indiana. Located one hour from Louisville, Kentucky and two hours from Cincinnati, Ohio, 15 frosty slopes are available for your skiing and snowboarding pleasure.

Paoli's ski facilities offer a natural hill with a 300 foot vertical drop and an average grade of 10-15%. The terrain is challenging for beginners to experts and accommodates an uphill capacity of 11,200 skiers per hour. High efficiency equipment pumps 6000 gallons of water per minute...or 12 inches of machine-made snow over the entire ski area in a 24 hour period.

Extreme boarders and skiers cannot resist the jumps, bumps, mound, quarter-pipe, table tops and more that is offered in the Jurassic Snow Park.

If you're not quite ready for Jurassic Park, or even the Bunny Slope makes your adrenaline rush just thinking about it, a PSIA certified ski school offers ski and snowboard lessons, all ability group and private lessons, women's, senior, shaped skis and racing clinics, all season programs, and junior and adult racing.

The 45,000 square foot day lodge offers a self service restaurant and pizzeria, ski and snowboard rental shop, PSIA certified ski school, ski patrol, pro shop, as well as, tickets, group sales and business office.

From the challenge of Jurassic Snow Park, to the mile long gentle rolling family trails, Paoli Peaks offers the cure for the wintertime blues! There is enough powder to please the most demanding skier...and enough height to the jumps in the terrain parks to thrill the most daredevilish snowboarder...enough warmth in the lodge to thaw the most skeptical beginner...and enough bargains to please any snow rider's budget.

Daily Snow Reports: www.skipeaks.com

Hawksnest Ski Resort

Hawksnest Ski resort is located ten miles south of Boone, North Carolina, off Hwy. 105 between the college towns of Boone (Appalachian State University) and Banner Elk (Lees-McRae College). Local enthusiasts favor the region's up and coming alpine facility. The resort has a total of ten slopes: two beginner, five intermediate and three advanced. Peak elevation is 4819 feet with a 619 foot vertical drop. Nighttime skiing is also offered. Snowboard Heaven is the name of a separate area designated for freestyle riders to do their stuff without interfering with skiers.

On Friday and Saturday Nights, the ultimate ski session in the South is Nighthawk where guests can ski from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. Afterwards, skiers and boarders can sit back for a drink or dance to live music in "The Nest," a full-service pub and grill located on the lodge's third floor.

Top Gun, considered by some as one of the best slopes in the East, opened to rave reviews in the 94/95 ski season. Offering great fall line skiing and state of the art snowmaking capabilities, Top Gun is guaranteed to provide you with a new and exciting downhill experience. For the exhilarating sensation of cruising groomed runs with spectacular terrain try Sock-Em-Dog, Old Blue, Right Stuff, Chicken Hawk, Merlin, Narrow Gauge and Raven's Run. These slopes offer skiers and snowboarders diverse trails for top-to-bottom fun and excitement. Some of the milder slopes include Kitty Hawk, First Flight and Goshawk.

Hawksnest offers full-day and half-day ski and snowboard programs for various age levels. Taking a lesson is the best way to enjoy both of these sports safely, and ensure a successful experience. Classes are grouped by ability level & each person is guaranteed to improve at least one level or the next lesson is free.

So, when you're soaring around looking for the perfect ski resort, take a moment and land at Hawksnest - the perfect nesting place for both skiers and boarders.

Wolf Laurel, North Carolina

Do you want to go BIG? Do you want to carve it up in soft, feathery powder that lets you leave a spray of silky white snow behind you? If so, then check out Wolf Laurel Ski Resort, not too far away from Asheville, North Carolina.

If you haven't heard of Wolf Laurel it's probably because it's the best kept secret of Eastern North America. With over sixteen different runs, Wolf Laurel has some of the best snowboarding opportunities that a mountain can offer. You can either take the double chair lift and head up to Midpoint and Timber Wolf, or you can go directly to the quad (four-man chairlift) and get even higher up on the mountain. Either way, you can't lose.

Midpoint is a good slope for beginners. It is an easy run that lets you experiment with your own ability without overstepping your bounds. Where some beginner slopes are short and practically flat, Midpoint lets you decide whether you want to take it easy by staying to your left or step it up a notch by venturing farther to the right. Either way, it's a great way to start out.

The more experienced snowboarder will pass up Midpoint and exit at the top of Timber Wolf. This run is steep, bumpy, fast, and after that, is just a little steeper. As far as jumps and hits go, it's hard to say exactly. There are new ones being built all the time by the local kids. What's so cool about this is that at most other ski resorts, building or altering a slope is strictly taboo and can cause you to lose your lift ticket. At Wolf Laurel, it's allowed as long as the jump isn't built in a dangerous place and causes a hazard to other skiers and snowboarders.

So, now you've run Timber Wolf and you want to go really big. Well, hop on the quad lift and get ready to pick and choose among some of the steepest and scariest slopes there are to find on the east coast.

For the true adrenaline pleaser you could slide towards one of the first runs on your right and check out the Bowl. This slop looks exactly how it sounds. The drop is so steep that most who lay their eyes on it consider heading on farther down. As you drop in you have to remember about the huge ledge that lies at the end of The Bowl. If you hit this ledge with full speed, you can almost get enough air to qualify for frequent flyer mileage. Just remember that whatever goes up must come down, so be prepared for a steep landing at the bottom.

Viewfinder is another slope that pleases most hardcore snowboarders. There is a steep drop just as you go around the corner to catch Viewfinder. You can catch great air but the only problem is that the bottom of the mountain seems to fall out at that exact point. What usually makes a five or six foot jump, the Viewfinder turns into a ten or fifteen foot jump. Make sure that if you wipe out at the bottom, you hop up and get out of the way. The slope is so steep that anyone coming around the corner behind you can't see a thing.

The quad at Wolf Laurel is an endless playground for any snowboard junkie. You never get bored with the same old slope mainly because you have so much to choose from. A bowl, a tree run, and lots of other good slopes make it possible for you to go as big as you want. So hold on, concentrate, and always remember it's Safety First at Wolf Laurel.

Ski World

Tucked away in the beautiful hills of Brown County Indiana, you'll find Ski World. Family owned and operated since 1988, Ski World boasts the steepest hills of the three ski resorts located in Indiana, with Petty's Plunge the steepest at 800 feet. Co-owner, with husband Bill, Phyllis Riskey beams with pride when she tells you that Petty's Plunge is noted for rivaling any Double Black Diamond for this area.

The resort is family owned and operated - Bill's son Keith Riskey is in charge of equipment rental and daughter Susan handles the food service. Phyllis' son Robert Wells is in charge of all outside operations. Robert actually works year around maintaining the 16 (plus or minus depending upon conditions) slopes at Ski World. From the rugged, steep terrain of Petty's Plunge; to The Boarder that offers a half-pipe with a ramp for those big air jumps; to the favorite for many - The Tube (tubing down a slope on an inflated tire tube, with a lift to pull you back up the hill), there's guaranteed winter fun for all.

Racing is available Saturdays, Sundays and holidays for all ages and abilities, private group races, and a weeknight race league.

The skiing season runs seven days a week from December to the first week in March. Instructors are available for skiing and snowboarding instruction. "The snowmaking is truly excellent, with a current base of two to four feet," advises Riskey, who has been in the business over 33 years. "We feel we are the 'hatchery' for the big slopes out west," she smiles. "After our season ends in March, most of our skiers are thinking of heading west for the big slopes. They come here to learn, or just get in shape, before heading west." Within only a short driving distance of 50-100 miles from major cities like Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati, Ski World is readily accessible to the sport you love.

As well as great skiing and snowboarding, Ski World also offers an RV campground, go carts, bumper cars, and country music theater during summer months. They host bike races and special charity events like a motorcycle rally for the ABATE organization, that benefits Riley's Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. Approximately 4000 motorcycles rallied at Ski World last summer. This year's rally is scheduled to be held in June.

Whatever the season, there's plenty to do at Ski World.