AVERY COUNTY — While most North Carolinians are happy to say goodbye to this week’s bitter cold snap, the state’s ski industry is cashing in.
Sugar Mountain in Avery County opened on Nov. 2 this year, the second earliest start day in its history, and has been going strong ever since.
Resort officials say the combination of real snow and ideal conditions to make the fake stuff has resorts more than ready for the busy Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
“We’re really psyched with this weather because with the cold, we figure we’re going to have everything open for that weekend,” said resort president Gunther Jochl.
In terms of tourism dollars spent, he says this year could be the best they’ve seen in the past five.
“Right now it’s shaping up to be a pretty good year, but let’s talk about it in March,” Gunther laughed. “A lot can change between now and then.”
In anticipation of milder weeks, Sugar Mountain recently expanded its snow making system.
The pump house was redesigned this past year to accommodate an additional 1,000 gallons per minute vertical water pump.
The improvements cost more than $1 million.
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