Adam's Awesome Anecdotes

I just got back a little while ago from a fantastic ski trip!  Some friends and I took off on Thursday up towards Banner Elk / Sugar Mountain in North Carolina.  Normally we hit up Wolf Ridge because it’s a bit closer and that was the game plan this time, however, our cabin rental called the day before we left to let us know the hot tub had frozen over and cracked, so we had to decide do we stay with the ski-on / ski-off cabin at a slope we know or check out a new place a little further down the road (I know it’s a tough life, isn’t it?).  We ended up checking out Sugar Mountain and it’s probably a good thing.  Don’t get me wrong.  Wolf Ridge, at least for us, still definitely has its advantages.  It’s closer to Athens, more accessible from the Interstate (good for those of us without 4x4), I’m sure it gets crowded, but perhaps not quite as bad as “the big NC resorts”, and it offers some pretty decent runs; however, Sugar Mountain takes their skiing quite seriously.  The best way to put it in perspective is to probably look at the numbers.

Wolf Ridge:

• 700 ft drop
• Longest Run: 0.3 miles
• # of lifts: 5
• 54 acres

Sugar Mountain:

• 1200 ft drop
• Longest Run: 1.5 miles  (This run is incredible!)
• # of lifts: 7
• 115 acres

Although Sugar definitely was crowed on Saturday no lift line was more than 10 – 15 minutes at the most I would say and a key feature of the mountain would be that you can cut between a multitude of runs and back again.  There are quite a few combinations of runs you can do down the mountain and the best part is there are several lifts that pick up half way down the mountain so you don’t have to wait in line at the base each time.  You can easily hang out on blue runs all day if you want to (which is pretty much what we did).

Kudos to Janice for finding the cabin by surfing on her Wii (and beating me with my four monitors at work might I add).  We booked the cabin 15 minutes before end-of-business the day before.  I’d still like to try a ski-in / ski-out chalet, but in case you’re interested in staying about 15 min away from Sugar Mountain, I can definitely recommend Foscoe Rentals.  We stayed in the 4 Seasons.  Our only real complaint was the hot tub turned out to be a bit small (although it at least worked), but the cabin was very clean and well-stocked including a ton of firewood.  It was quite comfortable and very competitively priced for ski season.  One note: 4 wheel drive is a must if you get snow / ice.  It helped that the surrounding area is pretty much a ski community, so the plows are really on top of things.  I think more so probably than Wolf Ridge.

Oh, and it also helps that we got a foot of snow Friday night.  Yes, you read that right.  North Carolina just happened to get a foot of snow during our planned ski outing!  We’re still kind of in shock, too!  That is probably the most powder this Georgia boy has ever skied in!  There’s definitely a learning curve when all you’re used to is ice!

As with most trips, I wish it had been just a little longer.  We never even checked out Beech Mountain (which is about 30 minutes away and is supposed to be similar in size and quality from what I hear).  Also, it was killing me to see all the frozen ponds and beautiful snow (particularly on the drive back through Pisgah National Forrest and not stop and take tons of pictures).  Hopefully, I’ll post some of the ones I was able to take soon.  Since this was first and foremost a ski trip though (and I was at the mercy of a large group), skiing was priority #1.  If there was a priority #2 I would say it would have been our mini-beer fest, which may or may not have resulted in barefoot races in the snow around midnight.  For the record, I won.  :)  Even though the trip was a blast and went quite smoothly, I figured I’d jot down a few notes for next time:

• Bring hand-warmers & glove liners – these were key!  My gloves had little pockets on the back that worked perfectly for these hand warmers.
• Buy more ski socks – I bought some, what I thought to be over-priced, Smart Wool Ski socks at REI.  Worth every penny!  They’re padded and kept my feet almost perfectly dry and warm with two days of skiing.
• Make sure to have 3 full, non-travel days (a day of rest / pics / maybe night skiing / checking out Beech / tubing / etc)
• Not surprisingly, the slopes were much less crowded on the weekday (could be because the snow came in that night, but I suspect weekends are chaotic)
• No big breakfast – We had one day we made a big breakfast.  It was tasty, but I think we did better fending for ourselves and getting on with the day’s activites.
• Buy ski boots – Eventually I need all the equipment, but the first thing I need is my own pair of boots (so they’re dry starting each run, fit well, and I can walk from the car in them – no need for a locker maybe)
• Get to the slopes one hour before they open (that way you can get your equipment, lift ticket and be in line and don’t waste time in the prime crowds)
• The poles they kept giving me were 125’s.  Worked well
• The skis I used all weekend were 150’s (technically 149 02’s).  If I were to buy skis I might consider something like a 155 (assuming they make that), but I’d be leery to push it up to 160.  The 150’s seemed to work pretty well for me.
• Bring slippers or something to wear around the cabin.  Socks don’t cut it, because we were tracking snow in all the time, but you definitely want something warm on your feet around the cabin.

All I know is from here on out I’ll be watching the weather report to see if we can’t pull off another weekend (or day trip) before this winter is out!

EDIT: Over the past few days, I remembered a few other things that should have made this list:

• Make sure to take more pics of people.  Snow is neat, but you’ll probably see it again.  This might have been one of the only times that this particular combo of people were hanging out… in a foot of snow
• Bring a bottle or two of water to the slopes — you’ll be thirsty on the car ride back
• Hiking Boots (as waterproof as possible) were key for pretty much anytime I wasn’t on skis or sitting inside the cabin
• If you can bring it (within driving distance), an ice scraper with a brush attached is a good idea
• Bring the hood to your jacket!
• A balaclava (face mask) of some type could have helped
• If staying in a cabin, bring ziplocks, foil, salt & pepper & sponge

Last but not least, the Goggles I got for Christmas worked out wonderfully.  There are certainly ones that are more expensive out there I know, and perhaps they do something magical that I didn’t realize these Bolle Shark Goggles weren’t doing for me, but for the cost, I was highly impressed.  I had to really work to get them to fog up at all.  They did get a bit dark at dusk, but during the day, they worked like a champ!