Southern Skiing Charms

Jan. 26 -- It's easy to underestimate skiing in America's Southeast by assuming the region lacks the mountains and snow that bless some other parts of the country.

But the South has mountains. In fact, the highest mountain in the U.S. east of the Rockies is in the South: North Carolina's 6,684-foot-high Mount Mitchell. And although the region is no snow capital, it gets snow, and better yet, its ski areas get cold enough temperatures to allow them to produce enough manmade snow that they can typically open by Thanksgiving.

This year, unseasonably warm weather prevented most of the areas from opening at all by then, but by the holidays temperatures finally dropped, which meant ski areas in North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia were able to start making snow. Many of the areas can make snow for all of their slopes.

Snowmaking Is Key

Besides having excellent snow-making capabilities and some decent altitudes, the areas are as with it as their Northern brethren when it comes to snowboarding, with terrain parks, pipes and halfpipes and plenty of competitions. (See the Snow Condition Report main page for more info on specific resorts and regions.)

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There are other activities — tubing, snowshoe tours and cross country skiing — as well. And, like Midwest ski areas, they are great educators, catering to families and beginners, introducing novices to the sport and prepping them for ski trips to larger ski areas in the West and Northeast.

These are resorts for all ages. Some offer special prices for students from nearby colleges for winter breaks. There are septuagenarian days for mature skiers. The various offers for families with children include free skiing for children under a certain age (under 4 at Sugar Mountain Resort in North Carolina, for example), or half- and all-day ski schools for children, including lunch and childcare.

As recent news reports about snowfalls in the South indicate, there's been natural snow, too in and around Georgia, the Carolinas, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and elsewhere.