Backcountry Skiing Southern Style

Backcountry skiing in the Southern Appalachians - please read carefully if you are an avid skier and consider moving to that area

***

Is there such an activity in the southern part of the Appalachians? If you are a die hard skier and if you don't mind scratching the bases of your skis you will find some interesting spots in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The further north you go, the better are the chances of finding a permanent snow pack on the ground. West Virginia, the most northern corner of the southern states, considered already as the Mid Atlantic region, has the best snow conditions and some quiet interesting places to offer.

West Virginia Cross Country Skiing

West Virginia sometimes becomes part of a weather constellation called the Lake Effect. When cold Arctic air from Canada pushes south across the waters of the Great Lakes, it absorbs moisture and it condensates it to very dry snow crystals. The cold air masses now saturated with frozen moisture are carried by north-west winds as far as into the mountains of the Canaan Valley of West Virginia, while bouncing against the mountains they unload the white, crystal load. The Lake Effect brings this region some of the best powder snow precipitation found on the East Coast.

» skiing Whitegrass style «

One of the insider places in West Virginia is the Whitegrass Touring Center. The heart of Whitegrass is a network of 50 kilometer groomed trails for Nordic Cross-country skiers. For those who prefer to skin up the old Weiss Knob slope and ski downhill or even hike further to ski open meadows, chutes in the woods and steep glades there is plenty of interesting terrain to discover. Chip Chase, who runs that place, is grooming about 50 kilometers of X-Country slopes depending on snow coverage and he maintains the woods and glades for some great eastern backcountry tree skiing. His place allows sometimes up to 100 or more days of skiing per season. If someone likes to go out for a longer day trip, the national forest bordering to the north of Whitegrass provides more backcountry and glades for classic telemark skiing.

North Carolina Cross Country Skiing

In Western North Carolina are 4 ski areas located around the Boone region and 3 more in the greater Ashville area. They exist only because modern technique allows the making of artificial snow. Night temperatures are often below freezing from November till the end of March permitting snow blowing during nighttime to build a 50 inch snow pack for a good base lasting all winter. Western North Carolina's geographical location in relation to it's southern latitude and an average elevation of 3000 feet in the High Country is not in a typical winter climate zone. This reflects in the lack of a consistent ski-able natural snow pack all winter. That's the reason for very limited and rough backcountry skiing in the mountains of the Carolinas. When a snowstorm hits the area there might be a precipitation of one foot snow within a few hours, but it will melt away quick under the southern sun rays the next days or most likely the snow precipitation is changing to rain by midnight. Lately the past winters proved that this is a typical weather pattern, a storm starts out as a major snowstorm dumping 10 to 12 inches of snow and changing into freezing rain around midnight. The best place I have experienced for some backcountry skiing is the closed Blue Ridge Parkway during or right after a big snow storm.

When a snow storm is expected the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed between Julian Price Park and the Linville exit. For decent skiing the asphalt coverage should be about six inches of snow as a minimum base to prevent scratching the pavement with the steel edges of your skis (or should it be the other way around). The closed highway section between the two exits is about a 10 mile stretch. Just a few other ski tracks are the evidence of the existence of some other fellow skiers who are taking the chance to be on a southern ski tour adventure as well. The Parkway traverses Grandfather Mountain between 3000 and 4500 feet above sea level. The views from along the road are spectacular. Best views into the North Carolina foot hills and the Pisgah National Forest are from Rough Ridge Overlook and of course from the Linville Viaduct. The road, excuse me, the ski slope provides the Backcountry Skier with a gnarly 1500 feet descent on a 3.5 mile drop. If the snow is fast enough it can be a real blast gliding down the highway.

The two parks along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, Julian Price Park and Moses Cone Park have a widespread system of carriage roads. These roads, when covered with enough snow, are a nice little cross-country paradise and some short and treeless runs near Rich Mountain are perfect for an afternoon of Jo-Jo skiing.

Tennessee Cross Country Skiing

The crest of Roan Mountain is a well known place for cross country skiers as well. Follow the Appalachian Trail towards the west from Carvers Gap. If the snow coverage is too thin in the woods for skiing the trail, just take the closed road back from the Rhododendron Gardens at Roan High Knob. Vertical gain on Roan Mountain is only 780 feet, but the elevation of 6285 feet above sea level is pretty impressive for the Appalachian Mountains.  From here the views to Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, are fantastic.