This weather is awesome ... unless you're a ski resort

I'm not gonna lie, y'all -- the ability to be out in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of February is pretty amazing. There were even some previously-scheduled indoor activities that I had agreed to this past weekend that made me feel guilty that I wasn't outside. (They seemed like great ideas at the time.) But you know who probably doesn't like this weather? Our good friends at the North Carolina ski resorts.

To wit ....

"[U]nseasonably warm weather has caused headaches for ski resort operators in North Carolina ..."

" 'This weather is crazy,'  said Chris Green, mountain manager at Sapphire Valley, about an hour south of Asheville. "When it's this warm no one's thinking about going skiing. We have a short time to cover our bills. Skiing on the East Coast is a very short season. Any time we lose skiing it hurts us."

Keep in mind, those comments were made almost a month ago. I doubt things have improved much since. Which is a shame, since the ski resorts offer some great economic benefits to the state. According to this article, a November 2015 economic value report commissioned by the North Carolina Ski Areas Association showed that the six ski areas contributed $197.2 million to North Carolina's economy during the 2014-15 season. In addition, the study found that the region's six ski areas had more than 650,000 visits, provided 87 year-round jobs and 1,787 seasonal jobs and generated nearly $40 million in gross revenue from ski area operations.

There's still hope. We still  have March to go. And it's not uncommon for us to get some white stuff then. 

Ski season in full swing

I haven't been able to do it in years, but perhaps my favorite pasttime is snow skiing. And it's a shame I can't, since apparently right now is THE best time to go skiing (or learn to ski) in western North Carolina, what with the recent snow and all.

"The recent cold has given the region's ski areas the best snowmaking opportunity of the 2008-09 season," says the News & Observer's Joe Miller on his blog. "So good, that the following areas are all completely open: Appalachian, Cataloochee, Sapphire Valley, Sugar Mountain, Bryce, Massanutten, Homestead, Wintergreen — even tiny Cloudmont in Alabama, with it's two, thousand-foot-long slopes and 150-foot vertical, is operating at 100 percent. ...

"Sugar Mountain has all six lifts and all 20 runs open; with temperatures expected hover around freezing, Sugar could make snow during the day but promises it won't. Great news for skiers and boarders who despise whiteout conditions (and the accompanying snow glaze, on a cloudless day). Meanwhile, up the road at Ski Beech, 11 of 15 runs are open and the resort is reporting packed powder (which its Live Web cam would see to support)."

Darn. I'm jealous.

I must admit, my N.C. ski experience is pretty much limited to Sugar; I have fond memories of church youth retreats and the fear-turning-to-elation of zipping down a too-steep-for-comfort slope. I know North Carolina doesn't have the ski opportunities of some spots in the northeast or the west, but it ain't half-bad either -- and it ain't that far away.

I really need to go skiing again. And soon.

Any good thoughts/memories/suggestions about N.C.'s ski resorts? Got a recommendation for a place to stay and dine?

(Photo from SkiNC.com)