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Interesting Facts
- With more than 60 runs offering a slope for everyone, Snowshoe is the largest ski resort in West Virginia. Though the ski-able acreage is small, the mountain's layout is big for the area, and beginner, intermediate and expert runs stretch across two separate areas and reach both sides of the hill. If you want to go big, you've got to go to Snowshoe.
- Snowshoe is what industry professionals refer to as an "upside-down" ski mountain. This means that the "base" area of the mountain, which includes the village, restaurants, hotels and condos, rental shops and pretty much everything else, is located on top of the hill. When you drive to Snowshoe, you're driving to the top of the mountain and starting from there. Compared to the majority of ski resorts, that's backwards. Hence the title, "upside-down".
- At 4848 feet, Cheat Mountain, on which Snowshoe resort sits, is very nearly the highest point in West Virginia. Only nearby Spruce Knob at 4863 feet is higher. But you can be at the highest place in West Virginia on Cheat Mountain: just go to the Connection, a bar and grill on the 3rd floor of Snowshoe's Shaver's Center. You will have cleared the 15' difference and much more. Congrats! Have a drink.
- Snowshoe is 35 years old. When one considers how inconsistent winter weather can be in the Mid-Atlantic states and how that affected ski resorts before the invention of man-made snow, Snowshoe's been around a really long time. The resort has gone through multiple owners and several versions of the itself in that period. The latest owner, Intrawest, is known for sinking tons of money into infrastructure and development.
- The Appalachian Mountains are Snowshoe's home, placing it squarely in the middle of the oldest mountains in the world. Though they lack the majesty of newer peaks, there's plenty of character in this part of the hills, called the Allegheny Ridge. Think "Last Of The Mohicans" with snowboards, and you'll have an idea of the setting. There are great photo opportunities all up and down the mountain. Try hard to catch a sunset from the top ridge; it's usually worth it.
- Snowshoe has a great park scene. If you're used to the big mountain free-ride feel of skiing out west, you're going to be disappointed. But the mountain management has given a lot of attention to jibs and jumps in the park. There's definitely potential to find yourself way, way too high in the air off of one of Snowshoe's big time kickers. The rails are spread out liberally across the four terrain parks, and those are (thankfully) divided into kiddie and big-boy sections. That way, you can scare yourself at your own pace.
- Because the ski area has had so many owners, there are some interesting layouts for some of the trails. Blind intersections and long traverses are par for the course on the center part of the main mountain. This is fun if traffic is light, but it can take on added significance on busy days. Ask the ski patrol where the high-traffic intersections are, and ski the other way.
- Snowshoe is actually two ski areas: Snowshoe and Silver Creek. Silver Creek is the best kept secret in West Virginia skiing. When Snowshoe is crowded and the good snow is all skied out, head to Silver Creek. The myth is that it's the "easy" side, but "The Creek" offers great terrain parks, an easy-going pace and some great hidden tree shots.
- Night skiing is well worth hanging around for. While the crowds take off for the bar, Silver Creek lights up about 70% of its terrain for night skiing. Included in the lighted area is the Mountaineer Terrain Park, with well-lit jibs and jumps. The lifts operate until 9:00 pm. Check out the snow- tubing park at night, too. Good times!
- Snowshoe is within a days drive of 50% of the U.S. population. Even though there's not much in the area other than the resort, if you look at a map you'll find that its hub-like positioning can pull skiers as easily from Cincinnati as it can from D.C. It's a big draw for most; it's a whole lot easier to load up the car than to get your whole group on a plane.
