Skiing Comes
To Carolina
Two
к*а
r t i f i c* i a ■•snow **
runs sc'litMlulod lo open
around December I5tli.
By OLD TKI DGi:
The only questions remaining now
are:
Will southerners take up skiing?
And, if they do, will they slick with
it?
If the answers to those two questions
arc Yes. yes. western North Carolina
is headed for a break-through in it'
economic growth.
Because the first steps already are
being taken. I he ski slides, at last, are
being built. Not one. but at least two.
and maybe five, with more assured il
the first ones pay out. The first two
will be in use this winter, and western
Carolina is holding its breath to see if
winter sports will prove as popular
around here as they have in other sec¬
tions.
Two runs, one of 1.800 feet and an¬
other of 800 feet, arc being built at
Blowing Rock on U.S. 321. the high¬
way to Boone. A group of Charlotte
investors, headed by M. F.. Thalheimer,
is putting this one in.
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ИС¬
АИ
intermediate 1.000 foot slide and
a beginners* 250 foot slide are being
built at Cataloochec Ranch, on Fietop
Mountain near Maggie, by Tom Alex¬
ander and Richard Coker.
Both these enterprises arc in areas
of heavy snowfall, but they will not be
dependent entirely on nature. Snow¬
making machinery is being installed so
that skiing will be possible at anytime
when the weather is freezing. Both
enterprises will have ski lifts.
I he Blow ing Rock slide w ill have a
lodge for fans, but this will not be ready
this year. At Cataloochec. a large barn
is being converted into a shop and din¬
ing room. For the first season, at least,
skiers will get their lodging down in
the valley. If the venture is popular, it
is planned to install a longer slide and
perhaps accommodations.
Meantime, over in Gatlinburg. Tenn..
an even more pretentious ski program
is being inaugurated. But North Caro¬
lina interests are not concerned about
this possible competition. In the first
place, it is on the other side of a ditlicult
(in winter) mountain range. In the
second place, the slide lies at an altitude
so low it will not often have suitable-
weather for snow-making. The spray
from the snow-making machines will
not turn into snow unless the tempera¬
ture is below freezing. In this respect.
Alexander seems to have an edge, since
his machines will be spraying in an alti¬
tude of 5.000 feet, making it the highest
ski slide in eastern America.
Curiously enough, two groups were
working at once on a ski attraction in
the northwest. A Boone group aban¬
doned its plans after the Thalheimer
syndicate got started. However, there is
a rumor that another company will be
formed to build a ski slide on Beech
Mountain, at Banner Elk in Avery
County.
Not only that, but still another group
in Mitchell is trying to promote a ski
slide on the Roan Mountain, which is
owned by the U. S. Forest Service.
And. to top it all.
С.
B. Coburn, the
genius who developed Ghost Mountain
at Maggie, will put in chair-lifts next
summer. These might be used as lifts
for skiers if Coburn decides to add a
ski run later.
Skiing seems so foreign to our cli¬
mate and habits that some skepticism
has been voiced about these programs.
However, the use of the snow-making
machines has made it possible to guar¬
antee good skiing almost anywhere
when the weather is cold enough, and
this circumstance has boomed skiing
in many places which heretofore have
lacked the sport.
Ski enthusiasts arc said to be tenaci¬
ously fanatical in their devotion to the
sport. "They're like golfers." said one
ski fan. "It is good exercise and sport,
outdoor pleasure, and there is always
opportunity for an athlete to improve
his skill. This keeps beginners trying
to become experts, and keeps experts
trying to become masters."
A Blowing Rock man told us that
Winston-Salem alone had around 100
devoted skiers who regularly fly to
New England for winter sports. An¬
other pointed to the hundreds of deep
south people who already drive up to
the mountains — especially to Highlands
— to ski and skate in severe weather.
If the skiers come in appreciable
Thit prophetic picture mode at Boone loit winter by John Corey 5how» skiing at 8oonc. Now it oppeors
the section will ho»e winter-long ski «lido».
28
THE STATE.
ОСТОВСЯ
28. 1961