AP-Travel Online, November 27th, 2006
Ski season 2006 in West Virginia is all about debuts _ new lifts at Snowshoe Mountain and Winterplace Resort, a dedicated slope for snow bodyboards at Canaan Valley Resort and new snowmaking equipment at Timberline Four Seasons Resort, according to The Charleston Gazette.
A $3.3 million chairlift along Snowshoe's Widowmaker slope area replaces an older lift and will cut the time it takes skiers to reach the top of the mountain from nine minutes to three, said Andrea Smith, a spokeswoman for the Pocahontas County resort.
The lift also gives skiers access to the new Soaring Eagle Lodge, which is scheduled to open on Dec. 15. The lodge includes 140 condominium units, retail shops and two restaurants.
Canaan Valley Resort State Park, which was scheduled to open Dec. 1 if the weather cooperates, is celebrating its 35th year of ski operations with a new, dedicated slope and terrain park for inflatable bodyboards. The Tucker County park also offers lessons on using the bodyboards.
"Unlike skiing or snowboarding, you can get pretty good within an hour of getting on them," said Canaan Valley Resort General Manager Troy Cardwell.
At nearby Timberline, which had planned a Dec. 7 opening, 60 snow guns have been added to the resort's snowmaking hardware.
At Winterplace Resort in Ghent, two new carpet lifts have been added to a 16-lane snowtubing park. Two more have been installed in the park's expanded instructional area. The park had planned a Dec. 8 opening.
At Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, five new snowmaking hydrants will accompany an 815-foot slope. The resort's ski area plans an early December opening.
