(bright music) - [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(soothing music) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Ah, the Carolinas, where images of warm sandy beaches and majestic mountain waterfalls might easily come to mind.

But what might not come to mind, fresh powder, beckoning 100s of 1000s to the North Carolina ski slopes.

- Skiing in the South is just cool because it's the South and nobody believes we can ski here.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] From skiing to snowboarding and ice skating to tubing, there's something for just about everyone.

- Skiing is a way for our family to connect outside, it's great family bonding.

- [Narrator] What makes it all possible?

Well, a bit of science.

- [Brad] Our snowmaking technology makes us this little winter island paradise.

You know, snowmaking is what makes it all happen.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Coming up, we ride the chair lifts and hit the slopes to explore the history of skiing in North Carolina.

Learn a bit about snowmaking and see how with a bit of creativity, many of the North Carolina ski resorts stay open year round snow or no snow, all added more on this episode of Trail of History.

(upbeat music) (bright music) All across the North Carolina mountains, during the warmer months, it's always easy to find something to do.

(train whistle blowing) Everything from historic train rides, gem mining, and of course, taking in the iconic Appalachian Mountain views.

But what about when the mercury drops and old man winter comes a knocking?

(upbeat music) Well, it's time to grab your skis and snowboards.

(upbeat music) In Western North Carolina Mountain Peaks can reach 3, 4, 5, even 6,000 feet above sea level, at that elevation mix in the right temperatures and a bit of technology, and you have the perfect recipe for making winter wonderlands.

- We make good snow and also people don't realize that our mountains are steep and rugged, so we have a lot of good trails.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] North Carolina ski resorts attract visitors from all over.

- We have a lot of people come skiing, especially weekends.

It's very popular, not just in North Carolina, but Georgia, South Carolina, Florida.

People drive up from Alabama, you know, of course, Tennessee.

(upbeat music) - Here at Appalachian Ski Mountain, just outside Blowing Rock, Viola Francis and boyfriend Nicholas Solomons came all the way up from Georgia for a weekend getaway.

- This is our first time experiencing skiing here in North Carolina.

- [Narrator] Now being first timers on the slopes, the couple thought it might be best to grab a quick lesson.

- It's very fun.

We actually didn't fall yet, so we're hoping to continue that trend, but we had our awesome instructor over there kind of lead us through, teach us how to ski.

The thing that I learned the most was called the pizza, so that's how you stop, you just bring your hands or your feet in and that was super cool to learn.

- [Narrator] It only took a few runs on their own for Viola to get hooked - Fast, fast for sure, and freeing like you just in the open air.

It's really cool outside, a nice temperature, so it's really fun and exciting.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] For folks living anywhere in the southeast, North Carolina ski resorts have a huge advantage, proximity.

- It's awesome to just get in the car and drive two and a half hours and then you're here.

- Magan Murrell, son Michael, and her boyfriend Jeff took a break from the slopes at Sugar Mountain for a little lunch.

- It's just a good time.

This is his second time snowboarding, so we just came up here as a family to enjoy the slopes.

It's a little nerve wracking, he has no fear, so he likes to go fast.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Today many skiers and snowboarders don't know of a time when they couldn't enjoy the North Carolina slopes, but it hasn't always been so mainstream.

During the winter of 1961, North Carolinians got their first opportunity to hit the slopes.

When the Cataloochee ski area near Maggie Valley first opened.

It was quickly followed by construction of the Blowing Rock Ski Lodge, now called Appalachian Ski Mountain.

Workers used heavy equipment to sculpt the slopes, installed lifts to ferry skiers to the top, and constructed the ski lodge all in time to open for the winter of 1962.

(bright music) Brad Moretz's family owns Appalachian Ski Mountain and he says the stars aligned at just the right moment to bring skiing and winter sports to the Tar Heel state.

- In 1960, you had the Winter Olympics being held and that got a lot of publicity and then a few years prior to that, there had been the advent of machine made snow.

- The introduction of snowmaking meant operating a ski area could make economic sense in the region.

While Mother Nature consistently provided the cold temperatures, she wasn't always the best with providing a reliable source of snow.

- I think our natural snowfall average is about 75 inches, sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't.

Sometimes we have more, but we can't depend on natural snow.

All of us in North Carolina and pretty much down the East coast, we all make snow a 100%.

- [Narrator] The first snowmaking machine's debuted in the 1950s at a resort in New York state, and the first patent for a snowmaking machine was issued in 1954, technology that's advanced by leaps and bounds over the past seven decades.

- The snowmaking technology now is incomparable to what it was when I was growing up.

We can make so much more snow so much faster and we've invested a lot in snowmaking to be able to make that happen.

- [Narrator] Up and down the slopes, you'll see what looked like jet engines mounted up in the air.

These are snow guns that use compressed air, water and powerful fans to make real snow.

- They turn water on into the system and it gets projected outta the guns into the air.

It's atomized when it leaves the snow guns and then as it falls to the ground for the water freezes.

Most of the snowmaking goes on overnight between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM, although we do occasionally make snow during the day, we generally try to make snow and close slopes if it's during the day.

We can put down, you know, maybe something in the neighborhood of three feet of snow on about 10 slopes in a couple days.

- [Narrator] Those who make the snow say it's a top-notch product for skiers and snowboarders.

- Manmade snow is actually a great surface to ski on and you know, we spend a lot of time preparing it, grooming it.

- When I was younger, it was sort of skier groomed, grooming didn't really exist much at that time, but since they've developed the ability to sort of till the snow and create sort of a corduroy surface that the groomers make on the surface, we can have great conditions every day.

(bright music) - [Narrator] While several ski areas opened as standalone operations, some were part of large land development plans like Beech and Sugar Mountains.

- Beech Mountain was founded by a dentist from Birmingham, Alabama, Mr. Thomas Brigham, and it was developed by the Robbins Brothers, Grover and Harry Robbins, they developed many things in the area, including the Land of Oz.

- [Narrator] Beech Mountain opened for business in 1967 and a couple years later, the first iteration of Sugar Mountain opened in 1969.

- But unfortunately, Beech Mountain went bankrupt and then Sugar Mountain went bankrupt.

- [Narrator] Beech Mountain's financial struggles took place primarily in the 1970s, but in the 80s, the resort was sold.

- In 1984, roughly, Ray Coston purchased Beech Mountain Resort and it's been a family resort ever since, owned by the Costin family.

- [Narrator] When the original owners of Sugar Mountain struggled, Gunther Jochl and his then partner saw an opportunity.

- The old Sugar Mountain Company then developed Sugar Mountain as a gated community, as a land development, and subsequently it went bankrupt.

1974, I think is when they filed for bankruptcy.

1976 is when I and my then partner Dale Stanser showed up the first time to lease it from the bankruptcy court and operate the ski area and the lodging facilities at that time.

We did this for one year and then we did another lease for another year with an option to buy and then ended up buying Sugar Mountain and really never did any land development, we always concentrated on skiing primarily.

- [Narrator] Since the late 70s and into the 1980s, most of the ski areas in North Carolina have found their footing.

- I don't think anybody ever took it really serious till we came here and really made it a business, a serious business.

And I mean that to make the snow, to prepare the slopes, to have the good uphill transportation, to realize what skiers really want and to make it as comfortable for them and as much fun for them, so with that, you know, big changes arrived in skiing in North Carolina.

To do it right, you have to be very disciplined, concentrate in what you're doing, and to just have a ski area as an amenity without focusing on the expense and the cost is an unreasonable thing.

I mean, skiing is expensive, to make snow, to operate it, to buy lifts, even then wasn't cheap, today it's even more expensive.

(bright music) - [Narrator] Unlike Beech and Sugar Mountains, when Blowing Rock Ski Lodge first opened in 1962, it was focused solely on winter sports.

- Our ski area was not done as part of a real estate play, it was built more to sell skiing and the associated services that go along with it, whereas a lot of ski areas are built in order to sell real estate, ours was not.

- [Narrator] But that didn't guarantee success.

- It only operated for about six years and then the bank foreclosed on the note.

My father was in the building supply business and he sold building supplies to build the base lodge here.

There was originally about a 12,000 square foot base lodge, it's about 50,000 square feet now.

And they asked him to take partial payment in the form of stock as they did some other vendors, surveyors and people that did grading.

And so there were about a 1,000 stockholders that bought stock and at that time was called Blowing Rock Ski Lodge.

- [Narrator] But after the foreclosure, it was renamed Appalachian Ski Mountain when the Moretzs and other stockholders took over.

- My father, along with a few other people, had extended their names to be on that note, and so, you know, they bought the note of foreclosure and they moved forward, and since then our family's bought out the other stockholders.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Whether you want fast or slow at Sugar Mountain Resort, owner and President Gunther Jochl says it's all about options.

- We have 20 slopes and trails.

We have everything from the very beginner slope to the double diamond expert slopes, so the challenge is there.

The fun is there to just cruise.

- [Narrator] Now skiing gets folks through the doors, so to speak, but the ski areas like Sugar Mountain, know to keep people coming back, you need a variety of winter sports and activities.

- Skiing and snowboarding is our main business and then we have ice skating tubing and snowshoeing.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] To make their guest experience as seamless as possible at Appalachian Ski Mountain President Brad Moretz says they have invested in Radio Frequency Identification or RFID technology.

Guests with reservations get their RFID card upon arrival to get access to not only the slopes, but also any rentals made at the time of the reservation, things like... - Come down, if you need to rent clothing, we can take care of that.

Bibs, gloves, jackets, goggles, and you'll take your RFID card to the equipment rental department and they'll tap that.

It brings up your information, it's all a paperless process, it's really fast.

(machine whirring) - [Narrator] With so much demand for rental equipment, the folks at Appalachian Ski Mountain ski shops stay busy throughout the season, keeping all those rental skis and snowboards in tiptop shape.

Now, once you have all your gear... - If you need a lesson, you can go up to the desk and tap your card and it'll print out your lesson ticket and then you go straight to the slope.

- Yeah, look at that.

(bright music) - [Narrator] The slopes of Western North Carolina draw in all kinds of people, but it's a big draw for families looking to spend time together, folks like Moore County resident Holly Moss.

- The weather's good, it's not too cold, it's been a good trip so far.

We came up here for my daughter's sixth birthday party, she wanted to see the snow.

- [Narrator] Moss wanted to make sure her daughter got off on the right foot when it came to skiing.

- It's her first time, my first time, it's a little complicated, especially for the younger ones, so I brought her down here for a private ski lesson just to get her comfortable being out here on the snow.

- [Narrator] She says there's an added benefit to a family ski trip.

- I feel like you get everybody off of their phones, you get 'em outside and everybody just seems happier.

(bright music) - [Narrator] Now, we're not sure if there's a saying that says the family that skis together stays together, but for Meredith Phillips' family, it kind of fits.

- Skiing is a way for our family to connect outside in a time when most people don't go outside, it's great family bonding.

Our kids participate in other sports, but this is the only sport where, you know, we're with them all the time.

If they're playing soccer, they're on the field, we're on the sidelines, here we're on the chair lift with them, we're disconnecting from our phones and from work and just enjoying some quality family time together.

- [Narrator] Philip says there's a story behind her own passion for the slopes, a story that starts over 50 years ago with her dad, Gene Self.

- In 1970, I was a freshman at Lenoir-Rhyne College.

A bunch of guys said, let's go skiing, and that's when the journey began.

- [Narrator] At that time, Sugar Mountain had only been open for about a year and skiing in North Carolina was still a novelty.

- Back in those days, you were lucky to have waterproofing for your blue jeans and boots were leather or just starting to be plastic.

- [Narrator] Self had caught the skiing bug, eventually joined the Sugar Mountain Ski Patrol to feed his passion for the sport and desire to help others.

From there, the family's lifelong adventure began with his wife Mary also joining the ski patrol.

- You can't have a better family life.

- [Narrator] And only fittingly, when they were old enough, the couple's two daughters signed onto the ski patrol as well.

- And when I was 15, I joined the ski patrol and that's it, we've just been here every weekend in the winter, ever since.

It is a blessing to be brought up on this mountain, to feel like this is my home as well as where I live during the week.

- [Narrator] Being on the mountain frequently gives Phillips an appreciation for nature.

- It's a way for me to notice God's beauty and to disconnect from work and other pressures in life.

- [Narrator] And a sense of gratitude for her parents.

- Oh, I'm proud of them.

It's not often that someone my age has parents who are still skiing with them and also skiing with their grandkids, so that is a very special thing that we don't take for granted.

(bright music) - Like Phillips, Robin Griffin was introduced to a pair of skis at a young age, thanks to a parent.

- So the backstory is I had a mother in the 60s that liked to ski and my dad wouldn't have anything to do with it, but my mother would take us skiing as early as I was six years old, 1966, and it was actually at Blowing Rock, which is now Appalachian Ski Mountain, and I don't know, I just loved it.

- [Narrator] Her passion eventually turned into an opportunity to serve.

- I love to be outside, I loved to do something athletic or move, fresh air and people, it's fun meeting people on the chair lift, it's fun working with people.

- [Narrator] Now when you put on a pair of skis or grab a snowboard, there's a chance you might get hurt, that's where the ski patrol comes in.

- Ski patrol is safety mechanism for the mountain, so if you get hurt, hopefully we get there quickly and get you down and you know, if you need a higher level of care, we hopefully get you to that quickly, so we're there to serve the public, to help.

- [Narrator] Robin Griffith started with the Sugar Mountain Ski Patrol in 1980 and today heads up the team, a team that works hard, so at the end of the day, folks leave the slopes with nothing but smiles and good memories.

- You know, we have saved lives out there, it's very critical and it's a cold environment and people get scared even if they're not hurt that badly, so I think ski patrol's very critical.

You know, it was developed, you know, after the war, after World War II in Vermont and people would get hurt skiing and have no way to get out and get help.

- [Narrator] Griffith says, for folks interested in working on ski patrol, there's a few things to consider.

- You need first aid skills.

The National Ski Patrol has a first aid course called Outdoor Emergency Care, OEC, can take that course and get certified.

We also have EMTs or you know, paramedics, we need some sort of first aid and then we can train you to be a skier or snowboarder, to take a sled down the hill, but it's better if you have the background already and love to ski or snowboard.

(bright music) - [Narrator] In honor of retired ski patrol director Flynn Harris, the ski patrol headquarters is named in honor of all his years of service at Sugar Mountain Resort.

- I had been involved in first aid for many years.

I'd worked at the beach one summer as a lifeguard after my sophomore year in college, freshman year in college.

I knew people got hurt when skiing and I knew we had to, you know, be able to take care of them.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, more than 43 million people visited the state in 2023 and the tourism industry employs over 225,000 people.

The ski industry in the state plays a vital economic role in the respective communities.

Kim Jochl heads up the NC Ski Areas Association.

- One of the ideas we're constantly trying to promote as the ski association to bring the idea of skiing in winter and snow and mountains to the people who are potentially our customers, 'cause you don't really think of skiing and snow and winter and mountains in North Carolina.

- [Narrator] It's a message that's making an impact.

- So the 22-23 season, we had a total economic value of $244 million to the ski industry.

You know, the industry itself employs close to 2000 people a season.

- [Narrator] Between 7 and 800,000 people visit the ski areas annually, and the economic impact goes well beyond just the slopes.

- We probably generate, the ski industry does, you know, something along the lines of a quarter billion dollars for a region that doesn't have... You know, is not known for manufacturing and things like that.

And one of the things that is critical about the ski industry is it turns the economy up here into a year round tourism economy, so that enables us to have a lot more restaurants, a lot more lodging, you know, it makes the lifestyle better for everyone that lives up here.

(upbeat music) - Avery County used to be a poor county.

When I came here in 76, it was considered one of the poorest counties in North Carolina, it's not no more, it's a very well situated country, 'cause a lot has happened, a lot of resorts have been built, so Avery County is not a poor county anymore.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Now, when spring rolls around and the snow starts to melt away, that doesn't mean the action stops, several of the ski areas just shift gears.

(upbeat music) - Beech Mountain Resort was started in 1967 and we are primarily a ski and snowboard facility in the wintertime, but in the summertime we turn into a mountain bike destination.

- [Narrator] During ski season, Beech Mountain Resort runs nine lifts and offers 17 different ski trails.

But come summertime, they switch over to a single lift, giving an express ride to the summit for mountain bikers, and the slopes originally designed for thrill seekers on skis, give way to those on two wheels, perfect for a father son getaway, says Asheville resident Adam Cohen.

- We're on mountain bike vacation.

- (laughing) We're on mountain bike vacation.

We mountain bike a lot in Asheville, which it's got great mountain biking, but this guy likes to go downhill and go downhill fast, so- - Well not this fast.

(upbeat music) - All right, high five, see you at the bottom.

- [Narrator] Cohen's taking the time to teach his young son Taaz the skills necessary to navigate the windy single track.

- We're sticking to riding the green, just so he can get used to breaking and doing all that stuff, but they're flowy, they're fast, they're loose in some sections, but it's a good time.

(upbeat music) It's the highlight of parenting for sure, watching him enjoy something that I enjoy and then excel at it at a much younger age.

I did not get into biking this young, nor have all the gear.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Now if you don't own a mountain bike or even need lessons, that's not a problem says Beach Mountain Resorts, director of marketing, Talia Freeman.

- Here we also have mountain bike rentals and we also have a great team of instructors here if you wanna learn.

So if you're trying this for the first time, we can get you out on the trails and keep you safe, healthy, and really have a good experience for the day.

It's actually a little deceiving, it looks intimidating, but we have a really great beginner trail system.

(bright music) - [Narrator] Freeman says, mountain biking isn't the only thing drawing folks to Beach Mountain during the summertime.

- First and foremost, Beech Mountain is beautiful in the wintertime, but there's nothing like it in the summer months.

I mean, it's just a little over 70 degrees today, it's gorgeous, you come up here to beat the heat and it's an amazing destination.

We do a lot of live music here and we're actually getting pretty well known for being a music destination.

Another activity that we have here is disc golf.

We have an 18 hole disc golf course that starts at the top of the mountain and you play 18 holes down.

Now disc golf is played much like regular golf, there's different weighted disc, there's different pars, different distances.

It's a very technical course, but it's a lot of fun and much like everything else, you're getting incredible views and you can finish your day right here at Beach Mount Brewing Company with a beer.

- [Narrator] And it's not just mountain bikers taking advantage of the lift to the summit.

- We do scenic lift rides and at the top of the mountain, one of our most popular destinations is 5506, which is a bar and restaurant that sits positioned on top of the mountain at 5,506 feet in elevation.

It's completely unmatched.

You're not gonna get a better view than on top of the mountain, and to be able to sit there and have, you know, a drink and dinner or you know, participate in mountain biking for the first time or disc off, you know, it's incredible to watch people really just enjoy the place.

- We love coming up here and having a drink at the bar and having some food from the grill and just watching the view and watching the bikers go down the mountain and play some Frisbee golf.

(bike whirring) - [Narrator] The other big benefit for the skier is that add summertime activities to continuing economic impact on the region.

- People wanna be outside, they wanna ride bikes, they wanna try new things and that's been, you know, really good for business and just the overall economy in the high country.

(bright music) - There you go, there you go, lean back.

- [Narrator] People who travel to the North Carolina ski areas come for many reasons.

Some come for the thrills from skiing, tubing or mountain biking.

Those that find their way to the state's ski areas are passionate.

- It's very nice skiing and you can compare it to out west and it's just about the same.

- [Robin] I would put our groomed slopes up against anywhere in the country.

- There's nothing we like more than seeing people having a great time to come on a really busy day and see that everything is going smooth and people having just a great time and coming here from really all over the world, 'cause we'll have people here from Europe and South America and just any place that you can imagine.

- I have skied all over the world, Alaska, South America, you know, Europe, Switzerland, still fun to ski in North Carolina though.

- [Narrator] So next time you need to scratch that adrenaline itch or simply wanna enjoy the views of the North Carolina mountains, one of our state's ski areas might just have what you're looking for.

We thank you for watching this episode of Trail of History.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (bright music) - Narrator] A production of PBS Charlotte.

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