How the South Skis

By Eric J. Wallace / Photo Above: Soaring views from the upper slopes of Snowshoe Resort’s Western Slope area

Powdery wakes of crystalline snow erupt from my kids’ snowboard and skis as they carve through the manicured red spruce forest beside the slope. They laugh and point as five young deer gallop beside them through the blanketed trees then veer deeper into the woods. The teens bump back on-piste ahead of a steep drop where the world explodes in a panorama of knobby, undeveloped mountains that sweep into the horizon like a crazed tide. They pause and breathlessly describe the insanity of what just happened then resume the near two-mile descent.

I’ve written about outdoor adventure for 15 years and the tableau is as spectacular as anything I’ve experienced in Colorado, Vermont, or Maine. A storm dumped two feet of fresh powder the night before and a world-class grooming team has taken masterful advantage of the assist. Five-thousand-ish-foot westward views cascade through undeveloped, seemingly endless peaks in the Monongahela National Forest. My wife is enjoying a massage and spa session in the summit village area as we speak. And, best of all, we’re within a two-hour scenic drive of our Shenandoah Valley abode.

This is West Virginia’s Snowshoe Resort. Six years as season passholders have made us intimately familiar with the Ikon Pass destination and driven home just how incredible skiing in the Blue Ridge has become. The region’s first resorts opened in the early-1960s and were quaint by today’s standards.