[backstop13]

My cousin wanted me to take him out snowboarding, but didn't have the time or the money for a trip out west so I ended up taking him and 3 other folks out to the Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, NC this past weekend.

The Good:
Snow! - Amazingly, Cataloochee actually got snow while we were there. Roughly 1-2 inches accumulation over what was already on the ground.
Temperatures - Also amazingly, it was actually cold while I was there. My trip to Cat last year featured sunny 40ºF weather which turned the artificial snow to ice and slush in just a few hours

The bad:
Crowds - 3 lifts (1 quad, 2-doubles) all of which had a 10-20 minute wait. It was 3x faster to walk up the bunny hill and ride down than to wait in the line to ride the chair up.
Rental gear - I don't think the board that my cousin and his wife rented had *ever* been waxed. 15 minutes after I they did drills for strapping in and turning, ice started sticking and freezing to the bottom of the boards. I had to chip it away with a credit card in order for the boards to even slide down hill
Cost - $60 lift pass for 740ft after a 3 hour drive.
Lines - 15 minute wait for a lift ticket and a 30 minute wait for rental gear

My advice.... if you end up having to go out there to ride, make sure that it is not on a weekend and make sure to buy/borrow your own gear

It was a holiday weekend too (Presidents Day). All of the resorts this far south are packed on weekends like that.

 

[snowvols]

Thanks for the reminder on why I moved out. Hopefully you can make it west soon.

 

[Oldman]

Most of us are restricted by either time or money or both. We pick and choose as best we can, but I have learned that the Presidents Day weekend / week is busy at any hill / resort. It is the one weekend to give a miss. If you go, be prepared for long lines.

 

[backstop13]

Thanks for the reminder on why I moved out. Hopefully you can make it west soon.

If only it was that easy...I'd move today, but my wife, not so much.

I've thought about just hitting her over the head and making the move out west while she was passed out, but I don't think it would go over too well.

 

[Argo]

Apply for jobs, get a good one that she knows yo can't turn down. Move....