We are planning a ski trip for spring break for a couple of days. I have heard many people talking about how bad Beech is, and not much about Sugar. Are these places enjoyable? BTW, we are not advanced skiers. Also, how much did you guys pay for the entire trip? Thanks.


[Edited on March 3, 2006 at 12:03 PM. Reason : b]

3/3/2006 12:01:45 PM

they both suck

3/3/2006 12:03:20 PM

Do you mind giving me an example?

3/3/2006 12:04:52 PM

neither are good enough for a full blown "ski trip", unless maybe you really suck and can hang out on bunny slopes all day. But if you want to stay in North Carolina, go up there and maybe do one day at each - they're only 20 minutes apart from each other.

From Raleigh it's 3.5 hours. If you want to drive a little further, 5-6 hours, just go to West Virginia for significantly better slopes

3/3/2006 12:05:44 PM

we couldnt decide either when we went a few weeks ok, so we did Hawks Nest bc it was cheap. but it was way too small. i would go sugar

3/3/2006 12:08:13 PM

i was just up there two weekends ago.

we originally wanted to ski at beech but ended up turning around and skiing at sugar because of the poor visibility and long lines at beech. sugar was crowded and we had to park a mile away but the slopes were decent and we were able to get in all the runs we wanted (we came back for the night session).

3/3/2006 12:11:05 PM

thanks guys, i am getting good info here.

3/3/2006 12:14:26 PM

If you are beginner skiers, sugar and beech will probably be fine from a technical standpoint.

but it will be crowded, it will be icy, you will spend most of your time waiting in lift lines, and you may have shitty weather, which will mean patches of dirt and grass mixed in with the snow.

as long as that doesn't potentially bother you, go for it.

3/3/2006 12:33:10 PM

You looking at at roughly $25 for a weekday, $45 for a weekend. In that general area.

In my experience Beech takes better care of their slopes. The "terrain park" at Sugar is a perfect example of how much they actually care for thier slopes which is very little.

3/3/2006 12:55:36 PM

Canaan Valley

3/3/2006 1:15:45 PM

Snowshoe

its west virginia but it'll be worth the 6h drive tho

3/3/2006 1:17:32 PM

I went to beech mountain last year for spring break and i had no regrets. go to http://www.skibeech.com and check it out. THe one thing that sold me about beech was the discounts they had during the week:

Ladies Day Monday Every Monday, LADIES receive a FREE lift ticket and $15 ski rentals! Excludes holidays, MLK and President's Day.
Two For Tuesday Buy an adult day or twilight lift ticket and get one free! Ski Rentals are $10! Excludes holidays.
Retro Rate Wednesday Tickets sell for '70s prices on Wednesdays! $15 lifts and $10 ski rentals. Excludes holidays.
Mens Day Thursday Every Thursday, MEN receive a FREE lift ticket and $15 ski rentals! Excludes holidays.
School Daze $10 ski ticket and $10 ski rentals on snow days. Available to teachers and students whose school is closed due to snow. Day ticket only. Excludes holidays.
One Extreme to the Other Adults 70 or older ski with a complimentary lift/slope ticket. Children 4 or younger, accompanied by a ticketed adult, ski with a complimentary lift/slope ticket. These discounts are available any time.
Bargain Nights Sunday through Thursday nights, lift tickets are only $13, excluding Holidays and the Sundays and Mondays of MLK and President's Day weekends.
Military Discounts Discounted lift tickets to United States military personnel and their immediate family members. This discount is offered through our Group Sales Office. These discounts are available any time.

3/3/2006 7:16:52 PM

i rock wintergreen in VA

3/3/2006 10:26:19 PM

^ wintergreen sucks ass go to snowshoe its worth the six hours

3/3/2006 11:00:14 PM

^it really is
nothing beats the rockies tho
and the one thing that does is the canadian rockies

[Edited on March 3, 2006 at 11:14 PM. Reason : doh]

3/3/2006 11:14:42 PM

that is very true but im sure everbody already knew that

3/4/2006 12:44:02 AM

ill be rockin out at lake tahoe

3/4/2006 3:03:29 AM

I learned to ski at Beech when I was 8 so I am rather partial to it. When we went to Sugar, I fell down a lot because of the ice and the Sugar Bear scared me, so I haven't ever really liked that place.

True, North Carolina is not the paragon of great skiing, but if you're looking for something in state, I'd say go to Beech. It's got a decent selection of trails and they take pretty good care of them.

From my experience:
NEVER go to Winterplace in (I think) West Virginia. It has a ton of groups and is totally overcrowded no matter what day of the week it is. The last time I went, the slopes were not taken care of very well at all, and there was a plethora of church group kids in the main lodge/eating area doing karaoke. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" was a particular favorite of some 8 year olds.

I do love Wintergreen, however. If you don't mind the extra few hours driving, defintely go there.

[Edited on March 4, 2006 at 7:05 AM. Reason : ]

3/4/2006 7:04:33 AM

Sugar was a bad experience....over crowded and was icy.

Going to Wintergreen now.

Point: Learned my lesson, for nice ski resorts go to VA or WV

3/4/2006 4:01:45 PM

I wouldn't call wintergreen nice its ok, but definetly better than sugar go to snowshoe or make the long trip up to killington if you are trying skiing or snowbaording on the east coast.

3/4/2006 4:23:48 PM

Today's NY Times has an article about my favorite ski area: Taos, NM. Snowboard free skiing!

3/4/2006 9:01:46 PM

winterplace was all iced up this weekend

and now i get to have surgery!

3/5/2006 9:52:20 PM

This week is suppossed to be in the upper 50s in the Banner Elk area so if you are gonna try to ski in NC this year, this week may be the last week left to do it. Its warming up. Watch the ice spots.

Personally I like Sugar the best. It can be crowded, but Beech is too on days they have their discounts.

3/5/2006 10:47:26 PM

both sugar and beech are not looking so hot right now. it's been way too warm recently (and the whole winter in general) so neither has a very thick base. i'd consider going up to west virginia.

3/6/2006 2:09:53 AM

actually, sugar got 3 inches of snow last night and isn't really that crowded. It still turns icey like always as the dya goes on but up top on some of the longer runs there is good snow.

3/6/2006 5:16:59 PM

i recommend the French or Swiss alps

way better than anything in NC

3/6/2006 5:25:11 PM