Snowshoe Mountain
Encyclopedia
Snowshoe Mountain is a ski resort
in Snowshoe
, West Virginia
. The resort has skiable terrain across 244 acres (98.74 ha) and covers a total area of 11000 acres (4,452 ha) in the Allegheny Mountains
, which are a part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range
. It is positioned in the bowl shaped convergence of two mountains, Cheat
and Back Allegheny
, at the head of the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River
. Snowshoe is home to the second highest point in the state and the peak elevation
for Cheat Mountain, at Thorny Flat, which reaches 4848 feet (1,478 m) above sea level.
The Village at Snowshoe is located at the summit of the mountain, rather than at its base. While Snowshoe is still best known for its winter activities, today the resort has extensive mountain biking
trail
s, a popular golf
course designed by Gary Player
, wedding and convention areas, a number of summer outdoor activities, and also hosts a Grand National Cross Country Racing
event each year. The resort comprises the Snowshoe and Silver Creek ski areas. About 480,000 skiers visit the resort each year, primarily from the larger cities of the Mid-Atlantic
and Southeast
and from across West Virginia
.
Snowshoe Mountain is the name of the resort, not the name of the mountain itself; the resort is located on Cheat Mountain
. Cheat's highpoint is Thorny Flat, which reaches the resort's highest elevation of 4848 feet (1,478 m). The resort makes up 244 acres (98.74 ha) in total, which includes the Snowshoe Mountain and Silver Creek areas; the mountain
s have a total of 60 slopes and trails. Two trails, Cupp Run and Shay's Revenge, have a 1500 feet (457 m) vertical drop, the highest in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The mountain summit
receives an average of 180 inches (457 cm) of snow
fall each winter.
Snowshoe had originally been envisioned as a four season destination, although it would take years for mountain bike and horseback riding trails to become a significant draw. One key advantage for the mountain has continued to be its cooler temperatures, due to its elevation. With a mean temperature of 28 °F (-2.2 °C) in January and 68 °F (20 °C) in July, Snowshoe can be considerably cooler than nearby areas at lower elevations.
The resort has a base of 1,400 condominium and lodge hotel units, most of which are independently owned but managed by the resort. The average winter season is just slightly more than 130 days each year, while the spring, summer, and fall seasons typically include a series of sports, recreation, and cultural events.
Snowshoe Mountain opened to skiing on December 13, 1974. The area had been logged from about 1905 to 1960, after which it was virtually barren and abandoned. Thomas "Doc" Brigham discovered the mountain and believed it would be a good location to build a new ski resort. Brigham, a dentist from North Carolina, had previously opened the Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain ski areas.
The ski trails and lifts were given names that recalled the local history of logging; for example: Grab Hammer, J-Hook, Ball Hooter, and Skidder. Two trails, Shay
's Revenge and Heisler
Way, were named for brands of gear-driven steam locomotives that ferried men and logs around the mountains during the logging era.
Although Brigham had high hopes for Snowshoe, the mountain went through a difficult first decade plagued by financial problems. Over the next several years, though, the resort's reputation and popularity would grow, and in 1992 it purchased the Silver Creek ski area which is just a half mile away.
The resort was purchased in 1995 by Intrawest
, a Canadian ski-resort operator which had become well known for expanding mountain resorts through village
-style commercial and condominium
real estate
development
. In 1999, Intrawest opened the Rimfire Lodge, its first development in what it called "The Wildcat Village" (a name which later fell out of use). The village expanded rapidly, with additional condominium
-hotel
developments opening over the coming years, including Highland House, two phases of Allegheny Springs, The Seneca, and Expedition Station. One development, Eight Rivers, was to have broken ground in 2007, but the project was eventually postponed and the land area is now used by a small surface ski lift
used, in part, by the resort's ski school
.
In addition to the central village, Intrawest has also assisted developing "outside neighborhoods," including Soaring Eagle Lodge in 2006 and Sawmill Village in 2007, both of which were developed independently. In 2006, Intrawest was acquired by the private equity firm Fortress Investment Group
. Intrawest continues to operate as an independent unit of Fortress.
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
in Snowshoe
Snowshoe, West Virginia
Snowshoe is an unincorporated area in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, known for the Snowshoe Mountain ski resort. The area is amongst the Allegheny Mountains, located in the bowl shaped convergence of two ranges, Cheat and Back Allegheny, at the head of the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. The resort has skiable terrain across 244 acres (98.74 ha) and covers a total area of 11000 acres (4,452 ha) in the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
, which are a part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. It is positioned in the bowl shaped convergence of two mountains, Cheat
Cheat Mountain
Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long and more than five miles wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its southernmost end at Thorny Flat, which has an elevation of...
and Back Allegheny
Back Allegheny Mountain
Back Allegheny Mountain is a long mountain ridge in eastern West Virginia. It is part of the Shavers Fork Mountain Complex in the Allegheny Range of the Appalachians.- Geography :...
, at the head of the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River
Cheat River
The Cheat River is a tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed, ultimately draining into the Gulf of Mexico.-Geography:The Cheat is formed at...
. Snowshoe is home to the second highest point in the state and the peak elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
for Cheat Mountain, at Thorny Flat, which reaches 4848 feet (1,478 m) above sea level.
The Village at Snowshoe is located at the summit of the mountain, rather than at its base. While Snowshoe is still best known for its winter activities, today the resort has extensive mountain biking
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
s, a popular golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course designed by Gary Player
Gary Player
Gary Player DMS; OIG is a South African professional golfer. With his nine major championship victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six...
, wedding and convention areas, a number of summer outdoor activities, and also hosts a Grand National Cross Country Racing
Grand National Cross Country
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series is America's premieroff-road racing series. Founded in 1979, the 13-round championship isproduced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross country racing is oneof the most physically demanding sports in the world...
event each year. The resort comprises the Snowshoe and Silver Creek ski areas. About 480,000 skiers visit the resort each year, primarily from the larger cities of the Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
and Southeast
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
and from across West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
Mountain
Cheat Mountain
Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long and more than five miles wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its southernmost end at Thorny Flat, which has an elevation of...
. Cheat's highpoint is Thorny Flat, which reaches the resort's highest elevation of 4848 feet (1,478 m). The resort makes up 244 acres (98.74 ha) in total, which includes the Snowshoe Mountain and Silver Creek areas; the mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s have a total of 60 slopes and trails. Two trails, Cupp Run and Shay's Revenge, have a 1500 feet (457 m) vertical drop, the highest in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The mountain summit
Summit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
receives an average of 180 inches (457 cm) of snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
fall each winter.
Snowshoe had originally been envisioned as a four season destination, although it would take years for mountain bike and horseback riding trails to become a significant draw. One key advantage for the mountain has continued to be its cooler temperatures, due to its elevation. With a mean temperature of 28 °F (-2.2 °C) in January and 68 °F (20 °C) in July, Snowshoe can be considerably cooler than nearby areas at lower elevations.
The resort has a base of 1,400 condominium and lodge hotel units, most of which are independently owned but managed by the resort. The average winter season is just slightly more than 130 days each year, while the spring, summer, and fall seasons typically include a series of sports, recreation, and cultural events.
History
The ski trails and lifts were given names that recalled the local history of logging; for example: Grab Hammer, J-Hook, Ball Hooter, and Skidder. Two trails, Shay
Shay locomotive
The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive...
's Revenge and Heisler
Heisler locomotive
The Heisler locomotive was the last variant of the three major types of geared steam locomotive, Charles L. Heisler receiving a patent for the design in 1892 following the construction of a prototype in 1891. Somewhat similar to a Climax locomotive, Heisler's design featured two cylinders canted...
Way, were named for brands of gear-driven steam locomotives that ferried men and logs around the mountains during the logging era.
Although Brigham had high hopes for Snowshoe, the mountain went through a difficult first decade plagued by financial problems. Over the next several years, though, the resort's reputation and popularity would grow, and in 1992 it purchased the Silver Creek ski area which is just a half mile away.
Intrawest
Intrawest ULC is a developer and operator of destination resorts and a luxury adventure travel company. The company was founded in 1976 as a privately funded real estate development company...
, a Canadian ski-resort operator which had become well known for expanding mountain resorts through village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
-style commercial and condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
development
Land development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...
. In 1999, Intrawest opened the Rimfire Lodge, its first development in what it called "The Wildcat Village" (a name which later fell out of use). The village expanded rapidly, with additional condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
-hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
developments opening over the coming years, including Highland House, two phases of Allegheny Springs, The Seneca, and Expedition Station. One development, Eight Rivers, was to have broken ground in 2007, but the project was eventually postponed and the land area is now used by a small surface ski lift
Magic carpet (ski lift)
A magic carpet is a type of surface lift installed at ski areas to transport skiers and snowboarders up the hill...
used, in part, by the resort's ski school
Ski school
A ski school is an establishment that trains skiers. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and established these methods as teaching principles for all ski instructors at his school.In...
.
In addition to the central village, Intrawest has also assisted developing "outside neighborhoods," including Soaring Eagle Lodge in 2006 and Sawmill Village in 2007, both of which were developed independently. In 2006, Intrawest was acquired by the private equity firm Fortress Investment Group
Fortress Investment Group
Fortress Investment Group LLC is an investment management firm based in New York, New York. The company went public on February 9, 2007.-History:...
. Intrawest continues to operate as an independent unit of Fortress.