Ski after school or after work

Cataloochee Ski Area offers discounted rates for youth and adults to explore the slopes and hone their skills with several program offerings this winter. 

Race Cataloochee

The racing season is back at Cataloochee Ski Area, starting in January for ages 8 through adult. 

On the slopes

Along for the ride: Cataloochee thrives amid warm weather, pandemic adaptations

Sun is shifting in and out of the clouds covering Cataloochee Ski Area on Friday, Jan. 14, as I catch a ride to the top of Easy Way with Greenville, South Carolina, resident William Oliver. It’s my first run of the day, but he’s been riding for a while now — and after the warm weather and closures that plagued eastern ski resorts in December, he’s enthusiastic about today’s snow report. 

Many ways down the mountain: Adaptive ski program opens doors at Cataloochee

The sky is a flawless, cloudless blue over Cataloochee Ski Area as Mark Brogan, 37, suits up for a morning on the slopes. A U.S. Army veteran who was previously stationed in Alaska, Brogan has a longstanding love for the outdoors and for the unique thrill that comes with a snowy slide down the side of a mountain. 

All set up with rented gear and an instructor, Brogan delays his journey to the lift long enough to hold his 19-month-old son Connor in front of the ski school lodge as his wife Sunny snaps a picture. 

Lessons learned on the black diamond

While standing atop a black diamond run at Beech Mountain last weekend, several thoughts crossed my mind.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve done this.

Warm weather forces Cataloochee Ski closure

Unseasonably warm weather and the drought have combined to temporarily close Cataloochee Ski Area.

Cross-country skiing in WNC offers breathtaking but limited-time experience

out frWhen the snow starts falling and Western North Carolina’s main streets, schools and businesses go to sleep in wait for warmer weather, there’s a select group of mountain residents who see the blanketed roads as an invitation rather than as an inhibition. 

They’re the cross-country skiers of Western North Carolina, and they’re not afraid of the cold.

Beat you to the bottom: Race night offers competition and community at Cataloochee

out frAs the sun goes down on the snow-covered mountain at Cataloochee Ski Area, anticipation spikes among the enlightened few who know what Thursday night on the slopes means.

Coming down the mountain: Cataloochee turns attention to user experience

out frIt’s a feeling that Chris Bates can’t shake. “Being outside, in the winter, on the mountain — there’s nothing like it,” he said. “There’s a sense of exhilaration when you’re on a pair of skis. It’s a rush I’ve never gotten enough of.”

Bates, who has been the general manager at Cataloochee Ski Area for 17 years, is sitting inside the main lodge high above Maggie Valley this past Monday morning. Gazing out the windows onto the snowy slopes, the troves of eager skiers and snowboarders already cruising down the mountain, Bates can’t help to be excited that the 54th season at “Cat” got underway this week.

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