Hawksnest Ski Resort

It was a banner President’s Day weekend at Hawksnest as Mother Nature cooperated enough for the resort to maintain good skiing and snowboarding conditions.

“It was a very good weekend for us,” said Hawksnest Ski Resort director of instruction Justin Grimes. “We had a great turnout and a lot of fun.”

Hawksnest now turns its attention to the coming weekend, and the 2nd annual King of the Hill Competition. The event, which is being presented by Hawksnest, Edge of the World Board Shop and the King of the Hill Group, takes place on Feb. 24.

“We hope it will be our best event to date,” said Grimes. “It’s an opportunity for folks, especially the locals, to come out and compete and have a good time at the same time. It involves boardercross and skiercross with different divisions. We will have men’s boardercross, women’s boardercross, men’s skiercross and women’s skiercross. It’s for individuals 18 and older.”

The actions begins at 9 a.m., with racing from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Following the racing, a party will be held in the Nest Bar from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., with music and prizes. The entry fee is $10, which includes a discounted lift ticket of $30.

On the slopes, Hawksnest Ski Resort reported a base depth of 15-28 inches with surface conditions of groomed/loose granular as of Feb. 18. Also reported were 10 of 13 slopes and all five lifts open for action.

Grimes anticipates those conditions only improving during the week, based on the weather forecast.

“We are making snow as we speak,” said Grimes. “The weather forecast looks good during the week, so we think the weekend slope conditions should be very good.”

For more information about Hawksnest Ski Resort, call (828) 963-6561 or go to www.skihawk.com.

Ski Beech

Congratulations go out to TEAM BEECH as, after almost a decade with no title, the team reclaimed the High Country Junior Race Series Championship Title. The team garnered a total of 2,262 points to best Sugar Mountain (1,789 points) and Appalachian Mountain (1,569 points). In addition to to the team championship, several athletes posted strong finishes.

In the girls’ 6-and-under category, Katie Goode claimed first place, with Jeannie Sapp second and Lachlann Currie third. Sarah Giarruso captured third place in the 7-8 age group, while Katie Spang took third in the 11-12 age group. Finally, Sara Beeken claimed first place in the 15-year-old age group.

On the boys’ side, Ben Struckmeyer captured first place in the 6-and-under category, while Mic Abernathy took second place in the 7-8 age group. Casey Thompson claimed first in the 9-10 age group, while Dakota Thompson, Zach Dunn and Wil Watson went 1,2,3 in the 11-12 age group, respectively. Jay Watson took first, while Blake Keller posted a second-place finish in the 13-14 age group. Finally, Taylor Jones claimed first, while Trip Killinger earned second place in the 15-16 age group.

As for the conditions at Ski Beech, the resort reported a base depth of 10-20 inches with variable granular surface conditions as of Feb. 18. A total of nine of the resort’s 15 slopes and four of 10 lifts were also reported open for business.

For more information, call (828) 387-2011 or go to www.skibeech.com.

Sugar Mountain Resort

Sugar Mountain Resort reported an average snow depth of 25-73 inches with loose and frozen granular surface conditions as of Feb. 18. The resort also reported six lifts and 19 of 20 slopes open for your skiing and snowboarding pleasure. There will be plenty of action on the slopes at Sugar Mountain this weekend as a trio of events take place. On Saturday, the public racing program known as Nastar hits the slopes. Nastar races are held each weekend on Big Red, beginning at noon. Other racing action involves Crescent Ski Council members. On Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m., slalom and giant slalom competitions for Crescent Ski Council members will be held.

Finally on Sunday, it’s time to celebrate as the resort hosts a birthday celebration for Sugar Mountain’s resident mascot, Sugar Bear. Activities include the Great Bear Race with some of Sugar Bear’s friends, the Fun Course for kids to test their skills, special treats, cake and ice cream.

For more information, call 800-SUGARMT or visit www.skisugar.com.

Appalachian Ski Mountain

It will certainly be a busy weekend at Appalachian Ski Mountain as the resort hosts multiple events. On Friday, the sixth installment of the Fresh Fridays series takes center stage. Fresh Fridays is an hour-long jam session on a new set-up in the resort’s terrain parks. Registration will be from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the #1 cashier booth in the lower level of the lodge.

On Saturday, the Salomon Jib Academy arrives at the slopes. The Salomon Jib Academy is a series of slopestyle events for freeskiers ages 16 and under, aimed to provide young athletes with an opportunity to ski with their heroes. Salomon’s international athletes will attend each event to bring inspiration and advice to participants.

On Sunday, the third event of the Shred for the Cup series takes over. Presented by Boardparadise, this four-event series offers fun and plenty of prizes for snowboarders and skiers of all ages and abilities. This series features slopestyle, big air, and rail ram formatted events. Registration is limited to the first 150 participants per event. All participants will receive lunch and Shred for the Cup series T-shirts.

Meanwhile on the slopes, Appalachian Ski Mountain reported snow conditions of 36-90 inches with groomed primary surface conditions as of Feb. 18. All slopes and lifts were reported open.

For more information, call (828) 295-7828 or go to www.appskimtn.com.

Mark Mitchell can be reached at mmitchell@highcountrymedia.net