Ski Beech
Beech Mountain and Ski Beech are busy preparing
for a lively ski season atop eastern America’s
highest town. Adding to the specs that make
Beech Mountain an alluring ski destination, Ski
Beech is doing its part to enhance the ski
environment and waiting for the weather to do
the same.
 This year, the staff of Ski Beech will be at its
largest ever, including two brothers,
transplants of Breckenridge, CO, who bring their
snow grooming expertise to the mountain. Now
residents of Banner Elk, the ‘brothers groom’
will have the assistance of the new PistenBully
400 to make the slopes as smooth as possible. A
sure pleaser for a High School Ski Trip,
snowboarders and skiers can test out the new
terrain park, Red Baron, in addition to the
existing Meadows terrain park. Previously a
tubing run, Red Baron has been groomed to
feature its own private lift and advanced
terrain area with jump, rail and box setups. The
Meadows terrain park offers beginner and
intermediate skiers and riders a chance to hone
their skills before trying Red Baron.
Book your Group Ski Holiday today with Ski
French-Swiss to experience the many competitions
Ski Beech hosts throughout the season. Rail
jams, slope style, big air and boarder cross
events will be present at various times
throughout the season. For
Ski Packages To
North Carolina contact Ski French-Swiss to
maximize your Beech Mountain ski experience. For
the younger ski bunnies, plan your Group Ski
Holiday around Santa’s arrival at Fred’s Gazebo
on Beech Mountain. Enjoy
cocoa, cookies and watch the lighting of the
Christmas tree amidst the High Country
Mountains.
Skiers at Beech Mountain NC may know they are atop
eastern America’s highest town, at 5,506 feet,
but they may not know the rich history of the
ground over which they pass. Beech Mountain was
originally inhabited by Cherokee Indians,
calling the area “Klonteska,” meaning
“pheasant,” for the rich hunting grounds the
mountain provided. The Great Trading Path,
stretching from Georgia to Virginia, passed
through Beech Mountain and acted as an
inter-tribal trading route. To demarcate the
presence of Cherokee camps off the Great Trading
Path for travelers, Native Americans would tie
sapling trees in knots. It is believed that
these knotted trees led the first white
inhabitants to settle in the area, and until
recently three such trees still remained on
Beech Mountain.
Through the 1900’s Beech Mountain NC was known for
its lumber, featuring lumber camps and cabins
throughout the area. In 1930, Mr. Clinger, head
of the Department of Industrial Education at
Lees-McCrae, was the first to encourage modern
skiing on Beech Mountain. He taught wary
students how to ski, and soon a Skiing Zero Club
had formed at the college and students began
making skis in the woodshop.
 In 1961, Dr. Thomas Brigham, a New England
transplant dentist from Birmingham, Alabama,
came
to Beech Mountain and began acquiring land.
His
love for skiing and desire to bring it to
the south led
him to conclude that Beech
Mountain, “between the
eastern piedmont of the
Carolinas and the western
piedmont of Tennessee,
where the peaks are
highest and the mountain
ranges narrowest,” was
the perfect location for
his southern experiment. Dr.
Brigham,
affectionately known as Dr. B, had an eye
for
picking out the optimal ski environment. He
describes his first impression of Beech
Mountain.
“The scene was one of exceptional and
tranquil
beauty, which was one thing that drew
me to the
area,” Brigham says. “I guess you
might say I bugged them [the Robbins brothers
and Brigham’s partners in development] until
Grover said, ‘OK, we will do it if you will come
up and help us develop it.’ He was a visionary
somewhat like myself and should be given proper
credit for the success of Beech.”
Brigham sold the land to Grover and Harry
Robbins in 1962. With Brigham’s instinct and $16
million from the Robbins’ Carolina Caribbean
Corporation, Beech Mountain transformed into a
fully functional ski community with ski slopes,
a Bavarian-type village, chalets, roads (which
at that time exceeded the number of roads in
Boone), and other resort amenities.
|
Snow Making Lines |
27,500 |
Slopes |
15 |
|
Lifts |
10 |
Night Skiing Terrain |
100% |
|
Skiable Acres |
100 |
|
|
Considering slope grade, angle to the sun,
protection against wind and the aesthetic value,
Beech Mountain proved to be the first of many
successful southern skiing endeavors for Dr.
Brigham. He went on to scope out the location
for Sugar Mountain and ultimately Snowshoe in
West Virginia. Together with Grover and Harry
Robbins, Dr. Brigham opened Beech Mountain to
eager skiers in 1967. Over 2,000 people arrived
on opening day, 50% more than expected! “We had
one pair of size 12 ski boots in the rental
shop. This was the appropriate number for a
rental unit of our size. Wouldn’t you know six
people showed up wanting size 12! It seems the
Tall Peoples Club from Atlanta showed up as a
group to ski. They persevered, however, and
shared the boots during the day.” Southern
skiing was a success.
In 1985, Ray Costin purchased Ski Beech and
among other progressions, Ski Beech was the
first to allow snowboarders and the first to
boast a half pipe. Today Ski Beech features
27,500 snow making lines, new airless snowmaking
equipment, a 7,000 square foot ice skating rink,
night skiing on 100% of the terrain, 15 slopes,
10 lifts, 100 skiable acres, and the capacity to
facilitate 9,300 skiers per hour. Beech Mountain
is a bustling year round town with more than
2,000 homes on the mountain. Ski French-Swiss
has been around for it all; founded in 1969, we
know the mountain and its history well. Allow
Ski French-Swiss to host your Beech Mountain
North Carolina Ski Vacation.
If you have any questions or would like more
information, please give us a call at
828-963-7792, send us an
email, or use our
online request form. |
