The gang decided to hit the slopes the final weekend of February to get one last ski trip in for the season. While typically pretty late in the NC ski season, we got incredibly lucky with some great conditions and weather, making for an epic three days.
We landed on a two bedroom AirBnb just a couple miles from the center of Boone in the town of Banner Elk. The place was literally on the side of a mountain–a steep gravel incline the only way in or out. Thankfully we brought my four wheel drive vehicle for this trip and were able to traverse with relative ease. The house was three different levels that had a jacuzzi and pool table on the first floor, the main living and kitchen area on the second, and a loft-type third bedroom and bath on the top floor. The house was secluded and warm; I could’ve stayed for much, much longer.
My girlfriend Olivia and I arrived late Thursday evening after she got off work around 8. After a quick rinse in the jacuzzi and a solid night’s rest, we decided on Beech Mountain for our first day of riding. I had only skied Sugar Mountain in the area, so I was excited to experience a new resort. We got super lucky with the weather as both mountains reported snow each day in the ballpark of 3-4″, in addition to the man-made snow they were blowing the entire trip. The snow-making turned out to be somewhat a nuisance but it was a small price to pay for the excellent conditions.
As the girls chose to stay behind with the pups, the bro and I shredded Beech pretty hard. I was surprised by the decent amount of variety; maybe 3-4 different runs we could choose from, all off the same lift. Each run had great snow, a mix of man-made and natural. There were a few little jumps and off-trail sections we hit that made for some awesome fun. All in all, we made about 8 or 9 different laps down the mountain, culminating with a beer at the highest bar this side of the Mississippi (so they say). We called it an early day around two and headed for the rental home.
From there, we grabbed a quick lunch at the crib and hit the tub. There is nothing better than a warm hot tub after a day on the slopes. Thankfully, the jacuzzi was super nice and very clean, just as the rest of the AirBnb was. After a quick shower, Olivia and I decided to head into town to grab a rental board for her to ride the following morning. After checking out some of the boards while waiting to be helped, Olivia fell in love with one of the pre-built setups. About an hour later, she was the proud owner of a new snowboard, boots, and bindings. Plot twist! Upon return, grill master Rhett took to the Weber to cook us up some burgers for dinner. A couple drinks and a few board games later, we were all ready to hit the hay.
Since the dogs can never let us have our sleep, we were once again up early Saturday morning. This was fine by me, as I was anxious to get back out on the slopes after another night of snowfall. This time, we decided on Sugar as it was about 15 minutes closer to where we were staying. Olivia and I went early and took a few laps before meeting up with my brother and his girlfriend Logan, as she still had to rent gear. We arrived around 9:15 and got some great early morning turns in.
This year, Sugar debuted a brand new high speed quad lift on their beginner slope. It was a very welcome change, as we carved up “Easy Street” multiple times to get warmed up. Halfway through, we met up with one of Olivia’s good friends and her boyfriend and ended up riding together for the remainder of the day. A few more laps on the bunny slope and we were ready to conquer the main lift. Thankfully, everyone handled it just fine and we ended up taking multiple laps before meeting up with the bro. We all did one last group run on Easy Street and decided to call it a day.
Returning home to another rinse in the jacuzzi, Olivia and I showered and headed back into town to pickup a Mellow Mushroom pizza for the evening. Mellow never disappoints, and this evening was no different. With everyone’s bellies full, we put on a Netflix show and began to sink into the couch. Another relaxing end to a fantastic day.
Sunday morning clean-up was tough as none of us were ready to head home. We sluggishly got ourselves together and packed up our things. After a quick pitstop at Bojangles on the way out of town, we were back on the road. Unfortunately it was a quick trip, but it was much needed. Everyone had an awesome time, all the dogs got along great, and it was overall just a nice escape from the grind in Raleigh. I feel super fortunate to have this beautiful place just a short three hour’s drive down I-40.
– Walker
Texas-Ranger Travels 