Downhill and out

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On a balmy afternoon more fit for golf and tennis than skiing, the slopes were again slushy Wednesday at Snowshoe Mountain.

It’s been that way for weeks at West Virginia’s largest ski resort, mired in a stretch of springlike weather that came in with the new year.

“The conditions are marginal,” Snowshoe spokesman Joe Stevens acknowledged as temperatures crept to nearly 60 degrees. “The snowmakers and groomers have done everything they possibly can to keep us open.”

Throughout Appalachia — where resorts bill themselves as a cheaper alternative to heading west for powder skiing — conditions read pretty much the same: wet or granular, with snow depths in inches rather than feet. Operators have been forced to cut back hours, rebook reservations and keep a straight face to hard-core skiers.

“Obviously it’s been pretty challenging. We had a really good start to the season — really good stuff until the new year,” said Chris Dudding, marketing director Ski Roundtop in Lewisberry, Pa. “Then it got warm and wet, and caused a shift in interest among customers.”

Roundtop, Liberty Mountain Resort and Whitetail Mountain Resort are owned and operated by Ski Time, a York, Pa., company.

None of the resorts has received any natural snow yet, but machine-made snow sufficed through December and the slopes were 70 percent to 80 percent open as of yesterday, Mr. Dudding said. Cold weather today is expected to help.

“We are anxiously anticipating [Friday] night. We will start making snow around-the-clock,” Mr. Dudding said.

Overall income and attendance were about 6 percent behind last season’s levels, Mr. Dudding said.

“A lot of people seem shocked about that. But the second half of December was great,” he said.

John Anderson of Belmont, N.C., was disappointed upon arriving Tuesday night with relatives at Winterplace Ski Resort in Ghent, W.Va.

“They’re usually good conditions this time of year,” he said. “They were not so good once we got up here. It’s getting wetter by the day.”

His group came to Winterplace a year ago when Mr. Anderson said “it was snowing to beat the band.” They had such a good time that they immediately made reservations to return this year.

“It’s a gamble you take,” Mr. Anderson said. “I figure we’re back to about even.”

Slopes at some resorts in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Tennessee have been shut for more than a week, with operators hoping to reopen when lower temperatures return.

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