Review Date
December 7, 2003

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
2-5

Reviewed by: Brad, Advanced

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
Appalachian Ski Mtn is probably THE BEST place to learn to ski/board. There are no kamikaze riders there because the runs are very short, and not real steep. The snow at Appalachian is ALWAYS the best in NC. They have a decent snowboard park. The place is catered to families. I probably won't ever ride here again, despite living 15 minutes from it. Too short, but excellent for beginners. They have an outdoor ice skating rink too. Student rates are cheap. I don't like this place because of the terrain, but the atmosphere and staff on the mountain make it pretty good I guess. The lift there is good too.

Review Date
May 5, 2001

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Countless times

Reviewed by: Lonnie, DoubleDiamond, from Sandy, UT

Summary:
O.K. folks here is the "Real Deal" review for this resort. I have also skied most of the resorts in the south east and have rated them all for comparison. I worked at Beech for many years. I will be very honest in my opinions. (And no, I wasn't fired, I moved to Utah to follow my skiing passion :-). My time at Beech got me a full time ski teaching job at powder heaven Alta, UT. So not all bad things come out of the SE. Well, here goes.

This is the best run resort in North Carolina. If they had the terrain that Beech, Sugar and Hawksnest have they would put everyone out of business. As a result of this, Appalachian is very good at guest service and snowmaking. The facilites are well kept. The lodge is a little small.

The downside of this place is it's size. There is not much that they can do about that however. There isn't a lot to do for upper level skiers. To the reviewer below, how do you expect them to improve their terrain. Maybe a little geologic uplift ???

If you are learing to ski and want to be taken care of, try Appalachian.

Folks have to look at southern ski areas for what they are. They are pretty good places to learn to ski. I would also say that if you can't get to a big resort, these places will do in a pinch. Don't go and expect Vail or Aspen. That is not the niche that southeastern ski hills play. You can very easily fall in love with a cool sport at one of these places. I know I did.

My Ratings are based on other resorts in the SE. For a National Rating please subtract 1 star.

Review Date
January 16, 2001

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
2-5 times

Reviewed by: Jess, Intermediate, from Florida

Summary:
Nice for someone who is a first-timer...gentle slopes are a good learning area...but can get boring fast. Great thing is there's so many resorts in such short travel distance.

Review Date
January 5, 2001

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
2-5 times

Reviewed by: Bill Middleton, Intermediate, from Atlanta, Georgia

Summary:
Super facilities and staff more than make up for smallish terrain. A great alternative to Beech/Sugar for the green and blue slope riders.

Review Date
December 28, 2000

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
Once

Reviewed by: Jay, Beginner, from Greensboro, NC, USA

Summary:
Appalachian is not that much fun. Its runs are way too short and there are very few runs that beg./int. skiers can go on. The day I went (over Christmas Holiday) they had 3 intermediate slopes open and everyone in the whole park seemed to be on them. Overall I will most likely never go there again as Sugar Mtn. is much more fun.