Southern skiers reveling in snow blast

The Estate includes a mansion, gardens, inn and special seasonal events. The Christmas decorations, which can be seen through Jan. 3, are impressive in their color, variety and rich historic value. Chandeliers are festooned with live greenery and velvet ribbons, poinsettias line paths and walkways; musical performances are regularly scheduled throughout the house and glittering gifts surround towering Christmas trees.

About 40 minutes from Asheville, you’ll find Hot Springs Resort and Spa, where staffer Abe Trammell said, “We’ve got sort of oddball lodging, but it all seems to work somehow.”

Guests have their choice of anything from campsites to the honeymoon suite complete with red heart-shaped tub. But locals don’t go to Hot Springs for the lodging. They go for the, yup, hot springs.

A series of hot tubs are dotted in the woods and along a river. The tubs are filled with the mineral water that bubbles up out of the ground. Massages also are offered and can be a comforting end to a long day of hard skiing.

Hitting the slopes is not only an adventure for visitors and residents alike, it’s also big business for the Tar Heel State. The latest figures available are from the 2002-2003 season and they show that skiing generated more than $120 million — all of that in about 100 days. The ski season in North Carolina runs from about Thanksgiving through the middle of March.

Most of the ski areas are smack in the middle of Christmas tree growing country. North Carolina is the nation’s second leading producer, behind Oregon, of Christmas trees. As you drive to the ski areas deep in the mountains, you’ll see the farms along the roadways crowded with Christmas trees in different stages of development — from the tiniest seedlings to mature specimens.

There is no shortage of accommodations in all price ranges — from the luxury of the Biltmore Estate to more rustic and charming inns and hotels throughout the region and at the ski areas.
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If You Go…

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA SKI GUIDE: http://www.wncguide.com/attractions/ski.html

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA SKI AREAS AND CONDITIONS, WITH LINKS TO MAJOR SKI AREAS: http://www.skinorthcarolina.com/

SUGAR MOUNTAIN: Sugar Mountain, N.C., http://www.skisugar.com/ or 828-898-4521.

CATALOOCHEE SKI AREA: Maggie Valley, N.C., http://www.cataloochee.com/ or 828-926-0285.

APPALACHIAN SKI MOUNTAIN: Blowing Rock, N.C., http://www.appskimtn.com/ or 828-295-7828.

BLOWING ROCK, N.C.: http://www.blowingrock.com/

HOT SPRINGS RESORT AND SPA: http://www.nchotsprings.com/

GETTING THERE: Airports in Asheville, N.C., Charlotte, N.C., Greenville, S.C., and Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Tennessee, along the Tennessee-Virginia line, are all within an easy drive, though snowy weather slows down travel time on the mountain roads.