Who needs skis?
Winter resorts offer snowboarding, airboarding and a dip in the pool

by Otesa Middleton Miles
for Virginia Business Options
December 2006

Ski resorts aren't just for skiing anymore. There's snowboarding, snow-tubing and a new extreme sport called airboarding along with geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunt.

You can ignore the snow entirely at Massanutten and go swimming at its new, massive water park, which opened midway through last year's ski season. Complete with slides, boogie boarding, hot tubs and tube rides, the water park's indoor portion is open year round, while the outdoor area is reserved for summer fun. "In the winter it's fun to go skiing and then go play in the water park," says Joe Grandstaff, a spokesman for the sprawling mountainside resort.

The most popular water attraction: the Flow Rider, a boogie board-like ride that shoots streams of water and allows visitors to surf. "And if the weather's right you might be able to sneak in a little bit of golf too," says Grandstaff.

At Canaan Valley Resort in West Virginia the newest attraction is airboarding - described on the resort's Web site as "snowboarding on inflated air rockets." This so-called extreme sport uses inflatable boards shaped like body boards. Canaan also offers geocaching, which requires a GPS, global positioning system, to track down hidden goodies - called caches. If you don't have your own GPS unit, Canaan will rent you one for $8 for a half day or $12 for a full day.

There's good news for neophyte skiers at Wintergreen Resort, located in Nellysford about 45 minutes from Charlottesville. The resort added a new learning area for beginners. Before this separate area was set up, new skiers learned close to the advanced ski area, says Sarah Lovejoy, a Wintergreen spokeswoman. "You'd be taking a lesson and folks would ski past you," says Lovejoy. "This is a dedicated new learning area for beginners. They can go learn and fall and laugh and be separate from the advanced skiers."

But the resort can't offer skiing without snow and Wintergreen plans to add just that - more snow. A dozen new snowmaking machines will provide more snow coverage to advanced trails, allowing for more of the old-fashioned ski resort pastime -skiing.

BRYCE RESORT: Eight trails, 500-foot vertical drop, longest run: 3,500 feet. Adult lift ticket: $34 weekdays, $49 weekends and holidays. Tubing park: $16 weekdays, $20 weekends and holidays for almost two hours. Location: Basye, west of Interstate 81 and north of Harrisonburg. Details: (540) 856-2121, (800) 821-1444, or www.bryceresort.com.

THE HOMESTEAD: Nine trails, 700-foot vertical drop, longest run: 4,200 feet. Snow tubing, snowboarding, Olympic-size ice-skating rink, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, guided snowmobile tours. Adult lift ticket: $35 weekdays, $45 weekends for resort guests; $39 weekdays, $49 weekends for day visitors. Snow tubing: $20 for two hours for resort guests, $23 for day visitors. Location: Hot Springs. Details: (800) 838-1766 or www.thehomestead.com. Ski report: (540) 839-7800.

MASSANUTTEN: 14 trails; 1,110-foot vertical drop, longest run: 4,100 feet. Snowboard park, snow-tubing park. Adult lift ticket: $45 to $55 weekdays, $61 to $71 weekends and $64 to $74 holidays, $189 season pass (valid Sunday afternoon through Friday night). Adult full season pass $425. Snowtubing: $18 midweek, $22 weekends and holidays. Indoor/ outdoor water park now open. Location: 10 miles east of Harrisonburg. For current rates and details: (540) 289-4954 or www.massresort.com. Snow report: (800) 207-6277.

WINTERGREEN RESORT: 24 trails, 1,003-foot vertical drop, longest run: almost 7,400 feet. Terrain park with half pipe. Two snow-tubing parks. Adult lift ticket: $45 midweek, $61 weekends and $64 holidays, $199 season pass (valid Sunday afternoon through Friday night). Snowtubing: $18 midweek, $23 weekends for two hours on The Plunge; $18 weekends for two hours on The Slide. Location: in the Blue Ridge Mountains adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Details: (434) 325-2100 for ski information center, (800)266-2444 for overnight reservations. www.wintergreenresort.com.

CANAAN VALLEY: 37 trails, 850-foot vertical drop, longest run: 6,000 feet. Snowboarding, snow tubing, ice-skating and cross-country skiing. Adult full-day lift ticket: $40 weekdays, $60 weekends. Snow tubing: $13 to $15 for two hours. Location: near Davis, W.Va. Details: (800) 622-4121, (304) 866-4121, www.canaanresort.com.

SNOWSHOE MOUNTAIN RESORT: 57 trails, 1,500-foot vertical drop, longest run: 7,900 feet. Snowboard park, terrain park, snowmobiles, snowshoes, cross-country skiing, indoor/outdoor pool year round with slides. Adult lift ticket: weekdays $35 to $50, weekends $45 to $65; holidays $67, no separate price for day visitors. Snow tubing: $12 for two hours. Location: about 20 miles north of Marlinton, W.Va. Details: (877) 441-4386 for reservations, (304) 572-4636 for ski report or www.snowshoemtn.com.

TIMBERLINE: 37 trails, 1,000-foot vertical drop, longest trail: 10,500 feet. Terrain park, cross-country skiing, snowshoes. Adult lift ticket all day: $34-$40 midweek, $55 weekend. Location: near Davis, W.Va. Details: (800) 766-9464, (304) 866-4801, www.timberlineresort.com.

WISP RESORT: 32 trails, 700-foot vertical drop, longest trail 5,800 feet. Two terrain parks, snow tubing and one super pipe. Adult lift ticket: $39 midweek, $55 weekend and $59 holidays. Snow tubing: $15 midweek, $20 weekend. Wisp Card, $69 includes a lift ticket and season discounts. Location: near McHenry, Md. Details: (301) 387-4911 or www.wispresort.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ask if the resort offers lodging specials, night ski rates, lower rates for non-peak dates or discounts for military, students and senior citizens.