Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort

Charlie and I are not the best at celebrating romance. Charlie was so proud of himself this year because he made a Valentine's Day dinner reservation at Zinc. We didn't go. Instead we decided to go snowboarding and skiing at Snowshoe. We have been meaning to go skiing since we started dating in 2003. I have been a couple of times since then with various groups and Charlie and I went with a bunch of Girl Scouts courtesy of my mom.

Last year, I tried snowboarding for the first time. I decided to try it again this year figuring I had already broken my tailbone once and should be better this time around. No broken tailbone, just some gnarly bruises.

Snowshoe is a decent drive away from Charlottesville. Our Garmin took us to Snowshoe via curvy and steep mountain roads that made me want to jump out of the moving car, but we made it (stomach intact) in just under 3 hours.

The mountain is huge and has a good variety of slope difficulty. I stuck with the green slopes as I didn't want to end up in the emergency room on Valentine's Day. The runs are long and criss-cross all over the place, making finding your way back to the starting point a little difficult. After misplacing Charlie for at least an hour, I figured I should head back up to our meeting spot for our lunch date at 1. I got there an hour later at 1:30 after two bus rides and quite a hike. The ski patrol recommended taking one of 4 bus routes to get back to the other side of the resort rather than attempting to find my way back using the slopes and lifts. I still have no clue where I was or how I got there.

We stuck towards the purple side of the mountain for the rest of the day (each section is color coded) near where we parked the car. The lounge on the purple end was pretty small and did not have that cozy lodge vibe I have felt at other resorts. The only seating area was in the Hoots bar where they served hot dogs, hamburgers, wraps, and plenty of liquor. Charlie and I both had cheeseburgers (that I do not recommend). Next time we'll have to check out the other section's lodges and restaurants.

In regards to pricing, Snowshoe is pretty standard. Lift tickets are $70 for a weekend and there are plenty of rental options. I think a multiple day pass is a better way to go and a better deal than a one day pass, but we had a lot of fun.

Next time we'll try a multiple day trip and check out renting one of the slopeside rentals - New Years trip??