GATLINBURG, Tenn. — It's time to hit the slopes!
Ober Gatlinburg opened for the season on Dec. 11 because the cold weather has made it possible for the Sevier County resort to get the snow made for skiers and snowboarders to enjoy.
Slopes had to close on Jan. 5 due to unseasonably warm temperatures but they reopened on Friday.
Cub Way, Castle Run, and Ski School are all open and when the ribbon was cut at noon Tuesday, locals were first in a race to the lifts.
“It feels pretty good. I wish they would have been open for a month already but everyone that does this wishes that,” Bryan Moneyhun, a season pass holder since 1997, said.
Hillary Ward Coats lives in Seymour and said she usually avoids the Gatlinburg area because of traffic and tourists, but when it comes to snowboarding on fresh powder she makes an exception.
“Being able to snowboard in our backyard,” she said. “Why wouldn’t we?”
Kate Barido, the director of Sales and Marketing for Ober Gatlinburg, said locals and employees alike have been itching to hit the slopes for weeks. “Everyone gets the ski and snowboard fever around Thanksgiving so we’ve been just waiting really,” she said.
While it has been cold lately, it has also been humid which has complicated efforts to make more snow, she said.
Slopes will be open from noon until 10 p.m. each day through December 20th. The one exception is on Sunday, Dec 16, when the slopes will close at 7 p.m.
Lift tickets are available for $36 for a full day, $29 for twilight, and $20 for a night through Dec. 20. Holiday Slope hours and rates resume on Friday, Dec. 21-Jan. 1, 2019.
The Snow Tubing Park, Cubbies Snow Zone, Ice Skating, Ice Bumper Cars (not available during holiday periods), The Shops at Ober, The Seasons of Ober Restaurant and the Loft Lounge are also open.
For more information, please check the website or call 1-800-MUCH-FUN.
See you on the slopes!