Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
On December 19, 1974, Snowshoe Mountain Resort officially opened for business. In the past 50 years, the resort has seen the addition of slopes, lifts and recreational activities to make it a year-round resort.
It has changed hands several times and has withstood many other changes.
Now, 50 years later, it will celebrate all the ups and downs, and the people that have made it the resort it is today.
Marketing director Shawn Cassell said plans have been in motion for at least a year now, gearing up to a big celebration this winter season.
“There’s going to be a lot of 50th themed stuff all season long,” he said. “The real anniversary will be December 19-22. December 19 is the original date. It’s a Thursday, so we’re going to keep things going through the weekend.”
The marketing department has been working on a special 50th anniversary tab on the website where there is a timeline that begins with West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company logging the area in 1901 and continues to the installation of the newly rebuilt Powder Monkey lift on December 9, 2023.
The in between stories are being filled in by those who know them best – the people who were there.
“We’ve been working on this Snowshoe Stories campaign – sitting down and doing short interviews with people who have been here for the vast majority of the fifty years,” Cassell said. “We’re going to start putting those out and keep those going through the winter.”
Those interviews will be included on social media and the anniversary page of Snowshoe’s website, alongside stories that can be submitted by anyone who has a story to tell.
Also on the website is a photo gallery featuring a slew of scanned photos from the “good ol’ days.”
“In our office in the basement of Mountain Lodge, there are boxes and cabinets full of photos,” Cassell said. “About this time last year, we started getting digital scans of as many of those as we could.”
Among the photos are several portraits of Dr. Thomas “Doc” Brigham who is known as the Father of Southern Skiing and is also the founder of Snowshoe.
“You look at the history of the resort – it doesn’t exist without him,” Cassell said. “It took a lot of guts to go out on a limb there. Doc Brigham also founded Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain in North Carolina. It’s been the same story at every stop – he just loved to build one, but didn’t always manage the money very well. He wouldn’t be the last to not manage the money well.”
This, of course, led to the resort going bankrupt and changing hands several times.
Now owned by Alterra Mountain Company, the resort is stronger than ever and continues to be a shining example of what can happen when you dream big.
Those interested in sharing their story about Snowshoe may do so at snowshoemtn.com/50th-anniversary
