Some powder at Snowshoe. A skier enjoys six inches of new snow on Monday at Snowshoe. Photo provided by Snowshoe Mountain Resort.

It may only be mid-December, which is early in the ski season by east coast standards, but local resorts continue to benefit from cold temperatures and natural snow. West Virginia’s Snowshoe Mountain Resort became the first resort in the region to open 100% of its terrain on Tuesday, when Lower Shay’s Revenge opened. All 57 slopes and trails at the resort are now open, allowing Snowshoe to head into the upcoming holiday weekend for the first time in its history with all of its terrain available for skiing and boarding.

What does it take to cover 220 acres with an average base depth of 46-56 inches? Snowshoe passes much of the credit to Mother Nature, as well as a tireless snowmaking crew.

“Mother Nature provided us with excellent temperatures, allowing our snowmaking crews to make snow around the clock” during most of the past month, explained Bruce Pittet, Vice President and General Manager of Snowshoe. In less than a month Snowshoe has converted 120 million gallons of water into snow, while receiving nearly three feet of natural snowfall.

Due to the large amounts of snow necessary to open terrain parks and halfpipes, snowboarders often receive the short end of the stick early season. Not so this year, explains Snowshoe’s Ed Galford, Vice President of Mountain Operations.

“More and more of our visitors are snowboarders and we were dedicated this season to providing them a place to play as early as possible,” commented Galford. Snowshoe opened its 450-foot halfpipe at the Silver Creek area within the first week of the resort’s opening. The halfpipe now has walls reaching 12-feet in places, giving boaders ample opportunities to grab some air.

According to Snowshoe’s Joe Stevens, snowmaking during the day will be put on hold for awhile, due to Snowshoe’s healthy base leading into the holidays.

Stevens also hinted that two special guests will be visiting Snowshoe during the upcoming holiday, Old Saint Nick and “some guy in a green outfit” known as Mr. Grinch. With Snowshoe’s conditions right now, even Mr. Grinch will have little to complain about.