In leiu of taking our first trip out west, we decided to drive up to Snowshoe for 2 days/2 nights. It's just over 5 hours from us, 2 hours past Winterplace (where we've been 3 times already this year) and it's weather forecast was the best in the region for that weekend (vs. Wintergreen, Winterplace & my local 5) so we booked it and headed up the Smokies to WV.
We arrived Thursday night in dense fog at around 9:30. We took Hwy 219 direct from the Interstate, and I don't personally think it was too windy or anything, but I do live in the mountains of TN and our roads are just like that one. We did bring chains, but didn't need them, but could see easily needing them if the weather changed only slightly. It was freezing rain when we went but hovering around the freezing point..so it was crunchy slush.. no sudden stops but pretty good traction (Front WD Taurus).
I booked thru Central Reservations via their website and check in was SUPER easy & fast. The nice young girl who checked us in was a local but didn't ski or anything. We got 3 Keys to our Townhouse in the Shamrock complex. We drove to the 'house parked right in front basically and unloaded. We brought all our groceries (foil wrapped potatoes & steaks preseasoned in a ziplock bag, steambag veggies, frozen pizza, oatmeal/cereal bars & some tv dinners with asst drinks... if you care :))
The townhouse was bronze level, and at best it was "rustic". It was clean in the important places, the beds were comfortable and the kitchen had everything it could need (albeit cookware in better shape would've been nice). Wood fireplace was REALLY REALLY nice to have and if/when we go back we'll always book shamrock. The other major reason for that is the trail to the slopes, which we really enjoyed having. Made the walk to the slopes super easy, we skiied it the first time out but the snow melted not long after on our mini trail. Last note about the 'house... it was a 2 bd/2 ba.. it had a q bed & 2 bunks in one room, 1 q in another room upstairs, and 3 bunks in a CLOSET! :(.. seriously.. a closet. It was seriously overcrowded and my only injuries the entire trip were from bumping into furniture in this place!
Onto the Slopes!!!
We had mixed opinions... Hubby (pro) & Daughter (13 beg) really enjoyed the Silver Creek side, and I (Int.) really enjoyed the Snowshoe side better. I loved the idea of skiing from one side to the other, the high speed detachables & they had deeper snow. The Silver Creek side was smaller, shorter with less snow & slower lifts, IMO. The crowding was predictable at both places, Friday pretty empty & Saturday pretty crowded. Staying away from Ballhooter & the center slopes at Snowshoe when it's crowded is a GREAT tip. Silver creek did have a few neat places where you could go through the trees to cross over to a new slope but you gotta keep your eyes out for them. The lift attendants are really uptight over there because the lifts let off in such a small area and for some reason I'll never understand people are always standing around after they get off a lift; and not for a minute either... FOREVER!!!

We didn't even explore the village, and due to the dense fog on BOTH days we didn't even really SEE it at all! But that's ok by me.. we ski, sleep, eat & hang out together in front of the fire... the rest is a distraction.
Daughter did great skiing, kept up her learning curve & started hockey stops. She tackled the black at SC and realized the importance of keeping her CG in the right place. She did lose us once in the fog on the last run and ended up missing the entrance/exit and skiing on down to another lift. We waited a while for her but she never came. Hubby had to gear up again and go searching... fortunately he found her easily enough, she was a little worried about being lost in the fog but she just took off her skiies & waited in plain sight. Good girl.
I took a couple of dives in the slushy snow.. skiing the right edge of the slope to avoid the crowds on Saturday. Nothin major but hubby DID remind me that I had to be careful and I might be getting a little.. um.. what's the phrase...?
OVER CONFIDENT

It's true.. I've likely only skiied like 15 hours worth at this point.. I do feel
really confident.
Well.. that was the trip.. sorry no real pics due to dense fog both days other than the lovely deer that came to visit our back porch at the townhouse. The actually seemed to follow us from our Shamrock trail to the 'house. We fed them a sliced organic apple. (yes we eat organic
