During the early 1960s, local leaders in western and northwestern
North Carolina were dedicated to developing winter recreational opportunities in the mountains. North Carolina's ski industry dates back to the winter of 1961-1962, when the Cataloochee resort in Maggie Valley developed the first ski slope in the state. Once thought impossible to make snow south of the Mason-Dixon Line, technological innovations in snowmaking allowed several other resorts to develop through the 1970s, including Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, Wolf Ridge, and Ski Sapphire Valley,...