Snowshoe Mountain West Virginia

I had the opportunity to ski for free at Snowshoe Mountain West Virginia today. It's about a 3 hour and 30 minute drive from Farmington. After Elkins West Virginia the roads are narrow and slow going so the trip seems to be longer then it is. The mountain is situated at about 4,800 feet which is very high for the east coast. They receive about 180 inches of snow annually but this year they are at 192 already. I could tell they rely on natural snow way more then Seven Springs does. They didn't have half the snow making equipment that springs does. The village of Snowshoe reminded me of North Star at Tahoe. Tons of shops and dining which put a cool vibe to the resort. It is owned by Intrawest which explains a lot. I skied the majority of the hill except for Silver Creek which is located a few miles down the road from Snowshoe. The Western Territory had 1,500 feet of vertical and was fantastic. There are only two runs there, Cupp Run and Shay's Revenge, both with steep pitches and good vertical. They are about double the length of Giant Steps. Everything else was very similar to Seven Springs but the overall steepness seemed better then Seven Springs. It is defiantly worth the trip down even if you go just to check out the Western Territory. The runs last about 12-15 minutes which is a lot longer then the runs around here. Cupp Run reminded me of Lower Wildcat at Laurel Mountain but much bigger. The nightlife seemed hopping too, I was there on a Tuesday and there were tons of people drinking Mountain State Brewery Beer at all the bars. Good Vibe.......Decent Skiing, if you get the chance go.