touring in NC/TN/VA, anyone?

[stealurface831]

Okay, this thread is probably going nowhere and will be laughed at by you westerners (and Northeasterners for that matter) but I am stuck in NC for at least another winter and want to fill the void left by the few weeks I get to spend out west each year. I want to tour. It is possible. This is something that people do, or have done, at least. Elk Knob and Roan seem to be the two most popular spots but I think there is more out there than can be ascended and descended. Basically, bald face peaks are all that have been done but I think there is opportunity in the trees. I already have some ideas but they are all contingent on a decent snow season and an annual anomaly of a storm. It is a fickle endeavor to be sure and will involve careful route planning and weather watching but is anyone in the area and down? The downhill will not be great but the trips themselves would likely make for some great times and a few would certainly be first descents.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I don't have any advice on routes but:

https://nyskiblog.com/skiing-catskil...-winter-peaks/

There of lots of cool and weird ways to go BC skiing. Many of those 3500' peaks in the Catskills are not skiable by any reasonable definition, but I bet those guys had a great time.

You might be better of with some Hoks than a traditional touring setup.

[blackalps]

I'm in upstate South Carolina right now. I grew up out here. My honest advice would be to get into mountain biking if you aren't already. Pisgah is up there with some of the best trails I've ridden out west. The skiing here is not great.

[ridinshockgun]

Possible? Yes in an amazing once every 10 year snow year you might have about a 24 hour window for some fun.... and otherwise some skipping at the spots you mentioned. If you're creative yeah you can have some fun.

As for the trees, I have one word for you... Rhododendron. Even with 3-4 feet of snow which is the most you'll ever see on the ground it still isn't enough to cover it and the creeks.

Better idea - go ride your bike or get into whitewater boating - the winter "touring" is much better on a mountain bike in those parts.

Below was from one of those once every 10 years storms, about 40-50" on the ground at Newfound Gap as I recall. It was an epic bushwhack and hike out that will never be forgotten and will bring up hysterical uncontrollable laughter from those involved to this day. Ironically, it was exactly 10 years ago this winter

It did however, result in an epic week of whitewater boat riding very shortly thereafter which was in fact world class, unlike the skiing.

[stealurface831]

Welp, at least I will get a few weeks out west. If I could afford a MTB, I would hop all over that but those shits are expensive.

[blackalps]

Welp, at least I will get a few weeks out west. If I could afford a MTB, I would hop all over that but those shits are expensive.

you don't need an expensive full suspension to have fun on a bike here. You can ride Dupont and most of the other trail systems in this area with a hardtail. In fact, unless you're riding Pisgah, I actually think a FS makes the trails boring. A lot of it you could ride on a gravel bike.

[zion zig zag]

you don't need an expensive full suspension to have fun on a bike here. You can ride Dupont and most of the other trail systems in this area with a hardtail. In fact, unless you're riding Pisgah, I actually think a FS makes the trails boring. A lot of it you could ride on a gravel bike.

I rode Pisgah on a 1990's Mongoose Rockadile. And had a shit ton of fun.

[blackalps]

I rode Pisgah on a 1990's Mongoose Rockadile. And had a shit ton of fun.

yeah i'm not saying you can't have fun on a hardtail in Pisgah. I personally wouldn't want to do Bennett on one, but I'm sure people do. I'm mostly just saying that the vast majority of trails in NC/SC/VA/TN don't require an expensive FS.

[zion zig zag]

Oh I agree, I'd definitely want a full sus now, but I was 16 and didn't have a choice.

[cat in january]

West Virginia

[teledave]

It was an epic bushwhack and hike out that will never be forgotten and will bring up hysterical uncontrollable laughter from those involved to this day.

Yes, it was and it does.

TN tree skiing.



Also, check the powerline cuts on lookers right at Beech Mtn, Dolly Sodds and Whitegrass near Davis WV, there's some old glades at Snowshoe that aren't too terribly grown up. In reality, you're pretty much on the right track for NC touring though it's all pretty much around the Roan Mtn area.

[Sirshredalot]

Yes, it was and it does.

TN tree skiing.



Also, check the powerline cuts on lookers right at Beech Mtn, Dolly Sodds and Whitegrass near Davis WV, there's some old glades at Snowshoe that aren't too terribly grown up. In reality, you're pretty much on the right track for NC touring though it's all pretty much around the Roan Mtn area.

I've skied the Whitegrass area. It's fun when there is snow, but it must be a bitch of a drive from NC. It's pretty far north in WV.

I'd aim for a 29er aggressive hardtail, maybe a single speed, if you're looking for an affordable entree to mid-Atlantic mountain biking.

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[river59]

Isn't there a "ski area" in Gatlinburg? Wonder if they have an open boundary policy?

Went up mt le conte one fall years ago and woke up to a couple feet of surprisingly high quality powder. No base obviously, but you could have had fun on something extra wide.

[BS720]

I remember one year there was a track up the backside of Le Conte. Seems to me it was wide enough to be a skin track, but was roughly fifteen years ago. I went out Charlie's Bunion for a run. Trail was wet, but very little snow. I think it was in April. The track followed a road up the TN side of Le Conte, and we'll shaded, so still plenty of coverage.

[tetzen]

Looking forward to this TR in 3-4 months.

[Self Jupiter]

Yes, it was and it does.

TN tree skiing.



Also, check the powerline cuts on lookers right at Beech Mtn, Dolly Sodds and Whitegrass near Davis WV, there's some old glades at Snowshoe that aren't too terribly grown up. In reality, you're pretty much on the right track for NC touring though it's all pretty much around the Roan Mtn area.

Bigly twigly, thanks for the stoke

[smartyiak]

I'd aim for a 29er aggressive hardtail, maybe a single speed, if you're looking for an affordable entree to mid-Atlantic mountain biking.

I was gonna type: Pinkbike classified might be your friend.

[Sirshredalot]

I was gonna type: Pinkbike classified might be your friend.

Yep. Or if you've got an active local club with online buy/sell. There must be something like that in RDU or Asheville.

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[teledave]

Isn't there a "ski area" in Gatlinburg? Wonder if they have an open boundary policy?

Lol. Ober Gatlinburg is totally dependent on man made, and struggles to do that. They get an occasional few inches of snow but off piste there is also called dirt. Low altitude (2K'ish), south facing, and plagued by temperature inversions; outside of a built in customer base of church groups and Boy Scouts you would hard pressed to find a worse place to put a ski area. Learned to ski there in 1974; I'd bet I have around a thousand days there through the years.

[thefortrees]

https://whitegrass.com/wp-content/up...-smallfile.jpg