Snow Tubing

When the snow flies, we all want to get out in it - build snowmen, throw snowballs, and, most of all, slide down a hill with the greatest of ease.

North Carolina is blessed with some excellent ski resorts, just a couple of hours from Charlotte. The temptation to jump in the car and head for the hills is strong.

But skiing and snowboarding require lessons and expensive equipment, with steep learning curves that can leave you with strains, sprains or worse.

What the world of winter sports needed was an easy, low-cost, all-ages activity that minimizes dangerous spills and long, cold lift lines.

Enter snow tubing, the popular new winter activity sweeping ski resorts all over the country.

Although a similar activity, snow tubing has one great advantage over the tube water slides found in waterparks all over the country - you don't have to climb back up to the top to go again. Ski areas have lifts.

Snow tubing is a fun sport that any klutz can do, great if you can't stand up on skis or a board.

You sit in an inner tube with a sling seat that keeps your nether regions off the snow, or, if you're daring, lie on the tube face down, and schuss down icy hillsides of varying degrees of steepness and bumps.

This is a super family activity for those snow days in Charlotte.

"Mom, we're bored, what can we do today?" If you've had enough, bundle the kids up in the SUV and head for the North Carolina high country. (They plow roads up there regularly, so once you get out of Charlotte, it's a smooth ride.)

We went to Sugar Mountain in Banner Elk on a snowy Sunday and had no trouble negotiating the highways, but watch those mountain curves as they can be tight and unexpected.

Sugar Mountain Ski Resort's snow tubing park runs down a steep hill onto the golf course. The five tube runs, graded from easy to steep, are about 700 feet long, with two cable lifts to winch you back up to the top while you sit leisurely in your tube.

RETURN TO TOP

Snow tubing sessions only last about two hours, then they groom the slopes for the next batch of sliders. But by then you're probably ready for a hot cocoa and a rest in the Sugar Mountain Ski Lodge where you can watch skiers and boarders come down the hillside as you eat.

If you're looking for something a little more warming, Banner Elk is no longer in a "dry" county, and the lodge's bar features a variety of hot drinks, as well as a signature draft.

Tubing runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. most days, in two hour increments. Sugar's tubing park is well lit to allow for night-time fun.

You can also tube at several other North Carolina ski areas, including Beech Mountain, Wolf Ridge, Cataloochee, and Sapphire Valley. Two resorts - Hawksnest, the largest tubing park on the East Coast, and Scaly Mountain, on the border with Georgia - dedicate themselves exclusively to tubing.

Other winter sports are taking hold as well.

Appalachian, Sugar, SkiBeech and Scaly both offer day and evening ice-skating on their outdoor, lighted rinks.

Bring your own sled and slide for free from 8 am to 10 pm at the sled run next to the Town Hall in the village of Beech Mountain, home of the highest ski resort in the east. A snow gun makes sure that bare spots get covered for a great family experience. Local stores stock plenty of sleds if you left yours back home.

Another winter sport you can try is snowshoeing. Sugar Mountain offers rentals and expeditions.

Skiing, snowboarding and tubing areas in the mountains around Boone include:

Sugar Mountain

Ski Beech

Appalachian Ski Mountain

Hawksnest

Jonas Ridge Snow Tubing

Another group of resorts in the mountains near Asheville offer family-friendly fun, as well.

Cataloochee in Maggie Valley

Wolf Ridge, near Mars Hill

Sapphire Valley near Cashiers

Scaly Mountain on the Georgia border

Moonshine Mountain Snow Tubing Park & Indian Mining Adventure in Hendersonville

Check www.skinc.com or www.goskinc.com for overviews of the resorts in North Carolina, plus snow conditions, road conditions, dining and lodging options, and special deals.

Tips for Fun in the Snow

1. Dress in layers on both top and bottom: an outer shell of wind and waterproof material over insulating layers of long underwear, sweaters or fleece keeps you both dry and warm.

2. Wool or synthetic fleece is warm even when wet; cotton is not.

3. Bring your snow boots if you plan to tube. Tubing runs often don't permit ski boots.

4. Use sunscreen and lip balm rated for UV protection.

5. Goggles or wrap-around sunglasses help you see through snow or sun glare.

6. Always wear gloves.

7. Wear a hat. You lose 75% of your body heat through the top of your head.

8. Don't overdo it. Take a break to re-fuel and rest.

9. Bring along a full set of dry clothes, including socks, for the ride home.

(adapted from SkiBeech.com)