Appalachian Mountain Dreams

Winter: A “Secret Season” in the South’s Loftiest National Parks | National Parks Traveler

Great Smoky Mountains National Park The Smokies might lie pretty far south—but no other mountains lie to the west to sap the snow from storms. The Smokies’ ridge is so abrupt and massive—rising from 1,000 feet near Gatlinburg to nearly 7,000 feet—that the highest peaks can get hammered by big snow in even marginal conditions. Snowstorms often interrupt travel across

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Roan Mountain In Winter

The first time I drove up to Carver’s Gap in the winter in search of skiable snow, I should’ve known that “Nordic Nirvana,” as I later called it, was hidden just behind the two feet of spring snow being chewed up by rowdy four-wheelers on the road up Roan Mountain. A crowd of crazies from back in the hollers seemed

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