It had been a few years since my last trip to Wintergreen, so during a recent holiday party, when a few friends suggested a quick strike into the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I was immediately on board.

It would be my first trip this season, which for me, prescribed a restless night before. I bided the hours on the couch; supplementing brief naps with last-minute gear checks and the inspiring antics on Fuel TV. When 4:30 am rolled around, the dogs were in the back yard and fed, and I was on my way to the Oceanfront to meet my companions; Kerby, Bob, and LG.

I arrived at the designated spot shortly after the designated time. After handshakes and a little shit-giving (these are punctual guys; I’m not), gear and bodies were piled into the truck, and we started west. Midway, we pulled off Interstate 64 near Charlottesville to grab some breakfast at “The Throne Room,” as LG refers to Burger King. After some quick eats, (I highly recommend the new funnel cake sticks) we jumped back in the truck for the short final leg of the ride.

Turning right at the Ski Barn in the Stony Creek valley, we started up the nearly 4,000-feet high mountain. Up the series of switchbacks alongside the valley’s namesake creek, we pulled into the parking lot just before the slopes opened at 9.

In the lot, we hurriedly donned all the appropriate gear for the 30-degree weather, and made our way to the mountain village to pick up lift tickets. The line was long, and it quickly became apparent we wouldn’t make the first lift. Fortunately, this season Wintergreen has introduced a new flex-ticketing plan. Exceptionally beneficial for those prone to riding the infamous “Last Lift” a little too late into the night, every lift ticket is time stamped and is valid for either four or eight hours from the time you pick it up. Doesn’t matter what time you decide to start your day; you get a full session, and the chance to make every turn you’re paying for.

On the way to the slopes, we ducked through the rental shop. Kerby had to pay a visit to a different sort of throne room. As we waited, I couldn’t help noticing how quickly and effortlessly people were getting set up with their rental gear. It wasn’t at all like the cattle house clusterfuck I’d remembered. Come to find out, Wintergreen has now made their rental process paperless. All the rentals are now processed electronically. This new system evidently saves not only trees, but lots of time and hassle as well.

Business finished, we broke through the back doors and into a sea of white, both on the ground and in the air. Thanks to the exceptionally cold weather global warming has blessed us with this season, Wintergreen’s been able to run their state-of-the-art computerized snow-making system basically 24/7 since opening day. During our visit, the snow guns were indeed running–somewhat annoyingly–all day long. I guess you take the good with the bad. Hopefully, being pelted by blowing snow all day in December means plenty will still be around in March.

We strapped in and made haste for the resort’s highlands area, where windy conditions had left the exposed slopes largely void of snow. Not yet trusting our ice legs, we spent the better part of the morning bombing runs on the other side of the mountain, near Wintergreen’s newest all-season attraction. Imaginatively named, “The Zip” is well, a zip line. Sending riders down a 900-feet descent at speeds up to 40 mph in less than 30 seconds, I’m sure it’s loads of fun. For $12 a ride, however, I expect more than 30 seconds of excitement. Maybe I’d give it a go in warmer weather, but we were clocking higher speeds with Kerb’s GPS on Eagle Swoop.

Being economical lads laden with holiday leftovers, we skipped the always pricey resort dining, opting instead to head back to the truck where a feast of turkey, tuna, and Gatorade awaited.

With a turkey sandwich settling nicely in my stomach, I left the boys and made my way to the Snowsports School, where I met with Wintergreen’s Director of Mountain Operations, Todd Clarke. Todd told me about the guaranteed Learn to Ski/Ride program. Simply put, after taking a lesson at Wintergreen, you’ll be turning and stopping, or the next one’s free. As an erstwhile snowboarding instructor myself, I can attest to the advantages garnered from skilled instruction. I don’t doubt the staff at Wintergreen makes good on their guarantee.

"The Zip"

Given snowboarding’s incredible rise in popularity during the last decade, I ask Todd about the ratio of snowboarding lessons to skiing lessons taught. Though the mix varies from day to day, he tells me, “When you analyze it at the end of the year, it’s three alpine to one snowboard.” This surprised me. But then I recalled how I learned. Like me, a great number of first-time snowboarders either try to learn on their own or get friends to teach them. Some might argue that this is a good thing–that it reflects the independent spirit that is typically drawn to the sport. The downside is that resorts use statistics, like the number of lessons they teach in a given discipline, to inform their business decisions.

I left the Snowsports School and rallied to the bottom, where I met back up with LG, Bob, and Kerby. We took a few cursory laps through the park. Considering all the improvements the resort had made since my last visit, I still found the terrain park lacking in scope and poorly maintained. I wondered if the smaller number of snowboarding lessons the resort teaches has any bearing on this, or if possibly, a better park would have more people interested in snowboarding lessons. The condition of the park was probably a good thing on this visit, however. The last thing I needed was to hurt myself.

With a couple of more trips on the Big Acorn lift–the last of which had us stopped for an eternity on the wrong end of a snow gun–we were finished. Cold, tired, and utterly content, I walked back to the truck. After a hectic couple of holiday weeks, this quick strike to nearby Wintergreen was exactly what I needed: joining a few good friends for some good turns and a great day on the mountain.