Amidst the billions of dollars of destruction, Sandy’s fury brought a glimmer of good news to the mid-Atlantic ski region by dropping several feet of snow and firing up skiers. Heavy and wet snow pounded the Appalachian Mountains from the Carolinas to Pennsylvania. West Virginia got hit hardest with more than two feet in many locations, while Gatlinburg, Tenn., had the highest total with 34 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

“Any time you can get a ski area open early in the South it gets the whole community excited,” says Jochl, who was fielding calls from Florida skiers eager to hit the slopes this weekend. “People are buying season passes, skis, jackets, you name it.”

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Photo courtesy of: Sugar Mountain