Candlers Mtn. ski slope slated for Aug. 29 grand opening

Liberty University plans to celebrate the grand opening of its new Snowflex ski slope with a public event of professional exhibitions and open skiing on Aug. 29, the college announced Thursday.

The exhibitions will feature professional skiers and snowboarders from the United States and England, the announcement states. Afterward, the slopes will open for skiing, snowboarding and tubing down the mountain.

The roughly $4 million artificial ski slope includes three jumps and later will be expanded to the top of Candlers Mountain, said Lee Beaumont, director of auxiliary services.

The site also includes an 8,000-square-foot rental service building, complete with close to 100 mounted animals donated to the school.

Beaumont previously has said that the slope would open to alumni on Aug. 1, and to the general public on Aug. 2.

The grand opening event afterward would be meant to excite the community and draw in people who can see the ski surface’s capabilities first-hand, Beaumont has said.

“It’s real soft,” he said in a recent interview. “It’s so cushy, people don’t realize how springy it is.”

Sometime in mid-August, the school is planning a grand-opening event that will include a show from professional skiers who will demonstrate the surface’s capabilities, Beaumont said.

“We’re going to invite everybody,” he said.

The slope is the first one of its kind fully built on the continent, he said, and has drawn the attention of international media.

The Discovery Channel, among others, has shown an interest and is scheduled to shoot footage of the slope next week, Beaumont has said.

“It’s radical,” he said.