Liberty plans all-day celebration for ski slope

LYNCHBURG -- In a stunt that could come straight from a James Bond movie, professional skydiver Jim McCormick will parachute jump from an airplane over Candlers Mountain on Saturday, and -- if all goes as planned -- land on Liberty University's new Snowflex ski slope.

The feat is part of an all-day celebration marking the grand opening of the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, a synthetic ski slope more than three years in the making that opened Aug. 1. The slopes will be open to the public for skiing, snowboarding and tubing.

"It's been such a long road. It's nice to see it come to fruition," said Lee Beaumont, director of auxiliary services, who has been involved with the project since its infancy.

The roughly $4 million center is the first of its kind to be fully built in North America. It has drawn attention from international media, including a documentary in progress by the Discovery Channel.

The gates open at 10:30 a.m. Saturday for tours, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. with a lineup of speakers that includes Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr., Snowflex inventor Brian Thomas and professional snowboarder JJ Thomas, who won an Olympic bronze medal in 2002.

The day's climax is a freestyle exhibition from 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. that will feature more than 20 professional skiers and snowboarders from the United States and England.

Unlike resorts that rely on cool weather for natural or manmade snow, Snowflex will be open year-round. The slopes are made from a high-tech, carpet-like surface designed to simulate snow.

The site includes a ski lodge with rental services, a "bunny slope" for beginners and a main slope of 500 feet with separate lanes for general skiing, boarding and freestyle.

The university plans to extend the slope to the top of the mountain by November, Beaumont said. Two tubing runs are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Liz Barry is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.