Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine

Dr. Tom Brigham, the original owner of Sugar Mountain, Ski Beech, and Snowshoe Mountain Resort, passed away recently at the age of 83. Brigham, an Atlanta-born dentist, became an expert skier while living in Vermont and actively pursued his pastime after relocating back in the South. Convinced the higher elevations of the North Carolina mountains had accommodating temperatures, he introduced snowmaking to North Carolina in the ‘60s, ushering in the modern age of Southern Skiing. He developed Ski Beech in 1967, and later went on to develop Sugar and Snowshoe Mountain.