Mars Hill, Wolf Laurel (Asheville: school, living, dangerous)

[bamacrew]

We are moving to the Asheville area...
How hard is it to get out of Wolf Laurel community in the winter? We aren't talking WAY up the mountain, but as I understand, the whole community is a pretty high elevation.

[Opt-Out]

I live on the other side of the mountain in Yancey County (not in Wolf Laurel, but close). Here's a couple of things to consider when looking for a place:

* How far you are from a state maintained road makes a lot of difference. Once you get out to a US highway, you'll be just fine.
* School bus routes seem to get plowed earliest.
* What direction does the slope face. Steep northern-facing slopes get little-to-no melty sunshine in the dead of winter.

Equally important to the road is what you drive on it. Good tires are a must even on the 'best' roads as things can be unpredictable. Also, being in a hurry is super dangerous.

Elevation does make a difference. Our place is at about 3200ft, but we go up an over a cut through at over 4000ft. The difference a few hundred feet makes can be surprising.

Heaviest snows tend to be in the start or end of the season - basically when the Gulf of Mexico sends us warm, moist air that gets met with cold mountain temps.

Hope this helps. We love living out here and hope you will, too.

[roadpony]

Excellent advice above. I don't ski at Wolf Laurel, but I have to think that at least the main road in and out of Wolf Laurel would be well scraped/maintained during ski season so their customers can get there.