Snowshoe Tower Restoration

Mountain Times Profile:

Snowshoe Fire Tower keeps a silent eye on the mountains

This article appeared in the Mountain Times, a monthly tourism supplement to our weekly county newspaper, The Pocahontas Times.

To view the Mountain Times online, click here (link to http://www.pocahontastimes.com/mtntimes/.)

The Tower (Sunny Givens)

Look east from the Village and you may see a silver glint that is the Snowshoe Fire Tower. Standing 80 feet talk on the ridge atop, it is a silent sentinel, providing just one more thing to do in a day's adventure at the resort.

That's what it's there for, according to Ed Galford, Snowshoe's Vice President of Operations.

The tower, originally located on Rich Mountain west of Beverly, was built in the mid-1930s. It was in disrepair when Snowshoe purchased it in 1999 for $1 from the Department of Natural Resources. They dismantled it (numbering the parts), reconditioned it to factory specs, repainted it, replaced the wood, and reassembled it in the summer of 2000.

The 80 foot height is marked by 80 steps and nine landings, each progressively narrower as you ascend.

The lookout itself is about nine-by-nine. To the east affords views of Virginia on a clear day. Also, eastward are the bald Knob Fire Tower, and Wesley Chapel Road. Looking north you'll spot the old town of Spruce and if you look to the west you'll see two of the three faces of Snowshoe. Widowmaker is on the far left (south), and on the next mountain top at the far right (north) you can see Silver Creek and its slake and stables.

The tower is located about two miles past the Back Country Hut, or about four-and-a-half miles from Top of the World.

Andy Gibson and his husky, Balto, were my tour guides for this adventure and we were privileged to have use of one of the Outdoor Adventure Program's Hydrotraxx, a six-wheeled, hydraulic-powered buggy, which took us far as the Back Country Hut. From there, we hiked the remaining distance, following the eastern boundary of Snowshoe's property before veering north. The trail is a mountain bike and cross country ski trail, evidenced by the numerous ruts and dislodged reflectors we passed. It's a brisk 40-minute hike to the tower across gnarly toots and unforgiving rocks that try to twist ankles and trip toes.

But it's well worth the effort to reach the tower, climb to the top, and survey the country.