It's not Colorado.
I live in Greenville and having decent skiing within a short drive (less than two hours) is great.
All the complaints are true and I guess they are not doing anything about it because there are already too many people on the slopes. The more unhappy visitors do not return the better for the ones who do. That is sad.
By far the biggest complaint I have is safety. The problem is: there is enough ski patrol but they don't care. If you make them aware of an out of control snowboarder they say they didn't see it. And (I quote) "If we see it we mark them and if they do it again, we take them off the slope."
Now imagine driving your car in a 25 mile zone going 60 mph and the police officer (if he sees it) gives you a warning and if you do it again then you get a ticket.

First I will say that I like Cataloochee and learned to ski there. Do not even think of going on a holiday weekend! We go only to ski the twilight session (1pm to 10pm). And we usually do not start earlier than 2pm. The mountain is really good when they have the midway loading station open(just past the first get off point on the omigosh double chairlift). Why they did not build the rock island lift as a high speed detachable lift I am not sure? We only ski cataloochee now because we have a second home nearby and it is fun when you know what to expect. You must go out west to really have a great ski experience. And it is really not that expensive. Well, this is not about the western ski experience. The main issue I have with Cataloochee is the OUT OF CONTROL SKIERS!!! It is really quite dangerous to ski there. I have seen so many people hurt up there. Just a couple of weeks ago I saw a guy on a snowboard just way out of control crash into a group of people like a bowling ball. And it gets worse at night. There are no ski patrol out there to slow people down. I am just about not wanting to go there so I will not get hurt. You do not see this out west. Come on, Cataloochee, do something about this!!!!!

As has been said, avoiding Cataloochee on the weekends is a must! During the non holiday weekdays it's considerably less crowded. On weekends, you can't even SEE the snow for all the people waiting in lines! If I can't park in the first lot, I prefer not to go. Walking from the car to the lodge is quite a trek and precariously slippery in boots and even shoes!

The lift lines aren't well organized, the lifts run slow and the slopes are few. If you take the first lift you see, you'll end up at the top of a black diamond; they are poorly labeled. Only one lodge, long ticket lines, high prices and the rental equipment is poor at best (good thing I have my own gear now). Its probably not the worst, but it is the worst quality resort I've ever been to. I do intend to make it back at least once more... some year when they open the "meadow" on natural snow, since they aren't setup to make snow on what I think looks like the coolest slope they have!

I'd skip Cataloochee in favor of Wolf Ridge for beginner to intermediate if your in Western North Carolina. Even Ober Gatlinburg in TN is better, on their busiest day!

I'm an intermediate skiier, just past the beginner stage.

I live in Atlanta and am not affiliated in any way with Cataloochee Ski area. First of all and last of all, this is North Carolina. So anyone telling you to save your money and go out west is telling you how sweet the apples are while you’re pealing an orange. For what it is, Cataloochee isn’t bad… with one very important caveat that applies to all NC ski areas. DO NO GO on weekends or holidays. North Carolina is an affluent state with wealthy, soccer-mom packed Charlotte just a few hours away. So you have to expect massive crowds on weekends and holidays as the rich folks pack up the kids and bring them to LEARN TO SKI here before they pay real money and head out west.

OK, the mountain itself. Yes, it’s small and the lifts are slow. But it (mostly) has the two things you need to ski: incline and snow – albeit man-made in most cases. If you want to slide down a hill in NC, Cataloochee is a pretty darn good option. As for rates, it stings to think that you’re paying ¾ of what you would a Vail while getting .000001 of the skiing. But for NC, the rates are good – less than Sugar and Beech. As with all NC hills, if you go on the weekdays when the rates are lower and the crowds are much less, it’s actually quite fun. You should expect local kids on snowboards, but with lighter crowds, there’s ample room for them and you. The lifts are slow, but if you can ski right into the chair, it isn’t so bad. And always CHECK THEIR WEBSITE to see how much terrain is open. Cataloochee is good about being honest with their ski report and generally won’t open terrain until there’s good coverage (mmmrrumhBEECH-MT!). And if you’re from Atlanta, Cataloochee is by far the best option for a day trip. With good traffic and light construction, you can be there in just over 3 hours.

I have been snowboarding at Cataloochee going on four years now and rarely do I have as bad experiences as most of the reviews have stated. The instructors that I have had know what there are talking about and are really good at what they do. I am a more confident snowboarder because of them. It is true that if you go during the holiday season or on the weekend that you are going to have crowds, thats a given. Some of the staff in the rental area aren't that nice. I took one ski lesson and i learned to stop and turn! something they couldn't teach me at Sugar. A couple of words of advice, don't take your brand new luxury vehicle up there because of the gravel road and try not to go when everybody else does!