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WATERSKI MagazineGiven the number of shreddable coves and feeders you can discover at western North Carolina's Santeetlah Lake, you'd better bring two things: a map and some sturdy legs. You'll need both when it comes time to throw down the throttle and start skiing the unhindered table of water tucked snugly into the Graham Mountains, just shy of the Tennessee border.
Santeetlah's dappled with pine-covered peninsulas. The jutted shores stand as perfect windbreaks for visitors who want to spend tow time digging into the glassy surface.
“The main channel's busy, congested and choppy as mountain lakes go,” says Johnny Colvard, a Santeetlah local. “But if you get off into Snowbird, Davis or one of the creeks, you're looking at about as clear and smooth as it gets.”
A slalom course is set up in the 140-foot-deep main channel, and although Colvard makes it sound more crowded than the 5:30 subway, there's relatively little traffic for skiers who are used to cutting turns on Atlanta's Lake Lanier 160 miles to the south.
If you're intent on popping wake-to-wakes or turning on that new wide-body, try heading south of the Santeetlah Marina through the narrows of Buffalo Creek. A modest breeze, at the worst, might pick up in the early evening, but if you make it there early, the only ripples you'll see come from the flopping fresh-lake fish.
Ski season at this mountain mecca runs from about Memorial Day through the beginning of October, when water temps average in the low 70s and the air is a good 10 degrees warmer. Later than that, you'll want to bring the drysuit to fend off the Carolina cold. – Tony Smith
