With the Winter Olympics and X-Games less than a month away, students who want to channel their inner Picabo Street or Bode Miller don’t have to travel too far to hit the slopes.

Athens is only five hours away from some of the most popular ski and snowboard areas on the East Coast.

Although the East doesn’t boast large mountain ranges like the Rockies, the Appalachians have sufficient elevation and receive enough snowfall to create ski areas enjoyable to both beginners and experts.

Sugar Mountain is the largest ski area in North Carolina. With a 5,300-foot summit, the park features 20 trails, including three black diamond, the most difficult, runs.

With an average annual snowfall of 70 inches, Sugar Mountain relies heavily on snow machines to make powder.

Kim Jochl, the marketing director at Sugar Mountain, said that the park is more popular with skiers than snowboarders.

“Generally it’s about 70 percent skiers and 30 percent snowboarders, but that depends on the time period of the season,” Jochl said, adding that snowboarders usually come during the late season.

Beech Mountain is only about five miles away from Sugar Mountain, and at an elevation of 5,500 feet, it is the highest ski area in eastern North America. It has 15 slopes with four single black diamond trails.

Depending on the weather, the skill levels of all trails can increase in difficulty, especially under icy conditions, said Gil Adams, marketing and ski patrol director for Beech Mountain.

“It’s just like fishing. People say, ‘You should have been here yesterday!’ It all depends on the conditions,” Adams said.

For those looking to ski or board on a budget, Beech Mountain offers a number of discounts, including free lift tickets for women on Mondays and men on Thursdays.

Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia is a little more of a drive, but is regarded as the best ski park on the East Coast.

“The amount of terrain we have is far larger than anyone else in the Mid-Atlantic, as is the amount of snowfall we get,” Andrea Smith, the interim communication manager at Snowshoe said.

With an average annual snowfall of 180 inches, Snowshoe doesn’t have to fully rely on snow machines.

Snowshoe has 57 trails – 13 for experts, 18 for intermediates, and 26 for beginners.

For those who have never skied or boarded before, the choice of which to start with depends on different factors.

People commonly associate snowboarding as more rebellious than skiing.

But skiing is considered easier than snowboarding.

“The common thought behind that is that skiing is easier to pick up in your first couple of days, but snowboarding is more difficult to get started because you have to get used to both your feet being strapped to the board,” Smith said.

Experience in other board sports might help the would-be snowboarder.

“Some guy that surfs a lot or has a really good feel for skateboarding might be able to snowboard easier,” Jochl said.

For those already planning a ski trip, consider going later in the season to save money.

At both Sugar and Snowshoe Mountains, lift and rental costs decrease after March 6.

“We had 69 inches of snow in March last year. You can still get great conditions,” Smith said. “That’s my favorite time of the year to go.”