The White Grass cross-country area in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia can thank Chip Chase for its name. Chase began skiing in the area in the early 1970s and learned telemarking toward the end of the decade. He began establishing trails on a patch of Shenandoah Mountain known as “White Grass” in fall 1979, and he and his partners moved operations from Virginia to West Virginia for better snow, keeping the White Grass name and the small-scale feel. Today, an annual average of 160 inches of snow falls on the small ski hill, and the small staff maintains more than 35 miles of trails.