History of the phrase 'High South': In the mid-1960’s as resorts such as Sapphire Valley, Hound’s Ear, Wolf Laurel and others began to expand adding southern snow skiing, Atlanta, Columbia, Augusta and the rest of the foothills and the Piedmont areas began to take notice. Sapphire Valley, NC – our home community - is only 3 hours from many southern cites and families began to visit year-round and enjoy the mountains in the winter as well. The term High South was coined in the 1960s to refer to this southern Appalachian / Smoky Mountains region.