In 1955, University of Virginia School of Law student Robert Barton established Weiss Knob Ski Area, climbing the slope of Weiss Knob above the Cabin Mountain site to a height of . It featured of terrain serviced by a T-bar as well as three rope tows. This site was acquired by the state of West Virginia in 1959, so Barton reopened "Weiss Knob Ski Area" at a new site on Cabin Mountain's Bald Knob. Opening in fall 1959, the new site featured four rope tows and the first snowmaking equipment in West Virginia; in its first season, of snow fell, burying the equipment and closing the facility for the year. The resort remained open until 1970, when the impending opening of Canaan Valley Resort prompted Barton to go out of business. This new ski area was actually a redevelopment of the original Weiss Knob site; the second Weiss Knob site would be re-opened as the second home of White Grass Ski Touring Center in 1981.