‘March is the new January’ for N.E. ski resorts
For New England skiing, is spring the new winter?
Following a season that could generously be described as “mixed,” ski resorts in Northern New England have seen a week of steady snow and are bracing for a major dumping over the weekend, with forecasts calling for 1 to 2 feet in many areas.
“We’re really excited; the mountain is buzzing,” said Molly Shaw, brand manager for Saddleback Mountain in Rangeley, Maine.
“We’ve already had about 30 inches in the last week, and we’re supposed to get another 18 inches in this storm, which is shaping up to be a trend for March.”
Shaw said last March was the snowiest month in Saddleback’s season, and that could be the case again this year.
“March is the new January, and people need to keep that on their radar,” she said. “Up here, skiing doesn’t end because the calendar says spring.”
For New England skiers and the industry that depends on them, it is a welcome turn after a season that got off to a decent start turned disastrous during Christmas vacation — typically one of the busiest times of
the year on the slopes — when warm temperatures and epic flooding turned parts of the region into sloppy muck or white water rapids rather than moguls.
An unseasonably warm February didn’t help, but the recent snow could extend conditions into April, a favorite time for many skiers when light crowds and lighter temperatures mix with the spring events that fill the weekend calendars at many resorts.
“We’re so excited to finish the season with some strong snow to go along with all the spring events we have on the calendar,” said Jennifer Karnan, marketing director at Cannon Mountain in Franconia, N.H.
Cannon has already received 18 inches over the past week, and could double that on Saturday, when the mountain will host its annual “’80 s Day,” where skiers are asked to dig in their closets for some neon. There’s also an ‘80s band, a dance party, and an “oldschool” ski-trick competition.
“Pair all that with a powder day and we’re pumped,” Karnan said. “It’s shaping up to be the best snow of the year.”
March snow can be notoriously heavy, thick, and wet. Skiers often refer to it as “mashed potatoes.” But Karnan and others are reporting the recent run has been the drier powder you typically see mid-winter.
While Northern New England is expected to get dumped on, Southern New England will see mostly rain. As always, resorts will worry about the socalled backyard effect, where people in more-populated areas assume that because there’s no snow in their backyard, there’s no snow in the mountains.
It’s a concern year-round, especially with the record warmth of recent years. But Karnan said that is not as much of a worry in the spring.
“Down south, people expect to see rain in their backyards in the spring, but they know there’s still snow in the mountains. And I can assure you that winter is not over up here.”
Of course, the mixed winter is not just a downer for skiers. Entire towns up north depend on ski tourism to survive.
Elaine Stockbridge of the New England Ski Museum in North Conway, N.H., said the weekend storm would be welcome all around.
“It’s definitely going to extend the season, and it might even allow some of the crosscountry ski areas to reopen,” Stockbridge said. “It will bring a lot of people to town, and that’s going to help everyone from the hotel industry to the restaurants to the retailers who need to sell their inventory.”
That’s good news for everyone ... except perhaps the ski museum. “We’ve had a really great season because when the weather is bad, people come here to learn about ski history and dream about skiing. So our attendance has been great.”
The buzz for this weekend is building online, in the rabid — but regularly frustrated — local ski community. On Reddit, on the “icecoast” forum that is a favorite of dedicated skiers, a skier named “halfsendjerry” posted a rallying cry.
“This is our weekend,” they wrote. “The bone Mama Natty is throwing us after a less-thansatisfactory season. May your pow slashes be deep, and may each turn take you into the white room.”