Thursday, February 18, 2010

The State of New England Skiing

Snow: a precipitation in the form of small white ice crystals formed directly from the water vapor of the air at a temperature of less than 32°F (0°C) b (1) : a descent or shower of snow crystals (2) : a mass of fallen snow crystals
Really not much of it to speak of, write about, or ski on in New England besides the man made stuff. Those areas with the best snowmaking are in good shape. I am not saying the conditions are bad by any stretch of the imagination. In fact many areas have been picking up a few inches here and there. It adds up. NE just has not seen any of the monster winter events crippling the Mid-Atlantic States in the past few weeks creep north and sock our mountains with a direct hit.

The current state of New England skiing reminds me of the 06/07 season when we had to wait for the big St. Valentine’s Day storm before real powder conditions prevailed across the region. Then another big blast on St. Patrick’s Day and still even more damage on April Fools. That was a great stretch. Hopefully this season we see history repeat itself.

Tim Kelley (NECN meteorologist) all smiles in a deep powder drift at Killington 3/17/07

This weekend the weather will be as good as it gets for making some turns, considering it will not include fresh flakes falling from the skies with any abundance. In general if you head north you can expect to see temperatures hitting highs in the mid 30’s even as far north as Stowe, VT. There is also chatter of a potential storm next week. For more on that check Accuweather.

A quick peruse of Snocountry Mountain Reports basically reveals the same story I am telling. A lot of areas are doing well. Most have the majority of their terrain open. Use this LINK to check in on your favorites in the Northeast.


found this clip of my cousin Lucas eating some of the St. Valentine's Day powder back in 2007 at Sugarbush in the archives...

The low down: This should be a fun and pleasant weekend to hit the slopes. Some places will see some snow showers that will soften things up. Other areas may get sunshine. All will have above average temperatures. With only a few months left in the season you should take advantage of it and get north.

Think Snow!  Eat some!

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