Final Ski Run In New England

May Skiing In Maine? Who Knew?

The hardcore showed up in the first weekend of May this year to take their last licks on the…ahem…snow.  As we all know, it has been a bad, bad season in the East, but the miracle snowmakers and groomers have managed to salvage a tendril of a season.

Here’s a story from the May 3 Boston Globe by Stan Grossfeld.  He describes how Sunday River, Newry, ME., managed to create a season for its skiers.  We quote:

After having its third-earliest start in history, Sunday River received just 60 inches of natural snow, compared with an average of 167.

But just because this is not Vail, it doesn’t mean that skiing has to fail. Sunday River came out with guns blazing. Snow guns, that is. Its 2,200 guns converted 400 million gallons of water into snow this winter. It even won an award for exceptional snowmaking capabilities in an online vote.

Grossfeld reported that there were spring conditions at the top and mid-sections of the mountain, but there was a “mild meltdown” down by the lifts.  He writes that 600 skiers showed up on May 1, about half of them getting a free ride for the day.  He quotes one visitor, “Considering that it’s May 1, and we didn’t get any snow this year, the snow is really good.”

Once again, kudos to the snowmakers and groomers all over New England.  Oh, and Killington will still have a trail open on weekends until the bitter end.