joshua_segal
SouthernVTskier;c-67963 wroteEarly and mid season skiers have the highest operating cost associated with them. Snow making, staffing, grooming etc. spring skiers have virtually no over head associated with revenue generated. The area must stay open to appease season pass holders/regulars. A strong spring has the greatest potential to affect the bottom line with no added costs.
I wish that were true. Ski areas make no effort to market the spring product, claiming that people have lawns to rake. I don't know anyone who would rather rake a lawn than go skiing!
Other sports have successfully extended their seasons (baseball to Nov., football to Feb., Hockey to June, etc.). Skiing remains locked in the 1970s when March and April skiing was on mud and bales of hay.
Now, with 3 to 5 foot bases, most areas are closing 100% open. This season is a rare exception to that.
NewEnglandSkier13
joshua_segal;c-67965 wroteSouthernVTskier;c-67963 wroteEarly and mid season skiers have the highest operating cost associated with them. Snow making, staffing, grooming etc. spring skiers have virtually no over head associated with revenue generated. The area must stay open to appease season pass holders/regulars. A strong spring has the greatest potential to affect the bottom line with no added costs.
I wish that were true. Ski areas make no effort to market the spring product, claiming that people have lawns to rake. I don't know anyone who would rather rake a lawn than go skiing!
Other sports have successfully extended their seasons (baseball to Nov., football to Feb., Hockey to June, etc.). Skiing remains locked in the 1970s when March and April skiing was on mud and bales of hay.
Now, with 3 to 5 foot bases, most areas are closing 100% open. This season is a rare exception to that.
I know I've stopped participating in this thread, but I can only let so many ridiculous claims go unanswered.
Ski areas promote the heck out of spring skiing! Go check out the social media accounts and websites of Sugarloaf, BMOM, Abram, Lost Valley, Sunday River, etc. Practically every ski areas still open has a bunch of events going on and deals on tickets.
What ski areas are closing close to 100% open? The remaining ski areas open are barely hanging onto snow, and even places like Sugarloaf have seen huge drops in trail counts over the recent weeks. Lost Valley is the only ski area in Maine anywhere close to 100% open.
joshua_segal
lotsoskiing;c-67897 wroteI think this will slip it to #3 or 4 unless we get some crazy fun dumps later in the month like last year. The last 48 hrs have been a killer.
i agree.
slatham
We had a great 2 month run, and December was ok, but the very limited skiing in November and the early March melt with no significant snow takes this winter down several notches. Real shame March has turned out this way - I had a lot more skiing planned than what I’ve done.
marcski
Definitely dropped/dropping. Let's see what happens in April.
joshua_segal
New snow on March 25 turned Sunapee back to beautiful winter conditions.
joshua_segal
Today at Okemo: fantastic. About an inch of new snow. My previous days at Sunapee also included new snow and stellar conditions. I think that for now, this season has moved back into no worse than a tie for first place.
Quietman
Sunapee was very nice today, and the coverage was still great! Glad that I got out before the crappy weather that is coming. Disappointed that there were no Joshua sightings.
joshua_segal
Quietman;c-68066 wroteSunapee was very nice today, and the coverage was still great! Glad that I got out before the crappy weather that is coming. Disappointed that there were no Joshua sightings.
I was there Tuesday, Weds. and Friday along with many other "CM refugees"!
riverc0il
With today's storm, Cannon is starting to close in on its seasonal average. This storm brought a widespread half a foot for the Whites and Northern Greens. Jay is closing in on 450" for the season.
I'm standing by my previous comments. For the past 10 years, I say first best for me personally, second best overall for the northeast as a whole, and I can see an argument for third best. Although, one more storm, really good April spring skiing weather, or many resorts going long could eliminate that argument.
We'll see how things wrap up during the next two months. It doesn't look great once the current storm pulls away tomorrow afternoon. But no epic meltdown in sight, either.
slatham
For southern Vermont I put this year #3 of last 10. December 7th open was very late, early closing with a weak March with no snow storms, and only one double digit snowstorm, are key factors. No doubt that the Jan 1 to March 1 run was one of the strongest in memory for combo of decent snowfall, cold temps, and no thaw.
Here are some notes directly from my ski log:
2017/2018:
11/24 - Very good for Thanksgiving
12/16 - 10” powder
12/25 - 10” powder - Christmas day pow!
2/15 - 12” powder
2/18 - 6-7” powder
3/10 - 30” of snow this week made it perfect.
3/17 - ANOTHER 2’ of snow this week!
4/7 - 8” on upper mountain (Magic) and fully open made it a perfect closing day.
2018/19:
11/23 - Midwinter opening day at Bromley with 15” new
11/25 - Yesterday’s 15” of powder results in surprise early open at Magic
12/1 - Magic 100% open
1/20 - 14-18” powder
2/2 - Very good after 12” this week
2/23 - End of awesome 10 day run over presidents week with a 9” of snow over the break.
*March was solid too won at least one 6-8” storm, but due to personal reasons I missed last half and April, but Bromley made first weekend in April*
marcski
From my perspective in Central Vt., it is really going to boil down to April. March was such a letdown. If April keeps going in March's general, dismal and warm direction (yes, of course, there were a few very nice days and, as usual Jay is clearly an outlier), I think it moves down a few notches.
joshua_segal
My last summary predated the total spring disaster. The argument now is no longer 1 or 2, but 3 or 4. Your inputs... (Updated; May 8 to reflect latest inputs. 2024-5 is tentatively #3.)
Fourth Summary of 2024-5 (Thru 5/6/25):
2018-9: Killington and Sunday River both opened on Oct. 19. Nov. snow and skiing was epic. Christmas week was above average, economically speaking. Jan. had a couple of thaws, but no major meltdown. There was a decent February, and 8 of the 9 days of Presidents Week featured great snow and great weather providing the industry a near record week. Most of VT, ME and northern NH had above average snowfall, but even the more southerly areas had great snowmaking weather to make up for any deficits. Early April featured some superb spring skiing, but mid-April included a severe meltdown where Killington dropped from 80 to 15 runs in a 2-day period. Despite that, the glacier on Killington's Superstar held up until June 2.
2016-7: Early season: Excellent, but only at Killington; Snowfall: Average to average plus; Economics: Excellent Christmas week both weather-wise and snow; MLK Weekend was excellent despite a generally poor January; February: Thru the 15th: epic; Presidents Day thru Mar. 10 - gruesome, remainder of the season: Awesome; Killington makes it until June 1.
2024-5: Slow early start, followed by a spectacular December. Killington opened to Rte. 4 before New Years Day. Most of ski country has had substantial early season snowfall, with a few powder days. The 1st half of Xmas Holiday week got big numbers of skier visits, although the 2nd half featured a nasty meltdown which refilled water supplies for some areas challenged by drought. January featured a very strong MLK weekend. Much of ski country received average amounts of snowfall (with VT Rt. 100 areas being way above average). Between Dec. 26 and Feb. 27 (9-weeks) there was no thaw north of the MA border which provided almost unlimited snow making weather. February featured powder days and lots of natural snow over most of New England. Industry-wide attendance figures may have been impacted by the unusually cold and windy weather that was the hallmark of February. March 15 to the end of the season has been the worst spring in recent memory: little snow, record warm temps and lots of rain.
2017-8: No October skiing - Nov. 8 opening; credible Thanksgiving for bigger areas; fantastic snow at Xmas break but record low temps made the week an economic flop with most ski areas. Killington, Wildcat and other venerable giants of the industry, all closed for one or more days due to extreme cold. Jan. 10 started a 36-hour epic meltdown which turned MLK weekend into an economic disaster. Just as surfaces were beginning to recover, another meltdown pretty much neutralized Presidents Week. Most major storm following MLK day were followed by either rain or an extend meltdown. March and April have been epic. Killington just missed Memorial Day, but more areas were open in May than in any recent year.
2014-5: Early season: - No October skiing, but great from mid-November to mid-December; Christmas: Rain - pretty well killed the business for the week; January including MLK Weekend: Bad - not much snow, not much business; February: Unbelievably great snow, but record cold weather kept the crowds away; Late season was great with Killington going until Memorial Day.
2022-3: No October skiing; Very limited November skiing; near record warmth in November impacting early-season snow making; already 3 or 4 freeze/melt cycles. A widespread 12"+ storm hits New England in mid-December providing huge trail expansion and some spectacular December skiing. Late December and early January was rife with rain, although the Xmas week itself was pretty good economically speaking for the industry. The remainder of January was reasonably good with a few powder days. MLK weekend provided 3-better-than-average days. Late Feb. thru March featured several large storms and generally excellent skiing. It should be noted, that if one lived in C, Eastern MA or RI, this season would be ranked lower. Very strong April skiing for the areas that remained open.
2020-1 Early season curtailed due to COVID-19. Mid-December was off the charts. After a Christmas disastrous warm rain, there has been consistent cold weather allowing for lots of good snow-making weather, but January has been very light on natural snow. Economically, the ski areas seem to be doing well with people desperate to get outdoors and the absence of a super-spreader event associated with skiing have all been plusses. Despite the lack of January snow, with no January thaw, conditions remained very good. Early Feb. has seen lots of snow events opening glades and non-snowmaking terrain. Except for the ice-storm of Feb. 16, the month included many days of superb skiing. The 2nd half of Feb. and all of March included no natural snow. Long COVID-related lift lines continue to be a problem at most areas.
2019-2020: Early season: - No October skiing, but great from mid-November to mid-December. Xmas week was so-so. Except for MLK weekend, January featured a lot of wild temperature swings and not much natural snow. Snow tended to be better north of the MA border. Feb. was mediocre, with little new snow, but Feb. vacation week was good. Mar. was disturbed by COVID-19 and unusually warm temps. The last New England ski area open were shut down at COB on Mar. 18.
2021-22: No lift-serviced Oct. skiing. Nov. 5 to Thanksgiving Week: Just Killington and their 2-trails. By mid-December: Limited skiing at a small percentage of ski areas. Xmas week featured 3-days of rain and fog. By mid-January, only a handful of New England areas are more than half-open. No January thaw. February and March featured some good days, but very little natural snow and lots of warm weather. March was record warm with many areas closing by mid-March. Good spring skiing in April, wasn't enough to redeem this season. Killington made it to June 4, but they were the last open lift-serviced skiing by 3-weeks.
2023-4: No October skiing (except for Ward Hill). Killington opened Nov. 6. Most of the other "big boys" were able to open for Thanksgiving. Northern areas did better with natural snow, but all of ski country had great snowmaking weather in early December, providing more open terrain than normal. The 2nd half of December featured unusual warmth and 2-major rainstorms. Christmas week crowds were minimal. January offered a mixed bag: several horrific rain events, but an excellent MLK weekend and a reasonably good ending to the month. While February remained warm with minimal snow-fall, most areas salvaged a strong Presidents Day Week. March brought more warm weather and early closings. The northern part of the state did well with big snow while the more southerly areas got rain.{Added Apr. 10} Two spectacular storms at the end of March created a window of outstanding skiing for a week or so at the end-of-March/beginning-of-April. There was little in the way of industry-wide crowds, although the areas that were open were undoubtedly profitable.
2015-6: After a flurry of mid-October skiing at Killington and Sunday River, things went dead for 3 weeks or so. December was one of the warmest in history with almost no snowmaking opportunities. Much of ski country did not even open until after Christmas. The absence of natural snow has minimized glade skiing. Mad River was open a grand total of 45 days and 1/3 of those were Practice Slope only. Killington ran until May 29 despite receiving only 1/3 of its normal snow total. Most areas closed 2 to 3 weeks earlier than usual. A few old timers remember seasons this bad but not in the last 10 years.
As always, comments invited.
riverc0il
Below 2017-2018? Harsh.
I can see pushing it down to third best of the past ten years. I haven't had any spring skiing this season. I skied once in March, but it was a powder day, not a spring skiing day. 470" at Jay has me biased a bit, but 17-18 wasn't a good year.
We did have Black make it to May. Even though most spring weekends were poor, at least it wasn't a complete spring melt down and mid-week skiers had a few nice days here and there.
JimK
This is off topic for you New England guys, but I'll make a western-related post here for posterity. In Utah it was a mediocre winter for snowfall (530" as of 6 May 2025 at Snowbird), but an excellent spring ski season. Starting with a big dump on April 1st the spring skiing has been better than average including IMHO better than that last two bumper snow years of '23 and '24. There've been a few dumps, but in between them excellent clear days with mild freezes at night and sunny days with moderate, but not hot, daytime temps making for nice conditions and good snow preservation.
marcski
March and April basically sucked. Yes, there was some snow but it was so warm, melted out fast and made for a horrible spring. Yes, I had a number of very nice, warm, sunny spring days but it fizzled out so quickly, I can't see this season being any higher than 4th and possibly right in the middle of the road. 2 (very, very) good months does not make a season in my mind.
slatham
I think mid winter meltdowns outweigh a slow start and terrible spring. Due to strength of Jan/Feb I’d put this year at 3, above 17/18.
joshua_segal
I updated the last summary. Pending more negative comments on the season, 3rd seems to be the right answer. Slatham nailed it, IMO saying, "I think (the absence of) mid winter meltdowns outweigh a slow start and terrible spring. ..."
