At any time during the ski season, finding truly great skiing and riding is a matter of timing. On a pure powder morning in January, for example, you have to be one of the first people on the lift or you are going to find yourself snaked on the line you were dreaming of when you drove to the hill. He (or she) who hesitates gets chowder instead of pristine powder.
Likewise, on weekends and holiday weeks throughout the winter, the first people on the hill generally find the best conditions, whether that’s fresh powder or untracked corduroy. By later in the day, conditions will often have deteriorated, especially in high-traffic junction areas or popular trails.
But in March, the paradigm changes. Patience often pays off.
Most areas groom as little as possible toward the end of March and into April, not only to save money, but also to save their snow. If you rush make the first chair on a chilly morning, you might just find yourself headed downhill on snow that softened the day before, then froze into a rutted, bumpy crust—the kind of snow Western skiers think is all we ever get in the East.
But if you wait just a little while, magic can occur. The sun, which has been hiding behind the hill all season emerges earlier on March mornings, climbs higher above the peaks, and uses its strength to create some of the best snow conditions of the entire season.
A few winters ago, my son Justin has been teaching skiing full time in the excellent ski school at Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H. Full time instructing is hard work and on a recent rare day off, he slept in. When he woke up, the sun was shining, the air was warming, and we decided sneak away to Mount Sunapee in Newbury, N.H. for an afternoon on our Telemark gear. There was a pretty good crowd for a mid-week day but we found a prime parking spot that some early-bird had just vacated (another advantage of going later . . .) and hit the slopes.
The ride up the triple chair in front of the old Spruce Lodge only heightened our anticipation when we realized that we couldn’t hear anything more than a soft swish when skiers below us on Flying Goose made their turns (snowboards always seem to rumble at least a little).
At the top, we sprinted for Cataract and made what was, until then, one of the best runs of the season. I say “until then” because each run—Whingding, Hansen’s, Ridge, Skyway—was better than the last! The snow was smooth, soft, but still firm. If you can imagine skiing on butter, you have some idea of what it was like. Perfect conditions for Telemarking. Justin, who only took up freeheeling a few days before, was already out-skiing me and able to give me some very useful pointers. And the rides up with the warm sun on our faces were heavenly, not just for the chance to recover.
We skied hard until our thighs cried for mercy, took a quick break than punished them some more, ending our afternoon just before the lifts shut down. Literally a perfect day.
A number of years ago, my buddy David Shedd and I were at Tenney Mountain in Plymouth, N.H. (now, alas, on the list of New England’s Lost Ski Areas). We’d been camped on another mountain the night before in 20-degree weather. We woke up early, ate, broke camp, hiked three miles with packs on snowshoes over heavily-crusted snow, ate a leisurely second breakfast and still got to the mountain just a little too early.
As we rode up the summit double, we heard the scraping edges of the skiers below, so we immediately boogied over to the east-facing triple chair and found the sun had done its work nicely, softening the snow in all but the deepest shade. Later, the whole mountain softened. We pounded Tenney’s twisting trails in the sunshine until our legs gave out. Another wonderful day of skiing on perfect snow.
As March turns to April, perfect timing will change yet again. Just keep an eye on the thermometer. If the nights stay above freezing and the days get downright warm, you want to get out early and catch the snow before it turns to slush.
The sun is inevitably going to win and the 2009/10 winter season will eventually end. But that’s not for another month yet. Time it right, and there’s still perfect snow to enjoy.
THE A LIST: Sunny Spring Slopes
Typically, the first slopes to soften in the sun are the rare ones that face south. If you are a soft snow addict who must ski in the morning, consider visiting Black Mountain in Jackson, N.H., Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, N.H., and Bromley Mountain in Peru, Vermont.
Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont also faces south and softens early.
At Mount Sunapee in Newbury, N.H. both the east-facing Sunbowl and their South Peak Learning Area are top spots for early sun.
Sunnyside at Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont, and the South Face at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vermont and Bear Mountain at Killington in Killington, Vermont are all excellent sun spots.
At Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vermont, Kidderbrook gets morning sun and not much skier traffic since they took out the old Kidderbrook lift, while the Snowbowl gets sun in the afternoon.
Of course, a little later in the season, these spots will be first to go slushy, so hit ’em early morning.