For skiers, persistent snowfall and frigid temperatures
usually mean a winter full of quality runs on the slopes of New England. But as
the blizzards ebb and warm weather eventually awakens from hibernation, there
may still be a chance to steal a few treasures from the ski mountains.
Springtime skiing is an unexpected pleasure, extending the
ski season and offering a most unique day on the slopes.
There is a certain feeling associated with spring skiing
that is unnoticeably absent during mid-winter’s pelting snow and subzero wind
chills. The sun spurs it on, but this feeling goes way beyond the weather. In
fact, many times the heat makes for mushy, granular, sub-par snow.
But spring skiing is more mindset than mint conditions:
joy, adrenaline, escape. Don’t be surprised at the speck of guilt scraping at
you like a bared rock on your skis. When you walk out onto the lodge deck, a
cold beer cooling your sweating hands, a sunburn on the parts of your face that
weren’t covered by goggles and the parts of your forearms not covered by your
t-shirt, you know you got away with something.
It is the same feeling as the one you had when you were a
kid and you took a cookie but did not get caught with your hand in the jar; or
that feeling you got in high school when you snuck in after curfew and mom and
dad did not wake up. That is the feeling of spring skiing: I shouldn’t be here,
but I am and I’m not leaving until they make me.
At Maine’s Shawnee Peak they embrace the circumvention of
Mother Nature by hosting their annual Spring Fling (March 22, 2014). The
seasonal contradictions are reminiscent of many regional ski resorts post-March
1. There’s a BBQ, plenty of skiers in t-shirts, beer specials and more than a
few radio station promo prize giveaways. It all takes place in the shadow of a
mountain just starting to lose its snowy edge.
But you don’t go spring skiing in New England for the
packed powder. You go to get away and to get away with something. You go for
that moment at the summit when you look out at a green valley and ice-less
lakes surrounded by larger mountains that remain covered in snow. You go for
the next moment when your gaze turns downward at your ski tips quivering over
an icy black diamond trail pockmarked by puddles and pine needles. The
obstacles are merely part of the semi-risky gamble we humans like to make when
we are seeking reinvigoration after a cold, dark winter.
At Shawnee’s Spring Fling event, the pond-skimmers take it
to a new level. When they’re hurtling down the main trail toward the manmade
rectangular slush pool, surrounded by spectators and ski patrol/lifeguards, all
they’re thinking is speed, speed, speed. There are few crossings, many valiant
attempts and a lot of wet participants who end up submerged in the slush pool.
From a bystander’s perspective, however, the sopping costumes and
on-their-way-to-being-rusted-shut ski boots are just another entertaining perk
of spring skiing.
Many other mountains across Vermont, New Hampshire and
Maine host similar springtime events with the hope of drawing in a crowd for
some fun in the sun. It all depends on how long they can keep up useable
conditions, and how many people think outside the box come late March.
So in the midst of this frigid winter, remember that spring
is right around the corner and with it an opportunity to enjoy New England’s
ski mountains in a unique way. No matter whose slopes you hit, you can get away
with having a good time skiing this spring.
