Ski Day Recap

It's been a very slow start to the East Coast ski season, with many resorts still struggling to open up terrain. I've become accustomed to these slow starts over the past few years, and in December I'm grateful and fortunate to get out and be on snow.

Yesterday I went to Ski Sundown with my brother and sister for my third day of the season, and I had so much fun, despite poor conditions.

To give some context on the status of snow in southern New England right now, the snowpack is virtually non-existent except for parts of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. (In fact, Jiminy Peak did pick up 4" of natural snow the other day).

(NOAA/NOHRSC)

So any skiing in southern New England (apart from maybe the Berkshires) is being done entirely on man-made snow right now.

We arrived at 9:30 (90 mins after first-chair), booted up at the car, and headed over to the slopes. Like most ski areas in the world, Sundown is requiring reservations to ski, and despite the reservation system, the slopes felt a bit crowded even before 10:00 am. This was presumably due to not all terrain being open.

Compared to Mount Snow, where I skied after the major snowstorm two weeks ago, mask compliance at Sundown was much better, and people mostly took social distancing seriously.

Unfortunately, Gunbarrel was not open, though some piles of snow have been made on the trail. At Sundown, I think a good marker for a solid early-season is if Gunbarrel is open by Christmas Day. Clearly, that was not the case this year.

The day was mostly cloudy with some periods of sunshine, and temperatures were right around freezing. The snow surface was challenging, consisting of bullet-proof ice covered by sugary ice pellets of man made snow. Without sharp edges, yesterday would not be too fun. I had a super time, and we skied until about 2:30, probably getting about 25 runs in. Despite the curveballs that mother nature has thrown at ski resorts in southern New England this year, I give Sundown credit for getting its mountain up and running for the holiday week this year, something that is no longer a given.

As for the rest of New England, most mountains are facing similar early season difficulties to Sundown.

12/31 status of New England ski areas (OnTheSnow)

Okemo Mountain Resort, the area that hit the jackpot in the December 17 storm, currently has the most terrain open, followed by Killington and Sunday River. Signs are looking decent for some storminess after the new year, but for now, we must take what we have and make the most of it.