Head to Maine for spring skiing

By Tim Jones

Snow everywhere. Dense, compacted, hard glacial snow topped with groomed corduroy in the morning and the first hints of the softness of spring in the afternoon. Piles of snow on the edges of the trails.

Deep snow on the slopes. Whales of snow left over from earlier snowmaking. Snow in the glades; snow in the woods; even snow falling from the sky. Wow!

From what I saw in the last days of winter, it’s going to be a long, long time before all that snow on the eight peaks of Sunday River (207-824-3000; www.sundayriver.com) in Newry, Maine, ends up flowing downstream in its namesake.

Anyone want to bet we’ll still be able to ski and ride at Sunday River (and some other Northeast resorts) in May?

When Boyne USA Resorts took over Sunday River and Sugarloaf (207-237-2000; www.sugarloaf.com) in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, from the American Skiing Co. in August 2007, everyone knew change was in the works.

ASC had been running in the red for a long time, didn’t have the funds for necessary long-term maintenance, or even for full-on snowmaking at all its resorts.

Boyne came in with a bang, investing $4.8 million in snowmaking upgrades and a general spruce up.
That wasn’t the end of it, though.

The owners are planning on investing another $15 million and more for next season, including the first new lift at Sunday River in a long time, a Chondola (detachable high-speed hybrid with both gondola cabins and chairs) that will take skiers and riders from the South Ridge base directly to North Peak.

There are also rumors of still more snowmaking, new trails and night skiing.

I heard some concern, especially among the Sunday River regulars I talked to on the chairlifts, that all of this new investment is going to come at a price.

Boyne is noted for aggressive real estate development and, while it can put up hundreds more houses and slopeside condos, it doesn’t have much space to expand the skiing and riding terrain.

No one is looking forward to more people on the hill on weekends and school vacation weeks.

But all of that is only a shadow in the future. Right now, Sunday River is deep in snow, the weather’s turning toward spring, and the slopes are an awfully good place to be for the next few weeks.

HERE’S THE DEAL

For anyone still mourning the demise of the American Skiing Co.’s great season pass deals, Boyne is setting up with a new New England Pass valid at Sunday River, Sugarloaf and Loon Mountain Resort (800-229-5666; www.loonmtn.com) in Lincoln, N.H., for the 2008-09 season.

It will be offered in “Gold,” “Silver,” and “Bronze” versions and will cost between $350 and $900 if purchased before April 30.

It will also offer free skiing this year until the lifts stop turning. And, there are significant discounts at Big Sky Resort, Mont.; Brighton, Utah; Crystal Mountain, Wash.; Cypress Mountain, British Columbia; and The Summit at Snoqualmie, Wash.

‰Tuesday: Waterville Valley (800-468-2553; www.waterville.com)in Waterville Valley, N.H. This is no April Fool’s joke! $1 full-day lift ticket.

‰Tuesday: Bromley Mountain (800-865-4786; www.bromley.com) in Peru, Vt. Tickets are two for $25.

‰Tuesday: Okemo Mountain Resort, (800-786-5366; www.okemo.com) in Ludlow, Vt. Bring any three nonperishable food items to Okemo and ski or ride the entire day for free! All donations will be distributed to local food banks.
 

THE SCENE

The sun-touched craziness of spring on the snow traditionally starts around Easter. The good news is that Easter was very, very early this year.

So there’s lots of extra time (and lots of snow) for reggae concerts, pond skimming, bumps and big air contests, cardboard sled races, barbecues on the deck and all the other wonderful rites of spring.

If you want to try some of this, and, maybe, see a different resort than the one you’ve been visiting all winter, check out the event listings online.

If you don’t want to look up individual resorts, www.skimaine.com, www.skinh.com and www.skivt.com have pretty comprehensive lists.

TOP TIP

This is the time of year you’ve got to be ready for any type of snow conditions, from solid blue ice with piles of soft snow to seriously frozen granular to corn to slush. You can see them all in one day.

It’s also the time of year that ski shops are trying to blow out this season’s demo gear. Go ahead, try a new pair of skis or a new board. Who knows, you may find something you can’t live without at a price you can actually afford.

Contact Tim Jones at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .