You know that saying spring comes in like a lion, out like a lamb? Well I think it’s safe to say, and anyone who has ripped some corn-filled turns in the last 10 days can agree, this year it’s looking like quite the opposite. The rapid assault of warm weather recently has led to some truly picture perfect spring skiing. Hell, I even netted a nice goggle burn (too pale to enjoy the goggle tan) earlier this month. But while the bleating of the lamb has been fun, the roar of the lion could be even more so. Right now we’re looking at potentially upwards of 6″ through the weekend with longer-term forecasts calling for more seasonably cold weather to return in the later half of the month. Conditions remain firm right now, but with over 40 days of skiing left in the season, there’s still plenty of time for snow.
Of course, this recent warmup has brought plenty of changes to the snowpack. While the depths on our spring snowmaking trails are still in great shape for our journey towards May skiing, we have had to close some of our natural terrain including Castlerock. Granted, the fact that we still have a number of natural trails open is a testament to just how much depth we accumulated throughout the so far 204″ of snow this season. The melt has also taken it’s toll on the Slide Brook roads and lift line, so that lift is now closed barring another big storm before the end of the month. As a reminder, we cannot spin that lift without the proper snowpack to get vehicles into Slide Brook for both evacs and line checks.
On the subject of lifts, no doubt many of you saw our update on the situation regarding both the North Ridge Express and GMX Quads earlier this week. On North Ridge, our team has been working closely with the lift manufacturer, Leitner-Poma, to remedy an electrical problem on the comm line that was damaged by high winds. We are happy to say that we expect that lift to be spinning again beginning tomorrow. Regarding GMX, while the initial assumption was that a main drive fuse blew, further inspection revealed that a capacitor bank that regulates power within the drive failed. Unfortunately, a capacitor failure is not your normal “wear” failure. Because of that, this is not a part readily stocked nearby, but thanks to NH Electric we were able source a new drive module out of Europe and are air freighting as fast as we can. It’s unlikely the part will arrive before the end of Mt. Ellen’s season but if it does we hope to able to spin that lift again this spring. In the meantime, we will continue to open Inverness at 8:00 AM and open North Ridge early when we can through the end of Mt. Ellen’s season on March 29th. We know this is frustrating news to hear as we close out Mt. Ellen’s season, and we truly appreciate everyone’s understanding as we work through the situation.
On a more positive note, the next month and a half is full of some of our biggest events of the year. Between all the events tomorrow, Pride Weekend next weekend, Champagne Cowbell Party on 3/29, Pond Skimming on 4/4, and Spring Fling featuring Andy Frasco and the U.N., every weekend brings a good time. Check out Corinne’s blog for a full rundown or our events calendar to see for yourself.
It’s also worth noting that season passes are already on sale for next year. Seasoned skiers know this is the best time to buy when prices are at their lowest, but beyond that if you don’t currently have a pass, buying one now gets you free skiing and riding the rest of the spring.
There’s still plenty of season left. Get out there and make the most of it. I know I will be.
See you on the mountain.