Spring skiing couldn't be any more perfect!

As you all know this past weekend had some amazing temps, clear bluebird skies, and tons of spring snow! Well that is of course if you were at Sunday River, ME with me Saturday and Sunday. If you live south of the NH/ME border and look out your window, the snow is basically non-existent and leaving you to assume skiing is over. That is great however New England ski season always ends sometime around May 1st at many northern resorts, and if you are a true skier and want some back-country riding, just head to Tuckerman's Ravine on the backside of Mt. Washington which has snow until June or July (you can see Mt Washington into the distance which is covered in snow) .

I ventured up to Sunday River as soon as my last client completed her last repetition and arrived around 1:30 with temps in the upper 40's! The parking lots were completely full but I snagged a spot up at Barker lodge where I put on my gear and took to the hill. The snow was soft at the bottom near the lifts but fast and furious on the upper half of the mountain! There was zero melting going on up there as everything in the woods was frozen solid from the nightly refreeze. Skiing until 7pm (night skiing there this year on a few trails until 9pm however it was light until 7:30 - check out the sunset!), changed in my car and headed to Liam's down the road for some homemade lasagna, a chicken quesadilla, and a Geary's draft beer . Beer you say!? Yeah I don't know, I was alone and taking full advantage of my downtime. I was chatting with the owners a bit and spying on a couple in the dining room as a proposal was in progress. The waitress brought over a gift for the woman with dessert and turns out the ring didn't fit but she said yes.... aww how sweet.

My excitement didn't end there as I headed back to the mountain to see Eve 6, a punk/rock band I used to listed to back in High School (1994) and just reunited to play more music. A few bands opened for them which were really good, but I took to the front row and stayed there standing 3 feet in front of the Eve 6 who rocked about 16 songs! Entertainment ended at midnight and with no scheduled place to stay for the night, I decided to head to the ski dorm lounge to watch some tv until 1am where I actually fell asleep until 2 and then retreated to my car bundled in my cozy down jacket, which I somehow ripped on something and got goose feathers EVRYWHERE in my car!!! I realized this at 3:30am and went into the dorm lounge again only to encounter a security guard wondering why feathers were streaming out of me. I asked him for Duct tape which he didn't have (and must have thought I was completey insane), so I rigged up a white plastic back over my right arm so it now looks like I am a rock star from the UK.

6am quickly came where I ate plenty of breakfast and took to the slopes to get first tracks at 8am. There is something about skiing on corduroy that is so smooth and fast and just makes you smile cruising down the mountain going 60mph! I had 4 runs in by 9am. Noon rolled around and so did the temps, climbing to nearly 52. The main reason I went there was to ski bumps and I was just waiting for patrol to open the bump runs once they were soft enough. 12:30 was the time and they opened Last Tango (glade off Barker) where I stayed until 4pm close! I worked my legs until complete exhaustion and was loving every second of it cruising through the trees at speeds not recommended to most people. :)

The snow is plentiful up in Maine with 95" on the ground up at Sugarloaf, which means bare spots are not happening in the near future.. but if there was you could easily ski around them as they get bigger and bigger going into late April. Spring snow, sun, and fun can't be beat! Bike season can wait another few months for me.

See you on the mountain!