February 3, 2010 E-MAIL PRINT

Families can't be fair-weather skiers

by Heather Burke/

Waiting for perfect weather can prove costly for New England skiers. (photo: Greg Burke)

Waiting for perfect weather can prove costly for New England skiers. (photo: Greg Burke)

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I think Mother Nature likes to toy with skiers, test our resolve. Our family of four skiers looks forward to the weekend, it’s our reward for enduring the work week, school, the Monday through Friday drudgery.

And when all the stars align, the sun comes out on Saturday, the snow is good and we enjoy ideal weekend ski conditions. But being New Englanders, that forecast and formula is “iffy” at best. Inevitably Tuesday or Wednesday’s televised forecast is freezing rain or frigid cold for the fast approaching weekend, tempting us to cancel our travel plans.

But as a family, you can’t afford to be fair-weather skiers. If you wait for the perfect powder and sunshine, you might never find your window. Besides, planning a trip for the whole clan involves other logistics - like can everyone forego sports, school dances, and weekend social events to go skiing? We as a family have decided that skiing has to be our priority, despite weather or missing a birthday party at home.

My advice: Don’t let the meteorologists on TV dictate your ski plans. Plan a trip and go. If the foreboding forecast calls for rain (or “mixed precip” - the well-versed weathermen have all the metaphors), just pack accordingly. Throw in some large trash bags to wear and you will find totally un-crowded slopes and squishy carve-able snow. Seriously. Some of our best skiing has been in the rain. As a bonus, you earn bragging rights as you wring out your jackets and dry your ski boots at the end of the damp day.

If temps look frigid for the weekend, buy a box of hand and toe warmers (better prices in bulk than in the base lodge shops), layer up, cover your faces, and plan on more hot cocoa breaks. The benefit of the brutal cold is that the snow will surely be dry and squeaky.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and every ski day has its pluses and minuses - quite literally on the thermometer. My family still laughs about a freezing cold blustery day at the Loaf a few years back - we were the only souls on the Timberline chair, even the patrol were huddled inside. We felt hardcore (albeit cold to our core) as we cruised the firm cord on Tote Road, not a cloud in the sky (too cold for clouds).

Skiing in the rain at RaggedMountain, we had the slopes to ourselves and funny tales later to talk about.

With today’s technical fabric, and high speed lifts, you can minimize your exposure to the elements while maximizing your time on the snow; frozen granular, packed powder, machine groomed corn, slush - whatever Ma Nature has up her sleeve.

The worst plan is canceling your ski plans, staying home doing chores only to see the sun come out and hear about freshly fallen snow in the mountains. Don’t kick yourself, and don’t let the weather determine whether or not you have fun, take your family and go skiing.

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