April 2, 2010
The best bets for April skiing
by Tony Chamberlain/
The right mountain - like Sugarloaf in Maine - can hold snow throug April. (photo: Tony Chamberlain)
If Indian Summer and the January Thaw are real seasons, then so are these days of post-gale, high-sun, making-camping-plans ski season. In April we get down to just a handful of places that handle snow a little long, a little better than others.
If you’re heading west, Summit County, Colorado is the place to be. Stay at Breckenridge or Frisco, ski the big three spring areas – The Breck itself, Arapahoe (A-Basin) and Copper. These three peaks have just the right exposure and elevation to hold snow well past the season where areas actually pay employees to run ski resorts.
In the East, my favorite places have been real standbys when the melting begins. Elsewhere, we talked about the annual Mt. Washington trip. But just across the way (Pinkham Notch) staring into the famous cirque is Wildcat. Some thousand feet higher than most areas around it, Wildcat has northwest-facing slopes that get hit with periodic snow squalls throughout spring, and also duck the hottest of the sun’s rays.
For these reasons, Wildcat is the longest open of New Hampshire’s ski slopes, and this year plans to hold the fort until Sunday, April 25, but plans could change with spring dumps.
In Vermont, Jay Peak– with its mighty 4,000-foot summit – averages more snowfall per season than Steamboat or some other Rocky Mountain areas. Much of that falls in April, so Jay is a lock for good late-season snow. This year, Jay did the unusual thing of blowing lots of machine snow onto the Tramside to match the snow on the Stateside. Thus, more terrain open longer for a good spring season. Some years, late season storms have helped Jay stay open into early May, so the full month of April is almost a guarantee here.
Hint: If you’re driving from the Boston area, go up Route 83 through Franconia Notch and across to the Northeast Kingdom coming from the southeast. It’s faster and easier secondary driving than I-89 and coming in from the west.
Maine’s big three will hold snow very late this year as well. Three decades ago, Sunday River owner Les Otten decided that the shortest route to a skier’s (no boarders then) heart was through his feet – or rather what’s under them.
The early housing built on Sunday River wasn’t much to write home about, and the restaurants were sparse and subpar in those days. But Otten made Sunday River into the best producer and groomer of machine-made snow in the world. It really still has a superior product, and with eight peaks to work with you’ll always find terrain holding good snow well through April.
Hint: If you show up April 19, you ski free. And if you wear a bathing suit, you’ll be in lots of good company.
Sugarloaf is further north and also has a 4,000-foot summit with tons of natural snow along with excellent machine-made. The Loaf also has plenty of those crooked New England pathways through the woods that stay pretty shady and so hold snow longer.
The glades are steep and deep, and the bread and butter runs such as Tote Road and Widowmaker are stocked heavily for the long season.
Hint: The 22nd annual Reggae Fest will hold its spring musical, pond-skimming party this year on April 15-18. This is wild and wet as a Loaf can get.
Not far away, Saddleback shares a ridge line, and the same snowy weather as Sugarloaf, and plans to stay open into mid-April. Like Sugarloaf (they were born around the same time) Saddleback has lots of shady trails and absolutely killer glades. Saddleback has great skiing in its new incarnation under Warren Cook, and great spring skiing.
And for this area, be sure to pack your fly rod for some landlocked salmon fishing on the fabled Rangeley Lakes.
