Recent weather ‘curveball’ is the perfect way to bid farewell to 2020

Resorts are making snow to try and rebound from the recent warm-up. (Omni Mount Washington Resort)

Berkshire East general manager Jon Schaefer classified what New England’s ski industry has gone through over the last week as a “weather curveball.” 

If so, can we go to the bullpen already? 

It has indeed been something of a downer since parts of the region received more than a foot of snow only a fortnight ago. A holiday warm-up brought heavy rain to much of the area, causing a wash-out at some areas. Vermont’s Magic Mountain posted a photo from its base late in the day on Christmas that showed off a bare surface better suited for October. 

Black Mountain, in Jackson, N.H., was forced to push off its opening day, and thus far, has been unable to run the lifts during the pivotal holiday break. Across the state, Cannon Mountain was forced to close Monday due to high winds. 

Snowmaking capabilities were pivotal in keeping trail counts high (Okemo had 55 of its 120 trails open Wednesday; Sunday River 45 of its 135), but temperatures barely plummeted enough to do so until the end of the weekend. All reports say that groomers held up decently enough, but all else remains in waiting mode for the next, big storm. 

In a way, it’s the perfect way to say, farewell to 2020. 

Yes, in the grand scheme of everything that has gone wrong this year, our skiing and riding woes shouldn’t top the list. Nor do they. But that doesn’t stop us from pining for relief under the circumstances. 

Remember the days when we used to travel, state-to-state, with no qualms? Now it’s like that scene from The Hunt For Red October, when Captain Ramius glorifies the possibility of going to Montana with “no papers.” What a world. 

So, we look to a new year with a new sense of hope. Hope that the vaccine does its job and we’re all having cross-state parties within time. Hope that the winter delivers more than a few storms down the pipeline (long-range chatter suggests a big one the second week in January). Hope that we can all get along and follow the protocols in order to ensure this season lasts longer than the last one did. 

The forecast at the end of this week looks better, at least; more snow predicted now than the rain we were supposed to endure. That’s the least with which 2020 can leave us. 

This year was like watching your favorite spot in the woods, waiting for it to fill up with snow so you could strap on your boards and dive in. Except, the snow never came. And once it did, somebody put a fence around the area, keeping everybody out. 

We won’t miss 2020. The year of the curveball. 

Next year better bring its fastball. 

Super showing for Vermonter on World Cup circuit 

Congratulations to Vermont’s own Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who  earned his first-ever World Cup victory on Tuesday, winning the super-G in Bormio, Italy. Cochran-Siegle became the first American male to win a World Cup super-G since Bode Miller in 2006. He won the race by nearly eight-tenths of a second, the largest winning margin in a men’s World Cup super-G since 2016. 

“I skied well,”  Cochran-Siegle told reporters. “I had a good approach and carried speed in a lot of sections…that middle section, I definitely skied with a good limit and just trusting that, trying to ski it smart. The speed I gained from there, I carried through the finish and had that gap.”

Earlier this month, Cochran-Siegle  had finished second in a downhill race in Val Gardena-Groeden, Italy, which had been the best career finish for the 28-year-old native of Starksboro, Vt. He finished in 2:01.67, only .22 of a second behind Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the overall defending World Cup champion from Norway. Previously, Cochran-Siegle had never finished higher than fifth in any World Cup race. 

With his second-place finish, Cochran-Siegle, the son of former Olympian Barbara Ann Cochran, became the first American man to grab a podium since 2017, when Travis Ganong won a downhill in Germany. According to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team, that was the longest drought in U.S. history. 

Favorable finishes for local resorts 

Koala, an online marketplace for travelers to rent timeshares, recently created the “American Ski Index,” ranking the Top 100 resorts in the country based on factors such as annual snowfall, cost of a ski pass, and review ratings. Park City, Utah came out on top. 

Killington was the top-finisher in New England at No. 11, followed by Sunday River (No. 24), Stowe (No. 34), Jay Peak (No. 42), Smugglers’ Notch (No. 46), Sugarbush (No. 53), Stratton (No. 54), Sugarloaf (No. 55), Cannon (No. 68), Bolton Valley (No. 69), Bretton Woods (No. 70), Okemo (No. 71), Loon (No. 81), Pico (No. 89), Gunstock (No. 90), Attitash (No. 92), Cranmore (No. 94), Mad River Glen (No. 96), and Mount Sunapee (No. 99).

Other factors considered for the scores included length of slopes, number of lifts, and the price of an adult pass. 

New England Ski Journal TV is back on NESN

https://vimeo.com/495262465

Check out the season premiere of New England Ski Journal TV, with new host Meredith Gorman. The show has check-ins at Waterville Valley, Conway Scenic Railroad and Sunday River, and visits Woodstock Inn and Brewery for the first “Brew Minute” segment of the season.

The season premiere will also air on NESN on Jan. 3 at 5 p.m., and Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. (Other airings: NESN+: Dec. 30. 6:30 p.m., Jan. 5, 6 p.m.; NESN National: Dec. 30, 12:30 p.m., Jan. 3, 5 p.m., Jan. 4, 2 p.m., Jan. 5, noon.)

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