I know it’s getting on to full-on Spring in Vermont but it’s the closing day at Prospect Mountain, my ski area, and I have to do a season recap. I actually was so sad about closing day that I didn’t ski this morning, I let yesterday be my last day. It was fantastic conditions, a little thin and icy in spots and some debris, but it was a great ski and I wanted to end on a high note.
This year, I tried to keep track on my calendar of all the days I skied, and for the most part I kept up with it. I also made a note of general conditions as well (there were a lot of “fantastic”s!). My first ski day was before Thanksgiving, Prospect has a trail cam you can view online, and even when they are not officially open (and no rentals obviously) you can go up and ski because it’s a National Forest. So if I see snow early in the season, I’ll go just to be outside on the trails. I actually broke my Salomons this year and I think it’s from doing exactly this, I did a few backcountry-style trips up the mountain on skate skis (not advisable for the skis, they are more fragile and delicate than regular cross-country skis). Plus when it’s not groomed or bare spots it scrapes up the skis so next year I’m just going to use my regular old xc skis when it’s not groomed and open. I definitely skied November 23, day before Thanksgiving. Not open, not groomed.
There wasn’t much snow in early December and we went to Miami the first week in December but I did ski December 12 (just because I wanted to be in 80 degree temps one day and 18 the next!). There was a little snowstorm that weekend but not enough to open. I didn’t make a note of official opening day but I skied almost every day the week before Christmas and skied Christmas Eve afternoon just because I could (and it was absolutely freezing that day!). The week after Christmas I skied almost every day in marginal conditions, and the beginning of January wasn’t the greatest this year. But early in the season I’m just happy to be out in it.
We had a spell in early January where there was no snow, but we finally kicked into gear around January 21. I started skiing almost every day. Early in January my neighbor started skiing with me on the weekends, I usually go up the mountain if conditions aren’t great because you can count on more snow there and it’s a fun ski down, so I had some good mountain skis with some fun downhills before the trails really got going. It’s also great exercise to hike up and I love to just be outside in the cold. After around the 21st, it was almost endless good skiing. There were some warm days mixed in which was really great for skate skiers, the best skiing for skating is if it’s warm and slushy and then freezes solid overnight. You want it to be a little icy and fast. There were also a few “miracle snowfalls” in late January, where I was skiing when it was actually snowing (note to self: buy ski googles next year) which is like being inside your own personal, private snow globe. Amazing! I love to be up there during the week when no one is around, it’s the most serene and peaceful winter wonderland!
I skied basically every day in February and it was amazing most of the time. There are a lot of races in February which I know is good for Prospect but I never like it, there’s a giant Massachusetts state HS race in mid-February and you really don’t want to ski that day even though it’s super fun to see the kids. And the Williams Carnival is also in February, I had a great day that day, I skied up the mountain to get away from the crowds and had a few nice runs around Danish Delight at the top and then came down and took some pictures. So fun to see all the Ivy League wax trailers and vans and the happy, healthy kids! I wish I had grown up here so I could’ve started skiing earlier in life! And then there were a few adult weekend races, I get nervous on race days because the racers practice before the races and they zip around super fast (you can get up to 25-35 mph if you’re elite, that’s pretty fast on the trails where just regular people like myself are). It’s fun to watch but you have to really be on the lookout for them, I’m not sure they’re on the lookout for you, if you feel me. My neighbor really got into skating this year too, and it will be fun to ski with her next year, we want to join in some citizen’s races (and we actually think we won’t come in last, lol).
We had a few bare days early March, I also took 4 lessons this year, a ski clinic, and that was super helpful. It’s hard to learn too many things at once so 4 was perfect for me and now I have like 5 things to work on starting out next year. I still struggle on uphill technique and I am learning V2. Usually the season ends in mid-March, but this year we had a miracle almost 3 foot snowfall March 14. It was an absolute miracle! I went up the day after and it still wasn’t groomed, but once it got packed down and groomed, it left us with absolutely amazing conditions day after day after day. I was really getting anxious (as was most of New England) in January and February because it wasn’t snowing at all and we had weeks-long stretches with no new snow, but as my friend who grew up in Maine said “It’s not a question of if it’s going to snow, it’s a question of when”. And she was so right! Honestly as of today, April 9 (Easter) I think Prospect could go another week but it’s okay to close, it’s going to be in the 80s this week ha ha and it’s time. Mt. Van Hoevenberg closed yesterday and Wild Wing in Peru closed earlier this week. So it’s all okay.
I got new, better skis (Fischers) because my ski well and truly broke on the mountain March 4, and I am so glad I did! They are firmer and shorter and I also bought a waxing iron, and that allowed me to ski out the season I think, hot waxing every few days really makes a world of difference when the snow is softer and slushier.
I honestly stood in the bedroom this morning and cried a little bit because it was the end of the season, I just can’t say how much skiing means to me. It’s such amazing exercise, it’s so incredibly peaceful and magical, it’s a technique as well as an endurance sport and there are always things to learn and practice, and the feeling of speeding across snow is absolutely magical. I ski at about 10 mph and I hope to improve that next year. I know I’ll get back into golf (we’ve already golfed 5 times!) and I love to be out on the course in summer and fall, but come November, I’m going to optimistically move my skis back to the garage and start doing my snow dances again, I hope you’ll do them with me! Goodbye, ski season, there’s just nothing like you and I can’t wait for many, many, many more magical days up on the mountain.
