by Albert Neubert
The warm temps and rain over the weekend rapidly transformed the snow surfaces to spring conditions which means loose granular and corn snow. It’s called “corn” snow because the wet snow congeals into little balls that resemble kernels of corn. The above average temps and continuous rains have wreaked havoc with resort operators that skimped on snowmaking and it showed quickly with bare spots opening up where bases were thin.
The most vulnerable spots are on lift get-off ramps because these tend to face directly into the sun and are flat so melting and rain contribute to ponding which only accelerates the melting. What makes this unseasonably warm and wet weather so unusual is its longevity and without any freezing temps for days on end. It has been pervasive throughout the Northeast with record high temperatures being recorded right up to the Canadian border.
I skied last week at the Windham Mountain Club, in the northern Catskills, on a day that started out below freezing in the wee hours of the morning but with a bright sun and clear blue skies. Temps soared into the mid-sixties by noon and the snow surfaces got soft and sticky, fast. The entire mountain was open and the deck was humming since it felt more like being at the beach than at a ski resort.
I used all four high speed detachable chairs starting with the Wonderama quad, which serves mainly intermediate terrain that also gets hit with the morning sun. The trails were still firm early and became soft in the flatter areas. I find that by bringing your skis up on edge more and pressuring the downhill edge greater than you normally would, it makes skiing in the heavy and sticky snow easier.
I then moved to the Whiteway Express quad which serves mostly novice terrain as well as a terrain park. These slopes face away from the morning sun and it showed with shaded portions of the trails still firm from the overnight freeze. From there I went to the Westside Six summit express lift and started on the upper intermediate Whistler run down the middle of the face. I skied several of the trails on the main mountain including the super steep, double-black diamond Wheelchair trail, which was perfectly covered with a very thick blanket of snow.
On Friday, I went to the western edge of the Catskills to the town of Roxbury and the home of Plattekill. It was a very chilly start to the day with temps in the mid-20s when I arrived and the sun was already bright in the early morning sky. It turned out to be a bluebird day with the temperature rising into the low 40s by the time I left in the early afternoon.
Plattekill lost all of their natural coverage so it was a good test to see how their snowmaking has been this season. There were about 20 trails open and all lifts operating. Four of the five super steep double black diamond runs were open and all of them had great coverage top-to-bottom and edge-to-edge. Better yet, they were groomed perfectly. Plattekill’s management deserves kudos for their snowmaking and more importantly their grooming of the steep terrain which is very challenging. Blockbuster, the area’s signature steep was actually “easy” to ski. Note that I say that as a very advanced skier. The trail still requires flawless technique or you will find yourself in trouble very quickly.
The other snowmaking runs were in equally as good a shape with the two mile long Powder Puff trail an absolutely joy to cruise and take in the stunning scenery on the way down. You even have a couple of options halfway down in crossing over to the lower Face or using Shredded Mozzarella, two intermediate runs. You can also use the Rascals Flats trail and shoot off on I think I can before heading to the base. As always, I never waited for a chair and could ski until I had nothing left in my tank.
On Monday, I headed back to the Northern Catskills where I skied at Hunter for a couple of hours. This time I was greeted by a bluebird sky and instead experienced a thick overcast cloud cover and temps in the 40s that rose to near 50 by noon. Coverage was still excellent given that it was 60 the day before and that was after an all-day rain on Saturday. The turnout was light and I was doing laps off the Kaatskill Flyer high-speed six-pack chairlift.
I stayed on the shaded trails including White Cloud, Heuga, Drop Off and Belt Parkway because, even with the cloud cover, the stronger ultra violet rays from the sun at this time of the year tend to beat down on the snow surfaces and turn them softer and heavier quickly. It was just another spring skiing day in a season that has featured so many such days throughout the winter months.
This unseasonably long and brutal thaw could see some early season-closing announcements from local ski areas. The long range forecast as of the time I am writing this column is not favorable with no sub-freezing temps on the horizon for low-lying ski areas. It’s not much better at higher elevations but at least there are some freezing nights forecast over the next couple weeks. If you want to keep your season going, you will likely have to add an hour or more to your trip to find the snow covered slopes.
Think corn snow, and happy skiing and riding! You can contact me at asneubert@aol.com or you can visit my Instagram page @asneubert.
