With the warm weather we’ve enjoyed the past week or two, it may be hard to believe we could be skiing in another week, but with a bit of luck it could happen.

Next Friday is the target date for Sunday River’s opening, and Sugarloaf is hoping for skiing on Nov. 21. With temperatures in the 50s and nighttime lows barely reaching freezing, the snowmakers can only watch the forecasts and hope for a drop. A few days of overnight lows in the 20s and daytime highs remaining near freezing would allow the snowmakers to put down a lot of snow overnight, and it wouldn’t be lost during the day.

That’s all we need to be skiing next weekend, so are you ready?

Here the routine is the same. In recent weeks we have been swapping summer wear for winter wear and making sure we know where the ski socks and poly pro underwear is. The skis have been checked for tuning needs. I can report that they were properly stored with a fresh tune and coat of wax, so all we need is to scrape the bases and we’ll be ready to ski.

That leaves the boots. Some night this week I’ll try them on and wear them for an hour or two.

This will help my feet adapt to being in something more rigid than sneakers or golf shoes. It will also tell me if my feet have changed over the summer and that I need to see a boot fitter for some new pressure points. A few hours in our boots before skiing will make that first day on the hill more comfortable.

The ski racks have been loosened and anti-seize compound applied before re-tightening the bolts. I use a ski box for transporting the skis, and the locks have been squirted with lock anti-freeze. The snow tires are on, and we are now ready to head for the mountains when the lifts open.

There is one more preseason event to attend. I’ll head for Boston on Thursday to check out the Boston Ski Show on opening night. The show hours are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The location remains the Bayside Expo Center just off tthe Expressway South. It is the exit marked JFK/UMass. Turn left at the bottom of the

ramp, cross under the Interstate and follow the signs for Bayside Expo.

I still refer to this as a ski show, but the official title is the Boston Globe Snowsports Expo and it covers many aspects of winter sports, snowboarding, cross country and snowshoeing. There is also a street skate course, a kids SnoPark, Learning Center and Climbing Wall. There will be indoor and outdoor aerial and free ride demos, Master-the-Mountain clinics and snowsports videos. Admission is $10 with $3 coupons in the Boston Globe or at www.onthesnow.com.

The main attraction will be over 200 booths with all the major ski and snowboard companies displaying their latest gear, boots, bindings, skis and accessories. Nearly all the major ski resorts in North America from those represented by Ski Maine to the giants of the Rockies will be on hand. You can also get information for that European trip. And Ski Market will have their $5 million ski sale.

I use the show to touch bases with ski areas around the region and some of the equipment manufacturers. If the weather cooperates, we’ll be able to return Friday and head up to Sunday River to make our first turns over the weekend.

In checking with the ski areas and Ski Maine, I learned that Sugarloaf’s Tin Mountain Roundup will be going statewide this year. The ‘Loaf has used it as an opening-day promotion that offers discounted skiing and benefits local food banks. The offer is simple. Bring three cans of food and get a lift ticket for $20. The details may vary from one ski area to another, as some will be opening later. Ticket prices vary as well.

Sunday River’s offer is simple: Bring three cans of food or donate $5 and get a lift ticket for $20.

The food and money will go to a local food bank. This is all being done through South Ridge base, so head there with your cans of food.

Sugarloaf will have its Tin Mountain roundup the following week.

Greg Sweetser at Ski Maine said that as other areas decide on their offers, they will be posted on the website, www.skimaine.com. The plan is to have a link “Tin Mountain Roundup” with all the offers. Skiers can also click onto the individual areas through the site. As more areas get ready to open and we learn of their offers, we’ll try to have them here as well.

Sweetser also pointed out that the Ski Maine Pass Book is available. The book, which sells for $575, includes 50 lift tickets, four each for the eight major ski areas, and two each for the community areas. That figures out to $11.50 per day to ski, which is about as low as you will find. He noted that the tickets can be used with the Passport, the kids progam that allows kids free skiing with an adult purchasing a ticket. The association sells 160 of these books to help finance their operation ,which promotes Maine skiing, provides snow reports and coordinates numerous activities in the sport in Maine.

For information on all the above, check that website, www.skimaine.com. For the kids’ passport, click on Winterkids.

Now let’s have some of those cold nights so the snowmakers can get us on the slopes.

As for my house, the final part of the transition has been completed. The picture of a mountain golf course in the entry way now shows the white ski trails in the background.

Freelance writer Dave Irons lives in Westbrook.