One or two of our TV weather forecasters whine every time temperatures drop, but a few are actually skiers and point out how the weather is going to be great for snowmaking. I recently stopped watching one of the whiners when he told us to watch out for frostbite on a day when golfers were out. I won’t name channels, but my morning coffee and newspapers are more pleasant now.

Skiers looking for a positive spin should surf the channels until they find outdoor types doing the weather. It will make your days more pleasant.

When we have warm rainy weather to finish November, ski area folks are watching the weather even closer than we are. The run up to Thanksgiving had us all watching the rain and wondering how it would affect the skiing over the long weekend. Saturday there were bare spots evident but the skiing was good and plenty of skiers were on hand to check out the demos at Sunday River. I talked with several of the reps and all said the skis were coming back in good shape so skiers were avoiding the places with thin cover. The rain was actually a plus in one way. When we get a little natural snow to hide the bare spots and the line where manmade snow ends, it’s easy to ski into the hidden ground underneath. That’s something to keep in mind until we have mid winter cover.

Saturday temperatures began dropping early in the day and by late afternoon the snow guns were going and they have been going ever since. When I talked with Susan Duplessis at Sunday River and she said, “The good news is we’re blowing tons of snow and we should be able to double terrain by the weekend.”

That meant most of Barker and Spruce would be open and as long as temperatures stayed low snowmaking would continue around the clock.

On opening weekend 720 skiers bought $20 tickets and contributed 2500 cans of food to the Bethel Food Bank. This is part of the Tin Mountain Round Up which started at Sugarloaf and is now statewide. Next weekend it will move to Shawnee Peak where skiers on opening weekend can buy a ticket for $15 with the donation of three cans of food. Tuesday Melissa Rock told me the guns were going top to bottom and they expected to open with “lots of terrain”. This weekend the skiing was reserved for ski school training. Rock was optimistic about the season as season pass sales are well up.

At Lost Valley, Connie King said pass sales were up and they were expecting to have plenty of skiing for their Dec. 19 opening. The various learning programs were nearly full and Tad Betcher will be training ski instructors next weekend. Skiers will find an expanded ski shop and an improved terrain park this year.

Enthusiasm is the word at Saddleback where snowmaking improvements are being put to use in anticipation of their opening on the 19th. New marketing director Jessica MacDonald said 400 skiers attended an open house the day after Thanksgiving and season pass sales were brisk. GM Tom McAllister told me a lot of work had been done in the brief time since new owner Bill Berry took over, but one item we delaying full implementation of more snow guns. The new pump which will increase water capacity and the number of guns on line at one

time was sitting in California and he was anticipating a three day trip by truck to get it to Saddleback. Even so, the freshly brushed out trails will be easier to cover and as long as the weather holds plenty of terrain is expected for the opening.

Once the new pump is in place and the new groomers operating, Saddleback skiers can expect some of the best skiing in years. It may be early but those same skiers are looking ahead to the end of this season when the big projects begin, doubling the size of the base lodge, running the main chair down so it will be accessed from the lodge, speeding up that chair, adding a chair that will start 2000 feet below the base lodge and at the same time running a pipe to Saddleback Lake for snowmaking. Things are happening fast at Saddleback, but the best is yet to come.

Mount Abram will be opening Dec. 20. GM Eric Schandelmeier said they were making snow whenever temperatures permitted and expected to be in good shape for the opening.

Sugarloaf opened the weekend after Sunday River and hit the rain causing their Tin Mountain Roundup to be a bit less successful. In spite of the weather, 1000 cans of food and some cash donations were turned over to the local food bank. The Loaf picked up 3-5 inches of natural snow early in the week and they were expecting to have twice the acreage and mileage s last weekend.

Looking on the bright side of the rainy weeks, Bill Swain noted, “At least

there’s plenty of water in the river this year.” That bodes well for snowmaking everywhere as water supplies are ample after several years of drought.

From Black Mountain Jeff Knight told us the snowmakers were busy and everything should be ready for the opening Dec. 20. The big news is the new chair on the beginner area. The cable will go up next Tuesday and a Grand Opening is planned for Dec. 27 on the big vacation weekend.

The focus this fall has been on changes to the alpine area, but cross country has the big event. The U.S. Nationals will return to Rumford January 3-11, and will bring Canadian teams as well as teams from all over the U.S. Close to a kilometer of snowmaking has been added to the cross country trails so the essential race trails can be covered guaranteeing snow for the nationals regardless of natural snow fall.

Locally there will be an alpine race camp Dec. 29-31 for middle school level skiers. The new ownership is moving forward with improvements and the team already in place is keeping the tradition of hosting major events alive and well.

From everyone I talked with the message was the same. Skiers will have plenty of skiing when most areas are open within a week or two.

Dave Irons is a freelance writer who lives in Westbrook.

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