What has been a remarkably good ski season to date, given the lack of snow since the big thaw and rain, was recently marred by two deaths at Sunday River. With today’s modern snowmaking and grooming, we have had mostly good skiing in spite of the lack of natural snow for a month or more. And we are being spoiled by a combination of today’s ski equipment and good conditions. A problem we all have to be aware of is conditions off the trails.

All we have to do is look in our backyards or along side the roads we drive. What we see is bare ground and ice. That is exactly what lies in the trees along the trails we ski. Snowmaking and grooming have given us nice smooth boulevards to ski, especially first thing in the morning. Whenever we have a thaw, the snowmakers wait for temperatures to drop. When conditions, temperature and humidity are right, the snowmakers go to work laying down a fresh coat of snow over the ice and whatever the thaw exposed. Once a sufficient coat of new snow has been spread, the grooming machines with their power tillers go to work.

This process gives us a perfectly smooth surface (corduroy to most) for the first skiers in the morning. Note that “first thing in the morning.” Mid-week, such conditions can last most of the day, but weekend traffic can change those conditions drastically, especially on heavily used runs. As skiers turn to control their speed, those perfectly groomed surfaces get scraped away. What was a smooth surface becomes an inconsistent mix of loose snow and icy patches.

Absent frequent and abundant snowfall the woods are a mix of ice and frozen turf. A few years ago New Hampshire reported a rash of severe highway accidents in a low snow winter. There were several incidents of freezing rain and cars leaving the highway didn’t hit soft snowbanks. Instead they hit something solid. In a year such as this, skiers face the same circumstances. Sliding off a trail won’t result in a soft landing in snow, but a rough ride over ice and frozen turf until something solid stops the skier.

There is nothing a ski area can do about this situation. They can maintain the trails, but it is up to us to control our safety. We don’t drive at highway speeds on icy pavement or in a blinding snow storm. We have been bombarded over many years with messages advising us to drive according to conditions. We need to heed those messages on the mountain, but it goes further. When roads are dry, we don’t worry about what we might hit off the road. But in skiing, we need to be aware of conditions off the trail.

All it takes is a split second to catch an edge. When skiing at a high rate of speed next to the woods, that one little mishap can result in a catastrophic or fatal injury. Sliding off a road with a seat belt and surrounded by a couple of tons of steel at 35 mph can result in little more than some shaking up. We don’t have that protection on skis.

Our protection has to be in how we ski. As conditions deteriorate through the day, we need to back off our speed and avoid the edges of the trails even though that may appear to be where the best snow is. On narrow runs, the snow tends to be pushed to the edges, which is why we see many good skiers executing short tight turns next to the trees. But be aware, this takes a high degree of skill. Intermediate skiers are better off avoiding the steeper runs after lunch and sticking to the intermediate (blue square) or even novice (green circle) runs, where the margin for error is much greater. I can’t comment on the circumstances that led to these recent events, but with 20 years of ski-patrol experience, I do know how to protect myself on skis. The message, “Ski in Control” may sound trite, but in skiing, it’s our key to survival.

Shoot out coming

The state ski meets are history. The schools have their trophies and the athletes their medals, but the competition alpine ski season isn’t over. This past week our high school skiers fought it out on the slopes with their classes. Next Saturday, some 70-80 boys and girls from all three classes will gather at Mt. Abram for the annual Shoot Out. They will include the top 10 finishers from each class in slalom and giant slalom.

At Mt. Abram they will again compete in these events. The courses will be set on the Center X, the broad, steep run that comes right down the face of the mountain next to the chair lift. As we all found out in March of 1995 when the ladies pro tour featuring Julie Parisien displayed their talents, this run is visible from the base lodge making it a great place to watch racing whether you ski or not.

At stake will be 10 spots each for boys and girls in the New England Alpine Championships. The Shoot Out offers a chance to watch the finest high school alpine ski racers in Maine.