With Christmas coming on a Sunday, we have that unusual vacation week that has the holidays at the ends rather than splitting the week in the middle. That means five straight days to try out those new skis.

The outlook for the vacation is good after snow making got off to a slow start with a lot of above-freezing weather, but things have improved over the past couple of weeks. Most nights have been in the 20’s and even lower in the mountains. A week ago, at Sunday River, the snow guns were going all day. When temperatures allow ’round-the-clock activity, today’s powerful snow-making systems can put out a lot of snow, and even though daytime highs were above freezing in the southern part of the state this week, they stayed low in the mountains and the weekend forecast was for mountain lows in the teens. That gives us a good outlook for the week ahead.

Lost Valley opened this week with skiing on Big Buck, Bobcat and Pine Grove and the main chair. They were expecting to open more trails and the second chair for the weekend, and had plans for a busy week. The area will be closed for Christmas on Sunday, but I would expect to see the snow guns going.

At Mt. Abram, GM Kevin Rosenberg told me they had skiing off the top with terrain for everyone for their opening Thursday. With the predicted favorable conditions, an increase in terrain was expected for the vacation. Rosenberg also said the new temporary base lodge was ready with just a few finishing touches to be completed, and he reported that the entire staff was returning so everyone can look for familiar faces.

Better yet, their specials of two-for-one Thursdays and carload Fridays will be in effect for vacation week.

Friday nights will again be for school racing. The area will be closed Christmas Day but open for the remainder of the week.

Early in the week, JoAnne Taylor at Saddleback reported that three trails and two lifts, the main double and the short double in front of the lodge serving the terrain park, were open. Next in line was the lower quad to open the beginner area and after that the top quad. Look for plenty of skiing for the week.

I managed to get in my midweek ski day be heading up to Shawnee Peak. I could see the cats moving snow around on the Jack Spratt and the Maine slope, but skiing was confined to the runs off the Pines Quad and Rabbit Run.

I spent some time talking with GM Ed Rock, who told how he and his snow-making team were carefully monitoring the temperatures. It’s as important to shut down the guns when temperatures rise as it is to have them going when conditions are right. Having the 11-mile-long Moose Pond at the foot of the mountain is a mixed blessing. While many areas would kill to have that kind of water supply, before the lake freezes it’s a source of humidity. Ideal snow-making conditions call for low temperatures and low humidity. Tuesday temperatures dropped into the 20’s around lunchtime and Ed headed out to make sure his crews were firing up the snow making. Although a hiccup was expected Wednesday and Thursday, better conditions were expected over the weekend which would allow the snow makers to fill the few gaps needed to be able to open off the top when the area reopens after giving the employees the day off Christmas day.

At Sunday River, reports were that the resort was in good shape with reservations for the vacation and business has been solid to date. The snow makers have also been exceeding their goals. Over a 12-day period the goal was to open 12 trails in 12 days and the crews hit 15 before the period was up. The outlook for the vacation week is for plenty of skiing.

At Sugarloaf, Ethan Austin echoed the thoughts of most in the ski business by noting that although snow making has been good, it’s never enough.

The new lift at Sugarloaf has been operating for a week and is working as expected. It’s a fixed grip quad, but the carpet loading system allows it to run at higher speeds giving it an uphill capacity close to that of the much more expensive, detachable lifts.

There will be a number of special evens next week. One long time special is Ullr Fest at Shawnee Peak set for the 28th. At Sugarloaf, Seth Wescott will be signing posters on the 29th, and few athletes have the patience that Seth does. No matter how long the line, he will sign until everyone has their autograph.

While the anticipation is for the skiing over the week, don’t forget the wrap-up. The week will end with New Year’s Eve parties at many of the areas, but you will need reservations, so be early. Have a Merry Christmas and I’ll see you on the slopes.