When does a ski season get underway? For many, it’s the first day on the slopes, but for many of us it starts much earlier.

For years, the Ski Maine Association has been sponsoring the New England Summit, a gathering of ski area personnel for a trade show and a series of seminars on important ski industry topics. On Sept 12, it was held at Sunday River where it has been for many of those years. A month later the Ski Museum of Maine had its second annual fund raising Ski Season Launch Party at the Double Tree in South Portland, and on Oct. 26 the Maine Ski Hall of Fame had its annual induction banquet at Lost Valley. This 10th anniversary event drew 250 to what has become a reunion of skiers to kick off Maine’s ski season. Nov. 8 was our annual trip to Boston for the Ski and Snowboard Expo.

The following weekend, Nov.18, found us on traveling to Wachusett, the popular Massachusetts ski area north of Worcester. The occasion was the annual meeting of the New England Ski Museum and the recognition of Bernie Weischel with the Spirit of Skiing Award.

Most skiers have never heard of Bernie, but if you have been to the Boston Ski Show, you have enjoyed one of his productions, and most everyone in the ski industry knows or knows of Bernie. His company, BEWI Productions Inc., has been producing ski shows since 1979 with the show currently in Boston, Denver and Seattle, and each year gives an award to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the ski industry. Drawing over 100,000 skiers to his shows annually (45,000 in Boston alone) would be doing more than his share in promoting skiing, but Bernie Weischel goes way beyond that. A few years ago he got involved with the National Ski Hall of Fame and almost single handedly turned its annual induction combined with the annual ISHA (International Skiing History Association) meeting into a major find raiser that has gone a long way toward making those organizations financially sound.

Bernie has done so much for the sport and to honor those who have been so important to skiing, that the Spirit of Skiing Award was most appropriate. I have had the pleasure of skiing with Bernie all over North America, and I have never skied with a more enthusiastic skier. Bernie Weischel embodies the spirit of skiing and all skiers should be thankful he’s out there. Attending his award night was a great way to wrap up a busy fall, and all of this before we put on our skis which is usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

As usual, the demos were at Sunday River for the holiday weekend and my plan was simple. Take a few runs on the Mixing Bowl beginner runs then stop by the tents to see how things were going with the reps. There were plenty of skiers and business was brisk with new skis being checked out. Most of the skis being checked out were Rocker models. Every company now has them, and many ski areas have switched their entire rental fleets to this new technology. Without going into details, I can simply say they are easier to ski and much easier to learn on, so if you’re in the market for new boards, give them a try.

If you missed the demos at Sunday River, next weekend they will be at Sugarloaf. The cost is $5 —  refundable if you buy skis from the Sugarloaf Ski Shop and you must have a valid ID and a major credit card. A word on demo etiquette is in order. Remember the idea is to try out skis, not take a pair and ski them for the day. A few runs should be enough, then take them back and try something else. Treat them as if you had just bought them so the next skier will find the same well tuned skis you were on. And, be sure to return them by 3 PM because the reps have to store them all for the night before they can get in out of the cold.

Obviously, the ski season is well underway thanks to snowmaking and temperatures cold enough to blow plenty of snow. We’ve read a lot about New England’s ski areas investing heavily in newer, more efficient snow guns, but no matter how good they are, we still need temperatures below freezing, and the lower the better. A year ago, we didn’t get those cold temperatures, which is why the season got off to such a slow start. If it stays cold, we could have abundant skiing for Christmas.

But we don’t have abundant time for shopping. Counting today, there are just 23 days to find the right gift for that skier on your list. Fortunately, ski shops are not as crowded as the malls and a lot more fun to shop. Skis and boots are almost impossible to buy for someone else, so don’t try to surprise them with some under the tree. But a gift certificate from his favorite ski shop will work. In fact, almost all ski shops sell gift cards and they are the easiest way to shop. The list of items from accessories to ski wear is endless, everything from goggles, gloves, socks and more to make that trip to your favorite ski shop and get it done in a way that doesn’t interfere with your own skiing time.

See you on the slopes.