Camp Fortune QC – SUNday 17 April, 2016 – Serious Spring Skiing

Sun
Hot
Sunglasses
Beer & BBQ
A band playing
Shorts, Bikinis, underwear and topless skiing
Corn
…and some bumps

This is what Spring skiing is about. Mother Nature gave us warm weather, sunshine and corn weekend. While some people were enjoying their Summer activities in the cities which includes patio drinking, cycling and try to forget about snow, for others it was just another really to go skiing and soak in the rays.

Skyline Parking

View from Skyline Deck with band, BBQ and beer on the left side next to chair

Here is a report of CTV News in Ottawa : Temperatures soar in the capital
http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/temperatures-soar-in-the-capital-1.2862873#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=Facebook&_gsc=yJMiHId

My teenaged daughter questioned my sanity. “It’s going to be 21c today, why would you want to be skiing? My reply was, “Exactly, it going to 21c, why not go skiing?” It’s on days like these that you see who the real skiers are.

Slow Sunday morning, it was 11:30, it was SUN and +17c. Barely twenty minutes later, I arrived at a packed Skyline parking. Camp Fortune was the closest skiing from home, the next closest options were Tremblant, St-Sauveur and Whiteface between 2 and 3 hours away.

The Valley was closed, Skyline was where it was happening, amongst the best concentration of Spring skiing on a 590’ vertical around, similar to the old lost Gray Rocks used to offer.

Today was a day where all the hardcore weren’t going to miss. If the locals weren’t at Tremblant, they were here. As the afternoon went on, I started to meet more and more people I knew.

The mountain had been groomed, but it was definitely corning up when I started skiing. Skiing from from left to right.

Chute, Middle Canadian and Bud Clark from Lower Canadian

Lower Canadian

Camille on the edge on Chute

Aaron’s Cornapolooza

Sparks : the longest and easier trail offered. It was a great place to get started. Corn was already deep.

Bud Clark : close to wall-to-wall coverage, but a few thin spot poking out. Deep corn lower down.

Canadian : Steeper than Bud, a fun steep pitch and some slightly firm snow on the side. Bumps were popping out as the afternoon progressed. Middle Canadian had a few large patches, but it was roped off. It still made for some beautiful nice turns on some of the firmer undisturbed corn snow.

Chute : The steep drop which can be terrifying for some racing kids when it’s solid ice at -21c. Today was +21c and keep you on the edge. The more on the edge, there was a nice small drop to jump off from.

Lower Canadian : the wide part concluding the 3 runs above. There was a few rocks poking through and you had to negotiate a puddle that became biggest has the snow melted.

Heggtveit

Heggtveit : The long steep bumped run that was used for the Canadian Moguls Championships for a few weeks ago. It started off fairly smooth after this was groomed, but like the other steep runs, it bumped up in a few places. The edge of the built up snow was particular a lot of fun. The run needed probably another few hours to become a real mogul field par excellence. Still tons of snow left on Heggtveit, probably a few weeks left for those that want to earn their turns.

Swan Dive with Chute, Canadian, Bud Clark and Sparks in the distance

Swan Dive : Officially closed, but that didn’t stop some brave skiers to try to hope from snowpatch to snowpatch on this steep natural run. It might be the last day of the season.

The tiny Skyline lodge was empty expect for those wanting to buy the $20 lift tickets and using the washroom. People taking a break were sitting outside on the bench and picnic tables setup at the bottom. People smiling in the lift line. The band was playing that you could hear from the top of the lift, burgers were flipping and the beer was flowing. People stayed outside until long after the lift stopped turning, the last beer was served and the last burger was flipped. This is what Spring skiing is really all about.

There was a glimmer of hope for a repeat weekend, but Camp Fortune decided to call it a season after the rain on Monday. Now it’s earned your turns season locally or head to closer open ski hill 2 hours away at Mont St-Sauveur which will continue spinning on weekends until May 14.

Ottawa hardcore (Carmen, Rog, Ben, Aaron) from Japan, Dubai, Europe, South America to Camp Fortune

End of season

MadPat’s Gallery:
Camp Fortune QC – April 17, 2016

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The best of Spring Skiing – Eastern Closing 2016 – Week 4

FOURTH WEEKEND OF APRIL

This is what Spring skiing is about. Mother Nature gave us warm weather, sunshine and corn weekend. While some people were enjoying their Summer activities in the cities which includes patio drinking, cycling and try to forget about snow, for others it was just another really to go skiing and soak in the rays.

For a good number of the remaining ski areas in Eastern Canada, this meant last weekend of the season. Some places had excellent coverage, but either fixed dates closing, economics or generally logistics made areas like Tremblant, Val St-Côme, Massif du Sud, Le Relais and the more remote areas of Val d’Irène, Monts Edouard, Miller, Gallix, Chalco and Vidéo in Québec. Smokey Mountain in remote Labrador City NL and Blue Mountain in Collingwood ON, the further Northeast and Southwest ski areas in the East also closed, but problem for different ski related reasons. Whiteface was the only ski area in the Eastern US to official call it a season on Sunday.

A few others like Wildcat and Camp Fortune outside Ottawa are hoping to make to an extra weekend.

With Lutsen and Ski Brule in the Midwest, we are now down to 15 ski areas East of the Rockies are still hoping to spin next weekend; only 6 are opened daily (all in Vermont and Maine). Let’s hope for another beautiful weekend of skiing. On the bright side, we now have 6 ski areas talking, hoping, to offer us some May skiing.

Here is a report of CTV News in Ottawa : Temperatures soar in the capital
http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/temperatures-soar-in-the-capital-1.2862873#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=Facebook&_gsc=yJMiHId

Numbers from previous seasons: Total / New York & New England
2016 : 14 / 8
2015 : 10 / 7
2014 : : 11 / 5
2013 : 8 / 4
2012 : 6 / 3

An important note to remember, this list can change at any moment. Even if there is snow, call ahead, some might not bothering spinning if the weather doesn’t compare with the notion of Spring skiing.

LIST OF 13 SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND (6 open daily)

QUEBEC : 6

Camp Fortune – April 24 (tentative weekend only)*
Val d’Irène – April 24 (Sunday only)***
Le Valinouet – April 24 (Friday-Sunday only)
Ste.Anne – April 24 (weekend only)
Lac Vert – April 23 30 (tentative weekend Saturday only)****
Comi – May (weekend only)
St-Sauveur – May 14 (weekends only)

EASTERN US : 7
Wildcat NH – April 24 May 1 (tentative weekend only)**
Stowe VT – April 24 (daily)
Jay VT – TBD (daily)
Sunday River ME – May 1 (weekend only)
Sugarbush VT – May 1 (tentative)
Sugarloaf ME – May 1 (daily)
Killington VT – into May (daily until May 1 then weekends only)

* Update April 19 : Camp Fortune and Ski Brule are calling it a season.
** Update April 20 : Wildcat is confirming they will be open this weekend and now aiming for May 1 closing date.
*** Update April 20, 11:30pm : Val d’Irène decide to reopen for Sunday only.
**** Update April 22 : Mont Lac Vert is mentioning that their last day will be Saturday April 23.

Ski Mad World’s weekly Eastern Closing 2016 posts:
Let’s move Past EASTer & Go Easterner – Eastern Closing Thread 2016 – Part 1
Freeze Frame – Eastern Closing Thread 2015-16 – semaine 2
Monday, Monday…Eastern Closing 2016 Update – Week 3

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Monday, Monday…Eastern Closing 2016 Update – Week 3

THIRD WEEKEND OF APRIL

A grey Monday morning update.

The Freeze Frame Winter weather which included some fresh snow in some parts slowed down the closures over the past week. Some mentioned it was one of the best days of the season, unfortunately we still saw a number of Eastern ski areas calling it a season, some either had no choice coverage wise, decided to cut their season’s loses or just keep to the schedule closing date, especially like Le Massif and other places Eastern Quebec.

Many of the big guns of the US East are holding on hope to make it to May regardless of a poor snow totals this season, so much that Maine’s Sugarloaf and Sunday River blew some snow in April. The snow situation is better as we move further North and East.

Many of the smaller Quebec areas in the East are winding down their season with weekend opening only and one finally weekend coming up; this is nothing out of the ordinary for them. As we moved in mid-April, the Eastern skiers, with a few exceptions, needs to drive far in order to ski if their aren’t located in the Montreal-Quebec City-Boston triangle.

Twenty-seven ski areas are hoping to open this coming weekend, almost half are East of Quebec City, however if you want to ride a lift midweek you’ll have to settled with only 9 areas, 6 of them being in the US (Tremblant, MSS, Le Relais, Jay, Stowe, Sugarbush, Killington, Wildcat and Sugarloaf).

Numbers from previous seasons: Total / New York & New England
2016 : 27 / 8
2015 : 39 / 22
2014 : : 38 / 15
2013 : 25 / 12
2012 : 10 / 6

An important note to remember, this list can change at any moment. Even if there is snow, call ahead, some might not bothering spinning if the weather doesn’t compare with the notion of Spring skiing.

LIST OF 27 26 SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND (9 open daily)**

QUEBEC : 17 16**

Western Québec : 6 5**
Vallée Bleue – TBD (tentative weekend only)**
Mont Vidéo – April 16 (tentative Saturday only)
Val St-Côme – April 17 (tentative weekend only)
Camp Fortune – April 17 (tentative Friday* and weekend only)
Tremblant – April 17
St-Sauveur – May 14 (tentative)

Eastern Québec : 11
Chalco – April 17 (weekend only)
Gallix – April 17 (Friday-Sunday only)
Massif du Sud – April 17 (weekend only)
Édouard – April 17 (Friday-Sunday only)
Val d’Irène – April 17 (Friday-Sunday only)
Le Relais – April 17
Le Valinouet – April 24 (Friday-Sunday only)
Ste.Anne – April 24 (Friday* and weekend only)
Lac Vert – April 30 (tentative weekend only)
Miller – late April 17 or May (weekend only)*
Comi – May (weekend only)

ONTARIO & LABRADOR : 2
Blue ON – April 17 (Wednesday-Sunday only)
Smokey Mountain NL – late April (tentative Friday-Sunday)

EASTERN US : 8
Wildcat NH – TBD (weekend only)
Whiteface NY – April 17 (Friday-Sunday only)
Sugarloaf ME – April 17 and possibly more
Stowe VT – April 24
Jay VT – late April
Sugarbush VT – May 1 (tentative)
Sunday River ME – May 1 (weekend and Monday Holiday only)
Killington VT – May

* Updates : April 13
** Updates : April 15 – Vallée Bleue is done for the season

Ski Mad World’s weekly Eastern Closing 2016 posts:
Let’s move Past EASTer & Go Easterner – Eastern Closing Thread 2016 – Part 1
Freeze Frame – Eastern Closing Thread 2015-16 – semaine 2

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Freeze Frame – Eastern Closing Thread 2015-16 – semaine 2

SECOND WEEKEND OF APRIL

Freeze Frame on the Spring skiing which will allowed the coverage to last a bit longer if the ski resorts wants to. The dilemma is strong for many, either extended for a bit longer or cut your losses and shutdown the season.

The cold temps made the skiing brutally firm and slick in the low snow regions, while the colder areas in the North and Eastern Quebec are still close to Winter mode. They might be 46 ski areas across the East, but only 11 are still open daily (Québec: 4, Ontario: 1, New England: 7).

Numbers from previous seasons: Total / New York & New England
2016 : 46 / 11
2015 : 82 / 38
2014 : : 89 / 35
2013 : 47 / 25
2012 : 20 / 11

New England is at the same level as the Heatwave Spring of 2012 with only 11 ski areas still open; Eastern Québec ski areas are still on track on their regular schedule: Almost half of the ski areas that will operate make it to April’s second weekend are located are located here. The economic and migration of skiers from South of the St.Lawrence Valley is bringing skiers to places like Le Massif, Tremblant and Ste. Anne. Tremblant decided this week to add an extra weekend to their season by closing on April 17.

Maine’s Sunday River and Sugarloaf try to cope with the situation and take advantage of well below freezing temperatures this week by turning on their snow guns. I don’t recall this happening before, but it’s been a terrible year that will go down in the record book. That being said, 6 ski areas have openly stated that they were aiming for May. Oh yeah, I forgot, there is snow in the forecast in the East.

An important note to remember, this list can change at any moment. Even if there is snow, call ahead, some might not bothering spinning if the weather doesn’t compare with the notion of Spring skiing.

LIST OF 46 42 SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND (11 open daily)**

QUEBEC : 32 28**

Western Québec : 12 11*

Belle-Neige – TBD (tentative weekend only)*
Vallée Bleue – TBD (tentative weekend only)
Ste-Marie – April 10 (Friday-Sunday weekend only)*
Vidéo – April 10 (weekend only)
Orford – April 10 (tentative weekend only)*
Owl’s Head – April 10 (tentative weekend only)
La Réserve – April 10 (tentative weekend only)*
Montcalm – April 10 (weekend only)
Val St-Côme – April 10 (weekend only)
Camp Fortune – April 17 (tentative weekend only)
Tremblant – April 17
St-Sauveur – May 14 (tentative)

Eastern Québec : 20 17**
Béchervaise – TBD (tentative weekend only)*
Cap Chat – TBD (tentative weekend only)**
Chalco – April 10 (weekend only)
Gallix – April 10 (Friday-Sunday only)
Ti-Basse – April 10 (weekend only)
Stoneham – April 10 (Friday-Sunday only)
Orignal – April 10 (tentative weekend only)**
Le Massif – April 10 (Friday-Sunday only)
Pin Rouge – April 10 (tentative Sunday weekend only)**
St-Mathieu – April 10 (weekend only)
Val Neigette – April 10 17 (tentative weekend only)**
Massif du Sud – April 17 (tentative Friday-Sunday only)
Édouard – April 17 (Friday-Sunday only)
Val d’Irène – April 17 (Friday-Sunday only)
Le Relais – TBD April 17*
Le Valinouet – April 24
Ste.Anne – April 24
Lac Vert – April 30 (tentative weekend only)
Miller – late April or May (weekend only)
Comi – May (tentative Wednesday-Sunday only)

ONTARIO & LABRADOR : 3
Blue ON – April 10 17 or tentatively more**
Loch Lomond ON – April 10 (Friday-Sunday only)
Smokey Mountain NL – late April (tentative Thursday-Sunday)

EASTERN US : 11
Wildcat NH – TBD
Whiteface NY – April 10 (weekend only)
Cannon NH – April 10 (weekend only)
Loon NH – April 10
Stratton VT – April 10 (Friday-Sunday only)
Sugarloaf ME – April 17 and possibly more
Stowe VT – April 24
Jay VT – late April
Sugarbush VT – May 1
Sunday River ME – May 1
Killington VT – May

* Update: April 6
** Update: April 8

Ski Mad World’s weekly Eastern Closing 2016 post:
Let’s move Past EASTer & Go Easterner – Eastern Closing Thread 2016 – Part 1

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Let’s move Past EASTer & Go Easterner – Eastern Closing Thread 2016 – Part 1

The Ski Mad World blog has had difficulty time with its only contributor, meaning moi, which was the pretty much the same situation as the 2015-16 Easter ski season. My skiing life is still active, it is just that my personal life has been going through some challenges. My online presence on this blog or elsewhere has virtually non-existent over the last two season.

Unlike last season, the 2015-16 Eastern Ski Season has had worst difficulties from its own contributor Mother Nature: too warm, too many thaws, rain, when it was snowing it was immediately followed by rain. With the exception of a few places that offered lift assisted skiing in October; it took a long time to get the season started.

If last December was the new November then this March was definitely the new April.

Last season Winter had a slow start; this season didn’t even really start in some cases. Snowmaking can just do so much, but when we have periods of record-breaking temperatures across the East, it’s hard to make snow. The local skiing around Ottawa has pretty good compared to ski areas South of the St. Lawrence Valley (Eastern Townships and Northeastern US).

This look at Ottawa’s Rideau Canal skateway tells the tale.

Last season:
– record-breaking in its 45th year: 59 uninterrupted skating days. February was – coldest on record since they started keeping track of temps over 150 years ago.
– terrible ski year in most of North America, but definitely not the East.

This season:
– shortest with only 18 days since opening on January 23rd. The runner-up for worst season was 26 days in 2001-02.
– February and December were amongst the warmest on record in this part of the World.
– terrible ski year in most of the East, but definitely not the West.
– El Niño

One of the bizarre things Ottawa witnessed weather wise is that during the record warm February, the city received a Valentine’s Day storm of 51cm, biggest single day snowfall (beating the 49cm received in March 2008). Unfortunately this snow event was limited to the North and didn’t have the effect of the V-Day storm of 2007 when it marked a turnaround for the season for most of the East. Everything South was falling as mostly rain.

Other terrible signs of a season to forget:

Mad River Glen was only open for 45 days, most of them being on the small Practice Slope. Like the 100″ of snow received, those days are less than half of what is to be expected at MRG. They closed on March 13.
Mont Sutton closed on March 27. Since the beginning of the ski area in 1960-61, that date was the second earliest closing date and only the third time the ski area closed in the month of March in its history. The earliest day was March 25, 2012, year of the mid-March heatwave.
Mont Chilly opened in late February and is still hoping for next weekend.

These three ski areas heavily rely on Natural Snow; the first two are definitely South of the St. Lawrence Valley. The line between good natural snow-covered and bad is strongly contrasted especially when comparing Eastern Québec’s Charlevoix, Saguenay and Gaspé Peninsula regions of Québec. Most of the ski areas still in operation in those regions are 100% open.

The localization and economic of this year ski numbers have moved North to the Laurentians and farther East at places like Le Massif which just one of the busiest Easter weekend in years. Since January ski resorts like Le Massif and Tremblant received a greater number of Americans mainly due to the lack of Winter in the main Eastern US ski areas.

FIRST WEEKEND OF APRIL

Only 76 ski areas might open this weekend from North Carolina to Labrador, 45 being North (Laurentians, Québec City, Charlevoix, Saguenay, North Shore, Labrador) or East (Gaspé) of the St. Lawrence Valley which I believe is unprecedented. As I’m writing this, the Chic Chocs are getting another storm. The situation with closing dates in Eastern Québec hasn’t change yet, they often close with an abondance of snow. The question is, will a small number Southern skiing change the dynamic and provide a bit more incentive to last one or two weekends longer?

Numbers from previous seasons: Total / New York & New England
2016 : 76 / 19
2015^: 82 / 38 (2nd weekend of April)
2014^: : 89 / 35 (2nd weekend of April)
2013 : 107 / 48
2012 : 29 / 11

Clearly the NE has never had such a small share of ski options for the first weekend in April. The end of 2012 was particular bad with its mid-March Winter Hating Heatwave which affected most of the East. This time it wasn’t limited to a particular event, but more to a part of the Eastern continent; the northern and east areas in Québec were a couple of degrees colder, enough to make a difference between snow and rain; snowmaking or not. The fact that the Easter was is generally an April target to aim is already past; many ski areas might have cut their lost and shutdown.

Although cold weather is moving in, it’s going to be too late for a number of ski areas. If you want to get some skiing done;

a) Go sooner rather than later

b) Be prepare to drive further.

c) Both

Remember, the ski season is never over, it just moves elsewhere.

An important note to remember, this list can change at any moment. Even if there is snow, call ahead, some might not bothering spinning if the weather doesn’t compare with the notion of Spring skiing.

LIST OF 76 69 SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND**

QUEBEC 48 45**

Laurentians and Launaudière

Avalanche – April 3 (weekend only)
Avila – April 3 (weekend only)**
Belle-Neige – TBD
Blanc – April 3
Chanteclerc – April 10 3 (weekend only)**
Garceau – April 10 (tentative)
Habitant – April 3
La Réserve – April 10
Montcalm – April 10 (weekend only)
St-Sauveur – May 8 14 (tentative)**
Tremblant – April 10
Vallée Bleue – April 3 or more (weekend only)
Val St-Côme – April 10

Eastern Townships:

Adstock – April 3
Bromont – TBD  April 3*
Orford – April 10 (tentative)
Owl’s Head – April 10 (tentative weekend only)

Quebec City area and north of St.Lawrence from Mauricie to the North Shore

Vallée du Parc – TBD April 3**
La Tuque – April 3
Le Relais – TBD
Ste.Anne – April 24
Stoneham – April 10
Orignal – April 10 (weekend only)
Massif du Sud – April 17 (tentative Friday-Sunday only)
Le Massif – April 10
Grand Fonds – April 3
Édouard – April 17
Le Valinouet – TBD April 24**
Bélu – NA**
Lac Vert – TBD (Friday-Sunday only)
Chalco – TBD (weekend only)
Gallix – April 10 (Friday-Sunday only)
Ti-Basse – April 10 (Thursday-Sunday only)

Gaspé Peninsula

Béchervaise – April 3 or more (weekend only)**
Cap Chat – TBD (weekend only)
Castor – TBD (Wednesday, Friday-Sunday only)
Comi – May (tentative Wednesday-Sunday only)
Miller – TBD
Pin Rouge – April 17 (Friday-Sunday only tentative)
St-Mathieu – April 10 (weekend only)
Val Neigette – April 3 10 (weekend only – tentative)**
Val d’Irène – April 17 (Friday-Monday only)

Outaouais and Abitibi

Camp Fortune – April 10 or more
Cascades – April 3? (weekend only)
Mont Chilly – April 3? (not impossible weekend only)
Ste-Marie – April 3? (Friday-Sunday only)
Kanasuta – April 2 (Saturday only)
Vidéo – April 10 (weekend only)

ONTARIO : 4 3*
Blue – TBD
Calabogie Peaks – TBD
Kamiskotia – NA*
Loch Lomond – April 3 or more (Friday-Sunday only)

NEW BRUNSWICK : 1
Farlagne – April 3 (weekend only)

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR : 3
Marble – April 3 (tentative)
Smokey Mountain – late April (tentative)
White Hills – April 3

NEW YORK : 3 2**
Bristol – April 3** April 1 last day
Gore – April 3 (weekend only)
Whiteface – April 10

VERMONT : 8
Jay – TBD
Killington – TBD
Okemo – April 3
Smugglers – April 3
Snow – April 3
Stowe – April 24
Stratton – April 10
Sugarbush – TBD

NEW HAMPSHIRE : 6 5*
Bretton Woods – April 3
Cannon – April 10
Loon – April 10
Sunapee – April 3 (weekend only tentative)*
Waterville – April 3 (Friday-Sunday only)
Wildcat – TBD

MAINE : 2
Sugarloaf – TBD
Sunday River – May 1

NORTH CAROLINA : 1 *
Appalachian – April 2 (tentative)

*Updates: March 31
**Updates: April 1

source : LaPresse 29 mars, 2016, André Dubuc : Stations de ski: un hiver à oublier pour l’Estrie

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Falling temperatures, snow and options – Eastern Closing Thread 2015 – Week 3

After the warm temperatures of one week ago, the pendular is swinging back into some freezing temperatures with chances of snow accumulation in the higher elevations and in parts of Quebec like the Saguenay and Gaspe. That being said, nothing is going to stop the wave of ski area closure as we moved closer to May. Sometimes its melting snow or melting motivation from ski areas or the skiing public to make the lifts spins.

The number of ski areas spinning tentative opened this weekend has dropped from 39 to 13 with only 5 ski areas open midweek. Eastern North America skiing is limited to Quebec and New England, mostly located in the Green Mountains or Eastern Quebec.

This week’s forecast shouldn’t to hard on the snowpack, however will the skiers show up? Help out the remaining ski areas and go skiing. Show you care and grateful that they are still spinning for you.

LIST OF 10 13** SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND
Open DAILY : 5

QUEBEC : 3 6**

Sutton – April 26 (weekend only – tentative)**
Ste.Anne – April 26 (weekend only)
Le Valinouet – April 26 (weekend only – tentative)*
Comi – April 26 (Fri-Sun only)**
Miller – May 3 (weekend only -tentative-  closed this weekend) ***
St-Sauveur – May 10 or more (weekend only)

VERMONT : 4

Okemo – April 26 (Fri-Sun only – tentative)*
Jay – May (tentative – daily this week)
Sugarbush – May 3 (tentative – daily this week)
Killington – June (tentative – daily this week)

NEW HAMPSHIRE : 1

Wildcat – May 3 (tentative – daily this week)

MAINE : 2

Sugarloaf – May (tentative – daily this week)
Sunday River – May 2 (weekend only)

* Update : April 23, 2015, 2:30pm : Okemo confirmed, Le Valinouet is done
** Update : April 23, 2015, 4:00pm : Miller confirmed, Sutton, Comi are done
*** update: April 24, 2015, 5:00pm : Miller isnt opening due to the weather, will try next weekend.
((*
*))
((*

Ski Mad World’s weekly Eastern Closing 2015 post:
Early Easter, late Spring : Eastern Closing Thread 2014-15 – Part 1
Melting…snow and list are melting : Eastern Closing Thread 2014-15 – Part 2

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Melting…snow and list are melting : Eastern Closing Thread 2014-15 – Part 2

First day back at my computer after 4 glorious Spring skiing days in the East.

After giving us one post-Easter weekend, half of the remaining ski areas called it a season this week. Spring weather arrived late, but there is no question about it, the consistent below freezing temperature are past us. The East has seen above seasonal temperature hovering close in the 15-20c (60-70F) in the last few days. Like the snow on the ground, the remaining ski areas has been reduced significantly as we head into the second half of April. Regardless of the heat, East North America still have 40 ski areas that are planning to spin this coming weekend. This is number is similar to last April at this time (Easter weekend), but definitely better than average for the past decade.

Here is a detailed count tracked down by Ski Mad World in the previous seasons:

2014 : 38
2013: 26
2012: 3
2011: 16
2010: 5
2009: 9
2008: 15
2007: 23

Approximately one-third of the ski areas are located in Quebec (14) which are evenly split between West and Eastern Quebec. Fourteen is also the number of ski areas still in the game in Vermont and New Hampshire. The only other Eastern States and provinces with are planning to spin their lifts next weekend are in New York (4), Maine (3), Ontario (2), Newfoundland & Labrador (1), Nova Scotia (1) and … Pennsylvania (1). The number is also evenly split between Canada and the United States; ski areas spinning daily versus weekend only. The vast major of daily operations are limited to the surrounding Montreal areas (Laurentians and Eastern Townships) and Vermont where almost every ski areas in these regions are running daily.

Looking ahead, a few diehards are looking to go into late April, May or even June in Killington’s case. Will Killington make it to June for the first time since 2002 or only the second time since 1997? Over the last couple of Springs, Killington has been decided to regain its reputation into pushing the season as long as possible. There are also no strangers into the others trying to spin in May. We find the familiar names of Mont St-Sauveur, Jay Peak, Sugarbush, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Wildcat and Murdochville’s Mont Miller that will spin as long as people show up in this remote town situated in the middle of the Gaspe Peninsula.

Get out there and makes some turns. I’m definitely going back skiing.

LIST OF 39*** 40 SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND
Open DAILY : 19

QUEBEC 14

West Quebec (Montreal and surrounding regions)

Vidéo – April 18 (Saturday only)
Tremblant – April 19
Bromont – April 19
Camp Fortune – April 19 (Thurs-Sun only)
Orford – April 19 or more*
Sutton – April 26 19 or more*
St-Sauveur – May 10 or more (tentative)

East (Quebec City area to the Gaspé)

Le Relais – April 19
Massif du Sud – April 19 (Fri-Sun only – according to weather)
Édouard- April 19 (weekend only)
Ste.Anne – April 26 (weekend only)
Le Valinouet – April 26 (Fri-Sun only)
Comi – April 26 (Fri-Sun only)
Miller – late April-early May (weekend only – tentative)

ONTARIO : 1 2 **

Blue – April 19 or more* (weekend only – tentative)*
Calabogie Peaks – April 19 (weekend only – according to weather) **

NOVA SCOTIA : 1

Cape Smokey – April 19 or more* (Saturday only – tentative)*

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR : 1

Smokey Mountain – April 19 (Fri-Sun only)

NEW YORK : 3 4*

Song – April 19 (weekend only)
Royal – April 19 (weekend only)
Gore – April 19 (weekend only)
Whiteface – April 19 (weekend only)

VERMONT : 9 8*** 

Magic – April 19 (weekend only)***
Snow – April 19 (Fri-Sun only)
Smugglers – April 19
Stowe – April 19
Mad River Glen – April 20 (tentative)
Okemo – April 26 (tentative)*
Jay – May (tentative)
Sugarbush – May 3 (tentative)
Killington – June (tentative)

NEW HAMPSHIRE : 6

Abenaki – April 18 (Saturday only – no tow)
Cannon – April 19
Loon – April 19
Sunapee – April 19
Bretton Woods – April 20 (Sat-Mon only)
Wildcat – May 3 (tentative)

MAINE : 3

Saddleback – April 19 (weekend only)
Sugarloaf – May TBD*
Sunday River – May 2

PENNSYLVANIA : 1

Big Boulder – April 19 (weekend only – tentative)*

* Update : April 17, 2015 at 9:00am
** Update : April 17, 2015 at 1:00pm
*** Update : April 17, 2015 at 9:00pm
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Ski Mad World’s weekly Eastern Closing 2015 post:
Early Easter, late Spring : Eastern Closing Thread 2014-15 – Part 1

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Early Easter, late Spring : Eastern Closing Thread 2014-15 – Part 1

The Ski Mad World blog has been hibernating since the post on the first ski areas opening for the season back in early November; that doesn’t mean I stopped skiing. My skiing life is active, it is just that my personal life has been going through some challenges. My online presence on this blog or elsewhere has virtually non-existent over the last season. The only real positive element of my past season is that managed to get out skiing; not much travelling, but many local days in awesome snow conditions. It wasn’t the big mountains or the deep powder, but it was close to home.

The ski season in the Ottawa region and the East in general took a long time to get started: warm temperature and little snow on the ground. Early December at Jay was pretty brown with only a handful of runs open: our luck was they got hit by a storm right after we left. At the start of the Christmas Holidays, the Ottawa ski hills looked like early November. The local hills were deserted. However right after Christmas, the temperature dipped below zero and stayed below freezing, with very few exceptions, until mid-March. We didn’t get much snow, but the temperature were cold enough to run the snow guns around the clock. What little snow that feel in January stayed on the ground and then we got double the snow in February and March. The snow conditions were consistently great with no-thaw cycle in two months. Ottawa only got two rain events in those two months, the Rideau Canal, the longest skating rink in the World, had a record-breaking in its 45th year: 59 uninterrupted skating days. Another record was that February was the coldest on record since they started keeping track of temps over 150 years ago. So it was a cold year for toes, but great year on snow.

The 2014-15 ski season might be seen as a terrible ski year in most of North America, but definitely not the East. It might have started late, but it was a consistent Winter, cold and great skiing. Although the snow coverage period hasn’t really matched the big Christmas Holidays for ski resorts, the various March break offered prime Winter conditions. The next benchmark Holidays that some ski resorts like to aim for some business is Easter which was early this year. That is a mixed blessing as Easter was this past weekend and they might be less an incentive to stretch out of the season later into the month of April even with the great coverage out there. Almost half of the Eastern ski areas are in Quebec and about the small number are spinning their lifts tomorrow. With the great coverage a number of ski areas decided to try to go for an extra weekend after Easter, many of them only operating on the weekend.

With the cold Spring last season, we counted 82 ski areas a potentially open for the second weekend of April 2014, much better than the previous two Aprils: 47 in 2013 and the disastrous 9 in 2012.

Go skiing!!! Encourage them with your patronage to keep spinning their lifts.

Without any further ado, here is the start of Ski Mad World’s annual Eastern Closing thread. Many are hoping to go as longer as possible, only a few will into late April or into May. Killington is hoping to make to June. Hoping it will continue to be a weekly feature for the next two-months. 🙂

An important note to remember, this list can change at any moment. Even if there is snow, call ahead, some might not bothering spinning if the weather doesn’t compare with the notion of Spring skiing.

LIST OF 80* SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND

QUEBEC 34*

Montreal, Laurentians and Launaudière

Avila – April 12 (weekend only – tentative)**
Belle-Neige – TBD (weekend only – tentative)
Blanc – April 12 (weekend only – closed if raining)*
Garceau – April 12 (weekend only – tentative)
Montcalm – April 12 (weekend only – tentative)**
Sauvage – to confirm**
St-Sauveur – May – TBD
Tremblant – April 19 12*
Vallée Bleue – April 12 (weekend only)
Val St-Côme – April 12 (weekend only)

Eastern Townships:

Gleason – April 12 (weekend only)
Bromont – April 19
Orford – April 19 (tentative)
Owl’s Head – April 12 (Tues-Wed open – tentative weekend)*
Sutton – April 19

Quebec City area and north of St.Lawrence from Mauricie to the North Shore

Vallée du Parc – April 12 (Sunday weekend only – tentative)**
Le Relais – April 19*
Ste.Anne – April 26
Stoneham – April 12
Orignal – April 12 (weekend only – tentative)*
Massif du Sud – April 19 (tentative – Fri-Sun only)
Le Massif – April 12 (weekend only)
Édouard- April 19 (weekend only)
Le Valinouet – April 26
Lac Vert – April 11 (Saturday only)
Chalco – April 19 (weekend only – tentative)

Gaspé Peninsula

Béchervaise – April 12 (weekend only)
Cap Chat – April 12 (weekend only – tentative)
Comi – April 26 (Wed-Sun only)
Miller – late April-early May (weekend only – if people show up)
St-Mathieu – April 12 (weekend only)
Val Neigette – April 12 (weekend only)
Val d’Irène – April 20 (Fri-Mon only)

Outaouais and Abitibi

Camp Fortune – April 19 at least
Cascades – April 12 (weekend only)*
Ste-Marie – April 12 (weekend only)
Kanasuta – April 12 (weekend only)
Vidéo – April 12 (weekend only)

ONTARIO : 4

Blue – TBD
Calabogie Peaks – April 19 (tentative)
Kamiskotia – April 19 (weekend only – tentative)
Loch Lomond – April 11 (weekend Saturday only – tentative)*

NOVA SCOTIA : 1

Cape Smokey – April 19 (weekend only – tentative)

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR : 3
Marble – April 12
Smokey Mountain – TBD
White Hills – April 12

NEW YORK : 10*

Belleayre – April 12 at least*
Gore – April 19 (tentative)
Greek Peak – April 12
Holiday Valley – April 12 (Fri-Sun only)
Holimont – April 12 (weekend only)*
Hunter – April 12 at least
McCauley – April 12 (Sunday only)***
Plattekill – April 12 (weekend only)
Royal – April 19 12 (weekend only)*
Song – April 12 (weekend only)
Whiteface – TBD April 19 or more (tentative)**

VERMONT : 12

Bolton – April 12 (Fri-Sun only)
Bromley – April 12 (weekend only)
Jay – TBD
Killington – June (tentative)
Mad River Glen – April 19 12 or more**
Magic – April 19 (tentative)
Okemo – April 26 19 at least*
Smugglers – April 19
Snow – April 19 12 at least*
Stowe – April 19
Stratton – April 12
Sugarbush – May 3 (tentative)

NEW HAMPSHIRE : 7

Abenaki – April 18 (Saturday only – no tow)
Bretton Woods – April 20
Cannon – April 19
Loon – April 19
Sunapee – April 19
Waterville – April 12 (weekend only)
Wildcat – May 3 (tentative)

MAINE : 6 

Abram – April 11 (Saturday only)
Bigrock – April 12 (Fri-Sun only)
Black – April 12 (Fri-Sun only)
Saddleback – April 19 (weekend only)
Sugarloaf – April 19 at least
Sunday River – May 2

MASSACHUSETTS : 2

Jiminy Peak – April 12
Wachusett – April 12 or more (Fri-Sun only)

PENNSYLVANIA : 1

Big Boulder – April 12 (weekend only – tentative)

* update : April 9, 9:15pm
** update : April 10, 3:30pm
*** update : April 10, 9:30pm
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Previous first post of Annual Eastern Closing Thread
2014 : Spring skiing is just starting, but …
2013: Go skiing this weekend!!!
2012: Eastern Ski Disaster and Winter Hating Heatwave
2011: Skiing toward Easter and May in the East
2010: Eastern closing thread – 2009-10
2009: Eastern closing dates thread 2008-2009
2008: Eastern Closing dates 2007-08
2007: Eastern closing dates 2006-07

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Killington VT – Tuesday April 29, 2014 – Making the Most of Deception

After a decade of turning its back to its reputation of the earlier, latest, longest, biggest season skiing in the East, there were signals that the lost years were over and sounds and cries that the “Beast was Back”. The evidence was two consecutive October openings and missing June skiing by only six days last season making it the longest ski season in the East again…after all these years.

MadPat hadn’t returned to Kmart since May 2005 and I was curious to return to see if Killington was really mighty again? Had Kmart returned to its glorious Spring days of the last millennium. For this mission, I enlisted Lucky Luke, frequent Kmart late season skier and partner from the 1990s. We hadn’t been together at K since June 1997.

Lucky Luke finding peanut butter in the Squat

Foggy view

The night before skiing, I joined Lucky Luke to squat in a huge unfinished home just North of the Vermont border. A quiet early crossing into rural Vermont until we reached the metropolis of Stowe. Our first glimpse of Killington was on I-89 where we saw the low clouds hanging over Skye and Killington Peaks. I hadn’t been this far South on I-89 in a long time, but still remember the road. A major things had changed since my first visit almost 30 years this May.

Once we arrived at K-Base, we noticed a few things : it was gray and colder than anticipated. Temperature was just 34F.

Major deception!!!

What? The K1 Gondy isn’t going?

Gondies in garage

I used to be a regular at Kmart in the late Springs back in the good date (1984-1997). What I saw yesterday wasn’t the domination that existed back then. I was shock and disappointed when we arrived yesterday morning. Not that I forgot my ski pants and had to ski … in jeans, but that so little was open. Killington was only running the Superstar Express. Three hour drive for only 9 open trails which was actually less if you could it as actual ski runs? Lucky and I were so much looking forward to ski more than the usual “last Killington” terrain of May. It wasn’t going to be…the official morning runs were limited to Bittersweetness…and some Skye Lark. The steep pitch of Bittersweet was even bitterclosed with a bit-of-snow.

To make matters worse, some people were calling it a day, because everything was frozen and chunks without any grooming. There wasn’t any open bumps when we got to the top of Skye Peak, only refrozen chunks of corn. Superstar wasn’t flat, nor bumpy, but it was closed as well as the Skye Hawk bumps. Luckily that would change later on.

Superstar

MadPat skis in jeans

Superstar Headwall

Flying Luke

Flying Corn

On bottom Superstar

Superstar last’s bit

Skye Hawk

Lucky on Skye Hawk – best “official” bumps of the day

Some Bittersweetness

No walking required to overcome deception

But sometime you need to seek out “joy” and overcome deception. There was so much that we had looked forward to ski…runs like Needle Eye, Panic Button, Vertigo…which I remember skiing with my pregnant wife in late May ‘97. This wasn’t Late May 1997 and it wasn’t open. And what about the double diamond steep Ovation…or was Lucky Luke just seeing double again? Maybe it was just Vertigo? Late season skiing at Killington from the mid 1980s also brought back memories skiing runs of the K Peak like Downdraft with some walking required…but not possible today. It’s neighbours also looked very good. The Killington Peak Double with a midstation is long gone and the K1 Gondola is in the garage for the remainder of the ski season.

Eventually conditions corned up, bumps bumped up as the rope dropped on Skye Hawk and Superstar. Not the best bumps on the mountain, but the Skye Hawk bumps and lower Superstar started looking real sweet for coming weekend. Like the conditions, we eventually up having a great time, but we had to make a take a few steps and duck the ropes of deceptions to take matters in our your hands.

Nets to catch poachers???

Dizziness Subtype

Lucky seeing double

And getting dizzy

MadPat is sick

Unmarked obstacles

Skiing the best bumps on the mountain

…Numerous times

Late season = some walking required

No ropes here…

Lucky skiing Down towards a nice cool Draft

Nice corn cool icy draft

Corn skiing orgasm = wet jeans

Going down like a nice draft beer

Some nice deceptions

Lucky heading towards the bar

In hindsight, if we looked at quality/price/open terrain/distance (for us) analysis, Sugarloaf or Jay with each close to 40 open runs would have been a logical preferred choice. The Beast is awake, but not back to what it was, the “Dominator of Spring”, but at least it is a late season game once again.

And the question that is always ask : “Is Killington going to make it to June this year?” It is my observation, but from what I saw yesterday on Superstar and my recollection from the 1990s. Unless May is cold, I would be surprised if K make it to June this season.

The Ovation required us to go an encore

…on a Green run

Final Acclaim

Downing Drafts

Day’s Log

MadPat’s Gallery:
Killington VT – April 29, 2014

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The Day After Easter Monday – Eastern Closing Thread 2013-14 Part4

Maybe this should be called EASTER Closing Thread instead?

On the other side of the late Easter weekend and as anticipated, many called it a season. The amount of options for midweek and the weekend have dropped considerably. This Easter weekend we were looking at 38 ski areas still spinning lifts, now the number still going it on this rainy Tuesday is only 5: all located in New England (Jay, Sugarbush, Killington and Sugarloaf).

None of the Eastern Canadian ski areas will be open midweek as Mont St-Sauveur is now mainly only open for camps. A grand total of 13 ski areas will try to open on the April 26-27 weekend which is more than in recent seasons. Four of the Eastern late season regulars (St-Sauveur, Jay, Sugarbush & Killington) have mentioned a May closing like Sugarloaf and Mont Sutton haven’t set a closing date openly. A few lesser known ski areas like Eastern Quebec’s Mont Comi and Le Valinouet are even openly talking about possibly making it to May. The driving factor for these remote areas, places like Mont Miller, Val d’Irère and Smokey Mountain which closed this past weekend, is how many people shows up to buy lifts tickets?

Of course, all of this depends of the weather; some like MSS will not open if the weather sucks and no one shows up, but at this time, the main concern is heat and rain. The week prior to Easter saw a Summer like Monday, followed by a snow/rain Tuesday followed by warm weather again for the last 3 days.

Although the end of the season shutdown is always too soon for some, the good news for those that like riding lifts is that a few more ski areas have real hopes onto making into May.

LIST OF 11 SKI AREAS TENTATIVELY OPEN THIS WEEKEND**

QUEBEC 5*

Comi – May 4 (weekend only)
Orford – April 27 (tentative weekend only)*
Ste-Anne – April 27 (weekend only)
St-Sauveur – May 11 (weekend only and tentative to nice weather)
Sutton – May 3 – Closed this weekend** (tentative weekend only)
Le Valinouet – May 3 (Friday*-weekend only)*

ONTARIO : 1

Blue – April 27 (tentative weekend only)****

NEW YORK : 0**

Whiteface – April 27 (tentative weekend only)**

VERMONT : 3

Jay – May 11 or more (tentative)
Killington – May 3 minimum
Sugarbush – May 4 (everyday till April 27 then tentative weekend)

NEW HAMPSHIRE : 1

Wildcat – April 27 May 4 (tentative weekend only)***

MAINE : 1

Sugarloaf – TBD

OPEN EVERY DAY :

Jay VT
Killington VT
Sugarbush VT
Sugarloaf ME

*Update : April 23, 3:00pm
Mont Orford is calling it a season with this week’s rain and the weekend forecast.
With the new snow, Le Valinouet has decided to also open this Friday as well as the weekend.

**Update : April 24 : 5:30pm
Wildcat has confirmed weekend opening.
Whiteface is done for the season.
Mont Sutton will be closed this weekend due to the forecast. They will try to open Saturday May 3rd.

***Update : April 24 : 8:30pm
Wildcat has confirmed it will try to reopen for May 3rd weekend.

****Update : April 25 : 12:00pm
Blue Mountain has confirmed weekend opening.

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Ski Mad World’s weekly Eastern Closing 2014 post:
Spring skiing is just starting, but …
Where Are We At? – Eastern Closing Thread 2013-14 – Part 2
Late Easter, Late Spring, Late Skiing – Eastern Closing Thread 2013-14 – Part 3

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