Spring Snow

Are you an avoider, or an appreciator?

You either love sliding on soft spring snow, or you don’t. Those who don’t are avoiders; those who do are appreciators.

It all comes down to technique.

The only difference between appreciators and avoiders is nuance of technique. Avoiders tend to fight the soft snow. Trying to push your skis around in it is a lot of work. And it' very tiring.

Appreciators, on the other hand, know how to let their skis turn gently on soft snow. It’s almost like skiing in deep powder. If you want to stop being an avoider and become an appreciator this spring, take a lesson.

If appreciators have any problem with soft spring snow, it’s that it’s as fickle and fleeting as spring itself. You have to be prepared to take advantage of it when and where it happens.

Marilyn, who is just now making the transition from avoider to appreciator, and I were on a quest recently for soft spring snow. We found once again just how elusive it can be -- and how much fun when you actually find it.

Daylight saving time starting three weeks early has thrown the ski business a curve. You might have to wait an extra hour in the morning for the snow to soften up. Some resorts are staying open an hour later in the afternoon on weekends to make up.

We started at Sugarbush where we stayed slopeside at the magnificent new Claybrook hotel.

Sugarbush is really two separate ski resorts with entirely different personalities. Mount Ellen is the quiet side of Sugarbush, the shy sister with it’s own charms. Because we arrived on a Sunday, when the weather was good, we spent our day exploring all of Mount Ellen and never saw a lift line or a crowded slope.

Though the forecast had called for warming temperatures, it had frozen up overnight following a brief light rain on Saturday night. The groomed slopes were firm and fast -- beautiful midwinter conditions, but not the spring snow we had hoped for.

Monday morning, winter still maintained its grasp. It being midweek, and therefore less busy, we skied the groomers on Lincoln Peak, the more famous, more glamorous side of Sugarbush. It's also the side with the absolutely gorgeous new base lodge.

We put on a lot of miles that morning then broke for lunch. Marilyn decided that the couch and hot tub were calling her name.

Too bad for her, because while we were eating lunch, the sun broke through the clouds just enough to soften some of the slopes. Sleeper in particular, turned into perfect spring corn snow. For about two hours, everything was perfect. Perfect snow, no lift lines, beautiful, uncrowded trails. But you had to be there for those two hours.

It was the same story the next morning at nearby Mad River Glen. Hard snow early in the day, soft, wonderful snow later. This time, I didn’t let Marilyn be an avoider. She actually found herself loving the soft snow all the way from the top of Mad River’s fabled single chair. She agreed that, once the snow softened up, we enjoyed some of the best runs we’ve had in what has been a terrific season.

Later in the week my sons and I were at Sunday River for our annual three-day guys-only birthday-celebration ski trip. It's been a tradition in our family for 15 years.

Yesterday, we hit one of those perfect spring days that appreciators live for. The temperature never dropped in the night, so the snow never really hardened up. At the same time, it didn’t really melt, much, either. It was soft and dry right from the first run.

It was one of those times when I wished my legs were made of iron so I could ski non-stop from first chair to last. You have to take advantage of days like that: it’s raining this morning and the temperature is dropping fast. There’s snow in the forecast, which means more great days of sun and soft snow in the immediate future.