Planning to watch the Super Bowl or go skiing or snowboarding?
With both the New York Giants and New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, there should be fewer people at ski resorts on Super Sunday. Still if you want to do both, there’s a solution.
Okemo in Vermont is offering a two-day lift pass for Friday and Saturday for $99. A great deal considering the regular price for those tickets is $168! The two-day ticket has to be purchased 48 in advance online.
Okemo’s also got two other Super Bowl offers: A ticket good Sunday, Feb. 5, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for $64 for Adults, $54 for Young Adults and Seniors, and $40 for Juniors. Skiers and riders can visit any ticket window to take advantage of this deal.
The other could be a big winner if it’s a low scoring game.
Here’s how Okemo explains it:
“On Monday, Feb. 6, the price of a full-day lift ticket will be charged at $1 per point, based on the total combined points scored during Sunday’s Big Game. If the final score of the game is Patriots 24 and Giants 21, the price of a lift ticket on Monday will be $45. How low could it go? A scoreless game would mean free lift tickets; however, the lowest combined score in Super Bowl history was 21 points in 1973. In case of a high-score game, Okemo is capping the Feb. 6 lift ticket price at $59.”
I expect other ski areas will be rolling out Super Bowl specials because there are two “local” teams in the big game this year. Even non-football fans are drawn into Super Bowl parties.
Stay tuned.
CONDITION UPDATE
Some parts of Connecticut got up to a foot of beautiful, dry, fluffy powder on Saturday. By Monday, most of it was gone thanks to rain and snow-eating fog.
Yet ski areas, including those in Connecticut are still in business. In fact both Ski Sundown and Mount Southington have 100 percent of their trails open.
Up north most Vermont areas are well past the mark of having more than half their trails open. Big snowmaking mountains like Mount Snow, Stratton, Bromley and Okemo lead the pack in southern Vermont. Farther north, Sugarbush has 105 of 111 trails open; Stowe 92 of 116 and Jay 62 of 76 runs.
All natural snow Mad River Glen is struggling with just 17 of 45 trails open. Magic Mountain that has a poor snowmaking system is closed until Friday.
Many areas in New Hampshire and Maine have nearly 75 percent of their terrain open.
Cheap lift tickets
One of the better deals this week is happening at the Belleayre Ski Center in the New York Catskills. Until Friday, all tickets are just $20 as part of its Winter Fest Week. For the rest of the winter the area will be offering $25 lift tickets on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Belleayre is a great mountain to ski or ride. It has a 1,400 and 47 trails, more than half rated intermediate. It’s more like a long ridge, rather than a tall mountain with its longest trail more than 2 miles. The area is located less than three hours from lower Fairfield County. It’s worth visiting.
There’s nothing like fresh snow in the backyard to get people thinking about winter sports.
And Saturday predicted snow storm will make people feel even better because most people don’t have to drive to work.
The moderate snow forecast to fall in southern New England Saturday is just what ski resorts are looking for.
Yes, snowmaking has allowed many areas to open nearly 75 percent of their trails, but the big problem was one of perception.
Some skiers and snowboarders still believe conditions aren’t that good because snowfall totals are down this season. Too bad, it’s their loss because snow conditions are surprisingly great … even in Connecticut.
Earlier this week I skied several days in Vermont and was amazed on how good the snow conditions were. Beautiful, cruising, packed powder conditions were found at both Killington and Stratton.
The only people disappointed were those who like to ski/ride into the woods and bash the moguls.
Those who are holding back heading north, or even hitting areas in Connecticut and Massachusetts, are making a big mistake.
It’s been a great week for Green Mountain areas with many picking up several inches of fresh snow. In the last seven days most areas picked up a foot of snow; Jay got up to 22 inches, Mount Snow, 23; and Okemo, 17.
Areas approaching the 100 percent open mark include Sugarbush, Stowe, Okemo and Jay.
Northern New England areas will got will only pick up a few inches this weekend.
Granite State areas have also picked up some fresh snow this week; up to a foot in White Mountain areas like Wildcat and Cannon. Areas have about 75 percent of their terrain open.
Crotched, Gunstock, Loon and Mount Sunapee are a few trails shy of being open 100 percent.
MASSACHUSETTS
Ski Butternut leads the pack with 100 percent of its 22 trails open. Nearby Catamount has 26 of 33 trails and Jiminy’s got 38 of 45 trails. All of those areas are ideal picks this weekend.
NEW YORK
Over in the Catskills, Hunter looks good with 44 of its 55 trails open. Windham has 41 of 49 trails ready and 27 of 55 trails.
CONNECTICUT
The best weekend of the season so far, lots of trails open, packed powder and fresh snow on the way. Ski Sundown and Mount Southington are 100 percent open; Woodbury has 10 of 15 trails open. Mohawk has half of its 25 trails open. Expect trail counts to rise this weekend.
Mohawk will celebrate its 65th birthday on Saturday. they will be randomly selecting guests to receive gifts (65 of them) from Mohawk Mountain. Gifts could be anything from small ski/snowboard items up to a season pass. Join them on the deck for Mohawk Mountain Birthday Cake. I
Its best ticket deal: $46 for an 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ski Sundown will hold its Bump or Bust Mogul Competition on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 1 p.m.
The cost? $875 … probably the price of a VIP ticket for a likely Stones tour later this year. And that cost does not include bindings.
Here are the skis stats:
Performance: 50% Powder / 50% Variable
Sizes: 174, 181
Radius: 20m @ 181cm length
Construction: Metal TNC, Hybritech Sidewall, Aspen/Paulownia
Binding Options: Flat
Features: Limited Edition Rolling Stones graphics, All-Terrain Rocker, Powder Tip, Progressive Sidecut, Carbon Web, Tip and Tail Holes.
Leave it to the Stones to endorse this product. After all their web site sells all kinds of Stones merchandise from T-shirts, posters, recordings, boxer shorts, shot glasses and clothing, most featuring the Stones tongue logo.
If you’re going to have these new kind of ”rock skis” you’d have to have a suitable playlist when you’re cruising down the mountain on these “all terrain rockers.”
Here’s my set list:
“Rocks Off”
“All Down the (fall) Line”
“Get Off of My Cloud” … when it’s foggy.
“Have You See Your Mother Standing in the Shadow?” … when there’s flat light
“You Got Me Rocking”
“Start Me Up” … for that first run
“She Was Hot” … enough said
“Connection” … switching trails
“Flip the Switch” … getting ready to rip it up
“High Wire” … cruising on the high terrain
“Let it Loose” … mid-day romp
If I had a lot of money, I’d probably buy them. But would probably use them only a few times.
I’m sure many years from now these skis will become a collector’s item because they are so unusual and so indulgent for Stones fans. Maybe save them for the Stone’s 75th anniversary in 2037 … the year Mick Jagger turns 94.
Mount Snow GM Kelly Pawlak writes on her blog: "Thank you for all the snowdances, prayers and for all that had faith in winter. She has arrived and graced us with over 17” of snow."
Finally. We’re skiing and snowboarding on “pow pow” today!!!
And just when we were starting to think winter wasn’t going to return to New England.
This weekend is probably the best one, condition wise, this season. But as we all know with skiing in New England, there’s always something. This time it’s bitter cold temperatures.
The National Weather Service says wind chills in northwest and southern Vermont could hit minus 19 degrees. Actually, that sounds worse than it really is. Just take precautions and no exposed skin. On Sunday in Ski Country, it will be sunny and cold with temps in the upper single numbers. MLK Day on Monday looks sweet with partly sunny skies and temps in the 20s.
Just look at these snowfall totals from the past two days.
In Vermont: Jay, the winner with 23 inches … Stowe 18 inches … Mount Snow 17 inches … Sugarbush 16 inches … Killington 14 inches. Stratton … 11 inches.
In New Hampshire … Wildcat 13 inches … Waterville and Loon 10 inches … Mount Sunapee and Gunstock 8 inches.
Maine didn’t get slammed as much as Vermont; Saddleback got 9 inches, Sunday River got 6 inches and Shawnee Peak around 10 inches.
Massachusetts did nicely with 14 inches at Berkshire East … 7 at Jiminy Peak … Catamount and Butternut with 4 inches.
New York areas got a few inches, but not the Big Dump. Whiteface, Windham and Hunter picked up around 6 inches.
And Connecticut? Zilch.
That’s why ski areas in the Banana Belt of New England have snowmaking.
Thanks to some fresh snow (and more still coming down), trail counts are increasing across Ski County.
Video was shot Thursday at Sugarbush in Vermont.
Up to 10 inches of snow fell across northern New England allowing most resorts to open up about half their trails. That’s a big improvement from a couple of weeks ago when some areas were struggling.
Big winners in the snow totals were New Hampshire areas like Wildcat, Attitash, Cranmore, Mount Sunapee and Gunstock with up to 9 inches.
Most Vermont areas received at least a half a foot.
Areas that have massive snowmaking arsenals like Okemo, Mount Snow, Stratton and Killington in Vermont lead pack with open terrain. But if you look at Magic Mountain in central Vermont, there’s only five of 40 trails open despite the 7 inches it received Thursday. Why? You guessed it, an antiquated snowmaking system that has hurt this area for years.
Stratton opened five more trails today including Upper and Lower Liftline and Lower Kidderbrook, and Solstice Way ; Bolton in northern Vermont dropped the rope on seven more trails.
And something many have been waiting for … Outer Limits at Killington is now open. I’ll wait.
Mad River Glen in Vermont is absolutely giddy this morning.
Its report: “Finally it is GAME ON here at MRG and after what has been an interminable wait we are going to FINALLY re-open the main mountain today. We picked up 4-6″ of snow in part 1 of the storm and we are expecting another 6″ (the Single Chair Weather Blog says maybe as much as a foot) in part 2 which is expected to start later this morning and continue into the evening. It could be one of those amazing days when conditions just keep getting better and better, but be aware that temps are expected to fall precipitously throughout the day.”
In Massachusetts, Jiminy got just three inches, but that combined with their snowmaking will open up 85 percent of its trails this weekend.
Butternut in Great Barrington got 5 inches at the summit, allowing it to open all 22 of its trails, one of only three resorts in the East to achieve that. Catamount now has 25 of its 33 trails open.
Despite the rain, Connecticut areas will be in good shape this weekend.
Ski Sundown has all of its trails open. Mohawk has 13 of 25 open; Mount Southington 9 of 14; and Woodbury 10 of 15 trails. If you want to go skiing or snowboarding today here’s a $15 off coupon for Southington.
It’s the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekened, meaning resorts will be charging higher holiday rates. But don’t expect large crowds this weekend because of the combination of very cold temperatures (in the single digits Sunday) and the football playoffs.
Don’t be fooled by that miserable cold rain that fell in Connecticut.
There’s snow falling up in Ski Country that should set the stage for a very good … but C-O-L-D … Martin Luther King skiing/snowboarding weekend. Monday is the pick of the long weekend with sunny skies and temps in the upper teens to upper 20s across New England.
The video above was taken today at Loon Mountain in New Hampshire.
Expect up to a foor of snow to fall at most northern New England resorts today. Finally, a “pow-pow” day.
But … it looks like northern White Mountain areas like Bretton Woods, Wildcat and Cannon should get blessed with more than a foot of snow; check out Ski New Hampshire to get pumped. Western interior Maine will also see significant snow. It’s the only area in New England, so far, that has the coveted winter storm warning.
Up north, there should be a short period of a wintry mix of sleet and freezing drizzle before changing back to snow Friday night and into Saturday. The National Weather Service expects that high summits should be obscured in clouds Friday with temperatures dropping and winds increasing in the afternoon.
It’s also going to be very cold. In Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine Saturday’s high temperature is expected to be in the low teens with evening temps dipping to below zero. What a shock it’s going to be after this disgustingly warm winter!
So far there hasn’t be a huge snowfall, but picking up a few inches each day will certainly improve conditions. All of this follows the several inches of snow that has already fallen this week. Jay in northern Vermont has picked up 19 inches of freshies in the last seven days. Check out Ski Vermont for details.
Yet still snowfall in the Green Mountain State is well below average. Check out the fabled snow stake at Mount Mansfield for just how much.
Hopefully the Snow Gods, and the meteorologists, aren’t playing any games with us this time.
But … there’s significant snow in the forecast for upper New England Thursday into Friday. I’m trying not to get too excited, but it’s possible that more than a foot of snow could fall in the higher elevations, maybe more.
Sunrise at Stowe, Vermont this morning.
It’s one of those situations where you got to keep checking the forecasts and see if this dream forecast becomes a reality. And that means the complete forecast, not just the snow totals. For example, the NWS’s mountain forecast for Thursday calls for summits to be “in and out of the clouds” with southeast winds between 35 to 50 mph. And we all know how wind can ruin a day and put lifts of hold.
But if you really want to get teased, read Josh Fox Single Chair Weather Blog from Mad River Glen in Vermont where he says “it’s possible” this storm could drop between 10 and 20 inches.
In southern New England it’s also possible that ski areas can pick up a few inches of fresh snow before it changes to sleet and dreaded rain.
Overall, it looks likely this could set the stage f0r an excellent MLK weekend.
Since this could be the first big dump of the season, there could be a run on moderately priced lodging this weekend; like the chain hotels popular with skiers and snowboarders on a budget.
Naturally, skiing and snowboarding midweek is always better, both in terms of ticket deals and crowds, especially since the college kids will be heading back to school next week.
And here’s a nice incentive:
Mount Snow in southern Vermont is offering FREE midweek lodging next week. The offer, based on double occupancy, costs $75 per person, per day. You can stay between Monday and Thursday next week. But you have to book by 5 p.m. Friday. Details here.
By the way there’s interesting reading about how Mount Snow has survived this poor winter on GM Kelly Pawlak’s blog. She notes that Snow’s December temperatures average 8 degrees above normal with a series of “rain events.”
