Skiing season coming to end with sun and balmy temperatures

BY BOB WILLIAMS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING

The spring sun these days is stronger. Temperatures here in the New Jersey area – in fact, throughout the Northeast – are touching the 70s. What little snow the ski areas received this winter is disappearing. Nonetheless, further north, New England continues to be a spring winter wonderland, at least through the end of the month. Skiing and snowboarding lives!

LAST DANCE -- Cranmore Mt. in North Conway, N.H., will hold a going away party this Sunday, March 18, to mark the retirement of its East Double Chairlift. The East doublechair was installed way back in 1955 – and is the oldest operating double chairlift in New England.

It’s being replaced with a triple chairlift that will be ready to roll next season.

“Due to the age of the East Double, there are no longer parts available to purchase, so upgrade options have become difficult without major retrofitting,” says general manager Ben Wilcox of the move to replace the lift.

The East Chair, known for its bright red chairs, is a favorite among Cranmore skiers and ski history aficionados alike. The public is invited to ride the East one last time Sunday, beginning at 8:30 a.m., Wilcox says. Skiers are welcome to reminisce about their favorite days on the East, take a few runs, then meet at the Master Hut at 9 a.m.

Ski historian Tom Eastman will make a presentation on the history of the East Chair and Wilcox will discuss details of the new triple chair replacement. The going away party will also give East Chair fans a chance to sign up to purchase one of the 60 chairs from the lift later this summer.

The new fixed-grip triple chairlift was purchased from Wachusett Mt. in Massachusetts. It will have an increased vertical in a new location on the south side of the mountain, adding 300 vertical feet, to 826 feet, over the old lift. The lift will have the same number of chairs and will have 11 towers, whereas the existing lift has nine.

Upgrade of the lift is part of a $1.3-million investment being made at Cranmore this summer, on top of the $7-million in improvements that Cranmore has seen in the past 18 months. The ski area will install a 700-ft. zip line for its summer adventure park, to be ready by Memorial Day.

LAST RUNS – Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vt., reports more than two feet of fresh snow so far this month. . . . Tom Perkins of the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation in Jackson, N.H., says deep snow still covers cross country trails in his neck of the woods. Just bring sunscreen and sunglasses, he says.

This Saturday, March 17, it’s the annual Pats Peak Ski Area welcome-spring pond skim contest in Henniker, N.H. Participants ski or snowboard across a man-made pond or take the icy plunge on their skis or snowboard. Prizes for best costume, best splash and best skim. . . . Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, Mass, hosted 19 Wounded Warriors who just returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan with serious permanent injuries. Jiminy staffers taught them how to ski and snowboard with their limitations. It’s a program in conjunction with STRIDE Adaptive Sports, Troy, N.Y.

Beginning this Saturday, lifts at Saddleback Ski Area in Rangeley, Me., are open one extra hour each day – so you get an added bang for your ski buck. . . . Hunter Mt. Ski Bowl in the Catskills hosts a spring fling party with outdoor DJs and BBQ each weekend through the end of season.

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