Ski areas rejoicing at getting big snowfall

loading...

As his fellow Mainers watched Wednesday’s snow pile up – with mixed reactions, to be sure – Bill Swain was undoubtedly one of the happier folks you could find.

“I’m doing good today,” he said with a laugh during a morning phone interview.

Swain had good reason to be jovial: His office is located at one of the state’s foremost winter playgrounds, and to him, snow … plenty of snow … is always good for business (and pleasure).

Swain is the communications director for Sugarloaf/USA, you see. And after just a few hours of snowfall, he said at least 6 inches of the white stuff had piled up in Carrabassett Valley. By 2 p.m., the Sugarloaf estimate placed that total at 14 inches.

And no one seemed to think it would stop any time soon.

“It’s just snowing to beat the band right now,” Swain said. “It’s kind of the perfect storm is what it looks like today. It’s coming down hard, is going to snow all day today and all night tonight, and we should be all set up for one of the best weekends we’ve ever had.”

That perfect storm is coming at just the right time, too. The state’s schoolchildren will be off on their February vacation next week, and families will flock to the slopes.

When they arrive – whether at Sugarloaf or elsewhere – they’re likely to experience top-notch conditions.

“I think everybody that’s going to come up for vacation week is just going to have an epic vacation week at Sugarloaf,” Swain said.

At Sunday River in Newry, a foot of snow had fallen by 2 p.m., according to the resort’s Web site. At Saddleback Mountain in Rangeley, 10 inches had already added to the existing snow cover.

Smaller mountains and ski hills across the state seemed sure to get enough snow to make their operations run more smoothly.

The encouraging thing, Swain said, is that Sugarloafers could expect to experience a massive snowfall.

“We get an operational weather forecast that’s prepared specifically for us,” Swain said, explaining that the experienced forecaster is typically conservative in his estimates. If that conservative trend holds true, the storm may turn out to be a real whopper.

“Today, he’s got us listed at 28 inches,” Swain said. “With that said, the chance of us getting huge, huge amounts of snow is very high.”

Swain said the storm reminds him of one back in December 2003 when the forecaster’s estimate was in the same range. That storm dumped between 42 and 48 inches of snow on the mountain.

Swain said that if enough snow fell, and if conditions remained perfect, the storm could result in the snowfields on the back side of Sugarloaf being opened.

“We’re going to have the ski patrol out [Thursday] to take a look,” Swain said, explaining that a number of conditions have to exist for the snowfields to get an ample amount of snow.

“It really depends on a number of factors,” he said. “It’s not strictly the amount of snow. It’s the kind of snow and the direction the wind will deposit it.”

If those conditions combine well, skiers who prefer the snowfields may benefit.

“It’s not uncommon for a two-foot storm to deposit 8 feet of snow on the back side [of the mountain],” Swain said. “It gets insanely deep back there.”

The snowfields aren’t for novices, to be sure; Swain said the terrain is popular with skilled skiers because of its rugged, untamed nature.

“The back side is [an] above-tree-line experience,” he said. “It’s very steep, it’s sheer, and obviously we can’t put any grooming equipment back there, so it’s just the way Mother Nature intended it.”

Swain said 100 of 133 trails were open on Wednesday, and he expected the mountain to be 99 percent open today.

But downhill skiers aren’t the only folks to benefit from the snowfall. Swain said the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center, which caters to cross country skiers and snowshoers, would also see improved conditions.

“They’ve had good skiing with the snowfall that they’ve had,” Swain said. “This will make it better. This will make sure that they can access any trail in the network.”

And snowshoe enthusiasts?

“The snowshoeing ought to be very good as well,” Swain said. “A lot of times [this year] you might not even need the snowshoes [to hike through the woods]. But after this one, you’re going to need them.”

Welcome news for winter lovers everywhere.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.