JACKMAN – In this winter of record-setting snow, May snowmobiling may be more than just a pipe dream in the upper reaches of northern New England.

With the snow still waist-deep along trails in the Jackman area, Dave Jones, owner of Jackman Power Sports and trail master of the Border Riders Sportsman Club, said there’s enough on the ground to accommodate riders for four or five more weeks.

While washouts are taking their toll on the winter sport in central and southern Maine, Jones said there are no bare spots in his region.

“We’ve got 5 or 6 feet of snow on the ground, and it’s not going anywhere,” he said.

In northern Vermont, “The trails are good as they were in January,” said Al Goulet, owner of Brighton Motor Sports. “We’ve got plenty of snow to last here three to four weekends, easy. We’ve got 4 to 5 feet in the woods.”

The Maine Snowmobile Association said conditions are good along the U.S. Route 201 corridor that runs from central Maine toward the Canadian border. Last weekend in Bingham, new snow provided a fresh base for trails.

Portions of Maine have seen the highest snow depths in memory. A storm last week shattered the all-time season-long snow record of 181 inches in Caribou.

The National Weather Service in Gray said cold air seems likely to remain in place for the next week to 10 days.

“It doesn’t look like any big warming for the foreseeable future,” meteorologist Art Lester said. “We don’t see any change in the weather pattern. It’s going to take a good, sustained warm-up to get this thing melting good. It’s so dense.”

Jackman isn’t alone in looking toward an extended season. Rangeley, Millinocket and Aroostook County could also see snowmobiling continue well into spring, said Bob Meyers, president of the Maine Snowmobile Association.

The only problem, Meyers said, is that snowmobile clubs have already used up their grant money for trail grooming.

“It’s been a long season. There is some supplemental money available and businesses can help out. It’s to their advantage,” he said.

Vermont law requires that the state’s 6,200-mile trail network close by April 15.

“It begins to really change a lot especially with the spring riding. Most of the class 3 roads, and logging roads, … it tends to pretty messy,” said Bryant Watson, executive director of the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers.

Otherwise the season could go longer.

And as the season extends into spring, the scenery is changing with riders spotting moose and deer and other wildlife, Goulet said.