Winter 2006-07: Famine to jammin' for snow fans

By David Carkhuff

From 67 above to 7 below. That was the story of the winter of 2006-07.January set a record for greatest temperature fluctuation, with a 74-degree swing (previous record was 73 degrees, set in 1957 and 1974). The mercury dipped to 7 below on Jan. 27 just three weeks after an all-time high of 67 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.The tale of two winters started with the worst of times for winter recreation. December ended in Conway with only 4.2 inches of snowfall, 15.5 inches below the average snowfall for that month. December in Conway also was the warmest in 48 years, with an average temperature of 33.2 degrees.John Garland at Bear Notch Ski Touring Center noted, "The snow was a little misplaced this year. It would have been nice to have it a month earlier."Robert Munroe, president of the Mountain Meadow Riders Snowmobile Club, based in North Conway, said a Feb. 14 snowstorm that dumped 17 inches of snow on North Conway (14 inches in Madison, 15 in South Chatham and 23 in Pinkham Notch) reinvigorated a slumbering snowmobile season."There were very few registrations in this area until after we got our first storm on Valentine's Day," Munroe said.Club membership climbed to about 400 members after the mid-February storm. Out-of-state visitors began to notice that winter was back (a late December storm helped prevent an all-out early-winter drought). Like ski areas, snowmobile clubs welcome out-of-state visitors who often decide on how to spend their weekends based on their local weather."If they don't see snow there, they don't think we have snow here," Munroe noted. "When they see snow in their back yard, they come flocking up."This month, on St. Patrick's Day, another much-needed snowstorm hit the Mount Washington Valley. "We were very happy with that last bit of snow. I'm sure a lot of the townspeople were very happy with it because snowmobiling brings a lot of money into the town," Munroe said."Our season, we ended up pretty much on the upside," he said.Last year, rain washed out weekends in January."Last year we bought a new groomer for $135,000 and it never left the garage," Munroe recalled. "We were able to groom for 600 hours this year."Bear Notch Ski Touring Center may extend its Nordic skiing season into mid-April, according to Garland, co-owner."We'll close when the snow goes. Right now we're sitting on an average of a two-foot base on our trail," he said. "Right now, cold nights and warm days provide ideal ski conditions."The yin and yang of this winter tormented Nordic ski areas."It wasn't our best season, it started out a little rough, that's for sure," Garland said. "We did a lot of shoveling, manmade snow at the beginning of the season. People certainly appreciated that, we moved probably 100 tons of snow. Last year, we were able to put together February vacation by this method, and we thought we would have to do that again this year, but thank God for that snow before February vacation."A March Hare Race is Sunday, which is a Wellinghurst memorial race. All proceeds go to Eastern Slope Ski Club.At Great Glen Trails, Regina Ferreira, office manager, said the Pinkham Notch Nordic ski area is well behind its five-year average for attendance, although this year was a pleasant surprise after last winter.Depending on the weather, Great Glen Trails plans to stay open through Sunday."We actually thought last Sunday was going to be the end of us, but that snowstorm got us through this week. We are covered pretty nicely, December and January were horrible but February and March were great," Ferreira said.Jackson Ski Touring Foundation, with 146 kilometers (91 miles) of trails, continued to groom this week."We expect to go certainly through this weekend and maybe next weekend," said Thom Perkins, executive director.NCAA Skiing Championships were held March 7-9 at the Nordic center, bringing a flurry of activity to the Jackson ski trails."It's been a great last half of the season, certainly the NCAA championships were a flagship event of the year," Perkins said. "We haven't seen a huge diminishment in the number of people skiing."Here's a rundown on alpine ski resorts: Attitash ski area in Bartlett. Last day is April 1.Attitash marks its final season under current ownership. In February, American Ski Company announced the sale of Attitash in Bartlett and Mount Snow in southern Vermont to Peak Resorts, based in St. Louis, Mo., which owns and operates nine ski areas, including Crotched Mountain in Bennington.Attitash communications manager Krissy Fraser said the ski area hasn't looked ahead to life under Peak Resorts. Staff are focused on closing the season."We're just finishing up all the things we had planned for this season," Fraser said. "It's just been this full-on energy straight through the month of March that has kept people fired up."Saturday, the Spread Eagle world championship takes place. Ironically, it was postponed earlier due to too much snow."People have been ecstatic; definitely the powder days have generated a ton of enthusiasm," Fraser said.The 14th annual On-Snow Golf Tournament also tees off Saturday, part of Bud Light Spring Mania. Black Mountain in Jackson. Last day is Sunday.Liz York, offsite sales manager, said attendance rose with the fresh snow."It's been good, definitely since that February storm, that helped a lot," she said.Black Mountain plans a pond slide on Saturday with reggae music. Launching into summer season, Black Mountain will feature new overnight trail rides. Bretton Woods. April 15 is the last day.Bretton Woods, first ski area in the region to open for the season, plans to end skiing earlier than normal because the resort is gearing up to offer expanded summer activities. BodeFest, Bretton Woods' signature event, featuring Olympic skier Bode Miller, was moved up to Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14.Usually, spring skiing extends into May at Bretton Woods."In the last four or five years, we tried to break our own record of longest season in New Hampshire," said Martha Wilson, public relations director. "We're looking forward to getting ready for the summer this year."Bretton Woods will feature mountain biking and other activities for the summer.Even a truncated winter season brought crowds to Bretton Woods, which benefited from storms that bypassed other parts of the state."The weather's been so great and we got so much snow in February and into March," Wilson said. "Right now we are up almost 5 percent over last year both in skier visits and in revenue."Bretton Woods also enjoyed its third best Christmas ever, she said. Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway. Final day is Sunday.Cranmore general manager Ben Wilcox has reported that strong finishes to a winter season can more than salvage a disappointing start. March often is the second busiest month behind February; third busiest is December, fourth is January, he said recently.On Saturday, Cranmore hosts the Mountain Dew Spring Splash, and on Sunday, the mountain launches into "Cranarchy," the last rail jam of the season with a barbecue for darkside riders. King Pine ski area in Madison. Last day is Sunday.This year, King Pine opened with over $1 million in improvements for the 2006-07 season, including a new triple chair that gives King Pine a total of three triple chairlifts; a new double-black diamond trail (Pine Brule) adding an additional four acres of advanced terrain; and a new quarter-million dollar groomer. Also, the newly-named Twisted Pine Terrain Park received additional upgrades and improvements.This weekend, King Pine hosts its cardboard box derby, and on Sunday, pond skimming closes the season. Wildcat ski area in Pinkham Notch. Last day (tentatively) is April 15."They're still rolling into the parking lot," said marketing director Irene Donnell this week. "We usually go right through mid- to late April. We've got events planned through April 15."As for the rocky first half to winter, Donnell said, "It is New England. It seemed to get off to a little bit of a slow start, but once it kicked in, with the storm on Valentine's Day, people were ready. This past month has been super."On Saturday, Wildcat hosts a slush pond skimming contest; on Sunday, skiers can hit the slopes with $20 lift tickets for the afternoon.Assistant Editor David Carkhuff can be contacted at david@conwaydailysun.com.