What a difference a week makes
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 09:15 PM
Last week we were in the midst of a freak spring snowstorm, while the last few days have been warm — almost too warm as we hit around 80 degrees. Things are looking very green in northern Vermont. And purple and pink and yellow and white, depending on what tree or bush is in the vicinity. Even the mountains which looked frosty white last week are now taking on their springlike appearance.
Yet, a look at the official snow stake on the top of Mt. Mansfield illustrates that there is still a lot of snow in the upper-most portions of Vermont's highest peak. Here's a link to the chart. People were having lots of fun hiking for turns there last week.
Jay Peak ski area entertained skiers and riders for the last day of the season on Sunday. That brought to an end the lift-served skiing in Vermont for the season.
Over the last few days while wearing shorts and sandals and working on the yard, I have reluctantly given in to spring. I have even washed a bunch of my ski clothing. Sigh.
But there's always Arapahoe Basin in Colorado in June... That could be really fun.
Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Backcountry skiing, Jay Peak, Mt. Mansfield, Spring skiing
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1. Harvey44 | Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 08:15 AM
Hard to believe the lilacs are out in NoVt already. That seems early for that far North. Where are you based?
Nice looking blog. Hard to believe it took me this long to find it.
2. Skimaven | Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 10:09 AM
Hi Harvey: It does seem early, doesn't it? We're in the Champlain Valley -- or the "Banana Belt" of northern Vermont. So things might not be so advanced in towns at higher elevations. Around here we had some summer-like days, and our lilacs started popping. It smells so good in our backyard!
Thanks for the complement on the blog! I was looking at our Web visitor numbers for this past ski season, and we had another year of Tremendous growth (yes, with a capital T). Thanks to all our new and returning readers! I'll continue posting through the summer with tidbits on Vermont ski towns and skiing news.
3. Jeff Connor | Monday, May 10, 2010 at 09:06 PM
Our lilac here in Waterbury VT at 1050 foot elevation developed its leaves about a week and a half ago and will flower late May or early June which is about the normal schedule it seems. I too just discovered this SkiMaven blog about a month ago and enjoyed it so much I added a link from my Vermont Travel Notes blog.