FEBRUARY may be a short month, but it produced tons of snow for Northeast ski areas. Weather prognosticators are telling us there is more of the same for March, which will make for a long spring skiing season.
Over a foot of snow fell on the Catskills and the southern half of Vermont early in the week and, coupled with the 4-6 feet that fell the past month, makes for some of the best skiing we’ve had in years.
Weather experts at Ski Press say that 1-2 feet are possible in the Catskills the next month and 3-5 feet throughout Vermont.
The reason is that El Nino is backing off, or so they say. Well, consider this: The 1991 El Nino produced more than 1,000 inches of snow on Mt. Baker, Wash. This El Nino year, Mt. Baker and many of the ski areas in Oregon and Washington have been closed because there is no snow.
I think these long range weather predictions are just a shot in the dark.
A couple of freestyle skiing events take place this weekend. Saturday at Mountain Creek in New Jersey, the Freeski Super Fling, a qualifying round for the Vermont Open, will take place. Open to professional and amateur skiers, it is designed to attract freeskiers who have little or no experience with formal competitions, and provide a supportive and interactive format for them to improve their skills and build their confidence.
For more information and registration information, please email Katie Larsen at klarsen@moun taincreek.com
One of the top freeskiing events in the East takes place at Okemo Mountain in Vermont tomorrow through Sunday. The East Coast Freeskiing Open offers lots of hot tricks in the Superpipe, Slopestyle and Crossmax competitions, as well as a nighttime Rail Jam.
A purse of $25,000 will be up for grabs and the top finishers will qualify for the most prestigious event in freeskiing, the 2006 U.S. Freeskiing Open, held in Vail, Colo. Registration for the event is open to skiers of all ages and abilities. You can sign up at http://www.usfreeskiingo pen.com or at the mountain.
U.S. Snowboarding and the N.Y. Olympic Regional Development Authority will host the 2005 U.S. Snowboard Cup today through Sunday at Whiteface Mountain.
