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massifSAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., March 29, 2016—Mountain ops crews at ski areas in the eastern half of the continent have put in a herculean effort this winter to keep the ski season going and provide a quality product for visitors. In most areas out West, the snow hasn't really stopped falling, so resorts are keeping winter rolling.

The Pacific Northwest has been the big winner so far this season, with many of the region's resorts seeing 400 to 600 inches of snow. Despite deep snowpack, limited late season hours are in effect at some resorts, including Summit at Snoqualmie, which has only one of four areas operating daily.

In California, Tahoe area resorts are still going strong thanks to consistent snowfall. In SoCal, however, the stellar start to the season didn't carry over and both Mountain High and Mt. Baldy have called it a season. In a March 17 blog post on the resort's website, Mountain High COO John McColly wrote, “We will most certainly try to reopen if we receive new snow but, this late in the season, it would only be for a couple days at most.”

Many Colorado resorts plan to close out the season in grand fashion with a variety of events planned into April. Buttermilk will call it a season on April 3 by hosting Bacon Appreciation Day. Crested Butte has live music and events planned for its final weekend, April 2-3, including its Slush Huck Pond Skim competition. Telluride will also close out its season April 3 with is annual pond skim. Copper's annual closing celebration, Sunsation, is April 16-17.

A majority of ski areas in the Midwest—stretching from Ohio to Missouri, and up to Wisconsin and South Dakota—have closed for the season. Some closed as early as March 18, with others able to make it through Easter. Six are still operating, with three having 95 percent or more of their terrain open: Giants Ridge, Minn., Lutsen Mountains, Minn., and Granite Peak, Wis.

In the Southeast, Appalachian Ski Mtn., N.C., is the only ski area still operating in that region as of March 28. Appalachian president Brad Moretz attributes the continued winter to the resort's snowmaking team and the pumping power of its system, but is cautiously optimistic. “Our scheduled closing day was set for Saturday April 2, but it remains to be seen if the weather and skier interest will make that possible.” He said the resort announces its closing day well in advance, and has been able to stay open at least until the pre-determined date 14 out of the last 15 years.

Fifteen resorts remain open daily in the Northeast, and four others are closed midweek with plans to reopen for the first weekend of April. Most of the areas still open are in northern New England.

Sugarloaf, Maine, typically shoots to stay open through the first weekend of May, and spokesman Ethan Austin thinks that could happen this season because of good snowpack, despite an uncertain weather outlook. “Right now the snow is in good shape on snowmaking terrain,” Austin said. “The forecast is pretty wild over the next 10 days, though—we'll have a couple days near 60, a couple in the teens, some rain, and about 6 inches of snow. We probably won't lose much, but won't gain much either.”

Vermont's Killington has been the last resort in the East to close in recent years, thanks to concentrated snowmaking on the Superstar trail. Killington's PR manager Michael Joseph said, “If Mother Nature cooperates, we'll stay open as late into May as we have snow on Superstar. Right now the base on that trail is up to 27' deep, so we feel like we have good odds even after a low snowfall season.”

Bristol Mountain is one of only two resorts still open out of more than 50 in New York, the other being Whiteface. Like Austin at Sugarloaf, the coming weather is a big wildcard for Bristol. The resort's president and GM Dan Fuller said, “We're going to attempt to stay open for the rest of the week, but we'll see how we make out after Thursday's storm.” Forecasters are calling for rain to roll through the area later this week.

In eastern Canada, in many areas of Quebec, the snow has been falling as of late. According to Quebec Ski Areas Association president Yves Juneau, the region is in for a strong finish. “The season started late for everybody, but it picked up in February,” he said. “Everywhere around and to the north of Quebec City has seen tremendous snow.

“In fact, Le Massif is actually extending its season because of all the snow and people are still showing up, so there's good momentum. Most every resort is planning to go to mid-April.” The exception being some resorts that didn't benefit from the snow to the north, like Mont Sutton, which closed after Easter Sunday. Juneau added that Mont-Saint Saveur plans to stay open through Mother's Day in an effort to claim the longest season in the East.