Outdoor cabanas, heaters and opportunities to order food and pick it up outside made Pats Peak ski season surprisingly successful despite the pandemic and low snowfall totals.
Pat’s Peak will be closing this Sunday because of the recent warm weather, director of marketing Lori Rowell said. Snow totals this year were about the same as last year, which was cut a little short by the spread of COVID-19. Even with an 18-30 inch base of snow, the mountain will close about the same time it usually does, Rowell said.
Other ski mountains and resorts across New Hampshire have also persevered through a complicated time with less than ideal conditions, both navigating COVID-19 and a low natural snowfall across the Northeast. Manmade snow can only hold out so long during a warm spring, which means some mountains are closing this weekend, while others hope to stay open until mid-April.
To give an idea of how warm it’s been this week – several ski areas had to halt their chairlifts Friday because of nearby lightning.
At Ragged Mountain in Andover, marketing manager Kyle Matzke had doubts about a successful ski season amid COVID-19, but after a slow start, skiers and snowboarders started showing up. He said they got 97 inches of total snow total and were lucky that much of it fell around the N.H. and Mass. school breaks. With fewer snowstorms than last year, snowmaking made up for the rest.
With a 12-20 inch base of snow, Ragged plans to stay open until April 4.
Other mountains also noted a significant difference in snowfall.
During last year’s season, Waterville Valley had 101 inches of snow, but they stopped recording once they shut down at the beginning of the pandemic. In the 2018 to 2019 season, they saw 173 inches, Communications Manager Stacie Sullivan said.
Waterville hopes to remain open a few more weeks, weather permitting.
Cranmore Mountain in North Conway plans to close on Sunday, but will possibly reopen the weekend after if weather is good, Marketing and Communications Coordinator Dylan Henry said.
King Pine, which is farther north in the town of Madison, is also closing down this weekend, director of Marketing Thomas Prindle said. The amount of natural snow this season and last season haven’t been great compared to previous years, Prindle said.
Bretton Woods reported a successful season so far and hopes to reopen past April 11, their current closing date. A new lodge has added room and helped with social distancing, Director of Sales and Marketing Craig Clemmer said. Clemmer said he hopes they’ll be open past the 11th, but it’s all up to mother nature.
But for Pats Peak, Cranmore Mountain and King Pine, this will be the last hurrah of the season.
Here’s a list of the last day to ski at various New Hampshire mountains, which is subject to change:
■Pats Peak: Closing March 28, normal closing date
■Black Mountain: Closed for the season
■Bretton Woods: Selling tickets till April 11; if conditions allow will possibly be open past then
■Mount Sunapee: Closing April 11
■Cranmore Mountain: Closing March 28; with a tentative reopen for the following weekend
■Gunstock: Closing April 4
■King Pine: Closing March 28, normal closing date
■Loon Mountain: Tentatively closing April 18
Ragged Mountain: Tentatively closing April 4
■Waterville Valley: Planning to stay open till mid-April if the weather is good
■McIntyre Ski Area: Closed for the season