[snip]>

I need some slop, but I don't let it turn into a crappy day. When I was > a kid I'd ski until they threw me out and shut the place down; now I've > come to realize that some ski area operators, like the ones at > Killington, are sillier than I ever was as a child, and they'll keep > going all summer if they can. So I rarely ski to the end of the last > day anywhere, because the typical area stays open about three or four > days longer than it should.>

I do like that last warm day, though -- and it doesn't have to be a > crappy day. Oh, sure, the skiing's typically crap, the snow is dirty > and you don't want to think about what you're doing to your bases...but > you don't need a neoprene face mask and fifteen layers, the sun is at a > higher angle, and the sound of the snow melting is also the sound of the > earth waking up. You can smell things getting ready to start growing. > People ski by with this, "Yeah, this is silly, but so what?" expression > on their faces, there are fewer of them, and they all understand why > everyone else is there. On a day like this, I go out there and ski > until the crap conditions start to take the fun out of the beautiful > day; then I take my time leaving, give one good last look around, and > ease on down the road. Usually I'll make several stops on the way, at > places I stop at during the season, get one last slice at the pizza > place, like that. When I get home and take my skis out of the box, my > neighbor -- an old-timer Canadian who came south decades ago to run a > ski area -- will smile and say, "All done now?" He understands too.>

IOW, I ski on that final "crappy day" -- but I _always_ end on a high note.>

Mary, I really hate to pierce your "tough-gal" bubble,> but that was a lovely piece of writing. If you don't> mind, I think I'll save it. As for me, when the ski> report includes statements like, "walking required,"> I might go for one more, but by then it's usually the> last trip out.>

VtSkier

may not be true but I heard that Vermont gets the most snow in March . But > regardless I consider March to be a full month of skiing , especially with > all the snow lately .

"Jeff" <joesiege@gmail.com­> wrote in message > news:1110305319.422­653.53390@l41g2000cw­c.googlegroups.com..­.>

In the past, I've always needed a final crappy day, the kind in which> you can hear running water rolling off the mountain, when you can wear> a t-shirt and fight the slop. That kind of day sucks but it helps> provide closure. "Okay, it's over.">

We got snow today with more on the way. The Canadians did a fine job> when they pushed their cold air to the south. My question is now moot> as I've got at least one more promising weekend ahead. It's moot, but> I'll ask anyway: Do you prefer to end the season on a high note or do> you, like me, need that crappy final day for closure?>

Jeff>

"Jeff" <joesiege@gmail.com­> wrote in message > news:1110305319.422­653.53390@l41g2000cw­c.googlegroups.com..­.>> Last Sunday we had a great day at our local ski area. There were still>> a few freshies left over from last week's snow. In Pennsylvania, rarely>> do we have such a great day in March. As a result, I was faced with a>> dilemma: should I end on a high note or should I rough it out in the>> slop?>>

Killington averages 7 feet of snow begining March 1 and on.

Well, yeah, but at the risk of raining *cough* on your parade, New England > snow in March is quite unlike New England snow in January, in that it's a > lot less likely to stay around long.>

-- > Mary Malmros malmros@bcn.net> Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.>

I do most of my late year skiing at either Sierra at Tahoe or Alpine.> If it's at Alpine, you can sometimes even do a corn snow morning> combined with a mogul afternoon. I'm getting all excited just thinking> about it.

In May.> Arn't all these guys a little premature with the "end of season lament?"

[snip]> > We got snow today with more on the way. The Canadians did a fine job> > when they pushed their cold air to the south. My question is now moot> > as I've got at least one more promising weekend ahead. It's moot, but> > I'll ask anyway: Do you prefer to end the season on a high note or do> > you, like me, need that crappy final day for closure?>

I need some slop, but I don't let it turn into a crappy day. When I was> a kid I'd ski until they threw me out and shut the place down; now I've> come to realize that some ski area operators, like the ones at> Killington, are sillier than I ever was as a child, and they'll keep> going all summer if they can. So I rarely ski to the end of the last> day anywhere, because the typical area stays open about three or four> days longer than it should.>

I do like that last warm day, though -- and it doesn't have to be a> crappy day. Oh, sure, the skiing's typically crap, the snow is dirty> and you don't want to think about what you're doing to your bases...but> you don't need a neoprene face mask and fifteen layers, the sun is at a> higher angle, and the sound of the snow melting is also the sound of the> earth waking up. You can smell things getting ready to start growing.> People ski by with this, "Yeah, this is silly, but so what?" expression> on their faces, there are fewer of them, and they all understand why> everyone else is there. On a day like this, I go out there and ski> until the crap conditions start to take the fun out of the beautiful> day; then I take my time leaving, give one good last look around, and> ease on down the road. Usually I'll make several stops on the way, at> places I stop at during the season, get one last slice at the pizza> place, like that. When I get home and take my skis out of the box, my> neighbor -- an old-timer Canadian who came south decades ago to run a> ski area -- will smile and say, "All done now?" He understands too.>

IOW, I ski on that final "crappy day" -- but I _always_ end on a high> note.