Spring skiing is still alive at Butternut
GREAT BARRINGTON – Last week, Ski Butternut announced it would remain open during this weekend (April 5-7) to accommodate all those skiers and snowboarders with one last hurrah as winter temperatures linger on at night.
While Catamount closed last Saturday, Butternut remained open for those who can’t resist the loose granular snow that softens with the morning sun, making conditions near perfect as temps begin to climb.
“The deep snow base that we have and that’s the key – if you have snow you can go through the warm-cool-warm-cool spring, which is great for April [skiing],” said Director of Marketing and Sales Matt Sawyer. “[The spring] creates a corn-snow base, something that’s soft and giving.”
Sawyer has overseen a great March ski season at Butternut, with special events including a Easter egg hunt and a Jimmy Buffet tribute event for area “Parrot-heads,” as well as other events geared toward kids and families that made up for a lackluster winter season.
“Everything was open – we went the entire March month with every trail open, combined with great weather,” Sawyer said. “This past week, we had highs above 50 degrees – coupled with events here.”
If you’re still not ready to put away the board or skis, Sawyer recommends getting out first thing in the morning, as the freshly groomed trails coupled with hopefully warmer temperatures make conditions ideal for any skier.
“It usually softens up every morning when the sun comes out, and it allows you to ski though new snow for a couple of hours before it gets heavy in the afternoon,” Sawyer said.
Butternut prices has dropped its lift pass tickets to $25 for possibly the last weekend of the season.
“The hill is in great shape – usually in spring, people are looking at their golf clubs, but it’s still cold – 26 degrees as I pulled in the driveway this morning; that will allow us to have a really good product,” Sawyer said.
Unless there is a snowstorm next weekend or early next week, most area ski mountains will be closed. The one exception may be Jiminy Peak, which has almost 40 trails open and looks to have reduced online coupons to get high school and college kids who might be on spring break.
“We have a lot of snow still – 36 trails,” said Jiminy Peak Director of Marketing and Sales Betsy Strickler. “For March and April, it’s spring break for a lot of high schools and colleges in the area, so we have a lot of mid-week visitors.”
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