3/16 update-
Antelope4455 reports that Minnewaska trails are too thin to groom. It’s pretty likely this was it for the season. Northfield is open, although they warn of bare spots in open areas. Lapland Lake is open with 45k, and reports variable conditions with granular snow and a dusting of new snow. Prospect Mountain is open with granular conditions.
A warm rainy Friday won’t kill the weekend
Honestly, today (Friday) the conditions are not great for skiing pretty much everywhere in the Northeast. If you hit up the ‘State of the touring centers’ link above, you’ll see lots of closed and TBD markers. To paraphrase Osceola, “better bring a set of dry clothes to change into” if you go out today. But the weather coming will work in our favor and touring center statuses will change for the better.
Put your dime on Sunday as the best day to go, unless you can’t or are headed to Lake Placid for the Loppet. Saturday will probably be decent weather and conditions for skiing but many trails will likely not be regroomed if you go early.
If I were to redo the map tomorrow, or better yet Sunday, a lot of centers will have reopened and regroomed, and conditions will have turned around to nice spring skiing. The question becomes the inevitable ‘where would I go if I had the day free to ski?’
By Sunday the choices will be clearer. Call Minnewaska to see how things are there. Notchview would be a good bet, but call ahead. Prospect Mountain is a reliable standby if you can do an early start day trip.
If you can do Saturday-Sunday overnight, then the possibilities include Lapland Lake, Garnet Hill, Viking, and maybe Wild Wings. All of them plan to regroom Saturday and should be in good shape by Sunday.
Here’s the snow depth map. Hudson Valley is looking snowless all the way to Albany, so we’re really lucky that Minnewaska has managed to maintain skiable conditions for this long.
Weather outlook
Temperatures Sunday through Thursday are setting things up for spring skiing in the Northeast. From lower- to mid- Hudson valley on north, daytime temps will generally above freezing and nighttime temps below, which helps degrade snow into granules of ice. On the other hand, if the base is already solid ice the surface will need to be ground up by mechanical means.
The Lake Champlain valley could reach 60 degrees Friday, but by Sunday it will feel late-winter as the temperatures will be in the 30s up north.
Light showers or rain throughout the Northeast on Friday. Lingering chance of showers or rain on Saturday, which could be mixed with snow in the Adirondacks and northern regions of New England, and in the lake effect zone of upstate NY. Beyond that, low chance of precipitation during the workweek.
Springtime crop of skiers
Today’s moment of bliss is from Mt. van Hoevenberg via Instagram:
Across the Snow Line 