Our cross-country ski season died this week – ‘murdered’ with gentle cruelty by springtime. As with stories and Shakespeare, there should be an epilogue or coda.

The season kicked off a bit lazily, as the far north didn’t have the conditions to open trails at the begininng of December. The first snowstorms came to the NYC metro in mid-December, and High Point and Minnewaska were able to take advantage to open for a few days.

Persistent cold and winds were notable this season. If you were fortunate enough to be in northern NY state and the White Mountains, it was actually a good ski season, but sometimes had to be wary of the winds and debris. Conditions were fair to good in Vermont overall due to the fortunate placement of the Green Mountains, but in the Albany area the Berkshires it was mainly just fair due to the thin snowpack and inconsistency of weather. XC skiers in the NYC metro had to be ready to drive at least a couple of hours to Minnewaska, which had skiable conditions for about a week in December and for nearly all of February. Instaed of the fabled ‘January thaw’, we got long periods of cold and dry weather that kept skiing alive on a generally thin snowpack, provided an area had a snowpack to begin with. The winds through this entire season have been a serious factor for anyone outdoors.

Snowfall amounts were highly contingent on location and elevation. Although the high-elevation areas and the Tug Hill got a lot of snow, we didn’t get any huge storms that covered a really broad area with snow – rain yes, snow no. In the NYC metro, a good storm timed to MLK weekend was a bit soured by cold and wind. In February the metro missed a decent storm for President’s Day when the snowline tipped toward the north. In general Mother Nature laid down a series of thin layers of snow, at just the right times (ie, before the base completely melted or turned to boilerplate ice), so that areas north of Albany and the Masssachusetts border were able to keep trails open. March had pretty variable weather, including very warm days and some rain, but for all that, skiing in up north kept going.

By mid-March the writing was on the wall for areas outside the Tug Hill, High Peaks, and White Mountains. Despite that, the season for the northeast overall had legs. All the dedicated XC touring resorts made it through the end of March. Mt. van Hoevenberg, Craftsbury, and trails liinked to a educational institution with manmade loops were also able to keep things going as well. Bolton Valley Nordic, at high elevation and lucky with late-season snow showers, was the last one standing.

Even now, some casual outings with rock skis might be possible in the Tug Hill and at Bolton Valley, but it’s time to close things out. One last time, here’s the snow depth graphic:

The blog will go into hibernation till next season. Thanks for reading and skiing.