It never let up. Cross country skiers were treated to spectacular early season conditions -- and those never let up. According to the National Weather Service, the winter of 2007-2008 was the snowiest on record.
December was one of the snowiest on record. Remember the shock of getting the December plowing bill? People were talking about those bills for several weeks.
The snow did stop in January, briefly, but the snowmaking did not and when the storms returned in February, skiers rejoiced. Ski area parking lots were packed for the Martin Luther King weekend, for Presidents week, for most weekends in March and for Easter.
The snow continued to fall through March and into early April and conditions never faltered, despite one weekend of torrential rains. Days became longer and the sun rose higher and skiers continued to hit the slopes.
And all those who love early season skiing, first powder tracks after a dump and in-the-woods skiing must concede that spring skiing is really the best of the best.
The conditions may be technical, some corn, some ice, some slush, some mashed potatoes, but you cannot beat the sheer exuberance of playing outside on the snow in the sun. You can't beat skiing or riding in a T-shirt or sitting on the chairlift in the sun.
This is a ski season that may go down in the annals as one of the snowiest and perhaps the longest.
Hat's off to Mother Nature, and thanks, too, to the road crews and plow people who kept us mobile throughout this winter. And thanks to the lift operators, groomers, parking lot people, management, food service, instructors, ski tuners, ticket agents, patrollers, operations people, snowmakers and everyone else who keeps the ski areas running.
The Valley Reporter salutes all of you.
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