It’s being called the “March Miracle” in up north. Anywhere from 9 inches to over 2 feet of freshly packed snow from a late-season storm provided a much-welcome and much-needed lift to ski operators in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Simply put, they’re overjoyed.
“We’re stoked!” exclaimed Shannon Buhler, Stowe Mountain Resort’s vice president and general manager, on Monday. She said the Vermont resort received 15 inches of fresh powder in 48 hours and pushed their seasonal snowfall total to a whopping 200 inches.
From those offering small to larger runs, ski operators of all sizes had been praying for a burst of abundant snow to draw skiers, snowboarders and other outdoor enthusiasts back to the mountains. A record-breaking warm winter in New Hampshire and Vermont turned the slopes into grassy terrain.
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Many in the business see this recent snow surge as a desperately needed jolt to the industry, enabling them to keep their lifts running and extend their season by weeks and even months.
Resort behemoth Killington, also in Vermont, said it measured 27 inches of fresh snow, which it hopes will keep it running until June.
“Huge shoutout to Mother Nature,” the resort posted on social media Tuesday.
That and with the added help of their snowmaking team, “we’ve been able to open more terrain again,” said Killington spokesperson Kristel Killary. “We increased our trail count by over 45 trails and closed (Monday) with 144 trails open.”
It's a beautiful sunny day at The Beast, but the snowstorm is not over yet. Huge shoutout to Mother Nature and our snowmaking team for helping us extend the season.#Beast365 #Killington #ThankASnowmaker pic.twitter.com/h9O2VZA0cY
— Killington Resort (@KillingtonMtn) March 12, 2024
Stratton Mountain farther south “nearly doubled its trail count overnight, going from 49 trails to 79 overnight” Saturday into Sunday after receiving a foot of snow, according to spokesperson Andrew Kimiecik.
A blast of chilly air with blustery northwest winds arriving behind the storm gave ski operators a chance to use their snow-making machines and snow guns to give some trails an added boost.
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With temperatures staying below the freezing mark, Kimiecik said, “snow guns came back on Sunday night and all day Monday in key areas to keep our trail connections, lifts, and key areas deep and ready for sunny spring days in southern Vermont.”
The ski industry had been ready to pack up and close shop the past several weeks as a snow drought has persisted across New England the past several years.
Both New Hampshire and Vermont experienced their warmest winters ever this past season (with meteorological winter running from Dec. 1, 2023 to Feb. 29, 2024), shattering their average highs dating back to the 1870s, NOAA data released Friday showed. And although December and January produced several drenching rainstorms, the two states also saw their second-driest February on record.
The recent storm dropped about 8 inches of new powder on Waterville Valley ski resort in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
“The fresh snow allowed us to open trails that were previously closed during the spells of warm, wet weather,” said Waterville’s Sarah van Kralingene, and put the resort “back on track,” staying open now through early to mid-April.
As Stowe’s Buhler puts it, it was “a March Miracle.”
Marianne Mizera can be reached at marianne.mizera@globe.com. Follow her @MareMizera.