Harvey on Wayout • Hunter Mountain, NY • December 20, 2009
“Conditions started as firm, but edgeable corduroy. The morning progressed and it began to warm up. As skier traffic loosen up the surface, it became obvious that the manmade snow was piled up very deep. Over on West, Claire’s was the run of the day. Big bumps, deep manmade and continuous, relentless snowmaking…”
For me, summer has become the ski season “of the mind” — going on exploratory missions, trimming brush, and researching deals for the next year. But something happened a few years ago and I actually began to enjoy the summer, and the mountains, for being what they are.
I can trace the origin of this feeling to a specific camping trip to Mt. Greylock many summers ago. Although I went to the mountain with an ulterior motive — scouting out the legendary Thunderbolt — the trip was far more memorable for everything else that happened.
Closing day is a complicated event for most die-hard skiers. Every spring, when people start talking about sunny 70-degree weather, truly passionate skiers have trouble getting excited about it, in April or May, or even June.
Regardless of the weather, closing day always does offer some closure, like an outdoor group therapy session. It’s wishing away the upcoming warm weather, sharing beers with strangers, Chinese downhills to get a last chair before closing, and my personal favorite, cheap tickets.
Hunter was talking about closing April 10th, or possibly hanging on for another week if the rain didn’t hit. The party day was apparently on Saturday, with the annual pond skimming and true blue bird conditions, but most were hoping for another week.
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