Spring Skiing

Come March and you might not be thinking about skiing, but for those in the know spring skiing is some of the best skiing all year.  Even though the winter months are the most popular for ski vacations springtime should not be overlooked for planning a ski vacation or just getting a few more days on the snow.

While you might associate skiing with the winter holiday season, spring skiing offers many benefits that you just cannot get in the dead of winter.  The spring season is most commonly associated with corn snow.  Corn snow forms when snow melts during the day and then refreezes at night into little corn like kernels.  Corn snow makes for some great all-mountain skiing as it blankets the whole mountain giving you groomer-like skiing both on and off piste.  While corn snow might sound great to some of you, all the powder hounds out there might be ready to pack it in come the end of February.  Well, not so fast.  Spring has plenty to offer the powder skiers too.  Even with warmer temperatures, late season skiing still sees its fair share of powder days.  In fact, March is one of the snowiest months for many Western ski resorts.  I personally skied at Alta in Utah on their last day of the season a few years ago and found myself enjoying twelve inches of fresh snow and that was in late April.  So don’t mothball those powder skis just yet because spring skiing has something for everyone.

Another great advantage of spring skiing is the lack of crowds and quality deals you can get on ski vacations at this time of year.  Spring break is generally the last busy time for most ski resorts, but many stay open through April and May.  Come April 1^st and most ski resorts resemble ghost towns.  If you enjoy long lift lines and walking from the back of the parking lot, spring skiing may not be for you.  But if you want to have the mountain to yourself, consider skiing in late March and April.

Because mountains tend to be fairly empty towards the end of the ski season, resorts tend to offer inexpensive ski packages toward the end of the season.  East coast ski resorts tend to start offering late season specials earlier since they have shorter ski seasons and many deals are based on how the ski season is going.  So if you are planning on doing some late season skiing make sure to ask if the ski resort offers any special deals.