An unusually warm November has New Hampshire Ski areas pushing back their opening dates.
And last weekend one could have counted the number of opened ski slopes on one hand.....on one finger.
Still, businesses up north are quietly waiting for the white stuff to fall.
NHPR Correspondent Todd Wellington has the story.
BRETTON WOODS SKI AREA LOOKS LIKE THE BACK OF A VERY LARGE SKUNK.
A SINGLE LONG WHITE STRIPE OF SNOW DIVIDES THE TWIN STILL-GREEN MOUNTAINS THAT TOWER OVER NEW HAMPSHIRE’S LARGEST SKI RESORT.
JUST THREE TRAILS ARE OPEN - BUT THAT’S THREE MORE THAN ANY OTHER NEW HAMPSHIRE SKI AREA.
SNOW OF ANY KIND IS SCARCE THESE DAYS.
BUT AVID SKIERS SUCH AS BOB DRINKHALL – WHO DROVE-UP FROM NORTH CONWAY - KNOW HOW TO FIND IT.
CUT-DRINK1
(HOW WAS THE SKIING? IT WAS QUITE GOOD, QUITE GOOD. ANY BARE SPOTS OR ANYTHNG OR IS IT PRETTY GOOD? OH ITS VERY GOOD COVERAGE CONSIDERING THE WEATHER AND ALLâ€)
MAKE THAT THE EXTREMELY WARM WEATHER.
ALMOST BALMY TEMPERATURES HAVE MEANT LITTLE NATURAL SNOW AND HAVE ALL BUT COMPLETELY SHUT-DOWN SNOWMAKING OPERATIONS AT THE STATE’S 20 RESORTS.
AND WHILE NEW HAMPSHIRE’S SKI INDUSTRY HAS ENDURED WARM NOVEMBERS BEFORE...THE NOVEMBER OF 2006 IS ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS.
CUT-BREEN1
(THIS NOVEMBER WILL COME IN IN THE TOP THREE AS THE WARMEST NOVEMBERS IN THE PAST 110 YEARS.’)
THAT’S MARK BREEN A METEOROLOGIST WITH THE FAIRBANKS MUSEUM IN ST. JOHNSBURY, VERMONT.
CUT-BREEN2
(“…WE’VE HAD JUST A COUPLE OF BREIF SPELLS OF COOLER WEATHER BUT NOVEMBER HASN’T BEEN ALL THAT COLDER THAN OCTOBER THIS YEARâ€)
THE EXTENDED FALL IS HAVING A DRAMATIC EFFECT ON THE START OF THE SKI SEASON.
IN 2005 THERE WERE EIGHT NEW HAMPSHIRE SKI AREA’S OPEN ON THANKSGIVING WEEKEND.
THIS YEAR JUST ONE - BRETTON WOODS.
THE WARM WEATHER IS ALSO AFFECTING OTHER BUSINESS.
LEO CHARET OWNS THE TWIN MOUNTAIN COUNTRY STORE LOCATED JUST FEW MILES UP THE ROAD FROM THE BRETTON WOODS RESORT.
HE SAYS THINGS WERE VERY DIFFERENT AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
CUT-CHARET1
(“…A LOT BUSIER THAN IT IS NOW. CAUSE LAST YEAR WE HAD LIKE 16 INCHES OF SNOW NTURAL SOW ON THANKSGING WEEKEND…NOW THE SUN’S OUT AND IT’S IN THE 40’Sâ€)
BUT SO FAR,THERE DOESN’T APPEAR TO BE A LOT OF PANIC ABOUT THE SITUATION – AT LEAST IN THE NORTH COUNTRY AREA.
ALICE PEIRCE OF THE TRADE ASSOCIATION “SKI NEW HAMPSHIRE†SAYS THE BIGGER RESORTS ARE ABOUT TWO-WEEKS BEHIND.
BUT THE SMALLER AREAS THAT DON’T USUALLY OPEN UNTIL DECEMBER HAVEN’T BEEN HURT YET.
SHE ADDS THAT WHILE THANKSGIVING IS THE TRADITIONAL TARGET DATE FOR MANY RESORTS TO OPEN - IT ISN’T THE MOST CRITICAL TIME IN TERMS OF RESORT REVENUE.
CUT-ALICE1
(“…CHRISTMAS VACTION IS THE FIRST BUSY WEEK OF THE SEASON…YOU REALLY DON’T SEE THE INTERMEDIATES AND THE FAMILY’S COME TROUGH TIL CHRISTMAS BECAUSE DECEMBER IS JUST TOO BUSY WITH OTHER THINGSâ€)
AND STORE OWNER CHARET SAYS HE MAY NOT HAVE THE SKIERS RIGHT NOW – BUT HIS SITUATION ISN’T AS BAD AS ONE MIGHT THINK.
CUT-CHARET2
(“…CAUSE THE HIKERS ARE STILL COMING UP, STILL PLENTY OF HUNTERS – IT’S ALL AROUND – THE A-T-V’RS YET, AND WE’BE SEEN MIMIMAL SKIERSâ€)
PERHAPS THE BIGGEST REASON FOR OPTIMISM IS A DEVLOPING SITUATION BEST DESCRIBED BY METEROROLOGIST BREEN.
CUT-BREEN3
(“…THERE’LL BE A TRANSISSION WITH A VERY SHARP COLD FRONT COMING THROUGH ON FRIDAY. .IT LOOKS LIKE A WEATHER SYSTEM DEVELOPING ON THE FRONT ITSELF MAY BRING US A PERIOD OF SOME SNOW. AND THE TOPS OF THE WHITE MOUNTINS COULD PICK UP SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW OUT OF THAT SITUATION â€)
BREEN SAYS THE FORCAST GETS EVEN BETTER BECAUSE A LONG PERIOD OF CONSITANTLY COLD DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO FOLLOW - CREATING IDEAL SNOWMAKING CONDITIONS ACROSS THE NORTH COUNTRY.
FOR N-H-P-R NEWS, I’M TODD WELLINGTON
