Fun & Fitness over 50

"Into every life a little rain must fall"
"Spring is coming, get over it!"
... that's what I keep telling myself but it hasn't helped.
Every year, it seems, the transition gets worse.
The transition from ski season to end of ski season.
After a record January and February, we are going into March with rain and warm temps.
All that water gone to waste!
Anyhow, I was bemoaning the many days of damaging (to the snow pack) rain we've had and trying to be grown up about it (why?).
As they say, I can't complain (but I will).
We've had a stellar season up to now with great snow conditions and 100% trails open in all the resorts, I've had 11 ski days myself and
I got some good tips from my brother-in-law, Mike.
Sometimes I curse the area because we are often right on the snow/rain cusp and it seems more often than not, we'll get snow and then it'll rain on top of it and then we'll get a deep freeze. Not too good.
But what is good about this area is the variety of ski areas within 1 to 2 hours of me. There are several small "family" type operations that offer great prices, usually $20-25 during the week and some, even on the weekend after March 1 or 15th. Also, there are resorts 1 hour to the southeast of me in the Berkshires, 1 to 1-1/2 hours to the southwest of me in the Catskills, to the northwest are the Adirondack areas Gore and Whiteface and to the Northeast are the southern Vermont areas, Mt. Snow, Stratton, and Bromley. All have offered affordable deals under $30 from time to time if you keep checking diligently. So, I always have options.
I have fantasized about moving out west where the season is more reliable but I wonder if I would be able to afford it like I can here. I wonder if they have the smaller areas with reasonable prices?
For example, this last Monday was a washout with some heavy rain to our southeast so I was concerned about my scheduled ski day, Wednesday. I was planning on going to Jiminy Peak resort in Hancock, MA. I had an e-coupon for that day for a $25 lift ticket. That area in the Berkshires got more rain this time whereas to the west and north of us, there was snow. On Wednesday morning, I checked conditions at Jiminy and they said "frozen granular". I didn't like the sound of that. Sounds like "ice" to me. I checked out Belleayre Mountain, a ski area in the Catskills to the west and their conditions were "packed powder". Much better. And to top it off, they were offering tickets that day for $20! Score!
Needless to say, I headed for the Catskills. I had never been to Belleayre before although I had lived in that area years ago. It was a little over a 1-1/2 hour ride.
As advertised, the snow conditions were great and the hill was 100% open. It was a bit of a challenge to figure out the layout but I went right to it. There is a lower lodge and an upper lodge. I parked at the lower which was probably a good choice because it was less crowded. The lift from there (Lift 1&2) unloads behind the upper lodge and services almost all green beginner trails.
From there you ski down and pick up the Superchief Quad to the top of the east side.
Basically, almost everything from the top is expert, then converts to blue midway. The east and west edges have blues down the sides and there are several traverses criss-crossing the mountain to get you back and forth. The Tomahawk lift covers the west side and got me up to Deer Run, a long intermediate trail along the western boundary. Reminded me a lot of the Wilmington trail on Whiteface.
So there you have it. Had a great day, made a real breakthrough after lunch, poling finally clicked for me.
I'm ready for next Thursday: St. Patty's at Jiminy with Mrs. Mtbman1. 17 bucks! Woo-hoo!

Blessed!

Here's a link to a video of Deer Run: click here