In the days leading up to April 1st, I was expecting sunshine all week and into the weekend. It was shaping up to be perfect spring conditions with soft snow, bumps, t-shirts, and sunglasses. The forecast was ideal, but as we all know in New England, the weather is as steady as Charlie Sheen’s career. News spread of a pretty big storm coming through by the end of the week and dropping off anywhere from 6 to 14 inches in higher elevations. The majority of the snow was expected to accumulate on Friday, April 1st, which was of course April Fool’s Day. With that in mind, I still made the trip up north on Thursday night with hopes of not getting fooled. The next morning, I pleasantly awoke at 7am to a strong snowfall with little visibility. This was it; this was what they were talking about.
Looking like mid-winter conditions in the woods
I soon realized there were no more than a few new inches outside, but the strength of the snow kept me optimistic. That day I explored some woods with a fun layer of fresh snow while the snow kept pressing on all day. By Friday night there were accumulation totals around 6 inches; not quite what I had hoped for, but the snow in the woods felt much deeper than that.
No signs of spring here
The next day I was joined by my brother Jeff and we returned to the area I had explored the previous day. As we pushed the terrain’s boundaries, we were greeted with deeper snow each run. It was in the thirties that day and the conditions were light on top and sticky underneath which created an interesting surface to ski on.
Don’t forget to wax your skis unless you want to take the snow with you as a souvenir
Regardless of it being April, we skied some of the best lines of the year. There was a deep base, little underbrush, fresh snow, and a plenty of smiles. Maybe this was Mother Nature’s April Fool’s joke on us. Perhaps she wanted to give us one last tease of winter before the snow starts to melt. At the very least, it was a reminder of why I personally love skiing and exploration. This past storm just makes me more eager to return to the mountains; whether it will be later this month or this November. Until next time, I’ll remember this April Fool’s storm with a laugh and always recall how stubborn winter can be.
Finding the fresh