I was reviewing the Killington closing dates and it seems they have started closing earlier and earlier. Is this a global warming thing....? or more likely an economic thing as the appeal of spring skiing on Superstar in June has faded. ROI in June never was too high..but it was very cool.

It's my impression because of so many late storms up North that this year has presented an exceptional amount of late skiing/delayed closings in New England. However, now
it looks like Killington's 4/30 closing date is your last chance for lift served skiing in the East this year. There's still Tucks though :-)
No doubt Killington does not push the spring envelope like they used to.
Closing dates as of 4/26:
CT: Nothing open
RI: Nothing
MA: Nothing
4/23: ME:Sugarloaf and Sunday River
4/30: ME: Nothing
4/23:VT: Jay, Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush
4/30:VT: Killington
4/23: NH: Wildcat
4/30: NH: Nothing
Total New England open as of 4/30: 1
For more on this see:
http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic11037&start=6

They also used to open in October. Read somewhere that newer management decided these opening and closing dates were a waste of money and switched to the more traditional Nov-Apr schedule.

Sugarbush is open Sat and Sun this weekend (4/28 and 4/29), and then they close for the season.

i read somewhere hat they have been closing earlier and earlier simply because economics and the fact that they are changing ownership.... its not global warming... temps today are no different from temps 10 years ago when hey used to stay open until june. hopefully if they sell then the new management will revive the supper late season skiing.

Wildcat is still open too. sunday is there last day. if anyone is heading up north give me a holler. the only thing i have to do this weekend is brew an oatmeal stout, but that can wait

Stowe's last day is ths Sun. Given the likelihood of rain on both days this weekend I will probably be with my daughter & family in Burlington. If it looks OK for a few hrs. we will head to Stowe and ski the chin, which is a smaller version of the steep rocky above timberline terrain of Mt. Washington. While a good day at the Rockpile is unforgettable, a day of cold rain is not my idea of fun and would be a potential turn off of a budding backcountry skier - my 9 yr. old grandson.

As to late closings, my impression is that season passes have killed them nationwide. Virtually nobody buys a walk-up ticket this late. The resorts already have the $ of the season pass holders so they have no incentive. With the skier population now level or falling it no longer makes economic sense for ski areas to take a loss in exchange for late closing bragging rights.

I would think if they were able to stay open so late (mid june) on a yearly basis then they could attract people an early summer vacation package that includes golfing and skiing. However, they would need to advertise heavily because most people would not know that skiing is possible on the east coast in early summer. The best situation would be if they could offer a blue and green trail to accompany superstar, considering the average person probably would not want to attempt the moguls that develop on the trail. I dont know how much all that snowmaking would cost them but i would think a resort that offers skiing on 2-3 different trails, possibly a limited ski school, golf, an outdoor pool, and nice accommodations would be able to bring in steady business in early summer.

But i dont know if it would even be possible (or how much it would cost) for them to make that amount of snow. But if they were able to keep the guns running on the 2-3 trails 24/7 whenever temps permit for the entire season i think it would be feasible.

Sugarbush announced that Stein's run will be open next weekend for skiing -- they are doing a Cinco de Mayo party next weekend, Sat and Sun. That would be fun I bet. Stein's is a fairly steep trail and probably all bumped up by now -- not something I could ski all day, that's for sure!

Wildcat also mentions the possibility of re-opening next weekend! Kind of amazing for them considering last season was when they opened for one weekend in late october. This would probably be their latest closing to date meaning that over the last 48 months wildcat was open for at least two days every month october-may!! Pretty incredible considering this is still on almost all natural snow!

There doesn't seem to be a bragging right to who's open first and last like there used to be, which is too bad. I always wanted to make turns at k-mart in June and October, but it seems that opportunity has passed.