More Spring Skiing – Fun At Loon

PHOTO: Bluebird spring skiing day at Loon Mountain. Jeannie leads the way down from the top of Loon’s White Mountain Express Gondola. On Saturday, April 12th The Beach Bash at Loon Mountain begins with Beach Games and Mogul Madness. Loon Mountain’s projected closing date is April 14th, check snow report at LoonMtn.com.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

It is true most people don’t ski but believe me if you love to ski winter goes by much too quickly. Come April my friends and I try to use our ski passes as much as possible before it is too late.
I didn’t get to Gunstock or Magic, I wanted to go. We didn’t use up our second Indy Pass visits to Black or Jay Peak. I have visits left on my Ikon pass too, here I come Killington! I have no regrets. I don’t think my ski pals do either. We skied every chance we could get but we always want to ski more. It is hard to see the season end.
As I write it is raining and some snow is in the forecast for the weekend. Who knows, Mother Nature likes to tease us. Loon, Cannon, Bretton Woods, Cannon and Waterville Valley are planning to be open this weekend. I plan to be skiing as long as a chairlift is spinning someplace within driving distance. Killington and Sunday River, hopefully, will stay open for weeks to come.
Certainly I will be keeping my eye on the daily snow conditions reports. Things can change fast.
Last week I had a great time spring skiing at Loon. I skied on a sunny Friday and then the next day it was a snowy, cloudy and cool Saturday..

I really enjoyed skiing with my friends that call Loon their home mountain. Following them all over the mountain and down the trails and not thinking where I should ski next was really fun. It was a clear stunning day and the views were grand. The nearby pointy tip tops of the Franconia Range Peaks, Flume and Liberty Mountains and far away Mount Washington shined bright in the distance. Truly a bluebird day to be in the White Mountains.
The snow conditions were really good and as the day went on the snow got a little softer but it didn’t get too soft. Loon Peak and South Peak were nice but I really enjoyed skiing the trails on North Peak. The snow on Flume and Lower Walking Boss was something to write home about, ha ha. It just felt so good under my skis.
Since it was a weekday, we skied right on to the chairlifts and even the gondola line was only a minute. My friend Jeannie likes the gondola so we rode it quite a few times.
We had a nice late lunch at the Mountain Club. Jeannie and I split a sandwich and some tater tots. After lunch some of our group decided to call it a day. We did a few more runs and then packed it in too. We had a big day, we made 20 runs.

The next day at Loon was crazy busy for three reasons. It was Saturday, snow blanketed the mountains overnight and it was 80’s day. But I had some friends coming up and I decided to meet them at South Peak.
I foolishly didn’t make it for opening bell but I did find some powder that didn’t get skied off yet and that was fun floating. After a couple of runs I met my friends on top of South Peak. They had just returned from Loon Peak and reported that the lift lines were longer over there.
Being 80’s day many of the skiers and snowboarders were wearing bright colored 80’s clothing and other crazy springtime outfits. What fun! It was a shame the sun wasn’t shining but I don’t think the party goers cared. The concert would be held in the Kanc 8 lift base starting mid afternoon.
Me, I guess you can call me a party pooper. I didn’t go dancing. But I had a great day skiing.
Happy spring, have fun.