This post was originally published March 16, 2011 on crystalmountainresort.com
In the Northwest, we treat March like the middle child of the seasons, not quite strong enough to claim winter status, yet rarely handled with the gentleness of spring. I asked several friends about ski plans this week and they responded flatly, “I’m so finished with winter.”
And these are religious skiers, season pass holders who hit Crystal every Sunday from early December until the last day of February. In their minds, mid-March means brushing off the grill, admiring the daffodils and stowing the (still much needed) parka as an act of defiance against Mother Nature. Middle child indeed.
Their loss – our gain. In a non-scientific review of my journal, I often find that winter is just getting started in March, when obstinate storms blow in dispatching sweet inches of fresh snow. Those who view March as more lamb-like than leonine may get the edge on their golf swings, but they leave the rest of us with all the more terrain of untracked snow to explore. Consider that by Wednesday of this week alone, Crystal’s received two more feet of snow on top of almost 400 inches this season!
Of course March does bring more days (or at least hours) of sunshine than February, but who doesn’t love sunshine? When you combine extra rays with good snow and cool temps you get, not just spring, but the season’s best skiing conditions.
I suggest you toss those golf clubs, hiking boots and camping materials back in the storage closet, wax your board or skis and head back to Crystal because in the retro-loving twenty-teens, late adaptors rule.
~Crai Bower
