Ski season is coming to a close as white powder turns to puddles. Hundreds of skiers and snowboarders made the most of the last day of the season at Mount Southington Sunday.
Many said they would prefer to just skip through summer and get back out on the slopes.
On the first day of spring Sunday, there were blue skies and nearly 60-degree temperatures.
“It’s hot! I'm ready to take my jacket off,” Brook Shafer said.
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There were also packed slopes.
“Great weather, great people, great times,” said Kevin Pistilli, of Southington. “Just got to send the season off with a bang.”
With the warm weather, many replaced parkas with swim trunks.
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“I have my swimming trunks under this actually, and I have a Hawaiian shirt to match,” said Felipe Lozano, of Wethersfield.
Lozano, along with many others, showed off tropical beach gear for a pond skim event.
“Everyone here is happy. Everyone is coming out in shorts,” Shafer said.
It is a bittersweet start to spring for all the skiers who rushed out to get one more run down the slopes, and it is because of them that management says business has remained strong at Mount Southington. They say skiing is one activity that never slowed down during the pandemic.
“Things have been a lot more normal,” said Brian McCloskey, Mount Southington Office and Marketing Manager. “We kept a lot of things like the tables outside because people seemed to enjoy it, you know, having a picnic. A lot of the stuff remained from last year, but our capacities went back to normal this year.”
McCloskey says March is a typical time to close, and the resort is glad to stretch the season after a 10-day delayed start due to a warm December.
Now sunshine will turn snow to slush.
“Basically we’re skiing down what’s left of our base,” McCloskey said.
But not everyone has caught spring fever.
“Oh I’m so sad,” Lozano said.
Some are already waiting for winter’s return, and a blanket of fresh powder at this beloved spot in Southington.
“This is a great small business, town place, where a lot of people who grew up here get to spend some time and enjoy the slopes when normally you have to drive two hours up to Vermont to get that,” Pistilli said. “It’s like a little slice of heaven in Southington. It’s nice.”
