For natural snow seekers, it’s not unusual to see them in clandestine mountain pass caches from Vermont’s Mount Mansfield to Maine’s Grafton Notch following freakish storms.
“This time of year there are two options — one is to go to a place with snowmaking, and the other is what I like to say are secret spots,’’ said New England Nordic Ski Association executive director Patrick Cote.
But even with snowmaking at a few New England cross-country areas, there are no guarantees. Yesterday, organizers of Saturday’s sprint race at Great Glen Trails at the base of Mountain Washington in Pinkham Notch, N.H., saw rain.
“If it doesn’t happen this weekend, we’ll get the snowmaking going as soon as we can to hold the race next weekend,’’ said spokesman Ryan Triffitt.
While at Vermont’s Grafton Pond Outdoor Center, plans for a Saturday opening were pushed to Dec. 11, though a free trail-running biathlon on a new year-round course using laser guns is on.
“When Mother Nature calls for temperatures in the 30s, there’s nothing we can do about it,’’ says communications director Melissa Gullotti. “The minute we can start making snow, we’ll be making snow.’’
Snowmaking’s been at Grafton since 1995. With four fan guns supplied with water drawn from two ponds on the rural Vermont property, snowmaking can cover about 5 kilometers of the 30-kilometer network.
But a small man-made loop is an early December treasure. “This time of year a 1-kilometer course looks like heaven,’’ said Bowdoin College Nordic coach Nathan Alsobrook.
Though the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association’s winter carnival season doesn’t begin until mid-January, he says it’s a “tremendous mental boost’’ to get his Division 3 Polar Bears on snow after a preseason of dry land training that includes roller skiing.
“There is such a long build-up for a short racing season and you have to find a way to keep the motivation going,’’ Alsobrook said. “You really need a taste of the real thing to remind you of what this is all about.’’
