NEWRY — Wednesday’s snowstorm isn’t expected to drop more than 6 inches across western Maine.
But that may be enough to reopen Nordic ski centers in Newry, Bethel and Oxford that closed this month due to a snow shortage and warm temperatures.
“There are a bunch of different reports being forecast, but our weather contacts are calling for closer to 6 inches, which is perfect for the Outdoor Center,” Darcy Morse, Sunday River Ski Resort and Outdoor Center spokeswoman, said.
“There’s already a good base here, so we’re just looking for a little extra padding of natural snow before we reopen.”
The center opened on Dec. 27 after a blizzard dropped 19 inches. Six days later, however, a January thaw hit, closing the Outdoor Center on Jan. 3.
“We’re optimistic that tomorrow’s storm might give us the green light to open our trails for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing and, later this month, dog sledding,” Morse said.
Temperatures in the low 50s on New Year’s Day melted away snow and closed Carter’s X-C Center in Oxford, Jesse Hill said.
On Monday, he then closed Carter’s X-C Center in Bethel, but plans to reopen it on Thursday.
“Three to 6 inches will be great. We’ll definitely be open in Bethel,” he said.
Bruce Pierce of the Bethel Nordic Ski Center at the Bethel Inn Resort said they, too, are closed.
“We closed Monday just because we’ve been playing ‘connect the dots,’” he said.
“We had been offering 5k of skiing, but unfortunately, we’re at the point where reality sets in. This weekend, we had five people come and ski, so you’re losing money at that point.”
Area Nordic ski places that have snow and are open are Black Mountain of Maine in Rumford, Rangeley Lakes Trails Center in Rangeley, and Sugarloaf Outdoor Center in Carrabassett Valley.
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- Mountain Valley High School Nordic Team member Katie Mills glides down a slight grade while practicing Tuesday afternoon at Black Mountain of Maine ski resort in Rumford. Black Mountain, which is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, was one of the few cross country skiing areas with snow thanks to last week’s efforts hosting the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships.
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