My goal of more skiing is getting on track. I made a mid-week visit to Shawnee Peak and found plenty of perfectly groomed trails, something common this season with all the natural snow.

One of the more interesting attractions at Shawnee is watching some of the regulars. Riding the Pines Quad, I couldn’t miss a skier making perfectly carved long round turns. I knew immediately it was Bruce Cole, who was a freestyle coach at Pleasant Mountain in the 1970s when the likes of Greg Stump and his colleagues were racking up national titles. Bruce is often joined by other regulars such as Frank Howell, Jeff Coffin and Billy Dolliver, along with other fine skiers. Coffin is remembered as Wily Coyote in Stump’s films. These guys are fun to ski with and keeping up with them is certainly good for your technique.

Another group of regulars can be found on nearly all good-weather, mid-week days. I listened to part of the cadre in the Great Room where they always change.

Last year I was there on a MARA race day, and while the room was reserved for the racers, GM Ed Rock had placed a sign on their usual table reserving the space so they were not displaced by the racers. What’s unique about these skiers is their age. I heard them talking about their Social Security with the younger ones, speculating about when to start taking it while a number have been collecting it for many years.

One whom I didn’t’ see this day but surely will is Jack Farrar, who is still skiing at 87, and another has turned 90. They’re part of a group in their 70s and 80s who ski every mid-week day. They ski until noon and call it a day.

I also got to spend some time with new GM Ralph Lewis and retired GM Ed Rock. I learned that this year’s vacation made a big start toward offsetting last year’s washout. It was the biggest vacation week ever.

Rock is staying on in a consulting capacity so he can pass along his 32 years of knowledge about every aspect of operating the busy ski area. I observed an important aspect of snowmaking when I crossed the causeway across Moose Pond. It was frozen solid with people out ice fishing. That was late last year and the humidity from the pond makes it tough to make snow. That’s one more indication that this year’s outlook is so much better.

The following Saturday, I headed for Mount Abram and found the same packed powder. As I skied down Dudley, I caught sight of a class of racers practicing starts under the eye of Tim LaVallee. These young racers were taking turns launching themselves off a bump that served as a start. I wonder if they all knew their coach was a veteran of the U.S. Ski Team?

This is an interesting part of the Mount Abram Racing Program. Bob Harkins, who has also coached for the U.S. Team, is also part of the program. He and LaVallee are joined by another pair of veteran coaches, Tim Hutchisen and Uel Gardner. It’s quite a team of coaches for a ski area the size of Mount Abram.

I also spent some time with GM Dave Scanlon and learned that Mount Abram also had a record vacation week. He credited the natural snow, but made the point that under the new snow was a solid base of man-made snow created by their expanded snowmaking system. As I skied around I noticed a number of tower guns adding to great mounds of snow being stockpiled where it could be spread later as needed. Dave pointed out that their new airless tower guns were truly inexpensive to operate, that the compressors used to create air for air/water guns use 45 gallons of diesel fuel an hour, an example of how technology is being used to improve ski conditions and also keep down the cost of lift tickets. It was a good visit and nice to see a full parking lot.

Another indication of how much busier ski areas have been this season was found on Sugarloaf and Sunday River websites.

Both were posting that they were hiring. Usually at this point in the season, the hiring is over. I talked with Ethan Austin at Sugarloaf and he told me there are some departments, such as food and beverage, that are almost always hiring, but with all the business to date, there have been employees working extra shifts.

There are always skiers looking for jobs such as bartenders who want to work nights so they can ski days. Those jobs usually fill quickly, but with all the different positions there can be openings in a number of departments. The on-hill glamour jobs (at least that’s what they appear to be to the uninitiated) — ski school and ski patrol — are pretty well set at this point, certainly the full-time paid positions. Ski school can vary depending on volume. At this point in the season, only skiers who are fully qualified would be considered for either job. Once the season is under way, there is no time for training starting from the beginning. I know from my own experience as patrol director that while I would always take a look at a potential patroller, it would usually be only for the possibility of the following season at this point.

That being said if you are interested in patrolling or teaching, this would be a good time to check with the ski school or patrol to see what you need to do before applying in the future. Both Sunday River and Sugarloaf list numerous job opportunities. If you are interested in working at a ski area check their website under employment for details on how to apply.

See you on the slopes.

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