It's All Downhill: Fond memories of frozen Fridays

[View web version]( [It's All Downhill. The latest from the slopes of New England and beyone by Matt Pepin] Friday, March 9 | [Follow Matt Pepin on Twitter]( good times Really the only downside to being a chaperone for a middle school ski club is the singing on the bus. It doesn't happen every time, but man, 40 students who are jacked up on chicken nuggets and fries, doughnuts, soda, and candy after spending a Friday evening on the slopes can make the most annoying sounds in the world. Otherwise, chaperoning ski club has been one of the highlights of each winter that I've lived in Massachusetts. All of my children have participated in our town's program, which takes six after-school trips to Wachusett Mountain. All of the students learn to handle themselves at the mountain, since they have to carry their own gear, get themselves ready for the slopes, and be responsible for their own passes. Sure, the chaperones help with equipment issues, the inevitable "I forgot (fill in the blank)" moments, and things like that, especially with the younger ones, but once the students know the drill they handle everything themselves. I hope this translates to when they go on family trips, but can't be certain. Usually, everything goes fine. I'm sure the other patrons groan when they see multiple buses roll up -- ours is far from the only town that shows up on Friday evenings -- and hundreds of kids fill the lodge, but they spread out onto the slopes pretty quick. Some are along just for the social aspect. Some are already diehard skiers and snowboarders. Most are somewhere in between. Why mention it? Today is the last one, and with this week's snow it should be a great one. My daughter will move on to high school next year, and while there is a ski program there too, it's not the same. The quick trip to a nearby mountain for just a few hours has been a perfect way to end the winter work weeks, a great kickoff to a weekend, and I feel like it's a small way to give a little something back to the sport. So I'm going to stay out on the slopes until the last possible moment, then get to the bus stop to make sure the kids load things in an orderly fashion. We'll head for home not long after, and the bus will be filled with laughter, shouting, and conversations about the good times we've had. There might even be singing. I won't mind tonight. 'tis the season As much as ski areas want to you to keep coming back this season, this is also the time of year the big push begins for next season. Season passes of all sorts are on sale with early-bird rates, flash sales, and other incentives. The newest player, [the Ikon Pass]( , announced its pricing details recently and will go head-to-head with [the Epic Pass]( since both are priced at $899. The [Mountain Collective pass]( is another option. Individual resorts are offering all kinds of early-in discounts, and other conglomerates like [the Peak Resorts Peak Pass]( , which includes places like Mount Snow and Wildcat, and Boyne's [New England Pass]( , which includes Loon, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf, have launched their campaigns as well. For further reference, Iseult Devlin of NorthJersey.com [has a good review of all the major players in the multi-resort pass game]( . CLICKWORTHY SOUNDS GOOD: A recent episode of the High Falutin' Ski Bums podcast [featured a review of a trip to France's Les Trois Vallees]( , a place I've been wanting to visit for some time. Nothing beats first-person observations of a ski area, and the bums know what they're talking about. OLYMPIC CONTROVERSY: The women's snowboard slopestyle competition at the Olympics was marred by the controversial decision to hold the event despite high winds that had a significant impact on the athletes. One of them, Canada's Spencer O'Brien, [wrote a strong piece for The Player's Tribune]( on why the competition shouldn't have been held. It's a fascinating look at the issue from a participant's perspective, and also a damning indictment of the powers that be if things were in fact as O'Brien describes. GREAT TO SEE: So what if opening day came in March for New Hampshire's Tenney Mountain? It's great to see that it opened at all, which did indeed happen on Thursday, almost eight years after it shut down in March of 2010. The Concord Monitor [has the story of Thursday's opening day]( and the resort [posted a video of the first chair honors]( apparently being bestowed upon a man who was there the day it closed. Here's hoping for the best -- the more ski areas the better for New England. BIG DOINGS: Big Sky in Montana has announced it plans to install [an eight-passenger chairlift]( that will have heated seats and a bubble. The resort says the lift will be the first of its kind in the world. It's all part of [a big plan for big improvements]( at Big Sky. STATE CHAMPS: Hingham won the girls' team title and Marblehead took the boys' team title [at the Massachusetts high school ski racing championships]( at Berkshire East this week. HAPPY DAYS: Spring ski days are often marked by plenty of fun activities. [SnoCountry.com has a look at some of the top spring festivals]( and bashes around the country. ROBOTS ARE BAD SKIERS: Anyone fearing automation and a world takeover by machines will enjoy [these videos of a recent robot skiing competition]( . There are still some things humans are better at, although I've also seen humans worse at skiing than some of these bots. NOW YOU KNOW: Ever hear of jack jumping? I had not until recently, then [I stumbled across this NPR feature]( in which the author tried it out. Jack jumping is a form of snow-sliding done on a contraption consisting of a seat affixed to a single ski. Apparently they're pretty into it at Mount Snow, where they hold an annual "world championships" event. YOU'LL LOVE THIS: The Love Letters podcast, the audio version of Meredith Goldstein's popular Boston Globe column, launches March 20. [You can listen to a trailer and find links to subscribe on the show's website](. [Subscribe to BostonGlobe.com]( mountain view The midweek storm was kind of a big deal for New England ski areas. At Mount Snow, where the photo above was taken by Mike Dawson and shared with It's All Downhill, they were calling it "the deepest day in over a decade." Both the Vermont and New Hampshire ski area associations shared storm snowfall totals as of Thursday morning. Here they are (all measurements in inches) Vermont: Stratton Mountain Resort: 29 Mount Snow Resort: 27 Magic Mountain: 25-27 Bromley Mountain Resort: 20-22 Suicide Six: 14 Okemo Mountain Resort: 12-16 Killington Resort: 12 Pico Mountain: 9 Burke Mountain: 8 Mad River Glen: 6-8 Sugarbush Resort: 6-8 Bolton Valley: 5 Smugglers' Notch Resort: 5 Middlebury Snow Bowl: 4-5 Stowe Mountain Resort: 4 Jay Peak Resort: 3-5 New Hampshire: Mount Sunapee Resort: 14 Dartmouth Skiway: 14 Pats Peak Ski Area: 12 Ragged Mountain Resort: 12 Black Mountain: 11 Waterville Valley Resort: 11 Gunstock Mountain Resort: 10 King Pine at Purity Spring: 9 Cranmore Mountain Resort: 9 Bretton Woods: 8 Loon Mountain Resort: 6 Cannon Mountain: 5 [Like It's All Downhill? Tell a friend to subscribe.]( [Sign up for more Boston Globe newsletters.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( About This Email You received this message because you signed up for the It's All Downhill newsletter. 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