It's All Downhill: Snovember

[View web version]( [It's All Downhill. The latest from the slopes of New England and beyone by Matt Pepin] Saturday, December 1 | [Follow Matt Pepin on Twitter]( SEEING IS BELIEVING Sometimes it's hard to interpret the breathless tweets, blog posts, and other ways ski areas trumpet how great things are at their place. When is it ever not awesome? Just once I'd like to see a snow report that says something like "Don't forget to watch out for the huge bare spot on Lower Death Plunge" or "There's some boilerplate ice on Upper Kneewrecker, but it's better than dirt." So the initial flurry of promotional activity from New England ski resorts prior to Thanksgiving seemed like just standard operating procedure. Then the weather reports started rolling in from the Boston-area meteorologists I trust the most to bolster the hype as the New England ski season really picked up steam as a few storms rolled through snow country. More reports were coming from skiers whose opinion I respect, and the number of open trails was steadily rising. "Snovember" emerged as a way to hashtag and label what was happening, and finally I could resist no longer. On Thursday, I ditched work and headed to Vermont to see for myself if what many were calling the best early season conditions in recent memory was in fact true. After spending the day at Mount Snow, I can attest the answer is yes. The conditions were quite remarkable — "unbelievable" was the word most commonly used to describe them. It looked like mid-January (another common phrase I heard in the lodge and on the lifts) with tons of snow everywhere. The trees were whitecapped, there was ample snow on the ground in the woods, and even two days after the last major storm stopped dumping on the Green Mountains, there were pockets of powder to be found and floated through. There was top-to-bottom skiing on way more trails than should be open on Nov. 29, and the snow was fantastic, the light and soft kind that is really grippy when you get your edges into it. Some trails were left naturalized, which was a fun challenge, and the groomers were in fine shape. The glades I checked out were full of pillowy snow and weren't skied out or rutted. Even the closed trails looked like they weren't far off from being ready to open. The thought of ducking a rope certainly crossed my mind. There was only a bit of ice on one ungroomed trail. All the skiers I spoke with agreed it was the best they'd seen for this early in the season in a long time. Many could not remember finding better early season conditions in New England. There were a lot of people who skied until last chair to maximize their visit. Of course there was a healthy dose of skepticism from those I spoke with about whether this could last, and particularly if the conditions would remain this good or get better by the holidays, when many had overnight trips planned. They were fearful a warm-up could ruin things, or leave a lot of ice on the slopes. I'm not going to worry about that. For now, I'll take it as it is, and keep my eyes open for another good day to get away. [Check the latest SnoCountry conditions reports here.]( CLICKING IN LIFT TICKET PRICES: The average price of a lift ticket at a Massachusetts ski area is $58.75, a two percent increase from last season, according to numbers [published by the New England Ski Industry website](. The high was Jiminy Peak at $81 and the low was Otis Ridge at $40. The percentage of increase was the same at Maine ski areas, [which also were reviewed by NESI](. The average in Maine is $57.30, although it would be lower if you removed giants Sunday River, which has the highest price at $105, and Sugarloaf ($99) from the equation. WORTH SHARING: The Ski Diva's Wendy Clinch was not able to give her prepared talk at the Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo because of the circumstances at the event's special booth for female skiers, [but did post the text on her website]( and it's well worth sharing. ["Skiing With Confidence"]( is filled with excellent advice for both women who ski and the men who ski with them. GUESS WHO WON AT KILLINGTON: Mikaela Shiffrin continued her dominance of the World Cup slalom at Killington, winning her third straight over Thanksgiving weekend. She was fourth in the giant slalom there. Boston.com's Hayden Bird covered the racing, which Killington said attracted more than 33,000 fans. [Here's his report on Shiffrin's win in the slalom]( and [here's how things went down in the giant slalom](. ON SECOND THOUGHT: Lindsey Vonn will not retire at the end of this racing season, and instead make one last appearance at the Lake Louise World Cup event next season because she had to miss this year's competition there because of an injury. Vonn said in a video posted to social media that Lake Louise is her favorite stop on the tour. [The Denver Post has more about her decision](. GOOD GEAR ADVICE: Outside Magazine [published a smart guide to gear that helps you get to the mountains]( ranging from an expensive rooftop cargo boxes ($779) to simple ski straps ($6). Products like the Mountainsmith boot cube and the googles case caught my eye in particular. EXPERTS ONLY: Eric Wagnon begins [looking at the toughest ski runs in North America]( in his latest post [on Liftopia's blog](. Part 1 includes superlatives like steepest run, most famous challenge, and best spot to catch big air. I'm already looking forward to Part 2. FAMILY-FRIENDLY APRES: In another post on Liftopia, [Rich Stoner takes a look at the "Top Resorts with Great Family Friendly Apres-Ski."]( It's broken down by region, and references Okemo and Mount Snow in the New England section. [Subscribe to BostonGlobe.com]( [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. To automatically unsubscribe, [please click here.]( Please note: this will unsubscribe you from the newsletter only. If you wish to cancel your BostonGlobe.com subscription, please call 1-888-MY-GLOBE (1-888-694-5623). [Manage Your Account]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Help Center]( | [Advertise](mailto:mbentley@globe.com?subject=Advertising in BostonGlobe.com) Address: The Boston Globe 1 Exchange Place Suite 201 Boston, MA 02109-2132 ©Copyright 2018 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC