MARS HILL, Maine — With temperatures well into the 40s during daylight hours and still plenty of snow on the trails, Bigrock Ski Area in Mars Hill will extend its ski season, which typically concludes at the end of March or first week in April, into the early weeks of April.
On Friday, March 30, rain and fog prevented Bigrock from opening for skiers and snow tubers during their normal afternoon hours. But General Manager Travis Kearney said that their most popular trail, The Comet, and other trails have enough snow packed down to make for fun spring skiing.
This year Bigrock will either close on the weekend of April 7-18 or the following weekend depending on weather trends. On Saturday, April 7, the facility will host one of its most anticipated annual events, the Slush Rush.
“We make a little pond at the bottom of the hill that’s about three to four feet deep. People will ski down the hill and try to go across the pond without falling in,” Kearney said. “This year we’ll add a ski jump so that people can go up onto the jump and then try to get across the pond.”
If Bigrock’s trails do not experience the rapid snow melt of last spring, staff will host a snowmobile hill run on Saturday, April 14, which typically attracts between 500 to 1,000 spectators and competitors.
Kearney noted that in April nighttime temperatures begin to stay above freezing, which causes the snow to melt more during the day and turn into what staffers call “mashed potatoes.” The snow then becomes sticky and less than ideal for skiing. He has already seen evidence of the incoming spring temperatures on many trails.
“On the spots that are called ‘knots,’ there’s a ledge or rock underneath the snow. When the sun warms that rock up, the ground heats up from the bottom and there’s a bare spot that forms around the rock,” Kearney explained. “Those bare spots get large quickly and that usually signals the end of the season.”
Due to large amounts of snowfall, Bigrock has seen a “fantastic” season with 1,000s of visitors taking advantage. Kearney estimated that the total number of visitors would likely fall within their average of 18,000 to 20,000. Plenty of snowstorms enabled crews to produce less man-made snow, resulting in 80 percent of the trails covered in natural snow.
Thus far, all of Bigrock’s ski trails are still open, with the closing date for snow tubing to be announced in early April. Starting during the first week in April, Bigrock will open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends until the end of the season. The facility is no longer open for night skiing. For updates on end-of-season hours and events, visit https://www.bigrockmaine.com/ or call (207) 425-6711.
