CAMDEN, Maine — A few hardy skiers braved the sleet on Friday to grace the slopes of the Camden Snow Bowl.
It was a frustrating day for Beth Ward, general manager of the town-owned ski area. Seven days earlier, they got around a foot of new snow. A few days later, it was sunny and warm. Thursday, it rained. On Friday, she dealt with falling temperatures and sleet.
"We've worked so hard with the [cold] temperatures to make snow, and then for it to warm up and be 40 degrees when it was negative the day before," she grumbled. "But we do the best we can."
That may be the guiding motto for the ski industry, especially in Camden, close to the coast, where winter weather can be fickle.
Ward, however, isn't worried. She said the ski area had made vast piles of snow during those cold weeks in January and said the sleet is the same stuff, tiny ice pellets.
The slopes, she said, will be fine and should have good skiing for the important February school vacation week.
Further inland, at Lost Valley in Auburn, Friday featured a very different storm. Only a small amount of sleet fell, said general manager John Herrick.
Instead, the ski area was carpeted with excellent snow most of the night and day.
"After yesterday's horrible rain, this snow is a welcome sight," Herrick said during a break from plowing.
He, too, said the storm is setting Lost Valley up to keep skiing for some time.
"What we have now — knock on wood — should carry us through the month of March," he predicted.
Small ski areas, in particular, depend on making their snow to stay in operation. That's particularly true away from the big mountains, where natural snow has become much less dependable.
Skiers, however, have become more dependable lately. Both Herrick and Ward said they've seen a surge in the number of skiers since 2020.
"I think it's the trend to be outdoors, to be [in] a safe spot with COVID. People just want to be out, want to be here, so we've been very busy," Ward said.
Herrick said the same thing has been happening in his area.
"Last year was a great year with COVID bringing people out because you can do something safe outside," he said. "And this is continuing the trend."
He said the ski area had seen people who haven't skied in a long time return to the slopes and more people bringing their children to learn to ski.
It's all suitable for the local ski areas, which they say serve a key role in teaching the next generations of skiers to love the slopes.
Snow or sleet, they hope to stay busy as long as winter weather allows.