PENINSULA, Ohio — As Northeast Ohio deals with this cold and snowy stretch of weather with single digits in the forecast for next week, many may dread the weather road ahead. But to be clear, it is just what some have been waiting for and waiting a long time for; they’re called skiers.
Light snow fell on Thursday, making the slopes at Boston Mills Ski Resort busy. Although it doesn’t add much to the base, it is a phenomenal marketing tool for getting skiers like Gail Holt of Sagamore Hills in the mood to hit the slopes.
“This is beautiful; I love the snow—I’m from Colorado, we moved here from Denver, Colorado, and this is a beautiful day,” Holt said.
Doubly so for Les Neubert; he’s a teacher at Revere Local Schools who saw classes canceled on Thursday.
“This is the best day; it’s a snow day. We’re both teachers. It’s a snow day and we’ve got beautiful conditions,” he said.
It’s something skiers haven’t had a lot of consistently in not just the past one or two years but the better part of the past decade.
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“This is the first time I’ve been out in four years or so,” said Larry Boron or Medina, reflecting on the past several years of bad skiing weather. “I mean a lot of ice, they shut down early. You gotta drive farther to get better snow like New York or go out west, so this is great.”
If Larry’s happy, then Jake Campbell’s ecstatic. He’s general manager of Boston Mills, Brandywine and Alpine Valley, where they’ve been able to consistently make and keep snow all season so far.
“In Northeast Ohio, we know there’s always a bit of a roller coaster feel to the winter weather, but this year it’s been pretty consistent, said Campbell. “We have anywhere from three feet to 35-40 feet of snow in some areas. We probably have more snow than we’ve had in potentially the last decade.”
And with those single-digit temps in the forecast, it’s a base they’ll only be able to build on. That’s enabled them to be at full speed heading into any ski resort’s critical stretch between the MLK and Presidents’ Day holidays.
“This weekend will have a DJ up on the bar deck here at Boston Mills; we have free hot chocolate over at Brandywine in the morning,” Campbell said. “We have all of our programs running, our ski and ride school lessons going out every day, and with all of the snow we have, we’re going to have consistent incredible conditions for everybody to enjoy out here.”
But will those brutally cold temperatures next week alter skiers' plans? Silly question, says Alison Nutt of Canton.
“Oh no, no, there’s lots of good clothes. I’ve got heated boots, heaters in my hands,” she said. “I’m good to go.”
