SPORTS TALK
with Michael Betteridge
Over the past 13 years, the average snowfall in our area has been 22 inches per year. In the 2022-2023 snow season, we received two inches of snow for the entire year. Last winter season, our total was 16 inches. In the past three years, we have received 33.1 inches of snow. That is an average of 11 inches per year. I would not recommend buying stock in Vail Ski Resorts any time soon. They purchased Roundtop, Liberty and Whitetail from Snotime in 2019. Since then, they have had one above-average year in 2020-2021. Otherwise, it has been a snow famine, until January 2025.
I have been an avid skier for many years. I have skied all over the East Coast, from Vermont to West Virginia, out West and in the Austrian alps. Last year, for the first time ever, I did not ski once all season. Average temperatures were above freezing in January, February, and March. Trail counts were miserable. In the mid-Atlantic, you don’t need snow to ski. You need cold! The last time we had temperatures averaging below freezing in meteorological winter (December, January, and February) was 1960! The last time we had temperatures averaging below freezing in January and February was 2015. That should give you an idea of the challenge snowmakers face.
The average temperature in January 2025 was 29 degrees. There were only four days in the whole month that the temperature averaged above freezing. Now, that is snowmaking weather!
For those of you who think you are too old to learn to ski, my answer is, Hooey! I did not put on a pair of skis until I was 45. I’m 72 now and skiing double black diamonds.
Two years ago at Whitetail, I saw a woman ski off the chairlift and she had some strange bungee cord devices running down the back of her legs, connecting to her ski boots. Being exceptionally nosy, I skied up alongside her and said, “Excuse me Ma’am, but what are those cords on your boots?” She replied, “They are impact dampers. I had a hip replacement last year, and these help me ski again.” Well, now, I couldn’t resist, and I asked her an even nosier question. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” She chuckled and answered, “78.”
See what I mean? Seventy-eight years old and skiing black diamonds after a hip replacement!
Many of us huddle inside, complaining about winter, bored with cabin fever. Literally, we are suffering from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) from a lack of fresh air and sunlight. Here is some winter advice. Learn to ski! Take a lesson. Or maybe you want to hang with the young kids and learn to snowboard. It’s the most fun you can have outdoors on the planet.
Last year, I recorded a run down the backside of Wisp Resort on my ski app at 62 miles per hour. At that speed, you barely touch the snow. It’s like flying. It’s exhilarating. It’s a full-body workout. You are out in the fresh air, looking out from the top of a mountain where you can see for miles the beautiful vistas we are so blessed to enjoy. Riding the lift is cool because you get to meet so many other great people. And, of course, there is the après-ski fun in the lodge. My wife likes to skip the first part and go straight to the lodge. She’s more of a cross-country girl. Speed is not her need.
Ski Liberty is only 14 miles from Thurmont. If a surgically replaced hip in a 78-year-old woman can ski down Bold Decision at Whitetail, you have no excuse.
What are you waiting for?
I’ll see you in the lodge! I’m buying.
Footnote: The snow has wreaked havoc with the Frederick County sports schedules, postponing 47 games across five sports in three events in January. And who knows what February has in store?
So kids, take a snow day and go skiing, but be sure to bring the whole family and make some memories! February will be warmer.
