Skiin' With Ian: Resorts welcome holiday week skiers - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-

"Everybody is really pulling together and providing the best circumstances that they can in a challenging situation," said Mike Quinn of the Stratton Mountain Resort.

Presidents Day week is the last critical holiday period of the season for ski resorts across the Northeast.

"As far as the season for us here at Stratton, it's really important that we put together a big holiday period," Quinn said.

Skier visits are down statewide this year in what has been a difficult season for snow sports. It's called "Backyard Syndrome" in the ski business. Without snow on the ground across much of the region, many people are left uninspired to ski.

"I think people were really frightened about how little snow there has been up here, but it's absolutely wonderful," skier Ken Hoexter said. "The mountain is covered and I think they're missing a lot if they got scared early."

But this Presidents Day weekend was a major boost for the ski industry in a sputtering season so far.

"Plenty of snow to enjoy the holiday week," skier Chester English said.

Skiers and riders flocked to Stratton in big numbers for the holiday weekend. And according to the Vermont Ski Areas Association, that was the case around the state.

"We've actually been on par this weekend with previous years, so that's really exciting to see that people are getting excited and jazzed and people are finally starting to realize that we do have snow here in Vermont," Quinn said.

"Good! Believe it or not with it snowing that much, conditions have been great," skier Sue Drewes said.

Stratton is 94 percent open thanks in large part to the snowmaking and grooming teams.

"The amount of snow that our team has made and how flexible they've remained, they've certainly earned their keep this year," Quinn said.

It's been a battle for snow guns this year, but they are off for now. If we can get a little winter in the month of March, they'll stay that way.

There is still plenty of time for a good snowstorm or two to blanket the slopes. Ski resort officials hope that the momentum gathered from this big holiday weekend will carry on toward spring.

"To see the visitation that we saw this past weekend, hopefully that just injects some life and energy into people and they realize that there's still a lot of season left to go," Quinn said.

A much-needed shot in the arm for a drowsy ski season.