Closing time for many of the smaller ski operations

I had a sad revelation as I was reading the sports section of the local paper yesterday. Ironically I had just gotten back form Sunday River where the mountains and surrounding lands are still buried in multiple feet of snow from this years’ near record snowfall. And still with all the snow covering the mountains, I read the snow reports for the state’s smaller ski areas and many of them had yesterday listed as the last day of operation. While these areas will mostly all close at 100% of their terrain open, it is a time of year when running the lifts isn’t viable for them. They have no other cash cows like expensive eateries, lodging, or boutiques. Thankfully, the early reports out of the Ski Maine Association indicate that almost all the states’ ski areas, if not all, had very good financial years. Combine that with the fact that a few of the larger resorts will be open for several more weeks to come and the sadness is lessoned, but it’s just one of those sign posts I hate seeing every year.