West Lebanon
Less than two weeks after Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, Mother Nature dealt the Twin States its largest helping of snow in nearly two years.
And winter sports enthusiasts ate it up.
“ ‘Epic’ is the word of the day,” said Dan Regan on his first chairlift ride up Mount Sunapee on Monday morning.
Regan and his two sons grinned widely as they peered down at the power on the trail below.
“Freshies,” Regan said.
And there was plenty to go around.
Parts of the Upper Valley received at least a foot of snow from midday Sunday through Monday morning, and other towns just missed that mark, with Chelsea coming in at 11 inches, Woodstock at 10 and Claremont at 9, according to the National Weather Service.
The winter storm prompted most Upper Valley school districts to close, and many parents took advantage of the day with their youngsters, including Hartland resident Dana Jacobson.
Jacobson, her son Ethan, her daughter Ellie and their dog Barney packed up their sleds and went to “golf course hill” at John P. Larkin Country Club in Windsor on Monday morning.
“It’s the first really good snow in a while,” Jacobson said between sled runs. “It’s about time.”
Though the Upper Valley has seen other recent snow storms, they have included mix precipitation. Jacobson, an administrator at Elm Hill in Springfield, Vt., said the sled hill typically used at the primary school has been icy and unsafe.
Not anymore.
The fresh blanket also benefited snowmobile trails in the Twin States. Bumpy runs turned smooth, and several snowmobilers dropped into area parts shops for tune-ups and other items.
Before this storm and the few inches that fell last week, people appeared hesitant to put money into their machines for fear of another lost season, said Kyle Magnant, parts salesman at East Randolph’s Champlain Valley Equipment.
“Our shop is busy; our counter sales are pretty good right now,” Magnant said on Monday afternoon.
Brian Bunnell, of Bunnell’s Parts Plus in Claremont, also saw an influx of patrons wishing to ready their sleds.
Bunnell, a snowmobiler himself, said he didn’t go out on the trails once last year. But this storm has been a game changer.
“We are going to go out this weekend,” he said.
Though several people were stoked about the storm, not everyone had an “epic” day.
People headed to and from work on Monday morning spent extra time shoveling out.
Cassandra Hilbert, of Newport, said she felt luke warm about the recent snowfall.
“It is pretty to look at but not to drive in,” said Hilbert as she brushed off her SUV’s windshield in her driveway. “Luckily, it’s soft.”
High winds also proved troublesome for some in snow country on Monday.
Dartmouth Skiway management was forced to close both of the main lifts at the Lyme resort.
The wind really picked up around 6:30 a.m., said Assistant Manager Pete Riess.
Between 8 and 9 a.m., a majority of the upper parking lot was packed with eager guests “with no place to go.”
“It was sad that we couldn’t open,” Riess said. “It was hard to explain.”
Typically, Dartmouth Skiway doesn’t allow visitors to hike up the main mountain during business hours for safety reasons, but Riess made an exception on Monday. Several people took advantage of it to earn their turns, while others, including South Strafford resident Rebecca Emeny and her two boys, ventured to the magic carpet surface lift that remained opened.
“What can you do?” Emeny said of the wind. “We are making the best out of it.”
Suicide Six also had a tough go of it on Monday morning. The brand new main lift at the South Pomfret ski area malfunctioned on Sunday afternoon, forcing staff to lower 20 people from the lift.
No one was injured, but some of those guests were stuck on the lift for about 90 minutes, said Woodstock Inn and Resort Sales and Marketing Director Courtney Lowe.
“It happened very safely and efficiently,” Lowe said of the rescue operation.
The lift reopened around 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon and is expected to be open today.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.