What’s the Difference Between 46 and 8?

What’s the difference between 46 degrees and 8 degrees?

A swarm of people.

Last Saturday, the recorded high temperature was 8F. Today, it was 46(!) Last Saturday, I had the ski area to my self. Today, I had to play dodge-’em, patiently picking my way through the crowds. I decided to pack it in for the day once I had to wait for 12 to 16 chairs in the lift line. (To put that in perspective, the longer runs, which take about 2 minutes to descend, are accessed through a 5-minute ride on the lift.)

At that point, I, as a single rider, became more aggressive in matching up with other riders in line. “Say, do you mind if I jump ahead to join up with that single?,” I’d say to the two or three people in front of me. It helped me get ahead a bit, and helped a lot of other people behind me avoid having to wait for another chair.

Some of the lifties asked me how my day was going. “It’s great,” I said, “but could you dial the temperature back 20 degrees? That would cut the crowds back a lot.”

At least twice I rode up with people who were skiing or riding for the first time this season. I can’t blame them for coming out, but it make me long for near-zero temperatures