Mount Southington Primed For Mid-Season Push

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Mount Southington has rebounded from a whole bunch of early season consternation and now seems primed for the mid-season period into the spring.

A trip to the snow sports area Saturday was clear evidence of that.

Rewind to the end of December. It was New Year's Eve. Four trails were open and it was drizzling. Skiers and snowboarders were praying to the heavens and pleading with Mother Nature to give the area some sort of winter.

Then ... poof ... the temperatures dropped and the snowmaking crews finally had a chance to work their magic. The mountain began to take shape with the help of not only the snowmaking system, but the state-of-the-art new growing machine purchased over the summer.

There was also the matter of a couple of snowstorms.

Fast-forward to Feb. 6. Even after the rain a day earlier the mountain was in stellar shape with all 14 trails open and base depths of at least 2 feet in most places. Mount Southington General Manager Jay Dougherty said he was likely done making snow this season.

Yes, things were that good.

The staff has made great strides in making the left side of the mountain — looking uphill — as complete as possible.

The always popular Dom's Way — the meandering green trail that gives beginners and intermediates a summit experience — had a nice surface that held upon all day. For a change of pace, the black diamond Tester was open with a smooth cover.

The star of the show was Laurel, a blue trail on which a half-pipe and several mid-sized elements were fashioned. It made a nice compliment to the numerous rails, boxes and jumps on the main terrain park trail — lifeline.