There’s no denying it any longer – the end of ski season is quickly approaching. The signs have all been here for weeks now, from warming temperatures to longer days to melting snow. Despite snow on the ground in Maine and covered trails at the mountains, a number of resorts will soon be closing up shop for the season, some as soon as next week.

This isn’t to say there aren’t things to do in ski country, however. Many of Maine’s resorts pull out all the stops for the end of the season, and some of the best events of the year are yet to come. Think of this as your social calendar for the rest of ski season – a listing of the can’t-miss events that are yet to come at Maine’s mountains.

Sugarloaf plays host to the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships on March 25-29. The names skiing down the Narrow Gauge may be familiar to you – Olympians Lindsay Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin are among the competitors. Races run throughout the five-day schedule, but day-trippers should aim for March 26, when the evening’s opening ceremonies include a parade of athletes, a fireworks display and an autograph session.

On the other end of the competitive spectrum, Sunday River hosts the 7th Annual Dumont Cup on March 27-28. Named for pro skier and Maine native Simon Dumont, the competition was created to provide an opportunity for East Coast freestyle skiers to gain exposure. It’s now the largest pro-am competition of its kind in the Northeast. This year, the competition moves to T72, the new 15-acre terrain park at Sunday River, on a course Dumont helped design.

On March 28, Saddleback holds its annual Pond Skimming competition. From just above the base lodge, the competition kicks off at 1 p.m. and challenges participants to ski or ride across a man-made pond.

The following weekend, April 3-5, Sunday River holds its annual Parrothead Festival. As always, the Jimmy Buffett-inspired celebration is a big hit. That same weekend, Big Rock Mountain holds its Slush Rush on April 5. A tradition that’s been going on for decades, the Slush Rush is a pond skimming event at the base of Big Rock that doubles as a celebration of the end of the season.

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The big kahuna of spring ski events in Maine, if not the entire Northeast, is the Bud Light Reggae Festival at Sugarloaf. Now in its 27th year, the huge festival runs from April 9-12. This year the event features nine bands with a handful doing multiple shows. There’s free music on the “beach” in front of the base lodge all day Saturday. The headliner shows Saturday night are $35 at the door, with most of the other shows $5 at the door.

By mid-April, skiing at resorts in Maine is likely to be hard to find. Historically, everyone but Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and perhaps Saddleback will have closed for the season, even if there’s still snow on the ground. Sugarloaf and Sunday River will both have a handful of late-April events, closing out the season with a splash.

On April 19, Sugarloaf hosts the 2015 East Coast Pond Skimming Championships, with prizes for Best Costume, Best “Grom,” Best Wipeout and Best Trick. There’s also a Grand Champion award, with a trophy going to the competitor with the highest score based on “Skim, Speed, Tricks, Costume and “Stoke Level.”

On May 2, Sunday River officially closes out Maine’s season with Ski Maynia. As it does every year, the resort offers free lift tickets to visitors on the final day of the season.

After May 2, skiing in Maine will strictly be of the hike-to-it-on-your-own variety. But with such a full calendar of events leading up to then, you can be sure to get the most out of what precious little “official” season remains.

Josh Christie is a freelance writer and lifetime outdoors enthusiast. He shares column space in Outdoors with his father, John Christie. Josh can be contacted at:

joshua.j.christie@gmail.com


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