New England, despite its wide variety of mountains, is considered a difficult area to ski and snowboard in. This is because of its lack of powder-like snow and abundance of icy terrain, and has been proven true especially over the last few years, with a region-wide lack of snowfall. The scarce amount of snow is difficult for mountain resorts to combat, though some have prevailed and still had respectable success so far this year despite the challenges.

Skiers believe that the perfect mountain to go to involves a balance between two crucial things, proximity and quality of skiing. This is not an easy balance to find, but some people have figured it out.

“I go to Wachusett mountain the most,” sophomore Tobias Kyleberger said. “It has a good ratio of being close while also offering good enough skiing. Some of the closer mountains, like Nashoba Valley, are not as good in terms of quality of skiing.”

Some people are disappointed about such little snow, but Kyleberger is trying to stay optimistic about the amount of snowfall this year, looking on the bright side and trying to make the best of the conditions.

“I’m just happy that we can ski, but hopefully we can get more snow and the trails become less icy,” Kyleberger said.

Due to the lack of consistent snowfall on the east coast, it is imperative for ski mountains to manufacture their snow. However,  man-made snow can be more dense than natural snow, and therefore compresses more easily and forms ice. This concerns skiers or snowboarders being safe and having a pleasant experience while on the ice.

“A lot of the closer mountains aren’t as good as mountains in the West,” sophomore Matthew Moscoffian said. “The icy conditions just make skiing less fun here [in the East].”

Though skiing tends to be seen as an activity to do for leisure, some believe that skiing in the East becomes less relaxing and even more difficult to do. There are some specific conditions that some skiers believe make skiing more enjoyable, like powdery snow instead of the rough ice.

“ For mountains, if you can find snow that’s fresh and not skewed down to the ice of the mountain, that’s what makes it such good conditions,” sophomore Colin Moleux said. “[Good conditions] make skiing ten times more fun, and definitely make it more pleasant.”

As mountain resorts try to perfect their ratio of amount of snow and the correct density, only some are able to find the accurate balance.

“ Wachusett is having a harder time than mountains in Vermont,” Moleux said. “ It’s just a lot harder for those mountains to keep their trails open.”

Skiers have said that the rise of inadequate snow conditions has only been occurring in the past several years. Some believe that in previous times, New England mountains provided much better snow conditions for skiing and snowboarding.

“ When I started skiing, I remember the mountain had tons of trails,” Moleux said. “There would be only a couple of closed trails. You could ski in the trees whenever you wanted, and you didn’t have to worry about the conditions as much.”

Some skiers believe that only a small amount of mountains are able to provide skiers and snowboarders with an optimal snowfield. Despite the conditions for skiing and snowboarding in New England being worse on average than mountains in the West, there are still a variety of Eastern mountains that give the Western mountains some competition.

“[Two of my favorite mountains in New England] are Mount Stow and Mount Cannon,” Moscoffian said. “These mountains are better because they have the best quality of snow and have the most trails open, usually.”