There are few things that can cause longing for a WROD. One of those things is summer, an obnoxious and offensive season known to cause what some skiers call “the Jones”. Another thing that can cause a longing for a WROD is a DOWR: when ribbons die prematurely. I found both a WROD and a DOWR at Sunday River today. But I would rather find a DOWR than the patron saint of the lowly desperate skier: the Download.

T2 was generally firm hard pack and scrapped snow. Skiers left had limited amounts of loose snow whereas the edge of skiers right had sufficient loose snow and soft bumps to make for a few fun turns. Skier and rider traffic was thankfully limited despite the holiday and generous offer of free skiing to veterans and their families. The mini park on lower T2 was rather busy which helped keep the trails clear and the liftlines down. Despite Sunday River’s best efforts, T2’s edges are beginning to creep in towards the center of the trail.

Upper Sunday Punch was closed due to a disconnect at the summit and thin coverage under the chair. Sunday Punch to Lower Punch was roped. But ducking the rope to ski Punch and walk out is common practice to avoid downloading. A solitary tilled groomer track provided interesting turns on the pitch under the mid-station; the snow was extremely firm considering the temperature. Two ski carries were required short of walking your skis through two grassy breaks in the snow. Things got interesting where Right Stuff merges with Sunday Punch but turns could still be had until the merger with Tourist Trap at which point it was a matter of when, not if, the skis were going to come off for good. I stopped short of skiing over rocks and hiked a football field length back to the lodge.

With only two options covering limited terrain, the skiing population of the northeast is starting to get excited for the season. This weekend will no longer feature just the desperate and shameless, but the rabid Jonesing ski population that is only just now realizing that summer has long since departed. This weekend will likely be a shit show for sure, so I am glad I was able to take advantage of the mid-week holiday. With no end in sight for the above average temperatures, the Death of the White Ribbon will continue for the immediate future–working its way slowly up the hill and creeping in from trail edges.