Puny snowmen? Biking in January? New England’s winter that wasn’t.
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Sara Lang Staff writer
Ruth Goodrich celebrated Christmas doing something no one in her family had done before.
Boiling maple syrup.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onSnowy New England winters were staples of art, literature – and tourism. From fat-tired biking on ski trails to boiling sap in December, small businesses are nimbly adjusting their approach to winter.
Goodrich Maple Farm in Vermont’s Washington County has been family-owned since 1840. Ruth and her husband, Glenn, have operated the business for the past four decades. They started with 25 trees and have expanded to 150,000. Ms. Goodrich has seen it all, but tapping trees in December was a first, as winter brought rain instead of snow.
“That was the earliest we’ve ever boiled,” says Ms. Goodrich. “Mother Nature’s doing her own thing. I say she does what she wants when she wants to. The trees simply cope.”
The Northeast Regional Climate Center dubbed this New England’s “Winter that Wasn’t.”
“What normally would have been just a warm winter has become warmer due to climate change,” says Jonathan Winter, a professor at Dartmouth College. “It’s a useful indicator of where we’re headed.”
And that could have economic effects on small businesses from Maine to Connecticut.
“The smartest businesses are going to be the ones that start to adjust to truly being operationally sustainable rather than trying to hold onto the profits they’ve had in the past,” says Madhavi Venkatesan, an economist at Northeastern University. “The time is changing, and they are part of the future.”
Ruth Goodrich celebrated Christmas doing something no one in her family had done before.
Boiling maple syrup.
Goodrich Maple Farm in Vermont’s Washington County has been family-owned since 1840, and Ruth and her husband, Glenn, have operated the business for the past four decades. They started with 25 trees and have expanded to 150,000. Ms. Goodrich has seen it all, but tapping trees in December was a first, as winter brought rain instead of snow.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onSnowy New England winters were staples of art, literature – and tourism. From fat-tired biking on ski trails to boiling sap in December, small businesses are nimbly adjusting their approach to winter.
“That was the earliest we’ve ever boiled,” says Ms. Goodrich. Due to the warm New England winter, a season that normally would have begun in early March started three months early.
“Mother Nature’s doing her own thing,” says Ms. Goodrich. “I say she does what she wants when she wants to. The trees simply cope.”
The Northeast Regional Climate Center dubbed this New England’s “Winter that Wasn’t,” with temperatures that ranged up to 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.
“What normally would have been just a warm winter has become warmer due to climate change,” says Jonathan Winter, associate professor in the department of geography at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. “I don’t think we should assume that every winter from 2023 forward will be this warm, I don’t expect that it will. But I do think this year is a good example of … these types of winters becoming more common. It’s a useful indicator of where we’re headed.”
And that could have economic effects on small businesses from Maine to Connecticut.
“Businesses that are tied directly to the environment are going to be adversely affected because of seasonal movement,” says Madhavi Venkatesan, an economist at Northeastern University in Boston whose focus is sustainability integrated into economics.
“The smartest businesses are going to be the ones that start to adjust to truly being operationally sustainable rather than trying to hold onto the profits they’ve had in the past,” says Dr. Venkatesan. “The time is changing, and they are part of the future. They have a civic responsibility to the communities that they live in to educate and be the catalyst for change.”
Warmer temperatures have affected more than just maple sugaring time. Skiing, a favorite winter sport in New England, has been more of a challenge for resorts. Wachusett Mountain in Westminster, Massachusetts, has been preparing for warmer temperatures for years. They installed a new pump house around 10 years ago that doubled their snowmaking abilities.
“Our snowmaking system is pretty much unmatched, and our skiers have been loving it,” says Chris Stimpson, public relations manager for Wachusett. Just two days of below 27 degrees F before the holidays enabled the mountain to “blow some pretty serious piles of snow.”
“Even if we don’t get natural snow, if we have cold temps, we can get this place open quick,” says Mr. Stimpson. As of March 15, the number of skiers this year is running 5% ahead of last year.
The resort's adaptability is not uncommon in the Northeast.
“Eastern ski resort operators, they’re really hearty folk,” says Adrienne Isaac, director of marketing and communications for the National Ski Areas Association. “They’re very good at being resilient and adapting to these sorts of situations.”
Resorts have found other ways to keep economically viable, according to Ms. Isaac. Activities such as weddings, adventure courses, or even golf help keep the business afloat. Another option: fat biking.
Maine Huts & Trails, a nonprofit providing backcountry experiences in the Carrabassett Valley in Maine, was known predominantly for its cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Executive director Wolfe Tone, however, has recently been putting the focus on fat biking, or mountain biking in the snow.
The town of Carrabassett Valley, local ski resort Sugarloaf, and Maine Huts & Trails have been working closely for the past few years to expand mountain biking opportunities, especially for the winter season.
“The more that we can offer for people to do, the greater the draw to get people to stay here,” says Mr. Tone. “That’s a shared strategy of all the participants of the winter economy up here.” He says if the conditions aren’t good for cross-country skiing, they’re great for fat biking. The nonprofit is seeing more and more fat bikers on the trails every year.
“My first winter [in 2018], it snowed just after Halloween and the snow didn’t leave until after April,” says Mr. Tone. “These last two winters, we’ve had torrential rainstorms at Christmas. We’re definitely seeing some of these extremes and patterns.” He’s asked frequently if climate change creates worries for his business.
“Yes, undeniably,” says Mr. Tone. But, he flips it. Although the climate is more variable, he says, his part of New England is going to receive snow the longest. “This is still a very important winter region,” he says.
But some New Englanders lament the lack of a winter wonderland.
“This winter isn’t winter,” says Sue Paul. She’s lived in the region for all 70 years of her life. She remembers her childhood sledding down hills with friends and skating in the park. Now, her grandkids might never experience an outdoor ice rink.
She describes sending her grandkids a picture of the three inches of snow she received after a March nor’easter, and the kids being jealous because they had only gotten rain an hour away in North Easton. They’ve only been able to make “puny” snowmen in their lifetimes.
“Going out in the snow, coming back for hot chocolate, you know the whole tradition,” says Ms. Paul. “It’s not there anymore.”
Yet other traditions continue. And the Goodrich’s maple syrup season, although unpredictable, always ends with a maple festival in St. Albans, Vermont, where syrup makers across New England gather to compare who made the most that season.
“There’s a brotherhood and camaraderie among sugar makers,” says Ms. Goodrich. “Even though we’re all competitors, we’re all on the same team fighting Mother Nature and fatigue and breakdowns and everything else.”
