Skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes at Chester Bowl for the last time this season on Sunday, enjoying the final day to shred powder before the slopes close.

“We had really good turnouts for all of our, the days we were open and all of our events like Freestyle Fridays and our Alpine Race Series. Lessons were well attended and overall, it’s just been really, really great,” said Sam Luoma, programs and operations director at Chester Bowl.

With weather warming up, and snow conditions dropping, snow sports have been winding down.

“The last couple of weeks it’s been pretty icy and now with the weather being in mid-40s and probably upper 50s the next couple of days, we’re in a meltdown. So, you know, the snow quality is just declining and for us it’s coinciding with the end of the season,” said Luoma.

After an unusually warm 2023-24 winter brought many challenges to Chester Bowl, this year brought better weather to the ski hills.

“This was actually our scheduled closing date at the beginning of the season and we’re excited to be able to make it. Last year it was really, really tough to make it to our closing date and we had pretty sketchy conditions,” said Luoma.

Even though the beginning of the 2024-25 season began with warmer than average temperatures, many workers and visitors alike deem the season a success.

“I mean snow making was a little weird at the start, we had some weird warm patches, some cold patches, but eventually we got as much as we needed to get it going. It was better than last year for sure,” said Otto Winings, terrain park designer and builder for Chester Bowl.

Even with high temperatures reaching over 50 degrees on closing day, Chester Bowl was full of excitement and activity.

“It’s a family friendly atmosphere, it’s super chill, it’s just everyone’s happy to be here, everyone’s warm and ready to help you out if you need it,” said Winings.