High fives and high spirits: That was the feeling du jour yesterday when Dora the Explorer, the highly rated Nickelodeon TV cartoon character, visited Attitash, in Bartlett, NH, part of American Skiing Company's effort to re-invent and re-energize children's programming.

Dora the Explorer gives high-fives to young admirers at Attitash yesterday
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Dora surveys a sea of kids' helmets; American Skiing Company hopes to re-vitalize children's programming through visits by Dora the Explorer and her porous yellow cohort, SpongeBob SquarePants

Some of the youngest kids weren't impressed by Dora, but their parents loved her!

Attitash's Winterweek continues today, when SpongeBob SquarePants visits and kicks off the Jellyfish Relay Race at 12:30 p.m. A Nickelodeon Pizza Party follows. No Krabby Patties?

The Adventure Center, home for Attitash's learn-to-ski and learn-to-ride programs, was a busy place yesterday

A boy in the learn-to-ride program fastens the bindings on his SpongeBob SquarePants snowboard

Attitash's Winterweek continues through Sunday. Saturday will be the only time that Dora and SpongeBob will appear together.

Then these two appealing characters take a break before visiting Sunday River Resort in Newry Jan. 8-12.

Although Shawnee Peak in Bridgton opened for 2006-2007 a few days ago, I didn't get a chance to make my first visit of the season until yesterday. As always, it was a pleasant mountain experience.

Snowmakers have created a skiable base on eight trails; four lifts -- three chairs plus the SunKid conveyor -- were running.

The triple chairlift was one of four lift operating at Shawnee Peak yesterday
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Turnout was surprisingly good, considering the limited acreage available, and the mood was merry. The good cheer was no doubt aided by Ullr Fest, an homage to the ancient Norse god of winter; he's apparently been trapped for days at the Denver airport.

The ski school was going strong, aided by a regrading of the Rabbit Run slope and the extension of the SunKid conveyor.

Ski school instructor shows a tiny pupil how to 'make a pizza' with her skis
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Zoe Newman, of Long Beach, Mississippi, rides the newly lengthened SunKid conveyor lift at Shawnee Peak yesterday
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Farther up the hill, snowmakers were setting up guns in anticipation of cold weather.

Snowmaker Bill Wespiser sets up a gun yesterday afternoon at Shawnee Peak
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I said hello to general manager Ed Rock -- who's starting his 25th season at Shawnee -- plus super friendly liftie Rod Good -- who's been working under the bullwheel for 32!

I wasn't able to stay for Ullr Fest, but Heather "Heathernator" Rickert and Josh Harrington offered to send me a couple of photos for this blog. Thanks, guys!

Flames soar skyward at last night's Ullr Fest, an annual event at Shawnee Peak that honors the ancient Norse god of winter
COURTESY SHAWNEE PEAK

Kids watch last night's Ullr Fest ceremonies
COURTESY SHAWNEE PEAK

With good snowmaking weather forecast for a couple of days, Ed Rock expects that additional trails will be open by the weekend. Check the daily snow report by clicking here.

She fell once yesterday and a lot of her muscles said "hello." That's the executive summary of the first ski day of the season for Carol Meerschaert of Falmouth, an MBA student, aspiring executive and MaineToday.com blogster.

Seeking a low-key ski day -- a warmup sort of situation -- Carol and I headed for Attitash, in Barlettt, NH., where one top-to-bottom route was covered by snowmaking. Lots more will be open for the weekend and vacation week -- including Bear Peak.

Carol Meerschaert of Falmouth pauses along the Turkey Chute trail at Attitash yesterday
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She seldom removes a lift ticket from her jacket

Carol is an MBA student at the University of Southern Maine

After a couple of runs off the Flying Yankee high-speed quad, we took the mile-plus-long fixed-grip triple to the top. Great views of Mount Washington and the Presidential Range to the north.

At lunch Carol removed her boots to show off her ski socks, which are designated left and right with little red letters. Could this be a revolutionary development in skiwear that ought to be a case study in business school?

Carol wears left and right ski socks

Don't get into that let's-just-sit-on-the-couch-and-chow-down-on-chitos-because-there's-no-snow-syndrome. The machine-made white stuff is just perfect for skiing and boarding, as I and a few hundred others discovered at Sunday River yesterday.

These snowboarders were among the several hundred who enjoyed a fine, sunny day on the slopes at Sunday River yesterday
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The South Ridge high-speed quad was one of five lifts operating yesterday

Speaking of chowing down, a few wags have called this "Oreo skiing" -- meaning brown outside and white in the middle.

Oreo skiing: Brown on the outside and white in the middle

Machine-made snow is great for skiing and boarding

Greg Sweetser, head honcho at the Ski Maine Association, sent out an electronic missive noting that 13 of his member mountains will be open for Christmas vacation week thanks to snowmaking. These range from big mountains to mom-and-pop operations.

For the summary of what's open, go to the Ski Maine website and click on "snow conditions."

No snowmaking in nordic's skiing's future? Today let's check out another point of view, quite eloquently expressed in photography.

In yesterday's Ski Bum blog entry, I quoted a leading nordic ski enthusiast and industry leader as saying that snowmaking isn't economical for his cross country ski center -- which is New England's biggest and busiest.

A few hours later I received a bunch of email photos of the Nordic Sprint Races at Great Glen Trails, in Pinkham Notch, N.H., where half a kilometer has been covered by snowmaking.

The races were moved to Great Glen when Vermont venue that had been slated to host them was unable to because of lack of snow.

Snowmaking to the rescue. Some people like to call it "artificial snow." But there's nothing artificial about this race. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Yesterday's junior sprint races at Great Glen Trails, in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire. Note the bare ground in the photo: This race was run on machine-made snow!
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY GREAT GLEN TRAILS

The men's sprint yesterday

Alice Nelson, of Hanover, NH, leads the women

Tom Stark, of Fitzwilliam, NH, leads the men

Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center is open daily for cross country skiing. For more information, call 603-466-2333 or go to www.greatglentrails.com.

Despite the paucity of snow on the ground, a crowd of cross country skiers gathered last night at Jackson Ski Touring for the club's December potluck supper.

A crowd of cross country skiers gathered last night at Jackson Ski Touring, in Jackson, N.H., for a potluck supper
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The featured event for the night was a silent auction of old trail signs -- a fund-raiser for the non-profit foundation that exists to maintain the renowned network of 150 km of trails in and around Jackson, New Hampshire.

The Ski Bum picked up one of the signs that once directed skiers in the village network.

The Ski Bum purchased a sign that once directed skiers in the Jackson Village trail system
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Among the many things that sets Jackson apart from other ski touring centers is the ski school's roster of offerings. I chatted with ski school director Marianne Borowski, whose programs go far beyond basic instruction to embrace structured and informal activities devoted to social interaction and health.

Jackson's ski school director Marianne Borowski runs a big and varied roster of programs that go far beyond basic how-to instruction
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Marianne had been out teaching her teachers earlier in the day, using a strip of machine-made snow behind the touring center office.

Thom offered a rather dismal assessment of the economics of snowmaking for Jackson Ski Touring. He noted that by using borrowed snowmaking equipment, he'd succeeded in making a skiable strip that measures 450 by 75 feet. Barely enough for Marianne to conduct a minimal level of lessons.

Yet to buy, maintain and operate that equipment would cost about $9,000 per year, Thom explained.

"If I could make a kilometer of snow for $3,000 I would do it," he added. "But I can't justify the money it takes to make a patch of snow. For us it doesn't make economic sense."

Marianne will be out on that pricey patch of white stuff this morning giving lessons. Among the benefits of joining the club -- same as buying a season pass -- is a free tune-up lesson. That's on this morning's schedule.

Skiing is a lifetime sport, and getting started at a young age opens many decades of healthy fun with friends and family.

That key point will be a focus of Regis Tremblay's Kids First in Sports radio program on WJAB 1440 AM and 95.5 FM on Saturday, Dec. 16, when the subject turns to skiing and snowboarding.

Regis Tremblay (head partially turned away from camera) is the host of the Kids First in Sports radio show on WJAB 1440 AM and 95.5 FM, which will focus on skiing on Sat., Dec. 16

Regis is the founding director of the Center for Kids First, a non-profit foundation that aims to keep children's sports focused on the needs of children.

Those who've heard the show know that Regis often "rants" against adults who have hijacked many competitive kids sports, such as baseball, football, basketball and hockey.

He prefers to emphasize broad-based participation in healthy lifetime activities. And skiing and snowboarding fit the bill perfectly.

Skiing is a lifetime sport, and learning at a young age opens decades of healthy fun with friends and family. These kids, from the Portland Ski Club, were learning the rudiments of cross-country skiing last winter
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The Ski Bum has helped Regis assemble a topnotch panel of experts on Maine skiing for his show, which airs between 8-10 a.m.

Carla Marcus is the executive director of WinterKids, a non-profit that aims to get children outdoors in Maine's cold-weather months.

Sukie Benoit represents the Portland Ski Club, which sponsors a city-wide middle school nordic team. Call her at 774-7478.

Although it is nominally devoted to competition, the Portland Ski Club emphasizes broad-based participation and inclusiveness. Coach Anna Louise Hanley stresses that the real prizes are the lifestyle benefits of participation -- benefits which last a lifetime.

Portland Ski Club coach Anna Louise Hanley, a former Division I nordic competitor (far right), instructs a team that represents all three of the City of Portland's middle schools
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Every kid was a winner at the Portland Ski Club's awards dinner last spring
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Jackie Roux represents the Windham Recreation Department, which runs family and youth ski/snowboard trips to Shawnee Peak.

Jack Manheimer represents the United States of America Snowboard Association, which runs the biggest and most broad-based snowboard competition in all ages, from youth categories to grand old-timer riders.

Greg Sweetser is the executive director of Ski Maine, which represents all the important ski and snowboard mountains and cross-country centers.

Three kids will also join us on the air. Two are on the Portland Ski Club team, while the third represents recreational alpine skiing.

That's Saturday morning, 8-10 a.m. on WJAB 1440 AM and 95.5 FM. Regis Tremblay's Kids First in Sports radio program.

Extra Bonus: Regis will also give away four lift tickets to Shawnee Peak at about 9 a.m.

A sunny Sunday plus a few inches of white stuff on the ground in southern Maine brought out a big turnout at Sunday River yesterday.

Among those was a group from MOAC, the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club.

Four MOACers on Sunday River's Cascades Trail yesterday: Peter Durand, Nancy Negri, Jay Hiebbard and Jonathan Keck
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Many of those on the hill yesterday wore the handsome red and black parkas of Maine Handicapped Skiing. Yesterday was a major training day.

We all got a big laugh when Nancy Negri opened her lunchbox; packed on top were three candy bars.

Nancy's lunchbox demonstrates a conscientious concern for good nutrition

Posing yesterday at my favorite photo spot, near the top of Lazy River, with the Mahoosuc Range in the background

Despite a small amount of natural snow that made things pretty, everything we skied on yesterday was the product of the resort's massive snowmaking system.

Thanks the snowmakers, Sunday River seemed to be back on a forward track when I visited yesterday. A lot more terrain was open and even more should be ready by the weekend.

I am told that the amount of snow that had been made in the past 24 hours would have covered Portland's Monument Square to a depth of 117 feet, or 56 football fields to a depth of one foot.

The South Ridge area opened yesterday, and I skied down with my friend Sandy Hatch to check out the updated ski and snowboard shops in the South Ridge Base Lodge.

Sandy Hatch of Conway, N.H., stands at the top of Sunday River's Barker Mountain yesterday
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Sandy checked out a lot of the children's stuff, including the SpongeBob SquarePants skis and snowboards. That's new this year -- an American Skiing Company exclusive -- thanks to a deal with Nickelodeon-Viacom, the owner of that likeable, goofy cartoon character.

SpongeBob SquarePants skis, made for children, are new this year and Sandy checked out a pair

She also tried out a number of hats, each one goofier than the next.

Sandy tried out a number of hats in the Sunday River ski shop

Some of the hats were pretty goofy

Looks like Sandy's running for political office

Twenty five trails served by four lifts is a likely projection for the weekend, but check out Sunday River's website for more up-to-date info.

'Twas was a dark and stormy night and not a snowflake was in sight, but more than a hundred people turned out for the Ski Museum of Maine's open house yesterday evening.

The crowd started filtering into the Ski Museum of Maine yesterday before the doors officially opened
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I came up from Portland with my friend Anne Tarbell, who has experienced a goodly chunk of Maine ski history herself. Anne brought two pair of 70-year-old wooden skis from her garage which she donated to the museum.

Megan Roberts and Greg Sweetser check out a pair of skis donated by Anne Tarbell

They were gratefully accepted by Megan Roberts, consulting curator, and board member Greg Sweetser. They also enjoyed hearing Anne tell tales of skiing the long defunct Big A -- Mount Agamenticus -- in the 1950s. Anne's father, Edward Marshall, developed Big A.

Other "historic" Pine Tree State skiers included brothers Chummy and Ray Broomhall, Maine Ski Hall of Fame members who have been active with the Chisholm Ski Club of Rumford for more than half a century.

Maine Ski Hall of Fame members Chummy and Ray Broomhall, brothers from Rumford, attended last night

The theme of the exhibit is "Skiing in America -- Made in Maine." On exhibit are numerous items of equipment that were made in this state, including Bass boots and skis by the Paris Manufacturing Company.

Bass boots were manufactured in Wilton, only a few miles from the Ski Museum of Maine

Made in Maine by the Paris Manufacturing Company

The Ski Museum of Maine is located at 109 Church St. in downtown Farmington, just 150 feet off Route 4, the main highway through town. The museum's phone number is 491-5481. The Museum will be open 1-5 p.m. every weekday all winter, so skiers passing through Farmington are urged to drop by. It's also open today, as part of Farmington's Chester Greenwood celebration.

The museum has its own website. Just click here.