PRINCETON, Mass. - Extending the ski season until April is never a given in Southern New England, but local ski areas are trying to stay on top of rising temps for one last weekend on the slopes.

At Wachusett Mountain, closing day is scheduled for Sunday, April 6.

Public Relations Manager Chris Stimpson said the arrival of warm weather makes keeping trails open a strategic endeavor.

“The name of the game this time of year is just keeping as many trails open as we possibly can and staying open as much as we can for our pass holders,” Stimpson said. “We call it the ‘comb-over’, pushing the snow that we have into those bare spots.”

In the dead of winter, keeping the trails at Wachusett looking full and fresh isn’t such a tough ask, but March presented a tough stretch of weather for skiing and snowboarding. Still, new technology allows staff to capitalize on whatever snow has made it through the meltdown.

Last summer, Wachusett’s fleet of snow groomers were equipped with a snow depth measuring system.

“Basically, it shows exactly how much snow is on every inch of the trail so they can get down to the inch,” Stimpson said. “They can use that to say “Okay, we’ve got four feet of snow over here, we’ve got one foot of snow over here, maybe we can spread that out.”

And in what’s become a tradition for many ski areas, Wachusett is ending its season with a pond-skimming competition, where skiers and snowboarders see how far they can glide over a pool of water, hoping their crash isn’t too embarrassing as a big crowd watches on.

“It’s a riot, everyone dresses up in ridiculous outfits and tries to skim across this long pond, we’ll also have the deck parties going, bands outside if the weather holds off,” Stimpson said. “Just a lot of good times, a lot of hanging out and celebrating the season.”