Spring is here, and spring skiing this year will be particularly good with the snowpack as deep as it is.

And remember, last season's snowiest month was April.

While waiting for the days of T-shirts and raccoon tans, here are a few events that crossed the transom this week:

Today at Shawnee Peak, the resort offers its 23rd annual Spring Fling Beach Party: Barbecue, live entertainment, a freestyle jam, on-site massage and a mountain that's nearly 100 percent open.

At Titcomb, the Farmington Ski Club will celebrate closing day today -- one week later than usual because of the stellar surfaces. They received more than 10 feet of snow and are offering a two-for-one special, so bring a friend.

And at Mt. Abram, a three-fer, with the parent-child ski race on Boris in the morning -- no entry fee thanks to the Mt. Abram Ski Club; "Battlejib Galacticbonk," a slopestyle event at the Moose Tracks Jib Park with $1,000 in cash and prizes, at noon; and a Shipyard springfest concert featuring Maine soul band Sly-Chi from 3 to 5 p.m.

n n n

A little follow-up to last week's Happy Trails on how to please skiers and snowboarders simultaneously.

I posted that ski areas have been moving toward snowboards because of demographics: More youths taking up skiing than snowboarding.

Then I stumbled across an interesting report from the National Ski Areas Association that polled customers and marketing reps at dozens of resorts.

On the business side, many marketers said making skiing or snowboarding more affordable was their top concern. But all agreed that the baby boomer market, people who have proven resilient skiers well into their 50s, are still a major target.

In other words, mountain managers need to look at certain people who are decidedly not snowboarders when crafting their business plans, a not-so-obvious lesson in knee-jerk marketing to youth.

The biggest challenge for marketers, according to NSAA, is having a diverse enough variety of events -- on snow and off -- to please all ages.

Whether it's adventure or pampering, skis or snowboards, having something for everybody continues to be the trend. The multiuse ski resort in Maine is a topic I've been compiling a lot of facts on for a future Happy Trails.

The most prominent trend I noted in the 2007 NSAA National Demographic Study is the continued aging of the visitor base, with strong growth in skiers and riders aged 45 and older.

The report calls the fact that older skiers are being retained in significant numbers "a welcome plus for the industry."

The report says the average age of mountain sport participants has risen steadily, from 33.2 in 1997-98 to 36.6 in 2006-07.

Specifically, since 1997-98, the proportion of visitors aged 45 to 54 has increased from 14 percent to 19.4 percent; the proportion of visitors aged 55 to 64 has almost doubled, from 4.6 percent to 9.4 percent; and the proportion of visitors aged 65 and older has also almost doubled, from 2.4 percent to 4.2 percent.

Age differences across different regions of the country are dramatic. The Midwest has the youngest visitor base, with a median age of 22, followed by the Southeast at 28, Pacific West at 32 and the Rockies at 39. The Northeast is the creakiest, with a median age of 40.

Interestingly, the study also indicated a continued increase in helmet usage. Overall, 40 percent of survey respondents were wearing a helmet when interviewed, up from 38 percent in 2004-05 and 25 percent in 2002-03.

And season pass usage continues to rise: 31 percent of respondents owned a season pass last season, up from the 26-to-29-percent levels during the prior five seasons.

The report tabulated 138,919 surveys completed at 92 participating ski resorts during the 2006-07 season, and the takeaway lesson for me is this:

Granny wants to rip, too.

The report is available for purchase at nsaa.org now.

Bob Mentzinger is a former ski patroller reachable at rmentzinger@centralmaine.com.