Sink or Skim: This rider would have made across the pond if it weren’t for his tutu catching the wind. Right: At least she kept her hands warm. Bottom, middle: An Eldora employee gives the thumbs up. Left: Soggy conditions.[/caption]

The Pond Skim had been a popular event at Eldora Mountain Resort for several closing weekends in recent years, but when Covid came along in March of 2021, it put the kibosh on everyone’s good time. The event was canceled that year, the next year, and the next. Happily, the threat finally passed and the Pond Skim is back!

With Eldora enjoying its longest season on record and the fun extended an extra week this year, President & General Manager Brent Tregaskis felt that they needed something big to put an exclamation mark on another fantastic year. He only needed to look as far as the Eldora boneyard to find a brand new in the box $5,000 pond liner that had been shelved since the pandemic.

To make up for lost time, two days of pond skimming was scheduled this time around. Participants possessing a valid lift ticket forked out five dollars apiece on Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21, for the privilege of zooming across the icy water’s surface to the other side or crashing and splashing. Entrants were asked to leave their pointy poles at home this time in hopes that the liner will last for many seasons to come.

A fresh blanket of snow from the night before covered the mountain Saturday, slowing the approach to the water. You could attempt the crossing as often as the allotted two hours dictated. With less drag to contend with, skiers had a better chance of making it across than snowboarders. A skier in a white cowboy hat made it from one side to the other four times. All of the riders got soaked. A couple of the entrants chickened out at the last second. One snowboarder stopped short of the water’s edge and jumped in anyway.

Under more favorable conditions on Sunday, entrants were able to carry their speed better than they could the day before. Whether riding on skis, a monoboard, or a snowboard, about half of the hundred or so participants were able to make it across. A large crowd of onlookers that packed the decks and surrounded the course were delighted every time they did or didn’t. Some of the skimmers came tantalizingly close, missing their objective by merely a few feet. One skier traversed the entire pond backwards. Another, with no intent of making it to the other side, went for big air and a maneuver before plopping into the frigid pond.

With another enjoyable and successful season at an end, having celebrated it in grand fashion, the next day on Eldora’s website it simply and emphatically read, “That’s a wrap!”

Thrills, spills, and chills: A beer maiden made it across. [/caption]

Splish, splash, I was takin’ a bath.[/caption]