Every year it's the same story — skiers and snowboarders leave the slopes long before the snow.

One resort has, in fact, closed, and seven more will be closed by April 13.

There's plenty of snow in the hills, but interest begins to move toward golf and gardening and walks in the park, so skis and snowboards are put away for the season.

Alta, for example, is holding a base of 156 inches, Park City Mountain Resort 114, Deer Valley 125, Solitude 129 and Sundance 80.

Beaver Mountain closed last weekend. Sundance will close this weekend and Wolf Mountain on April 12. Scheduled to close on the 13th are Brian Head, The Canyons, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and Solitude. Alta will close on the 13th and then reopen for three days — April 18, 19 and 20. Brighton, Snowbasin and Powder Mountain will close on April 20.

That leaves Snowbird, which has set a date of May 26.

It's a fact, however, that spring is a great time to ski and snowboard.

At this time of year skiers and snowboarders find slopes groomed corduroy-smooth in the morning, catch corn snow (pellets of snow that are much sought after by skiers) by midmorning and springlike conditions by noon.

If skiers can follow the sun and pick the runs on good days, they can ski in light sweaters and warm-up pants and make turns on firm snow all day long. Some, of course, find spring skiing difficult. It needn't be. There are secrets longtime locals have figured out that make spring skiing some of the most enjoyable of the season.

One of the most important secrets to a good spring day is to "follow the sun." That simply means to ski the slopes the sun hits first and move around, as the sun moves, to end the day on the slopes the sun hits last. Typically, that would mean skiing eastern slopes first, then northern and finish with western facing hills. The reasoning is simple: Ski and board the slopes before the sun has a chance to soften the snow too much. Ski runs harden overnight and soften under the heat of the summer sun before they become too soft.

In between this hardening-softening process the snow hits what many consider to be "perfect consistency." They call it "corn snow," and it is where the tiny snow crystals begin to break loose from the frozen surface to form a velvet coating. Later in the day these crystals begin to accumulate and become slush.

And even when the snow starts to slush, skiing and snowboarding need not be as burdensome as some skiers make it. Properly preparing the skis and boards for spring conditions can help. When the snow is wet, perfectly flat ski bases will create a suction underfoot that can cause skis to grab. This can be eliminated by putting the skis on a stone grinder. The grinder puts small grooves in the bases that look something like the grooves in a record. The grooves will help break up the suction.