Weekend will be spring snow festival

The weekend shapes up as an early spring snowsporting festival, lots of sun, lots of snow and not too many on the slopes.

Somehow those flat landers in the Bay area think that as soon as spring comes skiing and riding are over.

In truth, spring is the prime time for enjoying the snow. No need to bundle up, no fear of icy winds (well, most of the time). You do need to smear the sunblock liberally and to make sure your gear is set for spring. That means wax and if you're a fanatic, a restructuring of the bases. A different pattern there helps sweep the melting snow away from your skis and keep speed up.

Meanwhile, Heavenly, Alpine Meadows and Mt. Rose are staging Easter egg hunts. Rose's day is Saturday, Heavenly's on Sunday. Alpine weighs in on Sunday as well with the hunt open to those 12 and under near the base lodge at 11 a.m. There will be an Easter service at 2 p.m. at the top of the Lakeview chair.

Heavenly's event is at the top of the tram for its 24th Easter Sunrise Service with the hunt following. The first 300 ride the tram free, but, sorry, no gear allowed for the 8 a.m. rides. The egg search takes place on the California side of the mountain as well as the children's area the Enchanted Forest near the lodge. Kids enrolled in the ski school will have their own special hunt.

Alpine's Easter celebration is open to everyone of all ages. It will be held on all 2,000 acres of the resort. Find the golden egg and win a season pass for next season. Also on Sunday at Alpine will be a children's Easter race on the Tiegel Terrain Park. Plenty of Easter candy to be on hand.

At Mt. Rose the Easter Bunny will be around from 9 a.m. on with the egg hunt scheduled for 11 a.m.

And... don't forget Homewood Mountain Resort's festivities Saturday with a free egg hunt for kids 10 and under at the Children's Center. Also, an adult egg hunt on the mountain -- again, find the golden egg and win a next season pass.

Diamond Peak celebrates Easter Sunday with an egg hunt open to kids 12 and under and begins at 11 a.m. near the main lodge. Saturday the resort stages a Dummy downhill event. Entering the event is free and participants receive a $10 lift ticket. Live music by Cold Sweat. Just make sure your Dummy does not weigh more than 30 pounds and doens't have sharp or pointed objects. Race is 8 to 10 a.m. Call 832-1120.

OTHER ACTION

Heavenly will stage the Palmer Rider Cross on Saturday with registration from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Stagecoach lodge. Skiers and riders will run a quarter-mile course with high-bank turns, a series of rollers and hard hits. Open to all ages, registration is limited. To be run on the Comet course at 11 a.m. Then on Sunday Heavenly will continue its Huckfest series, the third of the four-event outing. The event takes place at 3 p.m. at the Launch Pad facing the California lodge. Registration is from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., fee is $5. Helmets required.

At Alpine Saturday is Budweiser Fresh Tracks concert No. 1. Outdoor music provided by Tea Leaf Green.

And Northstar-at-Tahoe is the first to announce a closing date of April 21. Meanwhile, the resort hosts the X-nix U.S. Snowboard Championship through Sunday. The 2002 Olympians are scheduled to take part.

Sam Bauman is the Nevada Appeal Diversions Editor.