PENINSULA, Ohio (WJW) — Sunday was the final day for the season at Brandywine Ski Resort, where General Manager Jake Campbell said the area is more at the mercy of the elements, including winds, than the nearby Boston Mills.

Through a winter where there has been very little measurable snow and numerous days with daytime temperatures in the 50s and 60s, the local resorts have been doing everything they can to stay open.

“Its been a tough natural snow year and typically we don’t really rely on the natural snow to get us open,” said Campbell, explaining that crews have made the most out of every possible moment they can to make their own snow.

Campbell said he typically watches the weather forecast every couple of hours.

“A lot of people think, ‘It’s 32 degrees, flip a switch and we have snow made’ but its a combination of humidity in the air versus the temperature,” he said.

“We need about like a 27-degree wet bulb. But basically, we really need those lower 20s and that’s when we can make good snow — but unfortunately, it has been preceded by a lot of 65 degrees, rain,” said Campbell.

Campbell said it is typical for Brandywine to close before Boston Mills, where crews have piled snow in areas as high as 10 feet deep.

Before the resort opens for the day, that snow is moved around to areas where the snow is melting away.

And while there has not been measurable snow in local yards for a long while, Boston Mills is an exception.

“The way they have been able to keep the hills covered, make snow when they need to and keep it groomed and open and operating, it’s been remarkable,” said Medina resident Bill McCary.

On Monday, when hikers were walking nearby trails through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and cyclists were out riding their bikes in sunshine with temperatures above 50 degrees, skiers were getting the most out of the soft snow still on the Boston Mills slopes.

“Its so warm that it gets soft and choppy pretty quick, but it’s fun riding and it was a great ride today,” said Dixie McCary.

“With the warm weather, it’s softened up a bit, but it brings something different to the skiing, so its a good experience,” said Alan Hemminger of Akron.

“And it is so much fun. It’s so forgiving and it’s just great,” said Johanna Johnston of Bath Township, who works weekends as a ski instructor, but was out on Monday to enjoy the slopes herself.

While Vail Resorts will not say when they will close Boston Mills for the season, Campbell said that typically happens in mid-to-late March, following their Winter Carnival.

This year’s Winter Carnival is scheduled for this weekend.

“If somebody told me this was a terrible year, I would say, ‘Nah, they haven’t been here,” said Jim O’Neil of Akron.