After a stretch of mild winters, this year’s cold, snowy winter is providing a much-needed boon to local ski areas. John Brown, operations manager at Spring Mountain Ski Area in Schwenksville, said that the winter conditions are bringing skiers out in droves. So it builds that winter atmosphere.”The favorable conditions have enabled the ski area to operate unimpeded, including during the busy week of Christmas, said Brown. So it’s been great.”Snowshoe raceIn addition to skiing, Spring Mountain Ski Area is home to the nation’s largest annual Snowshoe 5K race. “The course is more interesting with natural snow,” said Ryan Beltz, executive director of the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, the race’s host.