In mid-March and April, it's pretty common for the sun-softened snow to freeze overnight and wear a crusty top early in the day. So leave an hour later if you are day-tripping - or party later the night before and sleep in if you're in a resort town - allowing the sun time to soften the snow before your first run of the day.

After a morning on the slopes, a leisurely lunch break on a sun deck is a sacred rite of spring. While there aren't a lot of rustic slopeside cabins where you can get lunch in North American resorts, many on-mountain sit-down restaurants serve good meals. A surprising number of cafeterias now serve creative fare, such as a grilled salmon sandwich with a cilantro mayonnaise, or white-bean chili with a chunk of crusty French bread. (Loveland has rustic cabins where you can picnic and a $32 Flex-Pass that allows four consecutive hours of skiing from the time the ticket is purchased.)

Throughout the day, drink a lot of water. Whether skiing or riding, you'll lose more moisture than you realize, and studies have shown that dehydration leads to fatigue, which may affect your skiing. This is why so many ski areas now have water stations in their dining areas. (Aspen has water jugs and cups outside at the top of Ajax, and there's usually a line of skiers and riders sliding by to get a drink.)

Copper Mountain ski instructor Todd Casey has his students take short breaks throughout the day to drink water and get a snack so they stay hydrated. For those of you who won't take breaks, there's another option. It's not just the 20- and 30-somethings who wear a Camelbak (an insulated pouch that straps on like a pack, but holds water and has a long tube that reaches your mouth so you can take a drink). Today, you'll find lots of older skiers using them, too, and munching on energy bars that have been stuffed into pockets.

If you find spring skiing intimidating, consider taking a lesson.

"People get reactive in thick snow, bumps and steeper terrain, rather than pro-active. If someone has learned to ski with efficient technique, they can be the driver of their skis rather than the rider," said Casey.

One of the biggest problems according to Casey: "People tend to try to twist their feet too rapidly through heavier, thicker snow. You want to think about aiming the tips of the skis and letting the tails follow through the arc of the turn, rather than pivoting or twisting your way down the slope."

Deciding when you're tired enough to stop - but still have enough energy to reach the base area safely if you're near the top of the mountain - can be a balancing act some days. If your thighs get a warm, burning sensation or fatigued feeling, or if you're almost wobbly, you're getting tired, notes Casey. "Then you may be standing farther back on your skis than you should be, and that's a recipe for disaster."

The golden rule: When you're thinking about taking just one more run - don't! Make the run you're on the last one.

It's good to give yourself permission to stop midafternoon, because you've got all those apres-ski hours to wander around the ski town, then meet friends for dinner while the I-70 parking lot clears. (Of course, if you're compulsive, you could race to the car and lead the I-70 parade to Denver.) If you're on a mini-vacation, head for a spa, shop (because you'll find terrific deals in the spring), meet friends in a hot tub to compare runs, then relax before an evening out.

April is party time in ski country, and it's also the month when lift ticket prices drop dramatically and low-priced lodging/lift packages are wrapped around events. Among the party highlights are the 180 Aspen Spring Jam, April 5-14; Breckenridge's Bump buffet, April 14; Copper Mountain's Sunsation 2002, April 20-21; Crested Butte's annual Flauschink, April 12-14; the 42nd annual Loveland Derby, April 22-22 ; the annual Taste of Vail, April 4-6; and Winter Park's annual Spring Splash, April 14.

If you want to know more about these zany spring events and others, or if you want to take a last-minute mini-vacation, here's where to get the information:

Call the resorts' toll-free telephone numbers, or visit resort websites for a description of spring events, lift ticket prices and special lodging/lift packages. Use www.coloradoski.com, the website for Colorado Ski Country USA, as the gateway to all resort websites.

Check The Denver Post for ads touting last-minute deals. You may get into a high-end hotel this way, because properties with empty rooms put ads in at the last minute that are designed to attract Front Range skiers.

Call your favorite property before you want to go and ask if there are any last-minute deals. And don't forget to check lodging websites. Visit www.vbcrp.com, for example, for lodging deals in Beaver Creek, Arrowhead, Bachelor Gulch and Avon resorts.

Lois Friedland is a freelance ski and travel writer who lives in Morrison.

By Lois Friedland
Special to The Denver Post