Except for spring-like weather this week, the New England skiing and riding season has been remarkable. If you talk to Alex Kaufman, Communications Manager at Sunday River in Bethel, Maine, he’ll tell you this is the resort’s best season in 12 years, with 74 feet of snow in December alone.”We haven’t seen this much snow and consistent temperatures for snowmaking since 1995,” said Kaufman.Sunday River was one of the resorts affected when the American Skiing Company sold all of its New England properties, beginning last spring and ending in August with the transfer of Sunday River to Boyne Resorts.”We were the last of the resorts to be sold, so we didn’t have much time to make improvements for this season; we did begin opening the resort to mountain bikers two days after the sale, though, something we hadn’t done in a few years. We also made improvements to our restaurants, snowmaking, and put in a new magic carpet lift in the South Ridge basin area,” said Kaufman.Boyne Resorts spent $4.8 million on Sunday River and also purchased Sugarloaf, another popular Maine resort. Boyne was founded in 1947 and is the third-largest resort network in North America. It is a family-owned, Michigan-based corporation that operates mountain and golf resorts and other investments. The company’s website states that the Boyne family is proud of its record as the longest-running management company within the mountain resort industry. The company’s goal is to become the “best four-season resort company in the world by 2015.”Sunday River and Sugarloaf were Boyne’s first foray into New England, but the company has already taken over another popular New Hampshire resort, Loon. This year, Boyne offered a Maine Pass, which allows different levels of season passes good at Sunday River and Sugarloaf. Next year, Loon will be added to this list of resorts. If you buy the pass at the higher levels, you also get access to Boyne’s other mountain resorts like Big Sky, located in Montana, and Cypress Mountain in British Columbia. Because the Loon deal wasn’t finalized when the Maine Pass was sold this year, discount lift tickets are being offered to Maine Pass holders at Loon.If you’ve never been to Sunday River, there is definitely terrain for everyone here. There are eight separate mountain peaks offering steeps, glades, nice intermediate cruisers and long green trails for learning. One of the things I like is that if you are nervous about going into the trees, there are a couple of areas that are great for learning. Look for Enchanted Forest below North Peak and Blind Ambition in the Jordan Bowl.Kaufman gave me his picks for events not to miss at Sunday River this season.One is the 18th Annual Eat the Heat Chili Cook-off and Firefighters’ Race on March 30, where teams of five firefighters ski in full turnout gear and carry a hose as they compete to raise money for Maine Handicapped Skiing. There is also chili sampling from the best cooks in Maine as they vie for the “Best Chili Cook” title.Another is the 21st Annual Parrothead/Bust N Burn Festival, held on April 4 and 6. This annual festival is a weekend in paradise with Jimmy Buffett cover bands, contests, prizes, parties, pond skimming and the Bust N Burn Moguls competition.