COPENHAGEN, N.Y.—Trees are starting to wake up in most of the Maple Belt. But for some, it may be a while yet until they see some sap.

“We got five feet of snow outside,” said 300-tap sugarmaker Michael Eisel of Copenhagen, N.Y., a town in the direct landing zone of lake effect snow off Lake Ontario in Northern NY.

“This is a good old fashioned winter like we used to have,” he said.

In fact, this has been the snowiest and coldest winter in most of the U.S. and Canada in at least seven years, meaning early boilers were shut out.

It was a big topic of conversation at the Pennsylvania Tree Tapping ceremony at Baer Bros. Maple Camp in Somerset, Pa. on Saturday.

In Hyndman, Pa., father and son sugaring team Matthew and Ed Emerick, said they didn’t boil once from Jan. 1 through Jan. 29.

That was after a three day run around Christmas. They tapped Dec. 20.

Jason Blocher, of 15,000-tap Milroy Farms in Salisbury, Pa. told the Maple News that his farm was idle most of the winter, only boiling twice so far.

“We’re off to a slow start,” he said on Saturday. “But this week looks good all the way to March.”

Blocher too said the winter felt like old times.

“This is a traditional winter like we used to have when I was a kid,” Blocher said.

Kyle Hillegas of Hillegas Maple Camp in Fairhope,, Pa. said he had 850 gallons made so far, after boiling three times.

"We had one good week about two weeks ago," Hillegas said. He tapped his 9,000 trees on Jan. 10.

But everywhere else in the maple world, it's been nothingsville.

Neil Walling in Norwich, N.Y. who tapped in Dec. said he hadn't made syrup in two months.

Out in far western Pennsylvania, sugarmaker Janet Woods of Hurry Hill Maple Camp in Edinboro, Pa. said there was so much snow, she may not make it into the woods in time to tap at all this season.

"The snow on the roof of the sugarhouse looks like a layer cake," she said.

Everett Sechler of Sechler's Sugar Shack in Confluence, Pa. Had also only boiled three times on his 3,400 taps.
"We're way behind," he said.

Up in Vermont, this week the forecasts were for 40s through Thursday and then cold again this weekend.

"We have a lot of snow in the woods still, so it's gonna be a while yet," said Michael Shepard of Upstream Sugarworks in Starksboro, Vt.