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Resort Review: Smugglers’ Notch

David Shedd — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:40:50 +0000

Ignorance is bliss. And diamonds are NOT always a girl’s (or boy’s) best friend . . . particularly when they’re black diamonds . . .and especially when there are two (or three!) of them. But, more about this in a moment.

The "nice" sice of Smuggs; a family enjoying Morse Mountain (Smugglers' Notch photo)

Smugglers’ Notch is clearly a mountain with a Clark Kent/Superman complex…a true study in contradictions. One one hand, there’s gentle “Smuggs”, home of Mogul Mouse, Billy Bob Bear, unlimited hot chocolate, and the Family Fun Zone; very mild mannered. But on the other, there’s “Smugglers’ Notch” with all of the adventure, rough-and-tumble, and rugged character that the name implies.

Want more contradiction? The centerpiece of Smugglers’ Notch is Madonna Mountain. Such a charming, sweet, warm name for a mountain with some of the most savage terrain in New England. Superman himself might find that The Black Hole was his skiing Kryptonite. And that’s the real joy of Smuggs; you get to pick which personality you want to live with at any moment, rather than having to wait for Superman to show himself.

Dead center, Madonna Mountain lurks, waiting for the unwary (Smugglers' Notch photo)

Smuggs isn’t really a contradiction; it’s a total experience, one unlike anything else in the East. This resort has, for decades, focused on creating a village atmosphere, providing virtually anything that a family could want right there at the mountain. Unlike most major Eastern resorts, Smuggs’ lodging is totally condo based…no hotel. That gives great flexibility for accommodating large families or groups, plus a greater sense of privacy and a more relaxed atmosphere.

That, of course, made it a great place to take our family during vacation week in February. There were 5 of us; me, Susan, Rob (19), Matt (17), and Dan (12). We stayed at The Tamaracks, in a two bedroom condo (they have larger units, too) that’s a few years old. The condition was outstanding; if I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought it was brand new! And the layout was perfect for a family; one master bedroom with a lovely bath, a large kitchen/dining/living area with a gas fireplace, and a second bedroom with 3 beds. That’s unusual…I don’t think I ever remember staying at a place with that layout. It meant that instead of putting someone in the living room on a pullout, everyone had a nice bed. A nice touch that…no whining, no fighting, and no waking kids up when we wanted our peaceful early morning cup of coffee!

Of course, if the kids HAD been up, we’d have had escape options. Everything at Smuggs is reachable by shuttle; park your car, put the keys away for your stay. We could have gone down to the Morse Mountain Grille for coffee and breakfast, or into the Green Mountain Deli…both open at 8. The Country Store, a remarkably fully stocked place if you want to cook in your condo, has coffee available at 7:30, but you’ll have to walk for it; the shuttle doesn’t start until 8:00. Luckily for us, the boys had NO interest in getting up early, so we had our quiet time to get ourselves put together, and then figure out exactly when to get who to where.

And confusing it was, because we had 4 of us in lessons at Smugg’s “Snow Sports University!” Of course, with Smuggs’ typical attention to detail, the lessons for the young kids start earlier than those for adults, making it easy to drop them off and get to your lesson on time.

A teenager actually ENJOYING a lesson; Matt (center) listens to a pro (David Shedd photo)

Dan was in what’s called the “Notch Squad,” an all-day affair with a small group and an instructor. True to Smuggs’ form, lunch was even included. He was in the lessons for 2 days, and had enthusiastic, fun instructors who really made him feel confident. Dan’s been a somewhat timid skier; lots of V skiing and not that much enjoyment, although he’s certainly tried hard. And, at the end of the second day, I picked him up and took him out for a couple of runs, just the two of us. Afterwards, I took off his helmet just to make sure it really was Dan…his skiing was unbelievable! S-turns on his edges down blue runs with the usual late-afternoon chowder, zipping off into the glades, skiing the edges of the trails; it’s hard to believe that he made gains THAT obvious in just two days. Clearly, Smuggs has the teaching young kids routine down pat…but what about teenagers? Well, Matt was in the “Mountain Explorers” group, which is a 1 1/2 hour small group session. It would be best to characterize his mood about taking a lesson as “grumpy”; his big brother was off playing on the slopes, and he had to go to school. Well…it wasn’t too much later that he, his instructor, and one other student whizzed by us, then stopped a few hundred yards down the mountain to talk. I, being a nosy sort, headed down…and it was obvious that he was paying close attention to what the instructor was telling him. When asked later, he said that the instructor was “cool”, and had some “sick moves.” And, when we later ended up on a double diamond, Matt was in control and having fun, clearly he’d gained both skill and confidence from his lesson.

Bennett making absolutely sure Susan understands what he wants her to do (David Shedd photo)

Susan, who is a talented athlete but an inexperienced skier, went for a 2-day MAX5 school. That’s a 2 1/2 hour lesson with one instructor and a maximum of 5 students. Her instructor, Bennett Greene, at first thought she didn’t belong in the level 5 group that she was in, as she was easily handling blue terrain. But, after a couple of runs, he realized that she was making up for bad technique with sheer power. That’s when he started in on her. Over the two days, he took her from the classic “Z” shaped turn that’s caused by abrupt overpowering of the ski at the start of the turn to smooth, controlled, carved “S” turns. For me, it was fascinating to see the variety of techniques he used. He’d watch her ski, stop her, and explain what he wanted her to do. The reality is, each different point he was making had exactly the same goal…but he was fine-tuning them to her learning style. One in particular resonated with her; Bennett called it the “bicycle”. Since she IS a cyclist, thinking in terms of how she shifts her legs in the bicycle pedal stroke was intuitive for her…and immediately, her turns changed. And once he had her confident in those turns, why, it was time to take her into the glades!

Now, imagine this. You’re a skier who works hard on blue trails, skidding your turns, feeling questionable about your control. And then, less than 2 days later, you’re working your way through a blue glade, feeling in control, taking it turn by turn, not being scared but having fun. That’s what a top-quality instructor can do for you…and Smuggs has put untold time and money into making sure their system is as good as any in the East. It worked for Susan…and even for me. Spending the two days listening in was an eye-opener. For instance, I’ve never been a good glade skier, but after a day with Bennett, I started going into them and having fun, too! Good thing I did, as it turns out…but more on that later.

The fact is that virtually any skier can be improved by lessons. We all have bad habits (look at the Olympic skiers; they’re constantly being coached!). Yet, we virtually never take them. Why? Dunno. Compared to lift ticket prices, lessons are cheap, and if they make things easier for you, if they keep your legs fresh so you get an extra run (or two!) each day, how much is that alone worth?

Now, we didn’t spend the entire day in lessons. After lunch, we were free to play on the mountain, so the 4 of us (Dan was still in his lesson) headed up Madonna. We’d been skiing on Sterling, which has excellent terrain, but Madonna’s the big league. True to form, we quickly made an interesting mistake, and headed down Upper F.I.S. Lovely trail, fast and a little bumpy. Oh, wait, it’s a double black diamond that deserves its rating! Susan had never been on a double diamond before. At the very top, she reverted to her old form: tentative, leaning back into the hill, a typical scared and out-of-control skier. But at the first stop, a quick reminder of “what did Bennett tell you to do?”, and suddenly she was headed down the fall line, completing her turns, controlling her speed. At the bottom, she was laughing! That’s a spectacular gain in self-confidence, beyond the actual gain in skill level. Three experiences with instructors at Smuggs, three winners! Matt, already a strong but cautious snowboarder, came down F.I.S. with more ease and style than I’ve ever seen from him; his gain, like Susan’s and Dan’s, was both in skill and confidence.

Hard to see with white-on-white, but Doc Dempsey's is a stunning run! (David Shedd photo)

Of course, Susan wasn’t the only one to find herself in terrain she wasn’t expecting. I’d been warned in advance about the challenges of “The Black Hole” (a triple diamond), and the double blacks surrounding it, Freefall, Madonna Liftline, and Doc Dempsey’s Glades. Being a cautious sort (some would say “chicken”, and I wouldn’t disagree), I looked at the brutally steep and mixed boilerplate/powder bumps of The Black Hole, and decided that maybe I’d wait for another day. But, those doubles…they looked like fun! And, they were. Conditions were excellent, Mother Nature having provided us with close to a foot of new snow overnight. And I’ll say it right now…anyone who can’t find a challenge in those trails had better be starring in Warren Miller movies. They’re steep, they’re narrow, and they’re NOT “tamed” by bulldozers; these are real, old style New England trails. Doc Dempsey’s, in particular is a hoot and a half. The first plunge is barely glades…I don’t think that there are all that many trees that WANT to live on a slope that steep. Then, it turns into almost a cave, with deep snow and huge bumps under fir trees. Absolutely gorgeous! And with Bennett’s help, my glade skiing had improved enough that I felt confident and actually had fun working through the terrain.

After that much fun on Doc’s, I was prepared to head back up and do it again. That’s when I made my mistake. Standing in the lift line, I started talking to a local and his daughter, and they offered to take me into some, um, unmarked glades (Smuggs’ policy for off trail use is, effectively, go for it, be smart, enter and exit only from open trails…which we did) down at the bottom of Freefall. That’s a scary thought for someone new to the glades, but how often do you get a free guide? So, up we went. Rather than take a normal route to Freefall, he took me through some glades to get there, got a little lost…and we came out on something very different than I had ever seen on a ski hill. Thanks to the Flaik GPS system that was strapped to my leg, there was NO question about it; I went back later, and yes, it was The Black Hole. That is one intimidating trail; looking down it reminds me of being on top of the Empire State Building. Nothing for it, though, but to get down. Turn by turn, working carefully, I confirmed one thing; it absolutely, unequivocally deserves its triple diamond rating! Halfway down, my legs were burning…but it was worth it. Seeing the confirmation on Flaik’s website was exciting; yes, I HAD skied it! We didn’t complete the whole trail, as my guide wanted to shoot off into the glades, but did the steepest upper section…which was enough. By the way, if you’d like to see how the Flaik system works, go to www.flaik.com, username dshedd, password Smuggs1; you’ll be able to see my whole day. Very cool technology! And, now I want to go back and get better at The Black Hole. It’s not just a straight, steep trail…it’s actually fun.

So, now I’d survived “The Hole,” but what about those glades? Well, a combination of new confidence, a local who knows them well, and a foot of fresh snow is a pretty good recipe for a good time. Acres and acres of beautiful mixed hardwoods and softwoods, steep terrain, and soft landings…it was stunning. And for the first time ever, when I looked at my watch and realized it was time to head for Morse Mountain to pick Dan up from his lesson, I was disappointed to have to move out of the glades and onto the regular trails. It was just another “wow” moment from Smuggs…or, more accurately, from Smuggler’s Notch. I’d truly found the “Superman” side of the resort, and started to understand the fanatical devotion of the season’s pass holders that I’d been speaking to. Many of them drive by other excellent resorts to get to Smuggs, and it’s the untamed, timeless beauty of that section of Madonna Mountain that keeps them coming back.

On the other hand, there’s the returning vacationers who have their own reasons for coming back to Smuggs. One family told me that they were on their fourth year in a row,and the main draw for them was Airboarding! That’s right, not even skiing: it was the fact that they could also have silly fun bombing down the slopes on a ridiculously fast sled, and then jump on the chairlift and head right back up again.

One crazy Airboard instructor, showing us how to fall off correctly (David Shedd photo)

Of course Dan and I just HAD to try it. I’m going to warn you about two things before you try it, though. First, spend some time at the gym doing upper body workouts…it’s HARD to turn those sleds when you’re going fast! Second, wear your warmest, most waterproof boots, and make sure that your pants are plenty long; in fact, if you have gaiters for snowshoeing or hiking, wear them. I’ve never gotten that much snow in my boots that fast, even when I was a kid. But, it’s silly fun, particularly when (not if, but when) you fall off and go rolling down the slope…the instructors actually teach you the best technique for rolling back up onto the sled. If you’re like Dan and me, you’ll be falling off just to try it…sort of like Eskimo rolling a kayak, without worrying about drowning! There were times I could hear Dan cackling from a hundred yards away, he was having so much fun.

You know it's been a good day on the mountain when all they have energy for is Facebooking their friends to tell them how much fun they're having! (David Shedd photo)

When you come right down to it, there really is something for everyone at Smuggs. From easy terrain to perhaps the most rugged in New England, from Airboarding to pools and hot tubs, the Fun Zone, Teen Alley, you name it., You’d have to try to find a way to not have something fun to do. Our biggest problem was that we were only there for 2 nights; we just didn’t have the time or energy to do everything! Even the inexhaustable teenagers decided, on night two, that maybe just hanging around in the room after dinner would be just fine. Thanks to Smuggs’ resort-wide WiFi network, they managed to connect to their usual network of friends and taunt them for missing out on the fun. One thing’s for sure: I want to go back! Trying some of the things we missed, repeating some of the things we liked best, just enjoying the experience they’ve put together for their guests, they all sound good. Bottom line: we all have a “warm fuzzy” feeling about our trip to Smuggler’s Notch. Okay, so maybe they really are right about that whole friendly “Smuggs” thing . . .but Madonna’s still out there waiting, calling to me . . .

Alpine Skiing: Timing Is Everything

Tim Jones — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:44:33 +0000

Justin Jones rips soft spring bumps on Tele gear in the Sunbowl on Mount Sunapee. (Tim Jones photo)

At any time of year, finding truly great skiing and riding is a matter of timing. On a pure powder morning in January, for example, you have to be one of the first people on the lift or you are going to find yourself snaked on the line you were dreaming of when you drove to the hill. He (or she) who hesitates gets chowder instead of pristine powder.

Likewise, on weekends and holiday weeks throughout the winter, the first people on the hill generally find the best conditions, whether that’s fresh powder or untracked corduroy. By later in the day, conditions will often have deteriorated, especially in high-traffic junction areas or popular trails.

But in March, the paradigm changes. Patience pays off.

Most areas groom as little as possible at this time of year, not only to save money, but also to save their snow. If you rush make the first chair on a chilly morning, you might just find yourself headed downhill on snow that softened the day before, then froze into a rutted, bumpy crust—the kind of snow Western skiers think is all we ever get in the East.

But if you wait just a little while, magic can occur. The sun, which has been hiding behind the hill all season emerges earlier on March mornings, climbs higher above the peaks, and uses its strength to create some of the best snow conditions of the entire season.

Justin Jones, a ski instructor at Pats Peak in Henniker, NH, enjoys a busman’s holiday tearing up the slopes of Mount Sunapee on Telemark gear. (Tim Jones photo)

This winter, my son Justin has been teaching skiing full time in the excellent ski school at Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H. Full time instructing is hard work and on a recent rare day off, he slept in. When he woke up, the sun was shining, the air was warming, and we decided sneak away to Mount Sunapee in Newbury, N.H. for an afternoon on our Telemark gear. There was a pretty good crowd for a mid-week day but we found a prime parking spot that some early-bird had just vacated (another advantage of going later . . .) and hit the slopes.

The ride up the triple chair in front of the old Spruce Lodge only heightened our anticipation when we realized that we couldn’t hear anything more than a soft swish when skiers below us on Flying Goose made their turns (snowboards always seem to rumble at least a little).

At the top, we sprinted for Cataract and made what was, until then, one of the best runs of the season. I say “until then” because each run—Whingding, Hansen’s, Ridge, Skyway—was better than the last! The snow was smooth, soft, but still firm. If you can imagine skiing on butter, you have some idea of what it was like. Perfect conditions for Telemarking. Justin, who only took up freeheeling a few days before, was already out-skiing me and able to give me some very useful pointers. And the rides up with the warm sun on our faces were heavenly, not just for the chance to recover.

We skied hard until our thighs cried for mercy, took a quick break than punished them some more, ending our afternoon just before the lifts shut down. Literally a perfect day.

Soft spring snow is perfect for Tele turns. At Tenney, even the ski patrol goes Tele! (Tim Jones photo)

A couple of days later, my buddy David Shedd and I were at Tenney Mountain in Plymouth, N.H. We’d been camped on a mountain the night before in 20-degree weather. We woke up early, ate, broke camp, hiked three miles with packs on snowshoes over heavily-crusted snow, ate a leisurely second breakfast and still got to the mountain just a little too early.

As we rode up the summit double, we heard the scraping edges of the skiers below, so we immediately boogied over to the east-facing triple chair and found the sun had done its work nicely, softening the snow in all but the deepest shade. Later, the whole mountain softened. We pounded Tenney’s twisting trails in the sunshine until our legs gave out. Another wonderful day of skiing on perfect snow.

As March turns to April, perfect timing will change yet again. Just keep an eye on the thermometer. If the nights stay above freezing and the days get downright warm, you want to get out early and catch the snow before it turns to slush.

The sun is inevitably going to win and the 2009/10 winter season will eventually end. But that’s not for another month yet. Time it right, and there’s still perfect snow to enjoy. There’s snow on the slopes. What are you waiting for?

THE A LIST: Sunny Slopes

Spring sunshine, soft snow and Tele turns! (Tim Jones photo)

Typically, the first slopes to soften in the sun are the rare ones that face south. If you are a soft snow addict who must ski in the morning, consider visiting Black Mountain in Jackson, N.H., Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, N.H., and Bromley Mountain in Peru, Vermont.

Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont also faces south.

At Mount Sunapee in Newbury, N.H. both the east-facing Sunbowl and their South Peak Learning Area are top spots for early sun.

Sunnyside at Mount Snow in Dover, Vermont, and the South Face at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vermont and Bear Mountain at Killington in Killington, Vermont are all excellent sun spots.

At Stratton Mountain Resort in Stratton, Vermont, Kidderbrook gets morning sun and not much skier traffic since they took out the old Kidderbrook lift, while the Snowbowl gets sun in the afternoon.

Of course, a little later in the season, these spots will be first to go slushy, so hit ‘em early morning.

Backcountry Skiing Basics

Tim Jones — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:26:35 +0000

Snaked! If you aren’t the first one to the top of the hill, you can’t be the first one down! (Tim Jones photo)

There comes a point in most winters, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but usually sometime, somewhere, when enough snow has fallen that the whole world becomes a playground for anyone with snowshoes, Nordic backcountry skis, or, if it’s steep enough, Tele or AT/Randonee skis with skins. In a good year, that little spruce you see poking through the snow might just be the top of a four or five-foot tall tree . . .

Since snow depths always vary from place to place, you may have to travel to find the deepest snow. At the particular moment I’m writing this, the Adirondacks has lots of snow and more falling. Other times, it’s Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine or Quebec. Wherever you have to go to find deep snow, it’s worth it.

Lots of snow means you can get off the packed trails of a cross-country ski area and into the woods to explore on snowshoes or cross-country skis. That’s a real adventure for most people. You don’t have to go far—a few acres of woods with no other human tracks in it can become a magic place when the world is all white.

The only problem is, you never know when the deep snow is going to arrive and how long it’s going to last. So you have to be willing to take advantage of it when it it’s there. Sometimes, you just get lucky and have both the snow and the means to explore it safely. I’m pretty comfortable in the backcountry, but I also love going with companions who know more than I do.

A couple of years ago, we happened to be at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, in the middle of a huge December snowstorm. Trapp’s is definitely one of the nicest places in the world to be in a blizzard. In the raging storm, with snow dumping quickly enough to fill in your tracks in minutes, we skied up to Slayton Pasture Cabin, ate a warm lunch, and skied back down through knee-deep powder. Heaven!

Jan Axtell breaks trail through waist-deep snow on a backcountry ski tour near Stowe, Vermont. (Tim Jones photo)

As the storm wound down the next day, I headed out to explore some backcountry skiing north of Stowe with Jan (pronounced Yan) Axtell of Fin & Feather Enterprises . Jan is on the ski patrol at Stowe, and whenever he can, introduces ordinary folks to the wonders of off-trail backcountry touring. He’ll tailor the adventure to your ability level, anything from an easy loop through quiet woodlands to a headlong plunge on Tele gear through the trees on slopes so steep they will scare you spitless.

Ours was, at my request, a “soft” adventure, about five hours of trekking through gorgeous woodlands with the post-blizzard wind howling on the ridges above us. We didn’t tackle anything steep. Using wide backcountry skis with fishscale bases, we eased our way along with Jan breaking trail through, at times, waist-deep snow and me plodding along behind.

It was a chance to get completely away from other people, something pretty rare in today’s world. If you’ve never tried backcountry touring, a guided trip like this is an excellent introduction. Jan knew the country, had all the skills to get us in an out safely.

Making Tracks. The chance to ski untracked powder like this on the Alexandria Ski Trail on Cardigan Mountain in New Hampshire is the reason backcountry skiers crave snow. (Tim Jones photo)

You don’t always get that lucky–snow is never guaranteed. Last year, my sweetheart Marilyn and I were scheduled to do a backcountry ski trek from the top of Gore Mountain in North Creek, New York to Garnet Hill Lodge XC Center in North River. This is an all-day guided backcountry excursion for intermediate skiers and above.

Unfortunately a hard, warm overnight rain and refreeze took away most of the snow and turned what was left to boilerplate. So we postponed. I’m scheduled to try again in mid-March of 2010 and hoping the snow they have now will be even deeper then. That’s the problem. Deep snow NEVER lasts long enough.

Backcountry Tele

Four intrepid Telemarkers head up the Alexandria Ski Trail on Cardigan Mountain. The climb up makes coming down even more rewarding! (Tim Jones photo)

I have to admit I’m a little frustrated. I’ve spent several years getting good enough on Telemark gear to be able to go into the backcountry and ski some steeps and trees. I started practicing on groomed ski slopes and, smart guy that I am, took some lessons with great instructors. I’m not great–or even good–yet, but I can survive. And I’m able to put the Black Diamond STS skins on my Karhu Tele skis and get myself up the hill in fine fashion, even if I still have some less-than-elegant moments coming down

Last winter, a wonderful storm in mid January while we were at the AMC New Hampshire Chapter’s Winter Workshop let me actually try backcountry Telemarking.

My group of two instructors and three students, put skins on our skis and headed up the Alexandria Ski Trail almost to the summit of Cardigan Mountain. Skinning up was hard work, the trail was steep and long, the snow deep, and even relatively lightweight Telemark skis, boots, and skins get heavy. Still, we made it up, ate lunch on an overlook below the exposed summit, and watched the wind tear blue holes in the clouds above. Absolutely beautiful—and all the more so for having earned it with our own efforts.

It took a couple of hours to skin up and only a few minutes to fly back down in the deep powder. But those few minutes were among the most memorable in a lifetime on skis for me. I’m a confirmed backcountry addict.

The only problem is, we haven’t had the snow this winter to make much backcountry exploration possible. At least not in spots I’ve been able to be . . . But there’s still time. March is traditionally the snowiest month in the northeast. And if not, there’s always next year!

Here’s The Deal: Ski FREE Spring 2010!

Tim Jones — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:21:26 +0000

Does the notion of paying nothing to jump on a ski lift anytime you choose catch your attention? Good, it should! If you play your cards right, you can effectively ski free for the rest of the 2009/10 season. And it can FEEL like you are skiing for free all through 2010/11!

As is true with every promise of anything free, there’s a catch. But this particular catch can also save you a bundle and get you out skiing more next year. Here’s how it works:

You have to buy a season pass at an area. And you have to do it now. Depending on the area you choose, that can cost you anywhere from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand dollars. I know, that doesn’t sound like “Free” but bear with me a moment.

Many areas this year are offering a deal where, if you buy your season pass now, you get to ski or ride for free for the rest of this season. What an incredible offer. You not only get the best skiing of the 2010/11 season, you also get all of next season too. And there’s no better incentive to get out on the slopes than knowing you can go anytime you want for as long as you want and it will actually reduce the per-visit price of your lift tickets.

These areas are offering the “Ski Free Until Closing” deal on next year’s season passes purchased now through the end of March:

Bolton Valley in Bolton, Vermont. $399 Adult (ages 18-69), $249 ($149 if purchased with adult parent’s pass) Youth (ages 7-17) and Senior (ages 70+).

Burke Mountain in East Burke, Vermont, Season Passes $539 Adult, $339 Student/Senior.

Catamount in South Egremont, Mass. 2010/11 Season Passes: $279 Adult, $239 Juniors(7-13), $99 Kids 6 and under, $159 Seniors 70+

Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, N.H. 2010/11season passes $459 Adult, $269 Teen, $169 Junior.

Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Mass. Season Passes: $689 Adult unrestricted, $599 Teen, $459 Junior, $239 Twilight.

Granite Gorge in Roxbury, N.H. 2010/11 full season passes $425 Adults, $325 Jrs/Srs/College, $1095 Family pass.

King Pine in Tamworth, N.H. 2010/11 unlimited season passes $425 Adult, $365 Teen, $305 Jr./Sr.

Mount Snow in Dover, Nor’Easter unlimited passes (good at Mount Snow, Attitash, and Crotched Mountain) $899 Adults, $699 for juniors (6-18) and seniors. Includes four bonus tickets which may be purchased at $50/each. Classic Pass (Mount Snow only with 12 blackout dates) $549. Pay 30% of the total cost of your pass (including tax) by April 30th and you have until October 11th to make two installments on the remaining 70%.

Mount Sunapee in Newbury, N.H. 2010/11 season passes go on sale March 6 and are at their lowest prices from March 6 through April 30. New pass purchasers can ski through the end of this season and all of next season by paying the May 1 rate (a difference of $56 to $160 depending on the pass.)

Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H. 2010/11 season passes $349 Adult (18-64), $259 Junior (6-17) and Senior (65+).

Ski Butternut in Great Barrington, Mass. 2010-11 season passes $275 Adult (ages 14-69 yrs), $225 Jr. (ages 7-13 yrs), $100 Kids (ages 6 & Under) and Seniors (ages 70+), $500 Corporate (a transferable pass) .

Wildcat in Pinkham Notch, N.H. $599 adult unrestricted, $399 teen, 299 junior.

While we’re at it, here are some other great deals we found lurking out there:

Saturday Nights: Gunstock in Gilford, N.H.: ski, ride, rent or tube for $30 bucks from 4 to 10 pm. Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H.:

Catamount in South Egremont, Mass. Free lift ticket with a private lesson Mondays-Thursday .

Ragged Mountain in Danbury, N.H. $124 “Rest of Season pass (equal to 2 adult tickets!); $25 Thursdays , Family Sundays ($99 for 4 in family; $25 each additional kid)

Burke Mountain in East Burke, Vermont. Purchase a weekend ticket (Sat-Sun) and ski Friday afternoon or all day Monday for free; Tuesday $20 55+; Friday $30 for Tele skiers. Starting March 1st, show your season pass from any other ski resort and get half-price full day tickets!

Ski Sundown in Canton Center, Connecticut, has is offering 2010 – 2011 season passes at 09/10 prices and has an “Easy Payment Plan.”

Smugglers’ Notch Bash Badge Plus ( $199 Adult), $179 Youth 6-18) FREE skiing and riding from 3/8/10 to closing (usually mid-April) plus 20% off at 3 Mountain Equipment and for high performance ski or snowboard equipment demos; 50% off all single and multi-day group lessons and admission to The FunZone.

Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, Mass., is offering an Anytime “Rest Of The Season Pass” for $109.

Resort Review: Jay Peak

Justin Jones — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:43:39 +0000

The resident "Jay Cloud" which drops so much snow was nowhere in evidence on this bluebird day at Jay Peak. (Tim Jones photo)

Even if skiing and snowboarding were not allowed Jay Peak, would be worth visiting just for the scenery. Thank heavens there is skiing, though, because this mountain was truly meant to be a resort. Viewed from the surrounding farm country, the exposed rock summit looms spectacularly, ribboned with steep chutes. The peak is often topped by a unique cloud formation (known by its friends as the “Jay Cloud”). If you are a cloud enthusiast, you might recognize it as a species of altocumulus lenticularis. The Jay Cloud is a testament to the unique weather conditions here, which bless the resort with what are purportedly the highest annual snowfalls of any East Coast resort.

Jay Peak seems like a considerable trip for many skiers and riders. Driving from Boston or New York you have to pass nearly every major New England ski area and travel all the way to the Canadian border just to get there. But it’s really an easy shot up I-91, and the isolation is part of its appeal, however. The slopes are generally uncrowded, and the resort has a great old-world European flavor and hospitality, with close ties to nearby Quebec. It appears a large percentage of the clientele is French Canadian , if je me souviens correctly (sorry, couldn’t resist . . .).

Jay has done a lot of work recently with a new slopeside hotel and a refurbished base lodge. That’s all wonderful, but more important is the fact that they haven’t tampered with the resort’s essential “Jayness.”

Take the tram,for example, a defining experience, one of the last two operating in the east (the other is at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire).You have to ride the Jay Tram on a powder morning at least once in your life.

Jay is famous for lots of snow in an on its trees. (Tim Jones photo)

On this particular mid-February visit (I’ve skied Jay often before–as often as I can, in fact), the clouds were parting in the morning, and the tram took us up through several wispy patches of fog into bluebird weather, which is not unusual for Jay Peak. Even though all the “major” storms this year have all gone south, and it hadn’t snowed at all for several days, the snow was still incredibly deep. I took my skis off in the trees near the top and sank in up to my waist.

Jay Peak is known as a tree-skiing mecca, because of the terrain and their “boundary to boundary” open skiing policy. The trees are, for the most part, well-spaced enough for making turns. Finding skiable glades is as simple–stand anywhere at Jay, throw a brick and you’ll hit a tree run. Of course there are certain classic tree runs, like Deliverence and Valhalla that you have to try, but the thing to do is jump into the woods and explore. Just be careful. Signs posted around the mountain warn wisely against accessing the glades after 3 pm, and advise all skiers and riders to travel in groups of three when riding off-piste.

Though Jay can deliver some heart-stopping bumps runs, most of the action here is in the trees. (Tim Jones photo)

Even if it hasn’t snowed for a while, there is usually still fresh snow to be had at Jay. The Beaver Pond Glade and Valhalla were skied out, so my friends and I headed to the Face. The Face offers what is possibly the most harrowing in-bounds skiing in New England. On a better snow year the small trees are completely covered and the more technical lines are skiable. I peered hopefully down the Saddle, which is, in the best of conditions, a 45 degree bottleneck chute, barely wider than a ski length. It was a wall of solid blue ice. Cooler heads prevailed, and we hiked along the ridge to Radio Shack, an un-posted tree run below a ruined weather station. Even if narrow chutes are not your thing, be sure to take this hike, just for the view. From Radio Shack we traversed into the steeps below the Face, and were rewarded with fresh turns, as well as a few intimate moments with the trees (having friends with you is particularly useful when you need help extricating yourself from a krumholz tree).

After that is was off to Timbucktoo, a lower peak serviced by the Jet Triple. This area is even less frequented than the Tram, and the snow was excellent. If you like moguls, The Jet is a classic somewhat along the lines of White Heat at Sunday River, complete with the requisite audience from the lift above. Mogulers will also enjoy the aptly named Power Line. Watch out!

My leg was still bum from a skiing accident, so I spent much of the day doing something I had never done at Jay Peak: carving the cruising runs. This turned out to be a total blast, since the twisty trails ski like a Super G course, and I was trying to get in the Olympic spirit. Can Am and JFK are both great for high speed turns.

Reading this, you may have gleaned that Jay Peak is a very ‘expert’ sort of mountain. Unfortunately, it is somewhat lacking for mellow terrain, and there’s not really an easy way to get down from the top. Moreover, a lot of the intermediate trails are downright scary, like Vermonter, which makes me feel as though I am about to fall off the edge of the earth, and St. George’s Prayer, which has a thrilling double fall line. Also, some of the groomed trails are not maintained as regularly as is the case at more glizty resorts, which can make the blue squares feel very black diamond, especially when conditions are icy. Still there are some intermediate gems, such as Kokomo, a picturesque trail that winds gently through the birch trees.

A great surprise for me was the work Jay Peak has done on their terrain parks. In years past Jay barely had any jumps, and what few there were weren’t very good. Things have changed! The big thing now in snowparks are jump lines, which are multiple hits placed in a row. Jay has this down to a science. The amount of planning and snowmaking that went into Jay’s expert jump line blew me away. The jumps had perfect take-offs with long, mellow transitions, and the landings were enormous, over sixty feet long. What this means is that you can choose to go 20 feet or 70 feet off the same jump and still land safely. Either way, the landing was soft as a feather. I cursed my hurt leg freely, and stood at the edge watching a few snowboarders flying overhead. I immediately started making plans for a return trip, which is exactly what happens every time I ski at Jay.

If it’s northern snow you want, you know where to go: Jay Peak. It’s not Canada, but its close.

Resort Comparison: Jiminy Peak and Berkshire East

Tim Jones — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:45:04 +0000

The "Zephyr" wind turbine is am amazing moving sculpture that provides much of the electricity needed to run the Jiminy Peak resort. (Tim Jones photo)

Every once in awhile we get what’s known to meteorologists as an “upside-down” winter. Storm patterns set up to deliver more snow and more storminess to the south than to the northern US and southern Canada. The winter of 2009/10 has, so far anyway, been an unfortunately perfect example. I happen to believe in the science that has predicted more frequent, larger, and less-predictable storms as a result of global warming. We may well see more years like this in the future.

Thanks to the massive investment resorts have made in snowmaking and grooming, however, the lack of snow here in the northeast isn’t really a problem. Every ski resort has delivered smooth corduroy on its groomed trails—even just days after that major January rainstorm. Some people scoff at man-made snow and groomed trails, but when the alternative is frozen cement, carving corduroy is a whole lot more fun than staying home!

We automatically think that resorts “up north” are going to get more snow than more southern locations. But that isn’t always true, especially not in an upside down winter. The Berkshires sometimes get snowstorms that haven’t made it up into Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The two “northern” ski areas in the Berkshires are almost identical in vertical and trail count, but as different as night and day in some other ways. A weekend lift ticket at Jiminy is about $11 more expensive than the priciest ticket at Berkshire East; on weekdays, you’ll pay almost twice as much for Jiminy’s high speed lifts. Here’s how they compare in other ways, so you can decide which is right for your next ski getaway:

Berkshire East

Berkshie East has snow, lifts, friendly people, in short, everything you need to have fun . (Tim Jones photo)

Berkshire East in Charlemont, Mass., is primarily a “local” ski hill—which means lots of people drive right past it coming up I-91 on their way to Vermont. But I have to tell you it ranks high up on my list of best ski areas you’ve probably never visited. It’s got almost 1200 feet of vertical, a quad, two triples, a double, and two small surface lifts. They’ve also got 45 trails (we skied most of them), some of then twisty and some of them steep, plus a few wide-open slopes to play on. And they’ve got a very nice base lodge where all trails eventually lead, so you never have to worry about losing your companions or your kids. Honestly, what more do you need for a day or a weekend of fun?

Answer: snow!

On the day we visited , they had snow. Quite a bit of it, actually. No, the entire area wasn’t open, and no, they didn’t have quite enough snow to explore the glades, but they certainly had plenty of soft, groomed snow on the trails. We found one little patch of hard-crusted snow that the groomers somehow missed hidden away on a trail. But the rest of place was soft and inviting.

And, best of all, there was NO ONE there. That’s right. Though I’ve heard the place can get cranking on weekends, on a beautiful sunny Sunday, we never waited at all to get on a chairlift and head for the top. From what I hear, both nearby Jiminy Peak and Mount Snow were far more jam-packed with people that weekend. Sure, those more famous have more trails, more and faster lifts and bigger base lodges to spread out more people, but there’s something awfully nice about being able to find untracked corduroy on the edges of a trail at 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning.

Seriously, the next time you’re traveling on I-91, take your skis or your board along. Detour about 20 minutes west on Route 2. You’ll find a wonderful not-so-little hill for skiers and riders. Your friends will look at you funny when you tell them you discovered a hidden gem called Berkshire East. The smart ones will ask you how to get there. If you want to read more about Berkshire East, EasternSlopes.com Correspondent Allison Keller has done a review which you can read here.

Jiminy Peak

Some, but not all of the trails at Jiminy are steep, straight shots down the hill on perfect corduroy. They all lead to the bustling base area, (Tim Jones photo)

Located right on the border of New York in Hancock, Jiminy Peak is the “Big” ski resort in Massachusetts. That concept will make some people smile. Some of those people will be the smug “I ski in Vermont” types who can’t believe there’s skiing and riding this good in Mass. Others will smile because they know how good Jiminy really is.

In stats, Jiminy’s almost a twin of Berkshire East—they’ve got almost 1,200 vertical, and 45 trails. But Jiminy feels like a big resort in ¾ scale: they have nine lifts including a high-speed six-pack, and lots of comfortable slopeside lodging and a couple of nice on-mountain restaurants. Families love Jiminy—the whole area filters down to a single base, so kids can explore without getting lost. In the summer, they’ve got what amounts to an on-mountain amusement park.

We settled into their slopeside Country Inn on Sunday night, hit the outdoor hot tub to ease the kinks of a long day of skiing, prepared our own dinner in the condo kitchen, went to sleep in a comfortable bed and woke up rarin’ to hit the snow. The breakfast buffet at John Harvard’s in the Country Inn is something of a tradition for us—great way to fuel for a long day.

The wind was howling on this Monday morning–not unusual for a mountain that faces due north–and it was chilly, so we bundled up and headed out for first chairs. Jiminy is an area that was long on the cutting edge of snowmaking and their snow was great on this day. A couple of small snowfalls they’d gotten since the January rain definitely helped.

They’ve got some steep diamonds off the front of the Mountain—Whitetail, Jericho and Exhibition—are always freshly-groomed perfection first thing in the morning morning. With no lift lines and a high speed lift to play with, it’s easy to hammer your thighs into submission by noon and miss their awesome night skiing entirely . . .

One thing you have to do at Jiminy is take West Way off the top of the six-pack and get a look at “Zephyr” the HUGE wind turbine that Jiminy uses to generate a significant portion of the electricity it needs throughout the year. Don’t worry, you can’t miss it and you won’t ever forget it. Getting up close and personal with this amazing work of industrial-scale functional art would be worth the visit—even if the skiing wasn’t so good!

Compared to Berkshire East, Jiminy Peak is indeed a “big” resort with all the slopeside lodging and restaurants you’d expect at a “resort” rather just a “ski area.” But it’s an hour closer to New York Ci than the closest Vermont area, and it’s got the trails and the snow. Try

Resort Review: Black Mountain

Tim Jones — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:36:55 +0000

Twisted fun! Most of the trails at Black Mountain follow the contours of the slope, not the needs of grooming machines. That’s where the fun is! (Tim Jones photo)

Whenever I’m within site of Mount Washington in winter, it seems the wind blows hard and temperature drops. That’s OK, I don’t mind it.

Last weekend was no exception. It was brisk: near zero each morning, with winds steady in the 20s and gusting to 40 out of the north, windchill values around 25 below. Perfect weather for skiing Black Mountain (800-475-4669) in Jackson, N.H., one of my favorite hills in all of New England. You see, Black faces south, so it gets full sun on cold winter days, and it’s sheltered from the north and northwest winds that usually bring in that cold air.

Black snow! Just four days after a major January rainstorm, Black Mountain had plenty of snow on its snowmaking trails. And the “classic” double and triple chairs limit the number of skiers and snowboarders to scrape it off. (Tim Jones photo)

Actually, I’d have skied Black even if it had been warm and calm. They were celebrating their 75th birthday. It’s not often that you get to party with a ski hill that’s been in continuous operation that long . . . Besides great skiing on uncrowded slopes all day long (this despite a warm storm that had dumped two inches of rain on the slopes just four days before!), they had a wonderful Big-Band Birthday Bash with food and dancing on Saturday night. Can’t wait for their 80th!

Why do I like Black Mountain so much? Well, the first time I ever skied there, they had fresh powder that ranged from knee-to waist-deep and hardly another skier in sight to chop it up.

Then there are the many days when Black offers the sunshine and no wind. I also really enjoy the twisting, old-fashioned trails that were cut for skiers, not grooming machines. Yes, they have a couple of the obligatory open slopes, but the heart and soul of the area is the network of winding narrow trails that snake down the hill. On your first few runs at Black, you may be surprised at where you finally pop out of the woods—it’s sometimes not where you expected. Lots of resorts these days claim to have “old fashioned ski trails.” Black really does.

The Black Mountain triple makes for a relaxing ride up the hill. (Tim Jones photo)

The other attraction at Black is the old, slow lifts, both the summit double and an triple chair. I can hear some of you groaning now, but old, slow, fixed-grip lifts definitely have their place in the world. At Black there are NEVER any crowds, so you don’t need all that lift capacity. We never waited for anyone all weekend. In fact, I can’t ever remember seeing a lift line at Black.

Old lifts don’t come with high price tags and Black’s ticket prices can reflect that. The most expensive ticket you can buy at Black for the 2009/10 season is $39. That’s for an adult on a weekend or holiday! The most expensive kid ticket is $25.

Talk about old fashioned lifts! This wonderful old platter pull service the beginner’s slope at Black Mountain. Novices get mileage going up and mileage coming down! (Tim Jones photo)

When Black says they are family oriented, they aren’t kidding–the whole area slopes to a single base lodge, so you don’t have to worry about the kids ending up three mountains away, And a family of four can ski all day at Black for $99 on their weekend/Holiday special package. On weekdays, it’s $79 for a family of four . . . You don’t find prices like that at any area with detachable lifts.

Then there’s the “Quality of Life” factor from their classic double and triple chairlifts. You actually have time to relax and talk on the way up—which means your legs are ready for a real pounding when you get to the top and head down. And the snow is almost always better—especially later in the day—at areas with slower lifts that don’t put as many bodies on the slopes to scrape off the snow. At Black, instead of grooming as soon as the lifts close so the snow can “set up” overnight and last a little longer under heavy traffic, they groom just before the lifts open so the groomed trails are soft and inviting. Makes a huge difference! Try it sometime. Black’s been turning lifts for 75 years! With their family-friendly, low-key attitude, my guess is that they are going to be around for 75 more. What are you waiting for?

Western Snow Vs. Eastern Snowmaking–Which Can Guarantee You A Quality Experience?

David Shedd — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:19:24 +0000

We make no secret of the fact that we’re unabashed fans of Eastern skiing and riding. Not that we’re against what the West offers; skiing is skiing, riding is riding, and it’s all good. But we definitely aren’t fans of the “Oh, you simply have go West to have good conditions” mentality. And now come reports that the 2010 Olympic skiing events are in danger…no, not from terrorism, but from a lack of snow. Wait a minute…aren’t they out West? It’s February! How could they not have snow?

Mount Snow pulling out all the stops to make great conditions (Mount Snow photo)

Well, in a word…weather. It’s been warm and rainy there, and Cypress Mountain has been closed to the public, with muddy, bare slopes. The Olympic organizing committee is talking about bringing in hay bales and wood to build a substructure that they can then cover with trucked-in snow. And, of course, they’re hoping the weather will change just in time to add some of the natural stuff, right when and where they need it. It’s cold enough…but they don’t have the snowmaking capacity to make all the snow that they need.

Now, if the 2010 Winter Games were in an earlier Olympic venue, Whiteface, why, they’d just need to turn on some more snowmaking (although not at this moment, as they have already 68 trails open in a not-great natural snow year). In really horrible situations, they might need to move some snow from one trail to another, not from one mountain to another. The concern would be what was the easiest way to do it, not whether it was possible or not.

Mounds of manmade snow, waiting to be turned into fun moguls at SkiBromont (Francios Senecal photo)

The fact is, Eastern ski areas have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to bring in the finest snowmaking that exists IN THE WORLD. Case in point: even a little family resort like Black Mountain was able to recover from a crushing winter rainstorm in only 4 days to provide great conditions for their 75th anniversary party…and they probably have less snowmaking capacity than 90% of their Eastern brethren. A few weeks ago, I saw mounds at SkiBromont that were probably 30 feet high, being stockpiled to create a mogul run for the weekend. This isn’t making snow for survival…this is making snow to create a varied, excellent experience for their customers.

Even on a sunny day, it "snows" for skiers at Bolton (Bolton Valley photo)

You can argue that Western resorts offer more powder, and they certainly can . . . sometimes. . . . But would you rather have a vacation scheduled for right now at a Western mountain that’s muddy and bare, or for an Eastern mountain that’s got 30, 40, 70, 100 trails open with consistent manmade snow? As we found in “The Guns Of Attitash“, the quality as well as the quantity of manmade snow has increased dramatically in recent years…and we’ve enjoyed the benefits of snowmaking every time we’ve been out on Eastern Slopes. Greater base depths, more runs open…the areas are giving us good skiing in lousy times, and spectacular skiing when Mother Nature cooperates.

So, the next time someone brags about their multi-thousand-dollar 5-day trip to Aspen, or Whistler, or wherever…think about your 40 days of skiing on great surfaces in the East, plus enough money left over to buy new skis . . . If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will!

A Mt. Washington Valley Skiing Trifecta

David Shedd — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:46:54 +0000

Mt. Washington on a rare clear day (Donny Noble photo)

With my sweetheart about to go back into classes until she finally gets her MSW in May (and, with any luck, gets a job where she can support me!), we decided to escape and get in a little more play time before the insanity hits again. We’d had so much fun on our day trip to Purity Spring/King Pine, where we were able to do multiple things in a day, that we decided to expand that to a two day trip. I needed to go to Attitash anyway to meet with the snowmaking people for “The Guns Of Attitash”, so the Mt. Washington Valley seemed to make sense.

With that in mind, we headed up early one morning to Conway. There’s a place called “Bea’s Cafe” at 50 White Mountain Highway that’s one of our favorite breakfast places. I like to use a day of skiing ahead as an excuse to get the chicken fried steak with sausage gravy…it’s as calorie-intense as it sounds, and tastes fantastic. They serve breakfast all day…hmm. Oh, never mind. Anyway, on the way through North Conway to Attitash, we stopped at Eastern Mountain Sports, where I rented a pair of Black Diamond telemark skis. I’d had fun doing tele at King Pine; I had to wonder what it would be like on the steep slopes of ‘Tash! With my equipment ready, on we went.

On arriving at Attitash, Doug Tulin, their PR guy, took us under his wing, and dragged us around to show us the changes in their snowmaking system. I guess “dragged” isn’t quite the right word…more like “skied our legs off”. And this was in the morning, on alpine gear! Doug’s got a bit of a history as a skier; he’s a 4 time world synchro ski champ, and the 2005 New England Powder 8

Doug explaining where the $3 million in snowmaking went (David Shedd photo)

champion. Translation…he’s a hell of a skier, and way beyond my skill level. His idea of relaxed skiing is my idea of wide-eyed fear. Luckily, he loves to teach, so spent his time working with Susan, which gave me a break. Not a bad start to the adventure…free downhill lessons from a real pro! The snow was wonderful, firm without any boilerplate across the entire mountain, and we all had a great morning. Clearly, the effort (and money) that Attitash has been putting into new snowmaking equipment has paid off; early January had conditions that I’d expect in February.

At lunchtime, I caught a break…Doug had to actually go work. So, we grabbed a bite, then pulled the telemark gear out of the car. Okay, I’ll admit…this was a bit scary. Only my third day on telemark skis, and I’m going to do the steep slopes of Attitash? Maybe I’m starting to think I’m

Tower fans everywhere...but don't forget the views! (David Shedd photo)

Doug. To make matters worse, he reappeared…oh, great, I have to try to chase him with tele skis on??? But, once again, his teaching nature came to the fore. Of course he’d done tele before…and of course he was good at it. Sometimes, I hate people like that…but hey, if he wants to give me pointers, all jealousy is gone! With his comments building on Robin Roaf’s lesson of the previous week, I found myself feeling remarkably controlled, even on the diamonds. Speaking of diamonds, the Black Diamonds performed beautifully…EMS had clearly tuned them well, and they carved cleanly and snapped me in and out of corners the few times that my technique happened to be good enough to hit a corner right. They’re already on my short list for when I go shopping for telemark skis! I’m definitely hooked on telemark…there’s a freedom to it that’s very different from alpine. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m finding that in some ways, it’s actually easier to handle steep terrain due to the low center of gravity the turn provides.

A few hours of that fun, and my legs were turning to jelly. Susan was feeling the same way…she’d never skied as much steep terrain in as short a time. Two legs of my trifecta…alpine and telemark…in excellent conditions, beautiful weather, great views, and good company. Life was good! And it was about to get better, as we were headed to our lodging. Being as this was an escape before Susan’s next descent into scholastic hell, we wanted to splurge…and we’d been told about suites at The Wentworth in Jackson Village that had private outdoor hot tubs. That’s just an irresistable idea…after burning our legs out, to soak in that kind of luxury sounded divine. Since it was mid-week, they’d had rooms available, so we booked ourselves there. The Wentworth is a

The Wentworth lobby sets the stage for elegance throughout (David Shedd photo)

throwback to a more elegant time; like the Mt. Washington Hotel, it has a gracious charm that made us feel like F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald. Beautifully maintained, the modern updates have been done in ways that don’t diminish that sense of being transported to a different world. Our suite, in the Fairlawn building, was stunning…varnished wood trim, a gas fireplace, marble bathroom…oh, and that hot tub room! Open to the outdoors, it’s still perfectly private…an ideal place to sit and sip a glass of wine while relaxing before dinner. Susan, ever the charmer, reminded me that I was due back at Attitash to learn about the workings of the fan gun, but assured me that she’d test the hot tub out for me. Great.

Off to Attitash I went, with Susan sending me text updates on her decadence. I didn’t feel that bad

Head snowmaker Kevin Kasten giving me lessons (Doug Tulin photo)

about it, though…the time learning how the fan guns work was fascinating. But, a couple of hours of that was enough to have me frozen solid (bare hands work best for shooting video, but not for making it comfortable to be out there on the slopes!). Back I went, and directly into the hot tub. Ah, bliss…and yes, I had brought a bottle of something with bubbles in it to sip while we soaked and chatted. We still had plenty of time before our dinner reservations, so we thoroughly relaxed. The room has a sense of peace to it; we actually sat on the bed and stared up at the patterns the cut-glass overhead light made on the ceiling! We probably could have fallen asleep right then, but with a dining room headed by a graduate of New England Culinary Institute, we felt it was our duty to make sure we tested it.

And testing, it was worth. The service was country inn impeccable; everything done just right, but very friendly and down-to-earth. The food was sort of nouvelle-cuisine-meets-the-mountains (wild boar rib appetizer, anyone?), beautifully prepared, fragrant, and tasty. The chocolate bomb dessert that we took back to the room (well, we DID have to get into the hot tub again, didn’t we?) was sinfully rich and worth every calorie. One last comment on the dining room…breakfast, even if you aren’t staying there, has to be the best value in Jackson. $10 gets you their continental breakfast with tons of fresh fruit AND a full breakfast plate from the menu! Even if you stay somewhere else, you owe it to yourself to get over there in the morning and enjoy it.

After all of that decadence, we really needed to work off a week’s worth of calories. Luckily, The

World class XC and country charm all in one! (David Shedd photo)

Wentworth just happens to be next door to the Jackson XC facility, allowing me to complete my trifecta without even driving anywhere. For those who haven’t heard of it, this is one of the top cross country trail systems in the country. 148 kilometers of trails means a great variety of terrain to suit everyone, from open fields to gliding along a river to challenging twisty descents in the woods. And starting this year, they’ve partnered with Gorham Bike & Ski to bring in a retail and service shop; if you need your skis waxed or need a new jacket, gloves, or whatever, there’s a great variety there. So, on with our skis and off we went. The grooming was perfect, and while there were a surprising number of people out on the tracks, we were able to get into our groove and enjoy the scenery while we worked out. Nordic skiing is a wonderfully intense activity; within a

Jackson's impeccable grooming makes for easy skiing (David Shedd photo)

few hours, we’d beaten ourselves up as much as we had the day before, and were happy to get back in the car and head back home. Yet again, we’d found that mixing up our types of skiing gave us a great workout, a lot of fun, and a desire to do it all again. And clearly, the Mt. Washington Valley is a great place to do it…the trifecta was more like a perfecta! We only began to sample the options…there’s other alpine mountains, other cross country facilities, and certainly other lodging and food options. We’ll be back, if we can ever get Susan out of school!

Purity Spring & King Pine, Part 1: Go, Tele On The Mountain!

David Shedd — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:10:18 +0000

Ever have one of those days when you’re not quite sure what you want to do?

Us, too.

January 2, bloated from all of the holiday excesses, we knew we needed to get out and do something, but we weren’t quite sure what. Holiday traffic and bad roads made it even more difficult to decide; we didn’t want to get too far away and not be able to get back!

Memory kicked in…King Pine has an unusual ticket. As part of the Purity Spring Resort, there’s a lot more to do there than at most New England resorts (and that’s just in winter…summer is really Purity’s forte). For the price of your lift ticket (a whole $44/adult any day of the week), you also get access to their cross country trail system, their snowshoe trails, and their ice skating rink. No, it’s not the biggest mountain out there, with 350 vertical feet…but I’d been told they still had some steep, fun trails, so it was definitely worth a trip. And, for a few dollars more, they’ve got lift-serviced snowtubing! That appealed strongly to the kid in me…so, off we went, on snowy, nearly empty roads. Great…there probably wouldn’t be many people there, so we’d have plenty of time to try out everything!

Of course, when you don’t have any plans, your plans can change. And in this case, we got

Correct fitting and binding setup is key for telemark performance (David Shedd photo)

out of the car and noticed a tent going up at the base of the slopes. Hmmm. Curiosity and all that…good thing I’ve got more lives than a cat. Turns out that New England Telemark, which is a non-profit dedicated to getting more people involved in the sport, was doing their “Tele Daze”! Translation…free loaner equipment AND free lessons with some of the top telemark instructors in New England (and possibly the country)! BTW, on their site you can find more dates and locations for what they offer. Anyway, back into the car went the downhill skis and poles and boots.

Now, I’ve tried tele once before, and wasn’t any good at it. But, I still want to get better…what a chance! And Susan hasn’t EVER tried it, so she hasn’t had an opportunity for me to screw up her technique with bad advice. Better still. Off we went to get changed…and just happened to be organizing next to Robin Roaf, a tele instructor with a 20 year pin. She graciously agreed to show us how it’s done, and promised not to laugh. For the record, she lied…but then, there’s something about watching me sliding backwards with a panic-stricken look on my face that would make ANYONE laugh. Of course, she managed to fall down later while standing still (sorry, Robin, but you knew that was going to come up!), so I had my revenge.

"Free The Heel", and have a ball! (David Shedd photo)

In fact, she was not only a good sport, but a great instructor. With only a few runs, she had both of us, as well as Joe, the King Pine ski instructor, making turns with, if not elegance, moderate control. And FUN…oh, wow! It’s such a free technique…you flow with the mountain. And flat greens can feel like steep blacks, particularly for beginners. Remember those steep, fun trails I mentioned before? Yeah, I didn’t get near them. I’m saving those for when I’m a LOT better.

One thing that Robin did that was probably more valuable than anything else was to point out the effects of tele on newbies’ legs. As in, prepare to be very sore very quickly…you’re using your quads and butt a LOT. So, come 1:00, we got smart and quit. Hmmm…what to do now? Well, XC seemed to be a different motion, so that got the vote. Plus, the trail system looked pretty nice…and there was lovely snow coming down. Perfect for a romantic ski, since Susan was still talking to me (I hadn’t been giving her advice, remember?). On went the skis, and off we went. And their trails ARE lovely. You ski across their private lake (this is a VERY comprehensive resort…think Catskills, “Dirty Dancing”, that kind of thing), then off into lovely trails through hard and softwoods. The tracks had been nicely groomed a few

It's hard to NOT be happy...lovely trails, fresh snow, and views! (David Shedd photo)

inches of snow before, so we had a combination of easy track skiing with the feeling that we were breaking trail. Through the woods we could see King Pine and the various Purity buildings.

As we cruised back by the skating rink with its outdoor fireplace, we realized that the day was pretty much gone…and we hadn’t had a chance to even try downhill, snowshoeing, skating…or my beloved snowtubing. I was crushed…until I realized that gave us an excuse to come back! Maybe even bring the kids…there’s TONS of things for kids to do at the resort. On the other hand, maybe we just want to have fun playing ourselves…just act like kids, without having to act like parents. Decisions, decisions. More to come…we’ll definitely be trying out more of what King Pine/Purity have to offer!