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Here’s The Deal: The Early Bird Gets The Deals For The 2010-2011 Season

The Editors — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:20:04 +0000

It’s a great year for skiing deals! Eastern ski areas had a solid 2009-2010 season and they’re offering really good deals to keep that momentum going, even in a sluggish nationwide economy. Who wins? You do! Here is an alphabetical list of all the deals we’ve found so far; come back often, we’ll update this list every time we find another great deal!

Attiash

Season passes, go to full price on October 11. For more information on all the deals go here.

Belleayre

Early Bird pricing is in effect for season passes in September. The September Belleayre Season Pass Deal includes five discounted guest passes that can be used at any time during the season to bring a guest for only $34. Current season pass holders who bring a new friend who buys a full adult season pass receive additional $50 off their price. Bring a senior season pass holder and receive $25 off or recruit a new family to the Belleayre experience and receive $100 off.

Ski Butternut

Before December 1, buy a 2010-11 Season Pass for: $275 Adult, $225 Jr., $100 Kids, $500 Corporate.

Cranmore Mountain Resort

Cranmore’s Season Passes are $179 for Juniors ages 6-12, and Adult limited Happy Trails passes are $339 (with holiday blackout dates but valid weekends!) These prices are valid through November 30.

Crotched Mountain:

These deals are good only until Tuesday, August 31st!

10 Pack: $399 ($39.90 Per Ticket!) 10 anytime lift tickets.can be used any time, any day, for any session, even Midnight Madness. The 10 pack is interchangeable between family members, friends and co-workers. (Valid for 10 lift tickets only. Lessons and rental equipment are not included.)

Higher Education Pass: $299 – 4 Mountain Pass for full time college student taking 12 credit or more this coming school year . Valid at Crotched, Mount Snow, Attitash and new for the 2010-11 season; Jack Frost- Big Boulder in Pennsylvania. (Letter from registrar or copy of school schedule needed to pick up pass.)

Gunstock Mountain

The $259 College pass for Gunstock, Wildcat and Sunapee, has no blackout dates.

These passes are discounted through November 7: Prime Time Adults $499; Prime Time Teen $409; Prime Time Child and Prime Time Senior $279; Night $229; Mid-Week $299.

Jay Peak Resort

If you buy before October 11, you’ll get Jay’s best Season Pass Deals. An Adult Unlimited pass is $629 ($1179 per couple), Seniors are $479 (55-69, $199 for the over-70 crowd). They also have a variety of kid and family-pass options.

The Triple Major (college pass with Jay Peak, Mad River Glen and Bolton Valley ) is $289 if purchased before November 8.

Jiminy Peak

October 15th cut off date for season pass and Value Card savings. Find all the pass deals here

Loon Mountain Resort

Before Columbus Day Weekend (October 11) season passes valid at Loon Mountain, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf start at $410 for an adult Bronze Pass, $669 for an adult Silver Pass and $975 for an adult Gold Pass. College passes are also available for $339 through November 30.

Mad River Glen

The MAD CARD ($139 until December 15) gets you 3 transferable day tickets good any time during the 2010-11 ski season, $5 off any additional full day lift ticket purchased throughout the season (Limit: 1 per Mad Card/Day), buy a Midweek Private Adult Clinic and Bring a Friend Free (not available during holiday periods).

The FAMILY MAD CARD ( $189 before October 15) gets kids ages 12 and under (as of 1/1/11) FREE SEASON PASSES and all other Mad Card benefits. Go here or call 802-496-3551 for details.

Mohawk Mountain

Best prices expire on September 30: Adult Pass – good anytime the mountain is open – only $429.00 before September 30, 2010, save $180. To see all of the deals, visit their season pass page or call 1-800-895-5222.

Mount Snow

October 11 is the deadline to save $150 on all Mount Snow passes
The Noreaster Pass includes Crotched Mountain, Attitash and Jack Frost/Big Boulder in PA for $1049, the Classic Pass (Mount Snow only with holiday blackout dates) is $699 and mid-week passes are $549.

The Higher Education season pass (College Pass) is only $299 and includes Mount Snow, Attitash, Crotched Mountain and Jack Frost/Big Boulder.

Mount Sunapee Resort

Mount Sunapee has a variety of season pass options, all on sale until October 11.

The Ultrapass includes, Sunapee, Okemo, Stratton and Crested Butte for $1555 for adults. The adult Peak Pass (Mount Sunapee and Okemo) is $959. There are a variety of cheaper midweek, kid and senior options.

The unlimited SOS College Pass (Sunapee – Okemo – Stratton) is $279.

Okemo Mountain Resort

Okemo has a variety of Season Passes are on sale until October 11 including:

The $1557 Ultra pass for Okemo, Stratton, Sunapee and Crested Butte CO, the $741 Value Pass Plus for Okemo, Stratton and Sunapee with blackout dates, and the $1240 Peak Pass for Okemo and Sunapee.

Sunday One-Day Season Pass $299 for adults ($359 after October 11). This direct-to-lift season pass has four blackout dates, but is valid all other Sundays throughout the season.

Frequent Skier Flex Card $99, plus tax (prior to November 15 and $119 afterward), save: 50 percent on weekday, non-holiday (Monday through Friday), single-day lift ticket rates; 25 percent on weekend and holiday single-day lift ticket rates; 50 percent on single-day lift ticket rates every day in November, and from March 21 through closing day in April. Fifty percent savings will also apply on select Sundays in January and March. Flex card benefits are available at Mount Sunapee Resort, in N.H. (days, dates and discount values may vary)

Okemo’s 8-Pack and 12-Packs are on sale until November 16. The 8-Pack is a pre-purchase of eight unrestricted, single, full-day lift tickets for the price of seven. The 8-Pack is valid every day of the 20010/2011 season with no restrictions and it is transferable. It may be applied toward the purchase of one or two tickets per day. Pricing is: Adults $557; Young Adults/Seniors $487; Juniors/Super Seniors $375. The Okemo 12-Pack is 12 unrestricted, single, full-day lift tickets for the price of ten. : Adults $790; Young Adults/Seniors $690; Juniors/Super Seniors $530. As an added bonus, 8-Pack and 12-Pack holders can present their valid packs at the Crested Butte, Colo., lift ticket window to save 20% on multi-day lift ticket rates all season long.

Pats Peak

Early Season Pass Deadline is September 1! An Unlimited, direct-to-lift pass is $369 for Adults (18-64), $279 for Juniors (6-17) and Seniors (65+)

Customize your pass with one of the following options: Powder Pass Club, Unlimited, College, Midweek, Transferable. Season Pass Holders can add money to their Season Pass Cards to use as a debit card anywhere on the mountain. We have also teamed up with Mount Sunapee, NH; Jay Peak, VT; and Burke Mountain, VT for Added Value for our season pass holders. See all the Season Pass options here.

Saddleback is offering a 10-year season pass for $5,000 this season!

Other passes are on sale until September 19, including their popular Peak Pass for Honor Roll Students ($59 for Maine residents, $99 for others), Adult Season Pass: $599 (will be $649 on September 20),Locals Pass: $499 ( $549 on September 20). Military personnel and First Responders also get huge discounts on Saddleback passes. For complete information, go here.

Shawnee Peak Resort

Buy College Student Season passes at Shawnee Peak a before 8/31 and pay just $179 for a FULL, unlimited season pass! Part-time, graduate, online, even students in Medical residency programs are eligible! The price goes up to $199 after September 1.

Smugglers Notch Resort

Smugglers’ passes and badges are on sale until Labor Day. Post Labor Day prices remain in effect until Halloween. The Bash Badge for adults is $89 prior to Labor Day, a savings of $40 over the full price (youth Bash Badge is $69/$109). With the Bash Badge, you pay only $25 to ski or ride any day, all day, all season long, and there’s a $15 pm/half-day ski option.

Stratton Mountain Resort

Early Booking Offer: Book any winter 2010-2011 lodging by October 30, 2010, and save 30 percent off midweek, 20 percent off weekends and 10 percent off holidays. Also enjoy special savings on lift tickets, snow school and rentals too. With price protection and a relaxed cancellation policy, it’s all the reward without the risk.

The X2 Card $69 ($79 after November 23) offers a free day of skiing or riding plus $30 off midweek (non-holiday), $20 off weekends (non-holiday), and $10 on holidays.

Sugarbush Resort

Has winter season pass options on sale until September 15. College and Graduate passes are discounted through November 1.

ALL MOUNTAIN PASS: Unlimited skiing and riding at Lincoln Peak and Mt. Ellen includes ALL resort and valley discounts. Unlimited is $1199 for adults, midweek-only is $499

MT. ELLEN PASS (Includes select resort discounts) is $549 for unlimited access. The MT. ELLEN PLUS adds 5 days at Lincoln Peak whenever you want to use ‘em and spring skiing at lincoln Peak after Mt. Ellen closes for $799.

College Students and Recent Grads pay $319 for all-mountain passes, $219 for Mount Ellen.

Sugarloaf

Before Columbus Day Weekend (October 11) season passes good at Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and Loon Mountain start at $410 for an adult Bronze Pass, $669 for an adult Silver Pass and $975 for an adult Gold Pass. College passes are also available for $339 through November 30.

Sunday River

Before Columbus Day Weekend (October 11) season passes good at Sunday River, Loon Mountain, and Sugarloaf start at $410 for an adult Bronze Pass, $669 for an adult Silver Pass and $975 for an adult Gold Pass. College passes are also available for $339 through November 30.

Whaleback

Season passes are discounter 25% during the month of September with an Open House and “Dash for a Pass” on September 19 (rain date Sept 26th). Dash for a pass is a run to the top of the mountain with the winner in each category receiving a season pass. Whaleback also offers a $30 third grader pass, a $99 High School Honor and Achievement Pass, and a $99 College student pass all with no black out dates.

Wildcat Mountain

Wildcat season passes are on sale unto October 15, including the $349 Black cat Midweek Pass (valid Monday – Friday with 10 holiday blackout dates and every day until December 24, and after April 1.)

The $549 Adult 6-Day Pass is valid Sunday – Friday, Excludes Saturdays, No Black-Out Dates and every day early season until December 24 and after April 1.)

The $649 Adult Full Pass valid every day.

Wildcat Mountain also has NH College Breakout Season Pass ($259 if purchased before December 18) valid every day for the entire 2010/2011 season at Wildcat, Mount Sunapee, and Gunstock.

You can see all of Wildcat’s season pass deals here.

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

David Shedd — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:19:24 +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!

The Guns Of Attitash

David Shedd — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:47:16 +0000

The 3 musketeers, waiting to be deployed in battle (David Shedd photo)

After my experiences talking to snowmakers for the earlier” Fan Guns” article, it was time to get out and actually see them at work. And where better to do it than at Attitash, which in the last few years has put $3 million into snowmaking, virtually all of it with fan guns? Lucky for me, the head of snowmaking, Kevin Kasten, was willing to take me under his wing and show me the system.

First, some background on Kevin. He’s been in snowmaking since 1983, when he started with Peak Resorts down in Missouri. Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it…isn’t that one of those southern states where they eat crawfish and gumbo and sweat a lot? Well…it’s not quite that bad. The top of MO is about equal with the bottom of PA. But, it’s a big difference from New England temperatures. Concord, NH has a mean daily temperature of 21 degrees in January; Columbia, Missouri, 30 degrees. That’s awfully close to the freezing mark, and that’s the coldest month of the year for them. So, snowmaking has to be precise, efficient, focused, and take advantage of every bit of technology available. Kevin started using early fan guns back then, so he literally grew up in the business with them.

Since then, he’s done a lot of travelling with Peak…pretty much blanketing the country east of the Rockies. In addition, he spent time in the off-season up here down under teaching Australian ski areas how to use fan guns in their humid climate (and picking up some unusual tastes in beer and cookies along the way). Now, what’s the problem with humidity? Turns out that it’s the natural enemy of snowmaking.

The basic process of snowmaking is forcing cold water and cold air through nozzles, producing…well, slush. Ever skied through the output stream of a traditional snow gun? You’re soaking wet immediately, the stuff freezes to you, and you can’t see through your goggles until you scrape the junk off. Not fun. Add more humidity, and it’s even harder for the stuff to dry…making it icier and icier. That’s why really cold temperatures are good for traditional snowmaking; the air is drier, and more of it freezes into small pellets before it hits the slopes.

This is where fan guns, and particularly tower fan guns, separate themselves from the old guard. They use something called a “nucleator”, which produces a very fine pellet that freezes quickly. Those tiny frozen pellets are then shot through the stream coming out of the main nozzles, where they get coated with water that freezes over them, making a larger “snowflake”. Those “flakes” are then blown up and out of the gun at very high speeds. So, rather than starting with a fully wet mix, by the time the pellet leaves the gun it’s already partially frozen. Then, by blowing it up and out with high speed fans, it has more “hang time.” More time in the air means more time to dry out…and fine, relatively fluffy snow without even being groomed. Put that gun on top of a tower, and it throws the output 35 or 40 feet in the air, allowing it to spread out, dry, and land over a large area, rather than creating a mound of slush that has to be shoved around.

When I went out with Kevin, it wasn’t particularly cold…29 or 30 F. After he explained all of this stuff, he turned on the tower fan we were at. First things first…I felt like I was standing next to a 747. That fan is impressive. When he turned on the water, I was holding a non-waterproof video camera, and wanted to get the heck out of there before it got sluiced down and turned into an iceball. Turns out I needn’t have worried; under the fan gun, there was NO snow, slush, rain, anything. It was all going WAY over my head, and headed over the trail. So, Kevin and I took a walk out to the middle of the trail where it was all coming down. I tucked the camcorder partway into my jacket and turned my back to the gun to protect it from the wet snow as it came down…except there wasn’t any. What was landing on me was a fine, dry powder. Looking across the slope, it felt like one of those storms where it’s cold, cold, cold…you can see through the snow because the flakes are fine, but it piles up fast. And that’s exactly what the snow was like. Kevin stuck his arm out, and we watched the snow land on it…and then I tapped his sleeve, and it all fell off. And this was at temperatures where natural snow would likely be heavy and wet!

Kevin & Donny, cheerful but cold! (David Shedd photo)

As evening descended, I followed Kevin and his lieutenant, Donny, up the slope, where they set up each gun individually. Checking air temperature and humidity, they made adjustments to assure that the snow was of consistent quality. As it got darker and colder, I developed a greater respect for the dedication of snowmaking professionals; at Attitash and around the East, at mountain after mountain, this same scenario was probably being played out simultaneously…highly experienced and trained people working to assure us of the best skiing conditions that they can. After another hour or so, I headed off to a warm room and a good meal, but they soldiered on. Thanks, Kevin, Donny, and all the other snowmakers…I look forward to getting back out there and learning more about what you do!

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!

Make-A-Wish-On-Snow!

Tim Jones — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:40:41 +0000

Thanks to the New England ski industry and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire, Brendan got his wish . . . (Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire photo)

If you are reading this, you are probably wishing for more snow. Be patient, it’s coming.

But if you are really into seeing wishes come true, check out the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions. The stated goal of Make-A-Wish is “to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.” Most of these kids need all the joy, strength and hope they can get to help them though unimaginable times.

The ties between the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the New England ski industry are deep and profound. Did you know, for example, that every current “Wisher”

So did Rosie . . . (Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire photo)

from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts receives a VIP pass which entitles them and an accompanying adult to a full day on the slopes with lift tickets, rental equipment and lessons at one of 32 different resorts across New England. That’s offered with the cooperation of Ski NH, Ski Vermont, Ski Maine, and the New England Ski Areas Council.

Ski NH adopted the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire as its official charity four seasons ago. They donate $5 from every $20 Ski NH Fifth Grade Snowsports Passport directly to Make-A-Wish. On November 19, 2009 at the Ski NH Boston Media reception, Ski NH presented the Make-A-Wish

And "wisher," Michael (Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire photo)

Foundation of New Hampshire with a check for more than $10,000 from the winter 2008-09 passport sales. Over the past three seasons, Ski NH and families of fifth graders have donated more than $20,000 in total. That kind of money makes a lot of wishes come true—and some of those wishes are for time on the slopes.

Here’s a list of the participating ski resorts. Wish them a prosperous New Year the next time you visit:

Massachusetts : Ski Blandford ,
Ski Butternut, Catamount, Jiminy Peak, Nashoba Valley, Wachusett.

Maine : Black Mountain of Maine, Lost Valley, Mt. Abram, Saddleback, Shawnee Peak.
New Hampshire: Attitash, The Balsams, Black Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Cranmore Mountain Resort, Crotched Mountain, Dartmouth Skiway, Gunstock Mountain Resort, King Pine, Loon Mountain, Mount Sunapee, Pats Peak, Ragged Mountain, Waterville Valley, Wildcat Mountain.

Vermont: Bolton Valley, Burke Mountain, Jay Peak, Magic Mountain, Mount Snow, Okemo.