After recent experiences our correspondents had at a couple of smaller resorts, Black Mountain and Mt. Abram, with a longer day of skiing planned we decided it was time to move it up a notch. But with Susan trying out a new pair of ski boots, we also didn’t want to push things too hard…even when they feel right, after a few runs there’s always adjustments to be made, and you don’t want to be doing that on a bumped-up double diamond! And, January Thaw skiing with thin cover, scratchy spots, and all that means a “blue” can feel like a “black.”

Cranmore Mountain seemed perfect; large enough, long enough runs to allow mid-run adjustments with immediate feedback, and enough steeps that, if she felt comfortable with the new boots, she could push them a little harder. Plus, Cranmore’s snowmaking operations have given us great conditions in the past; with the rain we had the previous week, some fresh stuff on top would give her something to dig our edges into.

While Cranmore’s a larger, busier mountain than some we’ve been skiing, you wouldn’t know it from the parking lot. A Saturday in January, and we parked in the lot closest to the lodge at 9:00. Have to love that! The lifts run from virtually the same level as the parking lot, too, so it’s an easy walk to drop the skis and head into the lodge. About 15 minutes from pulling in, and we were putting on our skis and getting in line.

The line, amazingly enough, was short; on a Saturday in January, that’s a shock. But looking up the mountain, it was easy to see why, With the hill almost entirely shrouded in fog, many skiers had simply stayed home. As we rode up, the fog got thicker…and thicker…and at the top, we could barely see the brand new Schneider Triple off to our right. Straight ahead, the East Slope trails were totally obscured; time to head back down the frontside!

We headed down Kandahar to Bandit, then down Lower Arlberg. Conditions were great, but it was clear from the amount of traffic hitting those trails that it wouldn’t be too long before we started getting scratchy spots. Second run, we worked our way around to North Slope; same thing.  Hmm.

Back at the top, we decided to take a look over at the East Slope again.  Schneider looked great…all 10 feet of it that we could see. Still, maybe the fog would thin out as we went down, as it did on the rest of the mountain.  Worth a try, since virtually nobody was using it.

Jackpot!!! About 5 turns down, the fog virtually disappeared. It was almost like all of the fog from the frontside was concentrated in the first 50 yards of the backside. Multiple runs down Schneider, Artist Falls, Jimmy’s Run, and Upper Beginner’s Luck brought us to the Schneider Triple over and over…with NO lines, period. With no traffic, Susan was getting the feel of her new boots and doing the best skiing I’d seen from her yet. We started eyeing Koessler on the ride up; bumps didn’t look TOO bad on it. Sure, why not?

Deciding to brave the fog on the east side of things was the smartest decision we’d made all day; moving over to Koessler was almost as good. Conditions were wonderful; enough snow on top of hardpack to get edges into, not enough to make huge bumps that our middle aged knees couldn’t deal with.  The final, steep pitch down to the intersection with Jimmy’s was a blast; enough piles of mashed potatoes to keep us on our toes (or edges), with the scratchiness between piles not hard enough to keep our edges out. Perfect conditions for testing how balanced you are on your skis, and perfect for Susan to learn to adapt to the new boots.

By 2:00, the fog had started to lift, and more skiers were discovering “our” trails. Our legs were feeling the run-after-run we’d been getting in, thanks to that wonderful new lift. The Schneider Triple replaces the old double, and gives summit access, so no more long runout to the base to get back to the top! With the new lift, Cranmore’s entered into another world; it’s still not exactly a big gnarly mountain, but there’s plenty of fun terrain with, finally, fast and easy access to some great terrain on the East side.

Headed home, we were sure of three things. One, we were right that Cranmore’s snowmaking would give us a good day even after a rotten weather week. Two, the array of terrain is great for beginner-to-intermediate and intermediate-to-expert skiers; it’s easy to transition from an easier trail to a harder one without having to go TOO far up in difficulty. And three, the Schneider Triple has made the place a LOT more fun; skiers who want more of a challenge can head over there and never leave, and that frees up the other slopes for people who want to enjoy them without nutcase-types zooming through them to get to the base. Bravo, Cranmore!