Crotched - December 20, 2003

[Joshua B]

December 20, 2003
Crotched, Francestown, NH
About what I expected from an opening day

As my dad and I pulled into the lot at Crotched this afternoon, the wooly-bearded attendent asked us, "Are we ready yet?" He knew we'd only been waiting for about 13 years to get a chance to ski Crotched.

The huge new lodge was spacious and clean, both downstairs and upstairs.




Yeah right!

They had hoped to open around noon today. The main quad was turning but people were waiting in line. Finally at about 12:45, a patroller explained that the ski patrol were going to take a ride up, then ski down and make sure the grooming and trails were free from hazards. In this next pic, the crowd is watching for the patrollers to ski down and declare Crotched officially ready to ski.



Skiing finally got underway around 1. There were only four ways down and the conditions varied from hardpack to packed powder with some death cookies mixed in. Aside from Galaxy/Big Dipper which has some nice turns and is the left-most trail, the others were straight up and down slopes. Magnitude (under the quad on the far left), Meteor, and Pluto's Plunge (under the main quad).

Although the main quad does not go to the very top of the mountain, it is rumored that the t bar (which serviced expert terrain in the old days) will open again. If that ever happens, it would reach the true summit. Looking up at the summit, there are a couple interesting visible trails that are partially cleared. And yes, the t bar is still there. You can see it from the top of the left-most quad. My fingers are crossed but I'm not holding my breath.

The terrain park is on the Zero-G slope, in front of the lodge. The only way to access it was to head down Pluto's Plunge and take a sharp left 2/3s of the way down, then traverse over to Zero-G via a connecting trail.

We skied until about 4:15. Here are some shots as night was coming and the lights were on.





Overall, a good experience and I left with the feeling that there's a lot to like about Crotched.

Random thoughts:

The level of the skiing and riding was far above what I expected at Crotched, especially for opening day--a high percentage of expert snowriders.

There are no trail signs yet.

If you're tall, you'll have trouble getting your skis up on the footrest on the main quad. Also, the chairs run too close to the lower towers, so be very careful that your skis are not pointing outward as you struggle to get up on the footrest. Same for your poles.

The unloading station is dangerous. Just before the wooden unloading area, there are rocks that you can easily scrape on if you don't keep your skis level. The wooden exit ramp is too high. Keep those ski tips up, but not too high or you'll scrape on the rocks below.

The lifties were friendly and took charge of the lines. Most chairs had three or four people on board so there was never a wait, after the initial one hour delay of course.

The terrain over by the double chair (near the condos) looks interesting--far more interesting than the straight up and down slopes that were open today.

Cafeteria prices are a bit expensive--$4.50 for a cheeseburger. Although my dad had a good experience. He went to buy an apple juice. They didn't have any so the employee offered him fresh apple cider from a jug in the back. He filled a cup and charged him $1.50.

[riverc0il]

excellent report!

your second picture suggests to me that the person running the lodge needs a flipping clue! you can push people towards the cafe, but don't piss off me and my brown bagging friends!

i debated doing crotch today, but needed a fix bad so i hit burke today. insanity ensured.

glad to see all seems to be well with crotch's opening aside from the late start! i'll hit it up later in the season when it's 100% open.

Great report! Thanks!

It is great to get another ski area in southern NH close enough to us folks in central Ma.

[Greg]

Great report as usual, Josh. The pics really help. Keep 'em coming!

[Joshua B]

Steve, I wish you had made it to Crotched. Jeremy Davis was hoping the same. How was Burke? They seem to be in great shape.

Another random thought...

From the new Crotched brochure: "Misuse of skiing/snowboarding privileges will result in a $50 administration fee and is cause for prosecution."

[James Michaud]

The lodge is as ugly as people said it was. Looks like a Home Depot.

No pix of the trails?

>>> "Misuse of skiing/snowboarding privileges will result in a $50 administration fee and is cause for prosecution." <<<

Nice thought, but it'll never happen. First, they'ld actually have to FIND Mommy or Daddy cause you know the punk don't have a dime, then, they'ld find out what the school systems already found out.. Mommy and Daddy don't care, as long as you be their TM (teenage monster) sitter for the day.

If Wachusett actully tried to enforce this rule, they'ld lose half their paying customers.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by riverc0il

your second picture suggests to me that the person running the lodge needs a flipping clue! you can push people towards the cafe, but don't piss off me and my brown bagging friends!

Re-read the sign. It says, "No Coolers or Picnic baskets allowed in Dining Room". Technically, it doesn't say anything about brown-bagging it. Based on the second sentence about bags and personal items, I'm reading this sign as an effort to keep people from having to trip over bulky items such as bootbags and coolers while using the dining room. Just my inteptretation...