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Loon 3.8.14

xlr8r

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Feb 7, 2009
Messages
945
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Location: Loon
Date: March 8th, 2014
Conditions: Machine groomed, Spring
Weather: Partly Cloudy to start, then Sunny midday, Overcast at the end.

I know it seems like an odd choice based on its crowded reputation, but I decided to go to Loon on Saturday over other places such as Cannon, Ragged, Sunapee, and Gunstock. I knew I had to be there first thing to beat the crowds, so I woke up at 5:45, on the road 5 minutes later, and arrived at the still mostly empty Pemigewasset lot at 8:05. By 8:15 I was on the Lincoln Express.

The groomers on South Peak were supreme first thing in the morning. It had been a long time (couple of years) since I had skied fresh corduroy that skied that good. I was able to get 8 runs in on South Peak before the crowds arrived shortly before 10:00. Next I took the Tote quad over and made my way over to the East Basin chair as it was still empty, but North Peak Express had a line. Did a run down Angel Street which was nice, but not as well groomed as the trails on South Peak. Then I did about 5 laps off North Peak which had about a 5-10 minute long singles line. Flume was better than Walking Boss as it had much less traffic on it, but both were getting scraped down quickly. By 11:15 after 14 runs, I was ready for an early lunch at Camp III to again beat the crowds.

After Lunch, I moved over to the Kancamagus Express, which surprisingly was nearly ski on in the singles line. The conditions on this part of the mountain were spring like as the sun was fully out of the clouds at this time of the day. This made for some hero carving down trails like Rampasture, Lower Picked Rock, and my personal favorite Blue Ox. After about 10 runs there, I did the only glade run of the day on Scaler, which wasn't that great, and I finally took a ride on the gondola, which did have a really long line. I was getting pretty tired at this point so I had a quick break in the summit lodge. After coming out of the lodge, the weather had completely changed to overcast and windy, making it feel at least 10-15 degrees colder out. I just did a couple more runs off North Peak and South Peak, but the conditions now were much firmer due to the weather change. I called it a day after 30 runs total at 3:15.

So it is possible to get a lot of skiing in at Loon on a Saturday. 30 runs and over 40,000 vertical feet I think proves that. Plus the conditions were excellent as far as grooming is concerned. If there was fresh snow I would have gone to Cannon or Ragged. But based on the lack of snowfall recently, Loon ended up being a great choice for skiing groomers all day.
 

mlkrgr

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Jan 18, 2010
Messages
460
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Wow; you rally hit Loon very lucky for a Saturday especially w/ no singles line at the Kanc.
 

hammer

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Apr 28, 2004
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Location
flatlands of Mass.
Good to see that you managed to avoid some of the lines. Hoping to go next weekend but if we go we will be there on Sunday. As much as I'd like to head out early we never get up there much before 9-9:30. :???:

Would like to be able to get off the groomed for some variety, hoping this week's storm will help.
 

mlkrgr

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Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
460
Points
18
Good to see that you managed to avoid some of the lines. Hoping to go next weekend but if we go we will be there on Sunday. As much as I'd like to head out early we never get up there much before 9-9:30. :???:

Would like to be able to get off the groomed for some variety, hoping this week's storm will help.

A good option if your close enough to Woburn, Boston, or Braintree, hop on the Nacski bus. Nap on the bus and let someone else do all of the driving. The earliness of the arrival time allows you to get a few uncrowded runs in before 9 am. They are going to Loon this Sunday, and you can use promo code HAXNS to get the trip for $67, a $14 savings per ticket (plus the wear and tear and gas on your car). Register separate accounts for anyone you go with so you can redeem the promo code for your whole group and everyone can collect the $3 in frequent skier points for filling out the post trip survey. www.nacski.com/mr/register.aspx?id=MA80873413&r=ma-bos

 

MadMadWorld

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Jan 10, 2012
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Location
Leominster, MA
I loathe Loon because of the lines and the terrain really doesn't motivate me enough to wait. Glad you had a good day though!
 

xlr8r

Active member
Joined
Feb 7, 2009
Messages
945
Points
43
Good to see that you managed to avoid some of the lines. Hoping to go next weekend but if we go we will be there on Sunday. As much as I'd like to head out early we never get up there much before 9-9:30. :???:

Would like to be able to get off the groomed for some variety, hoping this week's storm will help.

If you go, I would try to make the effort to get there first thing in the morning. The fresh cord on Saturday was excellent, but it was gone at South Peak by 10am. I suspect the main mountain was skied out even faster, because things were scraped up on my first run on the main mountain. Also if you get there early park at South Peak. The lot there is right next to the lodge, however it is small and filled up fast. For now on when I ski Loon I will start my day at South Peak as it always offers uncrowded skiing to start and end the day. Most people start at the main mountain and head over to South Peak midday.

Avoid the Gondola, I only rode it once because I wanted to check out Scaler which forces you to go to the Octagon Base. But otherwise the Gondola, and Octagon Base area is to be avoided, and not needed to fully enjoy Loon. I basically did about 10 runs at each of North Peak, South Peak, and Kancamagus.
 
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