xlr8r
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2009
- Messages
- 947
- Points
- 43
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.
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.