billski
Active member
Balsams-Wilderness, December 22, 2010
[sorry, no photos, the camera was forgotten.]
(Continued trip from Black on Dec. 21).
Conditions:
Groomers
acked powder
Ungroomed: 12" pure fluff
Roads: Packed powder
Webcam: http://thebalsams.com/skiing_webcam
Since Balsams was one of the few areas I have never visited or collected the requisite souvenir pin, I decided to save Saddleback till the snowpack was deeper and more trails were open. Being the explorer that I am, Balsams was too convenient to pass up, especially off-season. When I cracked the plan, I had no idea this was to be their opening day.
I jumped into the ski-mobile and headed northward from the 13 mile woods toward Errol, in search of breakfast. Good God, 13 mile woods looks just as spectacular in the winter, as it hugs the mighty Androscoggin River. Logging trucks outnumber civies 10:1. The roads were snow-packed. The restaurant had a hand-written sign, closed until December 27th. (Beginning to sound like Alice’s Restaurant!) Well, I looked at the map, and there wasn’t a substantial enough village to support a restaurant for miles. So I headed west to Dixville Notch. As I rose toward the notch, the trees become coated in snow, and nearly everything was white. Road was more snow-packed. After I crested, there was the majestic Balsams Resort. Looks prettier in the winter than in the summer. I thought the slopes were a brief attachment to the resort and only intended to stay an hour or so. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
So I drove the winding drive-way to the resort. The snow-covered trees drooped down from both sides over the road like a honorary welcome. I was surprised to find the parking lot entirely empty. I parked in front. I walked the door, and a statesmanlike gentleman rushed to greet me, he in his suit, me in my sweats and hiking boots. He invited me in. Billski being Billski, I asked for a tour, in which he obliged. I passed the “men must wear jackets after 6PM” sign and strolled through the various rooms of the second floor, the solarium, the game room, the billards room, the dining room, and of course, the Ballot Room. I would venture to say that this hotel eclipses the Mt. Washington in terms of sheer elegance.
“We will take in our first guests starting tomorrow”. I said, “Can I get some breakfast?”, “Well, our restaurant is not open yet, but you can get breakfast at the ski slope”. Well, that’s where I’m going….
Anyways, enough, enough, where are the ski trails? I don’t see them. “Oh, they’re across the street.” “And you will be the first and only customer today.” Really? I excitedly drove down the road a half-mile, and sure enough, there was a sign as substantial as any east coast resort. I drove in about a half mile, and the mountain revealed itself. Little did I expect I would find and entirely free-standing ski area, quite physically disconnected from the main resort complex. I wish I had my camera, my words must suffice.
For starters, the parking lot, main lodge and slopes are all on the same level. No trudging over to the lift, a short downhill glide and you are there. The lodge structure was quite striking. A large, A-frame structure, about 3 stories high, steeply pitched to deflect the snows. Its architecture is timeless. It is not locked in a time-warp. The lodge centerpiece is the central fireplace, so wide you could lay in it, surrounded by, rocking chairs! The chimney soared three stories high, with huge moose heads on each of its four sides. The place was buzzing with people – all staff in various stages of training. There were dozens and dozens of instructors all getting the low-down on every operational detail. It reminded me of some old-time movie where all the mansion staff hurried things to completion. The bathrooms reminded me of top-flight rest rooms at the best of hotels.
I went to get my ticket at the desk, “I thought I would be the first on the mountain!”, the woman responded, “Those are staff, just getting a few turns in”. The tables are round, big thick wood tables with stools built into them. All the chairs are padded. Very nice. Everyone has a #1 view of the slopes.
“Am I the first paying customer?”,“Yes you are!”. $45 holiday, $40 regular. I had a breakfast sandwich, which was delicious – egg, real sliced sausage on English muffin, generous, delicious and reasonably priced.
I was parked no more than 20 paces from the ski racks, so down went the skis and inside to buckle up. Out to the skis, clicked in and glided to the triple chair. There were essentially 3 trails open that interested me, a black, a blue and a green. The mountain skis bigger than the stats might otherwise suggest. The trails are classic – narrow, sinuously making their way down the mountain. No straight shots anywhere. The blue and green skied like groomed butter. Lots of woods shots off of each, but the woods were simply not ready. Apparently ski patrol had a hay day roping off lots of good stuff. I saw some woods shots and track here and there, but for the most part stayed on the groomers all morning. The black trail (all open trails were off to skier’s right of the lift) was a bit icy – the cat had crunched up some earlier ice formations from the niar event. Most of the day, I shot down trails alone, nobody ahead of or behind me. It was ski-on lift day. The single-pole double was not running.
I lost count of the number of runs I did. I had toyed staying just an hour and shooting over to Saddleback, but I figured I would short-change both areas. Late in the day, the cats began whacking away at the whales on other closed trails. I suspect in a couple of weeks, this place will be skiing nearly wide-open.
Stopping for lunch, I had the most delicious Cheeseburger at a price less than those demanded at places like Stowe and Sugarbush.
The darling woman at the ski shop was very, very helpful, considerate and interesting. She helped me with my small purchases in a manner I am unaccustomed to. Again, I was the first customer. She told me to invite everyone in to buy something!
There is no pretension or exclusivity at the ski lodge. There is a laid-back air of civility, courtesy and consideration, which make this an island of relief in this mad, rush-rush place we call the northeast.
By the afternoon, some sleepy families appeared (hotel guests ski for free) and meandered onto the slopes. A handful of students showed up, seemingly a race team, perhaps from St. Anslems, though I am uncertain. I had inquired, hinted and suggested to patrol to open more stuff, I was dying looking at all this untracked stuff just asking to be skied.
Indeed, there was powder to be skied if you know where to look, per the Riverc0il School of Snow Navigation. 12” of pure, unadulterated joy. I suppose trails are closed because you still needed to vault the waterbars. C’est la vie. Unlike Riverc0il, I had no encounters of the alien kind, other than those I solicited. The leagues of patrol seem to have all sequestered into the patrol shack. Training was perhaps the agenda, but I suspect Cocoa and Schnapps were the main event.
There is another hill, behind the lodge, with its own lift, for rank beginners. Entirely segregated from us “speed demons”, you couldn’t ask for a better arrangement. They pride themselves on having no lines.
There are no boulevards here, only if you count the run outs at the bottom. The woods range from knurly to widely-spaced. They are marked and sanctioned. There was no consideration given for a terrain park or a half-pipe.
It snowed lightly the entire day. each trip on the lift left my parka with a good dusting. There was no wind, surprising for this north-facing slope.
The Balsams Wilderness has to go into the running for the “most scenic” award, which most often goes to Wildcat. You honestly feel like you are skiing in the wilderness. The name is apropos.
I search for a resort comparison, but come up short. Maybe Black, maybe Magic. But the parameters don’t match. Oh, a powder day at Balsams would be orgasmic. You can lodge a half-hour away on the cheap, drive over and have a great day of skiing. I can’t imagine spending a week here. Even two days in a row might be a bit much, for me, but maybe not others.
I had one “incident” that comes with being “first”. A bit of grease landed on my jacket from the chair. The management courteously and considerately said they would pay for the cleaning. If the cleaning did not work, they would buy me a new parka. They passed the integrity test.
I’ve known only one other couple who have skied there, and they said they had the place to themselves. Now that I’ve been, we’ll have to compare notes.
In summary, if you want to go skiing, and be treated first-class, go Balsams Wilderness. Absolutely everyone I encountered from the liftie, to the desk to the short order cook were kind, considerate, cheerful and helpful. These people had been trained and coached at a level way above what you find at any East Coast resort. Many of these people asked my name, and returned later to ask me (by name) how my day had been. Pretty amazing.
You’ll get the most from skiing here if you let yourself fully engage in the experience. If you want miles of leg burners, mogul fields, board parks, this is not your place. However, if you want to get out and ski in a majestic, remote area where the winters are cold and long, where the welcome is warm and appealing, this is your place. It takes a lot for Billski to pay full fare at a resort, but this was definitely a justifiable expense, especially on the tail of a $50 room.
I am planning to go back to Great Northern and ski at Saddleback, but may find a diversion to Balsams in the cards. Do it. It’s worth the drive.
[sorry, no photos, the camera was forgotten.]
(Continued trip from Black on Dec. 21).
Conditions:
Groomers
acked powderUngroomed: 12" pure fluff
Roads: Packed powder
Webcam: http://thebalsams.com/skiing_webcam
Since Balsams was one of the few areas I have never visited or collected the requisite souvenir pin, I decided to save Saddleback till the snowpack was deeper and more trails were open. Being the explorer that I am, Balsams was too convenient to pass up, especially off-season. When I cracked the plan, I had no idea this was to be their opening day.
I jumped into the ski-mobile and headed northward from the 13 mile woods toward Errol, in search of breakfast. Good God, 13 mile woods looks just as spectacular in the winter, as it hugs the mighty Androscoggin River. Logging trucks outnumber civies 10:1. The roads were snow-packed. The restaurant had a hand-written sign, closed until December 27th. (Beginning to sound like Alice’s Restaurant!) Well, I looked at the map, and there wasn’t a substantial enough village to support a restaurant for miles. So I headed west to Dixville Notch. As I rose toward the notch, the trees become coated in snow, and nearly everything was white. Road was more snow-packed. After I crested, there was the majestic Balsams Resort. Looks prettier in the winter than in the summer. I thought the slopes were a brief attachment to the resort and only intended to stay an hour or so. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
So I drove the winding drive-way to the resort. The snow-covered trees drooped down from both sides over the road like a honorary welcome. I was surprised to find the parking lot entirely empty. I parked in front. I walked the door, and a statesmanlike gentleman rushed to greet me, he in his suit, me in my sweats and hiking boots. He invited me in. Billski being Billski, I asked for a tour, in which he obliged. I passed the “men must wear jackets after 6PM” sign and strolled through the various rooms of the second floor, the solarium, the game room, the billards room, the dining room, and of course, the Ballot Room. I would venture to say that this hotel eclipses the Mt. Washington in terms of sheer elegance.
“We will take in our first guests starting tomorrow”. I said, “Can I get some breakfast?”, “Well, our restaurant is not open yet, but you can get breakfast at the ski slope”. Well, that’s where I’m going….
Anyways, enough, enough, where are the ski trails? I don’t see them. “Oh, they’re across the street.” “And you will be the first and only customer today.” Really? I excitedly drove down the road a half-mile, and sure enough, there was a sign as substantial as any east coast resort. I drove in about a half mile, and the mountain revealed itself. Little did I expect I would find and entirely free-standing ski area, quite physically disconnected from the main resort complex. I wish I had my camera, my words must suffice.
For starters, the parking lot, main lodge and slopes are all on the same level. No trudging over to the lift, a short downhill glide and you are there. The lodge structure was quite striking. A large, A-frame structure, about 3 stories high, steeply pitched to deflect the snows. Its architecture is timeless. It is not locked in a time-warp. The lodge centerpiece is the central fireplace, so wide you could lay in it, surrounded by, rocking chairs! The chimney soared three stories high, with huge moose heads on each of its four sides. The place was buzzing with people – all staff in various stages of training. There were dozens and dozens of instructors all getting the low-down on every operational detail. It reminded me of some old-time movie where all the mansion staff hurried things to completion. The bathrooms reminded me of top-flight rest rooms at the best of hotels.
I went to get my ticket at the desk, “I thought I would be the first on the mountain!”, the woman responded, “Those are staff, just getting a few turns in”. The tables are round, big thick wood tables with stools built into them. All the chairs are padded. Very nice. Everyone has a #1 view of the slopes.
“Am I the first paying customer?”,“Yes you are!”. $45 holiday, $40 regular. I had a breakfast sandwich, which was delicious – egg, real sliced sausage on English muffin, generous, delicious and reasonably priced.
I was parked no more than 20 paces from the ski racks, so down went the skis and inside to buckle up. Out to the skis, clicked in and glided to the triple chair. There were essentially 3 trails open that interested me, a black, a blue and a green. The mountain skis bigger than the stats might otherwise suggest. The trails are classic – narrow, sinuously making their way down the mountain. No straight shots anywhere. The blue and green skied like groomed butter. Lots of woods shots off of each, but the woods were simply not ready. Apparently ski patrol had a hay day roping off lots of good stuff. I saw some woods shots and track here and there, but for the most part stayed on the groomers all morning. The black trail (all open trails were off to skier’s right of the lift) was a bit icy – the cat had crunched up some earlier ice formations from the niar event. Most of the day, I shot down trails alone, nobody ahead of or behind me. It was ski-on lift day. The single-pole double was not running.
I lost count of the number of runs I did. I had toyed staying just an hour and shooting over to Saddleback, but I figured I would short-change both areas. Late in the day, the cats began whacking away at the whales on other closed trails. I suspect in a couple of weeks, this place will be skiing nearly wide-open.
Stopping for lunch, I had the most delicious Cheeseburger at a price less than those demanded at places like Stowe and Sugarbush.
The darling woman at the ski shop was very, very helpful, considerate and interesting. She helped me with my small purchases in a manner I am unaccustomed to. Again, I was the first customer. She told me to invite everyone in to buy something!
There is no pretension or exclusivity at the ski lodge. There is a laid-back air of civility, courtesy and consideration, which make this an island of relief in this mad, rush-rush place we call the northeast.
By the afternoon, some sleepy families appeared (hotel guests ski for free) and meandered onto the slopes. A handful of students showed up, seemingly a race team, perhaps from St. Anslems, though I am uncertain. I had inquired, hinted and suggested to patrol to open more stuff, I was dying looking at all this untracked stuff just asking to be skied.
Indeed, there was powder to be skied if you know where to look, per the Riverc0il School of Snow Navigation. 12” of pure, unadulterated joy. I suppose trails are closed because you still needed to vault the waterbars. C’est la vie. Unlike Riverc0il, I had no encounters of the alien kind, other than those I solicited. The leagues of patrol seem to have all sequestered into the patrol shack. Training was perhaps the agenda, but I suspect Cocoa and Schnapps were the main event.
There is another hill, behind the lodge, with its own lift, for rank beginners. Entirely segregated from us “speed demons”, you couldn’t ask for a better arrangement. They pride themselves on having no lines.
There are no boulevards here, only if you count the run outs at the bottom. The woods range from knurly to widely-spaced. They are marked and sanctioned. There was no consideration given for a terrain park or a half-pipe.
It snowed lightly the entire day. each trip on the lift left my parka with a good dusting. There was no wind, surprising for this north-facing slope.
The Balsams Wilderness has to go into the running for the “most scenic” award, which most often goes to Wildcat. You honestly feel like you are skiing in the wilderness. The name is apropos.
I search for a resort comparison, but come up short. Maybe Black, maybe Magic. But the parameters don’t match. Oh, a powder day at Balsams would be orgasmic. You can lodge a half-hour away on the cheap, drive over and have a great day of skiing. I can’t imagine spending a week here. Even two days in a row might be a bit much, for me, but maybe not others.
I had one “incident” that comes with being “first”. A bit of grease landed on my jacket from the chair. The management courteously and considerately said they would pay for the cleaning. If the cleaning did not work, they would buy me a new parka. They passed the integrity test.
I’ve known only one other couple who have skied there, and they said they had the place to themselves. Now that I’ve been, we’ll have to compare notes.
In summary, if you want to go skiing, and be treated first-class, go Balsams Wilderness. Absolutely everyone I encountered from the liftie, to the desk to the short order cook were kind, considerate, cheerful and helpful. These people had been trained and coached at a level way above what you find at any East Coast resort. Many of these people asked my name, and returned later to ask me (by name) how my day had been. Pretty amazing.
You’ll get the most from skiing here if you let yourself fully engage in the experience. If you want miles of leg burners, mogul fields, board parks, this is not your place. However, if you want to get out and ski in a majestic, remote area where the winters are cold and long, where the welcome is warm and appealing, this is your place. It takes a lot for Billski to pay full fare at a resort, but this was definitely a justifiable expense, especially on the tail of a $50 room.
I am planning to go back to Great Northern and ski at Saddleback, but may find a diversion to Balsams in the cards. Do it. It’s worth the drive.
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