Crotched Mountain 12/26/2006

[tcharron]

Date(s) Skied:
12/26/2006
Resort or Ski Area:
Crotched Mountain
Conditions:
Wet Loose Granular
Trip Report:

After fighting the weather tooth and nail to TRY to plan a day at Crotched, we packed up our skis and headed up despite a night of rain and morning misting. The snow was wet, but the groomers did a good job at keeping the snow in good shape. Few spots on the open trails had some slush/brown spots, but nearly all open trails where very decent shape, rain considering. Crotched still only has 35-40% of their trails open, and the terrain parks are suffering from the lack of snow, but at least a quarter of one of them is usable via the man-made snow they've managed to keep up.

On a side note, decided to take my oldest son up the lift on his snowboard for the very first time. The loose wet snow made slower controlled runs for him easier, and since it wasn't very busy he could get a feel for a steeper hill. After 2 or three runs, he had a feel for the hill and wasn't as scared.

Weather seems to indicate snowmaking conditions this week, so hopefully they can get a good cover on the majority of the mountain by year end, and thus, more happy sking for me!

 

[Angus]

Date(s) Skied:
12/26/2006
Resort or Ski Area:
Crotched Mountain
Conditions:
Wet Loose Granular
Trip Report:

The snow was wet, but the groomers did a good job at keeping the snow in good shape. Few spots on the open trails had some slush/brown spots, but nearly all open trails where very decent shape, rain considering. Crotched still only has 35-40% of their trails open, and the terrain parks are suffering from the lack of snow, but at least a quarter of one of them is usable via the man-made snow they've managed to keep up.

this reflects the many positive experiences people have had here. I was skiing here the first week of April last year with deep snow covering the trails to the sides of the trails - this year, the coverage is impressive given their southern proximity. may take daughter there this weekend for a 1/2 day.

 

[tcharron]

this reflects the many positive experiences people have had here. I was skiing here the first week of April last year with deep snow covering the trails to the sides of the trails - this year, the coverage is impressive given their southern proximity. may take daughter there this weekend for a 1/2 day.

Aye, last week while they where making snow, I went after work, think I filed a trip report on it. Awesome skiing thru a man-made blizzard.

 

[thetrailboss]

FWIW I'm in the flatlands right now....Worcester, MA to be exact and it is cold out there. Snowing at one time today as well!!!! :beer: Guess who is returning to the slopes tomorrow?

 

[snowmonster]

Thanks for the trip report, tcharron. I need to hit a hill close to Boston tomorrow and was choosing between Crotched and Wachusett. Your report just tipped the scale. The Crotched website says they're making snow tonight and the weather report looks pretty good. Hoping for a great day on snow tomorrow!

 

[Zand]

FWIW I'm in the flatlands right now....Worcester, MA to be exact and it is cold out there. Snowing at one time today as well!!!! :beer: Guess who is returning to the slopes tomorrow?

You down here for a few days? I'm going to Wawa Friday night. As for tomorrow, I'm headed to Stratton.

 

[mckay]

I skied Crotched on the night of the 26th, then Sunapee yesterday. Crotched was far, far better. I went with a friend who lives in California who grew up here but generally skis out west. He was very impressed with Crotched. It was slightly wet groomed granular. Great for carving. Just a little bit of ice and/or clumps.

Sunapee yesterday was horrible. If I'd known about their raincheck deal I most definitely would have taken advantage of it. It was mobbed with really only 2 trails open from the top. The snow was very heavy and very bumped up everywhere. It was overcast, so hard to see where the bumps were.

Crotched, though much smaller, actually had 3 full trails from the top open. A green, a blue, and a black. Much less crowded, much smoother trails. I agree with my friend who said that until we get a dump we should stick with Crotched.

 

[tcharron]

I skied Crotched on the night of the 26th, then Sunapee yesterday. Crotched was far, far better. I went with a friend who lives in California who grew up here but generally skis out west. He was very impressed with Crotched. It was slightly wet groomed granular. Great for carving. Just a little bit of ice and/or clumps.

Crotched, though much smaller, actually had 3 full trails from the top open. A green, a blue, and a black. Much less crowded, much smoother trails. I agree with my friend who said that until we get a dump we should stick with Crotched.

Personally, I'm stoked that they'll be doing their midnight madness nights starting tommorow night. Haven't seen it yet, but they supposedly made a crapton of snow last night, and will be making another crapload (yes, *2* craploads) tonight.

If we're lucky, 80% will be open by this weekend, and I can be an even happier camper.

 

[mckay]

Personally, I'm stoked that they'll be doing their midnight madness nights starting tommorow night. Haven't seen it yet, but they supposedly made a crapton of snow last night, and will be making another crapload (yes, *2* craploads) tonight.

If we're lucky, 80% will be open by this weekend, and I can be an even happier camper.

I just started skiing last year and I am thanking my lucky stars to have Crotched 1/2 hour from my home. Without it I'd be dealing with the throngs at Pats or driving even further and paying more. I'm definitely going to try to get up there again this week.

 

[tcharron]

I just started skiing last year and I am thanking my lucky stars to have Crotched 1/2 hour from my home. Without it I'd be dealing with the throngs at Pats or driving even further and paying more. I'm definitely going to try to get up there again this week.

Same boat here! I pushed for a season pass this year, so the 4 of us (2 adults, 2 kids) could go whenever we wanted. It was a bit of an investment at 1,000$, but we've figured out, so far, we would have spent about 350$ so far. Not a bad investment, 1/3rd paid for itself so far, and it hasn't even snowed yet!

I want to know if they're planning on opening up the extended trail areas up top. Rumor had it that they cleared out the new trails in the summer.

 

[mckay]

I think they are going to open the new trail they cut running parallel to the upper part of Galaxy this season. The other trails are from the true summit. I saw somewhere that they want to extend the current summit lift to reach the true summit. Hopefully that will happen soon.

I do have one big complaint with Crotched. They want season pass holders who have children under the age of 6 to pay $50 extra for a season pass for the the kid. Even if the kid will only be using the magic carpet, and even though every ski area is free for children under 6 and many have learning areas that are free for everyone. Bretton Woods, for example has a lift-serviced learning slope that is free for everyone all the time.

I know it's hard to make money in this business, but this policy seems awfully petty to me. I have emailed Peak Resorts about it, haven't heard back.

 

[Angus]

I went a few years back to a midnight madness session and really enjoyed it. Not that there are ever any lines but it was lap after lap - except after 12:30AMish, you start to try to catch catnaps on the way up on the chair! I left at 2 and was in bed about 45 minutes later - next day I was totally wiped out - try to arrange so you can sleep 'til noon!

The mountain report said they were blowing snow last night on 90% of the mountain. Should be good.

 

[tcharron]

I think they are going to open the new trail they cut running parallel to the upper part of Galaxy this season. The other trails are from the true summit. I saw somewhere that they want to extend the current summit lift to reach the true summit. Hopefully that will happen soon.

Yea, I'd read about it somewhere, but I have no idea where. I believe it's actually a recut of one of the OLD Crotched Mtn trails, but I didn't happen to notice any connections having been cut onto Galaxy itself.

I do have one big complaint with Crotched. They want season pass holders who have children under the age of 6 to pay $50 extra for a season pass for the the kid. Even if the kid will only be using the magic carpet, and even though every ski area is free for children under 6 and many have learning areas that are free for everyone. Bretton Woods, for example has a lift-serviced learning slope that is free for everyone all the time.

I know it's hard to make money in this business, but this policy seems awfully petty to me. I have emailed Peak Resorts about it, haven't heard back.

Chris Bradford would probrably be able to address the question alot better. He's the local guy who lives in the area and would have less of a 'Hey, who's this guy up in NH asking us about one of our mountains prices?'. ;-) While the 50$ isn't much, it does seem kind of silly. It also doesn't make sense that NON SEASON PASS HOLDERS don't have to pay extra money. I'd bet if you pick up your lift ticket, and then later go BACK to the window and say 'I want to bring my 5 year old', they wouldn't charge you. ;-)

I didn't even notice that discrepency untill you mentioned it, my youngest is only 18 months, but it will make a difference to me next year.

 

[tcharron]

I know it's hard to make money in this business, but this policy seems awfully petty to me. I have emailed Peak Resorts about it, haven't heard back.

I went ahead and took the liberty of emailing Crotched directly and asking them the same question, and pointing them to this thread. I couldn't for the life of me find Chris's email. If I get a response, I'll post the results, but hopefully they can address it directly.

 

[mckay]

I appreciate your help, but I have already discussed this via email with Chris. He told me not to worry, it was more of an honor system thing. If you have 5 year old twins who are riding the lifts every weekend you should be willing to pay a little extra. If your taking your 3 year old to the magic carpet don't worry about it.

That all sounds great, but here's the problem -- When I took my daughter up there a couple of weeks ago I was told by the guy at the window that Chris is not the owner of the resort and the owners have instructed them to make no exceptions. All season ticket holders with small children MUST pay the $50. He told me he would make an exception this one time.

It isn't the dollar amount that bothers me, I just think it's a bad policy. That's why I emailed Peak Resorts directly.

 

[tcharron]

I appreciate your help, but I have already discussed this via email with Chris. He told me not to worry, it was more of an honor system thing. If you have 5 year old twins who are riding the lifts every weekend you should be willing to pay a little extra. If your taking your 3 year old to the magic carpet don't worry about it.

That all sounds great, but here's the problem -- When I took my daughter up there a couple of weeks ago I was told by the guy at the window that Chris is not the owner of the resort and the owners have instructed them to make no exceptions. All season ticket holders with small children MUST pay the $50. He told me he would make an exception this one time.

It isn't the dollar amount that bothers me, I just think it's a bad policy. That's why I emailed Peak Resorts directly.

LOL, that's horrible. Next year I'll just put my youngest directly on the season pass as you can have I believe up to a maximum of 5 family members, and see what kind of trouble THAT causes. What seems worst about it is that the policy literally gives something to non season pass holders that is unavailable to season pass holders. Then they throw in free hot chocolate and the such. Hell, lemme PAY for the hot chocolate, and then NOT have to pay the 50$. ;-)

After what the guy at the counter said, I'd say Chris needs to have some conversations to get their story strait. Based on what Chris apperently has said, perhaps they should change the policy to say 'Any children under 6 OVER one child requires an additional 50$ fee'. ;-)

 

[JimG.]

They want season pass holders who have children under the age of 6 to pay $50 extra for a season pass for the the kid. Even if the kid will only be using the magic carpet, and even though every ski area is free for children under 6 and many have learning areas that are free for everyone. Bretton Woods, for example has a lift-serviced learning slope that is free for everyone all the time.

Hunter isn't free for kids under 6...$20 for a season pass. I don't think it's petty.

And I'm not aware of any ski area besides BW that offers a free learning area...beginners are 75% of a ski area's ski school lessons and I find it hard to believe that many would forego all that lift ticket money. The discount for beginners is built into the lesson/rental/lift ticket combo.

 

[mckay]

Hunter isn't free for kids under 6...$20 for a season pass. I don't think it's petty.

And I'm not aware of any ski area besides BW that offers a free learning area...beginners are 75% of a ski area's ski school lessons and I find it hard to believe that many would forego all that lift ticket money. The discount for beginners is built into the lesson/rental/lift ticket combo.

So you think season ticket holders should be required to pay extra for the right to bring their 3 year old over to the magic carpet? I don't have a problem with asking for extra if the child is actually riding a chair lift up the mountain. But just to basically play around in the snow? Silly.

The guy at the window argued that because I have a season pass I am skiing for a discounted rate and the free under 6 policy is "with an adult purchasing a full price lift ticket". But, if I didn't have the season pass, I wouldn't be skiing at Crotched anywhere near as often as I do. So they would be getting less money from me overall.

I think the policy should be that you need to pay up for your little ones only if they can actually ski. Requiring me to pay so my daughter can coast around in the bunny area (which is tiny at Crotched), is, in my humble opinion, a bad policy and very petty. Really, how much revenue is this going to generate vs. ill will? I'm not the only person who finds this silly.

Furthermore, I teach at one of the largest high schools in NH. I am exactly the kind of customer any ski area would want singing it's praises. I have over 200 different teenagers in my classroom every year. That's a whole lot of word-of-mouth advertising just one person can generate. I tell people all the time how great the conditions and trails are, but lately I've been telling them about this silly policy too and that is not good for Crotched. Again, the $50 is nothing in the grand scheme of skiing expenses, it's just a bad policy and that bothers me.

 

[JimG.]

So you think season ticket holders should be required to pay extra for the right to bring their 3 year old over to the magic carpet? I don't have a problem with asking for extra if the child is actually riding a chair lift up the mountain. But just to basically play around in the snow? Silly.

The guy at the window argued that because I have a season pass I am skiing for a discounted rate and the free under 6 policy is "with an adult purchasing a full price lift ticket". But, if I didn't have the season pass, I wouldn't be skiing at Crotched anywhere near as often as I do. So they would be getting less money from me overall.

I think the policy should be that you need to pay up for your little ones only if they can actually ski. Requiring me to pay so my daughter can coast around in the bunny area (which is tiny at Crotched), is, in my humble opinion, a bad policy and very petty. Really, how much revenue is this going to generate vs. ill will? I'm not the only person who finds this silly.

Furthermore, I teach at one of the largest high schools in NH. I am exactly the kind of customer any ski area would want singing it's praises. I have over 200 different teenagers in my classroom every year. That's a whole lot of word-of-mouth advertising just one person can generate. I tell people all the time how great the conditions and trails are, but lately I've been telling them about this silly policy too and that is not good for Crotched. Again, the $50 is nothing in the grand scheme of skiing expenses, it's just a bad policy and that bothers me.

I understand your feelings.

Skiing is a business though...consider that if you were to allow kids under 6 to ski for free because they don't really know how to ski, what do you say to the adult beginner who can't ski? Should they ski free too? Because you know someone would make that an issue.

And what would stop parents from bringing their under 6 year olds who can ski from going to the magic carpet area, taking a run, then sneaking off to ski the rest of the mountain for free? You know that would happen too.

There are a number of liability issues that need to be considered too. If you just let folks ski for free, there is no tacit acceptance of the risks of skiing. You know, the ghost language on the lift ticket nobody ever reads. Someone gets hurt skiing for free, do you think they will resist a lawsuit because it was free? No way, they'll blame the mountain and claim they were never informed of the risks. Without a sales receipt, the mountain has no recourse.

I upsell my home hill, Hunter, alot too. I do so because I love the place and want others to share. Never got a dime for it either. I pay for my season pass, my wife, and 2 older boys in addition to my youngest son's $20 pass. And I honestly don't feel it is petty.

 

[mckay]

I understand your feelings.

Skiing is a business though...consider that if you were to allow kids under 6 to ski for free because they don't really know how to ski, what do you say to the adult beginner who can't ski? Should they ski free too? Because you know someone would make that an issue.

And what would stop parents from bringing their under 6 year olds who can ski from going to the magic carpet area, taking a run, then sneaking off to ski the rest of the mountain for free? You know that would happen too.

There are a number of liability issues that need to be considered too. If you just let folks ski for free, there is no tacit acceptance of the risks of skiing. You know, the ghost language on the lift ticket nobody ever reads. Someone gets hurt skiing for free, do you think they will resist a lawsuit because it was free? No way, they'll blame the mountain and claim they were never informed of the risks. Without a sales receipt, the mountain has no recourse.

I upsell my home hill, Hunter, alot too. I do so because I love the place and want others to share. Never got a dime for it either. I pay for my season pass, my wife, and 2 older boys in addition to my youngest son's $20 pass. And I honestly don't feel it is petty.

I respectfully disagree wth you. At Crotched everyone must go get a lift ticket, even season ticket holders. Kids can't sneak onto the regular lifts because they check to see if you have a lift ticket, they could issue a different one for the bunny area like Bretton Woods does. If they are concerned about liability, charge $1 for the kids pass. Adults who learn to ski almost always get a sweet deal for that first time out. I did at Crotched last year. $59 for a ticket a lesson and rentals.

I'm not saying I should be compensated for my word of mouth advertising, I'm just saying that they should do whatever they can to ensure all positive word of mouth. And regarding the fact that Bretton Woods may be the only free learning area around. . . name another mountain that has enjoyed as much success as BW over the last 10 years or so. They have expanded terrain, brought in Bode Miller, offer one of the longest seasons around, are getting national recognition, and are packed all the time. One of the reasons for this is that they have fantastic word of mouth.