Crotched Mountain NH 2/27-2/28

[andyaxa]

We just purchased the Spring Fling Family Benefit Pass. $1299 lets the five of us ski the rest of this season and all next season, plus 38% off of lessons and rentals. As a caveat here, my three young daughters and I are novice skiers (wife is better and accompanies us as the Family Ski Patrol). So I can't report too much on trails most people here ski.

Saturday, 2/27/2010
Crotched Mountain NH
Condtionsacked Powder/Powder

Coverage seemed really good after the rain, maybe 6" or more of new stuff. Arrived second row in the lot and after rentals were on the lift at about 9:30. Very quiet, as I think a lot of people were dealing with power outages and cleaning up. We headed up the double to do a little warmup on Super Nova. I think they groomed it but enough wet fluff had fallen after to really make it SLOW. Our youngest without poles was getting a bit angry and the twins' friend who boards did a lot of walking. So we rode the double up once more, x-country skied down half way and crossed over to the other side of the hill.

As the day progressed NCC1701, Galaxy, Big Dipper, Moon Walk, Milky Way, Velocity and Shooting Star were all packing down nicely with some sticky powder (if that's possible?) in places. There was plenty of snow in the Solstice Glade and the girls enjoyed that and the bumpy trails beside Galaxy and NC17. They also went off piste in the woods to the right of Galaxy (entering back on trail at the bottom of Big Dipper.) with their friend who has been there before but not for a while as coverage has been minimal. They reported a lot of "fluffy stuff" and their skis kept getting "buried" Not real powder hounds quite yet, they still had a blast.

Had a lunch break, skied some more, hot chocolate break and then a last few runs ending by cutting across Milky Way and back to Super Nova (to return rentals) Even at the end of the day it was still slow as it seemed to be snowing on and off all day. Big squall would come through and then the sun would try to break out. Throughout the day the falling snow was a mix of wet snow, dry snow and granular/frozen? One daughter likened that to crumbled up styrofoam.

All in all it was a great day. Visibility was tough towards 3:30-4:00. I really need some clear goggles. Never more than a few people in the lift lines. I suspect those skiing some of the steeper runs were having a good day in the powder.

Sunday, 2/28/2010
Crotched Mountain NH
Condtionsacked Powder

Arrived at about 12:30, just me and my daughters and two friends, so five girls 9 and under. Parking lot was jammed but all day long we were skiing right on the lifts or only waiting for a couple groups and none of the trails ever felt too congested. After rentals we all took the double up and skied half of Super Nova before cutting over. With grooming and traffic, it had firmed up a lot with virtually no skating on the flats. Even at about 1:30pm our usual mix of blues and green on the left side (facing up) of the mountain were in really good shape and by 4pm a few bolier plate spots were forming in the typical spots. Girls had a blast on the little bumpy trails beside NC17 and Galaxy, and the off piste trail the girls did the day before had firmed up and they could have stayed in there all day.

It worked out great as each of the twins paired up with a friend and our youngest little bomber stayed with me. Spending half the time as the day before, it seems like we got in as many runs. The far left quad seemed empty all day as most people stuck to the summit lift. Speaking of that far left quad...the first few times we took it last month were a little scary. The girls call it the black diamond dismount as it's a really steep offload (at least for us) First time one of the twins freaked, waited a little too long and got a lot of air. Stuck the landing perfectly, however!

Though we did not ski these areas, observation and talking to a few who did... The area Natural Terrain above the summit seemed to be skiing really nicely with the trail leading into NC17 forming some nice bumps. No rock scraping coming down on either side. The bumps to the side of Pluto's Plunge looked healthy and saw a number of people enjoying them. The park under the far left quad seemed to be in great shape and we watched a lot of people looking like they were having a ton of fun there.

We had one close call where the youngest was trying to traverse Galaxy to hop on the Big Dipper and a couple teen girls were straight-lining it down (on skis) like freight trains. Ran over the back of our 7 yr old's skis and took a huge digger. Our daughter was unscathed. The teen was very apologetic and after making sure everyone was okay I did explain (again) to our youngest (and so the teen could hear too) that the number one rule is always to ski in control, be able to stop and you're responsible for everything below you. She knows to look up and check when reentering a trail, but I explained that she also needed to be a little more aware and do the same when traversing a trail. NOW I really see why helmets are a good thing!

It was a super weekend of skiing for us all. Crotched is great for our family. Not sure how much it offers for the expert, but you can't beat the lift lines and it should provide a lot of pure enjoyment over the next few years for the family and the girls' friends. Best moment...night-time...girls had all been asleep for about an hour....went in to tuck in the twins and one of them sits up and says "Bumps"...head back on pillow...gave her a kiss good night and she sits bolt upright, still asleep..."Can I do the bumps, Dad?" Collapses back onto pillow. "Sure thing kiddo."

 

[Angus]

great place for novice skiers and given you live in area, it works well. I want try to get up one more time - Sunday AM at Windblown and the 2:30 close at Crotched.

 

[hammer]

We had one close call where the youngest was trying to traverse Galaxy to hop on the Big Dipper and a couple teen girls were straight-lining it down (on skis) like freight trains. Ran over the back of our 7 yr old's skis and took a huge digger. Our daughter was unscathed. The teen was very apologetic and after making sure everyone was okay I did explain (again) to our youngest (and so the teen could hear too) that the number one rule is always to ski in control, be able to stop and you're responsible for everything below you. She knows to look up and check when reentering a trail, but I explained that she also needed to be a little more aware and do the same when traversing a trail. NOW I really see why helmets are a good thing!

Was your daughter just skiing across the trail? If so then I don't see what the problem was...of course, skiing the entire trail width isn't a good idea in general, and it's best when your turns are somewhat predictable, but the bottom line is that the uphill skiers/riders need to yield.

When skiing on a green, people need to expect trail traversers...

 

[billski]

Was your daughter just skiing across the trail? If so then I don't see what the problem was...of course, skiing the entire trail width isn't a good idea in general, and it's best when your turns are somewhat predictable, but the bottom line is that the uphill skiers/riders need to yield.

When skiing on a green, people need to expect trail traversers...

It's getting very frustrating for my wife, who has regressed to a very timid stance when skiing. Saturday (at another area) was the second time she was rear-ended and knocked to the ground on a green, as she slowly traversed the hill. She must be the slowest upright skier on the trail. You can see her a mile away. The first time, she ended up in the ER with a concussion. I know it's hard to control these things; the sad part is that each collision makes her more tense and worried. She now spends her time worrying about falling and not at all about skiing. I offered to run interference from behind for her, but she declined.

 

[andyaxa]

She had just come off a few little bumps on the left of the main trail, made a few turns in the trail and was about 1/3 across the trail, when she tried to get to the other side. It can get a little trafficky in that area with the green coming down, a blue dropping to the right, the Soltice Glade emptying out on the left and just beyond the terrain park crossing at 90 degree angle. Bottom line... the teens should have been in control especially in that area. If they had reduced speed with just a few turns would have been fine. They knew it and couldn't apologize enough. They were good kids. Hopefully she got a good scare and will think next time. I just wanted my daughter to start thinking a little defensively and be aware that although technically the uphill skier does have to give way, you can't just cut across, especially as we start on some more advanced trails.

Worst part is I was on the other side, stopped and turned around just in time to see it all. Heart skipped a couple beats I can tell you.

 

[andyaxa]

Billski,
That stinks. Not fun when you have to worry about that rubbish. I try to run interference for the youngest, but since I've literally only skied a handful of times myself, I still need to concentrate more on what I'm doing. The wife is much better. I'm glad she didn't really get hit, 'cause it would have set her back (would me too) and she's come so far the last few outings.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I'm a big fan of Crotched Mt since it was resurrected from NELSAP by Peaks. Amazing snowmaking power for a small ski hill so great conditions are almost a sure thing. There are no plans in the future but it would be cool if they expanded to Bobcat. The only neg is they have a real ugly metal base lodge. Chris Bradford took alot of goof nature ribbing about it the last few years but he was promoted up to Mt Snow so it's someone else's bane to explain now. :wink:

You got a great deal, kudos for thinking ahead of the curve for your family.

 

[andyaxa]

Yah, that hangar/warehouse look hasn't really caught on yet. Would definitely be cool if Bobcat was resurrected and merged, but I'm assuming there wouldn't be enough traffic to support it. I was nosing around the NELSAP site. Really cool. Not being from New England I never knew so many hills existed.