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Pats peak new area- Cascade Basin

xwhaler

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The new glade could be interesting though the trails should be more suited to beginners/low intermediates it appears...I do hope to get to Pats this year.
 

Smellytele

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The new glade could be interesting though the trails should be more suited to beginners/low intermediates it appears...I do hope to get to Pats this year.

The lift line looks like it could hold my interest for a run or two as well. Everything else looks rather beginner/low intermediate.
 

dlague

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Pats is the closest ski area to us. It is a small resort for sure and the chairs are slow which is hard to deal with sometimes, but they have a pretty good thing going. Very well run! My son is an instructor there and our other son's ski/snowboard program out of his school goes there too! As a result we typically do a few days or nights there mostly just to tool around and have some fun - not much of a challenge. Sled Pub is a really cool and the food is generally pretty good pub grub!

I will be interested in how the new trails and chair will be. Have a funny feeling that in the beginning at least it will be too busy over there!
 

bobbutts

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Pats is the closest ski area to us. It is a small resort for sure and the chairs are slow which is hard to deal with sometimes, but they have a pretty good thing going. Very well run! My son is an instructor there and our other son's ski/snowboard program out of his school goes there too! As a result we typically do a few days or nights there mostly just to tool around and have some fun - not much of a challenge. Sled Pub is a really cool and the food is generally pretty good pub grub!

I will be interested in how the new trails and chair will be. Have a funny feeling that in the beginning at least it will be too busy over there!

Laps on Hurricane should challenge most people. Considering none of the other night areas in NH have such a steep bump run, I think it's an unfair criticism to say "not much of a challenge"
 

dlague

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Laps on Hurricane should challenge most people. Considering none of the other night areas in NH have such a steep bump run, I think it's an unfair criticism to say "not much of a challenge"

I will give you that Hurricane is the most challenging but if you can ski bumps - I think this is not a real threat! The biggest issue with Hurricane is the fact that too many non bump skiers scrape it off and then it gets somewhat icy which is where the challenge comes in. It is definitely a fun trail for sure. Don't get me wrong, we ski Pats 3 or four times per season because it is so close and our kids are there often. I think after having been on Crotched's HSQ and then skiing Pats, I have been disenchanted a little and find my self skiing like four - fives trails over and over again on really slow chairs. The other issue with Hurricane, Tornado, Cyclone is Squall Line! At least FIS and Twister do not have flat run outs.

Hey for a 700 ft vert they pack it in pretty good!
 

dlague

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Every time I night ski Pats Peak I feel that I am stuck in We Ski on the Wii - if you never played it then you will not get it!
 

xwhaler

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Considering none of the other night areas in NH have such a steep bump run
If Whaleback ever gets going again and makes a commitment to maintain seeded bumps on "The Face" then I think that would be better than Hurricane. Your point is a good one though, Hurricane is a very nice bump run for a small area.
 

thetrailboss

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For a 710' vertical area, Pats has some legit expert stuff--groomed, bumped, etc. I used to love poaching the Peak Double and Vortex Double lift lines.

And the place is well run. The management is really friendly and they love AZ.

They have some good green cruisers. Honestly though their black and blue cruisers could be one in the same. I was hoping they'd expand to the other side and go higher up...IIRC there is a peak behind Pats to looker's right....but I could be wrong since it has been such a long time. I'm quite surprised that this area is so flat and does not really do anything in terms of adding vertical.
 

thetrailboss

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And is this a new, new lift or a re-used triple from another area? Will there be a conveyor belt at the loading area?
 

Quietman

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From NewEnglandskihistory.com:

The triple chairlift is rumored to be a refurbished Von Roll from Osler Bluff Ski Club in Ontario

I still don't understand this investment for a whopping 325' drop, escpecially after Crotched added the high speed quad. They do have some steeper terain, but the lifts are slow!
 

dlague

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I did not realize it was going to be that short! Just looked on a topo map and realized where it was going. Also realized that to get there it is of Backdraft which is pretty flat green. Was on it once and it became a never ever. Hopefully the triple is fast enough to make skiing those shorter runs worthwhile.
 

thetrailboss

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From NewEnglandskihistory.com:

The triple chairlift is rumored to be a refurbished Von Roll from Osler Bluff Ski Club in Ontario

I still don't understand this investment for a whopping 325' drop, escpecially after Crotched added the high speed quad. They do have some steeper terain, but the lifts are slow!

OK. Thanks. I figured it was a refurbished lift. They have used refurbished lifts over the years...except for the Turbulence Triple which was a new Partek lift. The Vortex is of historical interest is because it is the former Norwich University Double. They take good care of the place.
 

Savemeasammy

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Hopefully Cascade Basin will help to thin out the weekend crowds a bit.

As a Pats skier, I wish they would cut some glades on the steeper upper mountain. Their glades are... how do I put this nicely?... Lame!

To be truthful, even though I enjoy skiing Hurricane, it really isn't the greatest of bump runs. As was pointed out earlier WAY too many beginners snowplow their way down and create loosely spaced and arrhythmic bumps (a bummer for this mogul lover!). And, aside from the skiers left, the trail falls across the fall line... The best bumps were on a small section of Tornado.

.02
 
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