Ragged gets a new GM

[Edd]

I've never been particularly worried about NH school vacation week (even in NH) but a friend told me she went to Ragged two years ago and it was quite the mob scene. Anyone know how Ragged typically is? Gunstock is not bad historically.

 

[AdironRider]

I think the definition of mob scene is subjective.

Ragged is usually a ghost town midweek so NH vacation week seems terrible vs Gunstock which does more consistent midweek business during non holiday periods (relatively) so it doesn’t appear as bad.

 

[Smellytele]

Was there yesterday and I was wishing for another lift somewhere on the mountain to spread out the crowd. The 6 pack didn't start loading until after 9:45. Strange thing was they would send random people up every so often. The setup of the lift queues is f'd up. They end up joining together and the right singles line from the 6pack and the singles line on that side of the quad makes it almost impossible to get into either queue. It was overheard from a ski ops guy that it was the most people ever there for 1 day. Got there around 8 with lifts (some) starting to load at 8:30. The parking lot was insane without a lot attendant insight. got into lot 3. Leaving there were people walking down to lot 12.
The skiing was the best I have ever experienced there. Every run was a glade run. top of Karen's and rags to and not to shabby got scraped off but everything else was great.

 

[Edd]

Saturday on one of the best days of the season, sounds about right.

 

[sull1102]

Sounds similar to my experience a few weeks back. They need to rethink the lift line setup so they don’t merge into one giant cluster.

 

[thebigo]

Saturday was ragged annual u10 stubby race, one of their bigger events of the year. >200 kids doing three runs off the six pack. That day has always been a shit show in the six pack line and lodge.

The mega passes have pushed us to the point where mid season races really need to be held at venues with dedicated facilities served by non-core lifts: mittersill, proctor, Waterville and gunstock stand out as areas that can hold events with minimal impact on the recreational customer.

Places like ragged, pats, loon etc should not be holding large events on their busiest weekends.

 

[Smellytele]

Saturday was ragged annual u10 stubby race, one of their bigger events of the year. >200 kids doing three runs off the six pack. That day has always been a shit show in the six pack line and lodge.

Quad was sucky as well. Only road the 6 pack 3 times. Lodge was fine. Well ate at Birches, got right in at 11:30. Found a seat for après' in the bar as well.

 

[skixc2]

I was there Saturday too. While some seemed frustrated by the crowds I wasn't too bothered by it. We showed up just after 9 after the quick trip down from the Upper Valley and found a creative but not egregious parking spot in Lot 4. Some who arrived later apparently found themselves parked out; that clearly is a problem, but it's one Ragged could solve easily by utilizing more golf course space for parking. Yes, the lines were long, and I agree that the quad and six lines merged in an uncomfortable way, though that did lead value to carefully picking the most advantageous lane to get in.
The skiing was phenomenal, best of the season by far. Rags to Riches and Gobblers Knob, were standouts, as were the many unmarked lines in the woods, which had untouched powder even at the end of the day. Triple Take was about as rock-free as I've ever seen (though you still have to climber over the ledge) and Karen's may have been scrapped at the Rags entrance, but the entrance from Sweepstakes still had powder lines mid-afternoon.
While the lines slowed things down, I was at times able to get 4/5 runs an hour, and the slowest was about 2 runs per hour, for 18 or so total on the day. After being at Magic last weekend, that's about the rate of runs there, just with most of the time spent on the lift rather than in line. If you are used to one than the other really isn't much different.

 

[Newpylong]

I avoid Saturdays like the plague or any other day with an event because the mountain has challenges handling that many people in the lodge. The Meeting House is a massive building that could probably be adapted for additional seating for the visiting families on race days. Ski school doesn't need that much space.

As for the lifts, the corrals are nothing new and have been that way for the last 12 years that I've been going there. I really only have a problem when I'm coming from Lower Ridge, etc and have to schlep around the bottom and up to the start of the line.