Christmas week New Hampshire round-up

Went to Cranmore on Thursday. It was a few inches of fresh over bullet proof. They have plenty of rock solid base off piste. With more snow tonight this should be the place to be. They're reporting the most open trails in the valley

Went to Attitash on Friday. There were way too many people on not enough trails. They used a lot of snowmaking capacity to open the interconnect which does nothing for the skiable terrain. They also have a rock hard base off piste. What terrain is open is buried in very hard snow.

Went to Bretton Woods on Saturday. It was super crowded, but the trails were in great shape. Unlike Cranmore and Attitash they chose to resurface rather than expand terrain. They have no base off piste and probably won't fare well tonight. They're a long way from getting the ungroomed open.

Went to Wildcat today and it was the tale of two trails. Middle to Lower Lynx was in great shape. Lower to middle Polecat and Tomcat looked great but were closed for some reason. Despite claiming that the snowmaking situation is fixed, upper Polecat and Lynx were both bare. Catapult is the only trail off the summit and it was as bad as I have ever seen it. When people call a trail icy I usually snap at them and say that they mean it is frozen granular or hard pack. Catapult was actually icy, which I define as the colored, translucent ice in the middle of the trail.


Wildcat has no natural cover, especially toward the summit. They are in really rough shape and having a terrible year. Something better give soon or I quit.

Thanks for the report. It's a shame about Wildcat. I've had some bad days there myself in the past. Its weird there because when its good its magical and when its bad it is super frustrating.

If you have the granite pass you should check out Crotched. I was there on Saturday and the conditions were pretty good. The diamonds from the top were all open (minus the little shoot off the lift), the lines were short, and the trail conditions were crusty but good. The jupiter trail on the far left of the trail map (far skier's right) was a little icy but it is a cool trail and was still very ride-able. The rocket lift line was in good shape considering the recent weather. After this weeks storm (the 2nd-3rd deal) it should be really perfect over there.

What do you think about Attitash after tonights storm? Where the pre-storm bases in good enough shape to open up any previously closed trails with just 6-8 inches of snow?

I do most of my riding in these NH resorts so this report was much appreciated.

Yes, the base at Attitash and Cranmore is solid. If ski patrol there works on the same standards as Wildcat then they will be open. The snow here is the sticky, heavy stuff.

I just saw you replied to both my questions: Thanks!

Also, I just saw your Sig. and realized you already know everything I was saying about Crotched. Cheers!

We had planned on going to Bretton Woods yesterday but my brother-in-law who has friends that work there as ski patrol said that the crowds were crazy and there were a lot of out of control skiers and snowboarders and the accident tally was high! No thank you! We will go on a non vacation week.

Crowds have been insane all week and ambulances have been making lots of visits. It is all of the sudden the place to be. I blame the new free season passes for kids.