Ragged Mtn 2016-17 Season Thread

Real nice day at Ragged today. All the groomed trails were in great shape...hero snow. Light snow started up late morning and hung around at least until we left just before 2. From what I could tell, there were no natural trails open and only one glade was open. They did have some tame moguls on the lower section of Exhibition.

Person at the ticket counter said that next weekend will be it for the season...

Nice hard pack groomer day at Ragged today. Good crowd. Sun disappeared after lunch so not as much softening as I would've hoped.
A few chair wait on the 6 and ski on to Spear all day
Raggae Glade and Sweepstakes are both hanging in as natural runs....Tho I suspect blow over is aiding them at this point.



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Based on my visit on Wed. 3/29 it's safe to say that when they call it quits this weekend there will be plenty of snow left. Most everything but the trees were open and very little brown anywhere to be seen. Little bit firm bear the tops of most trails and more like mashed potatoes near the bottom.

Should be good this upcoming last weekend of theirs. ^Agree, there should be plenty of snow left on the trails after they close...

Will be there Sunday, have a voucher to use.

Date(s) Skied: April 8, 2017

Resort or Ski Area: Ragged Mt., Danbury, NH

Conditions: Coldish, gray and windy

Trip Report: While most people were skiing fresh pow and generally still enjoying lift operations at other areas I skinned up South Ridge Saturday afternoon. The forecast read that temps would be in the 50’s by afternoon but that just wasn’t the case in the greater Danbury area. It was windy with snow flurries most of the morning with temps just above freezing.

Although I’m woefully out of shape, skinning up was easy enough. The snow was soft and kinda spongy - couple inches of fresh on top of soft corn. At one point on my way up I stopped to catch my breath (I generally stopped every 100 or so steps) I heard water running. I looked around and didn’t see any running water. Then I looked down and listened carefully. The water was running somewhere directly under me … break over - time to move on.

So it took me roughly 45 minutes to reach the top of South Ridge. Most folks can skin up to the very top of Ragged in about a half hour. I would need another half hour to reach the top from there. Then something strange happened. Even though it was only 4 o’clock and I certainly felt good enough I couldn’t make myself continue. My wife doesn’t like it when I get home after 5 and I thought we’d be going out for dinner after. I really could’ve made it home in that amount of time but I took the skins off and headed back down.

Then another strange thing happened. I could not ski! The skis were digging in and I could not turn. Well, it’s not my usual alpine set-up. The skis are older Dynastar 4800s which back in their day did not like deep snow and always spanked me if I didn’t ski them just so. And the Scarpa boots I use are a cross between a ski boot and a hiking boot and not really great at either but are fairly comfortable for the skin up. I never fall ... but I fell twice! In the first couple hundred feet! Anyway, it took me three quarters of the way down and twenty minutes to figure out how to ski with this set-up in this soft spongy snow.

Once I’m back in my car I had to figure out whether to drive to get gas first or stop at the house and use my wife’s car to go to the restaurant. I went with the former and just as I walk in my wife is taking buffalo wings out of the oven. Timing is everything and this time strangely serendipitous.




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OK,what the heck is that 2nd to the last pic of?Looks like an outhouse that incinerates waste.

SIKSKIER said:

OK,what the heck is that 2nd to the last pic of?Looks like an outhouse that incinerates waste.

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We'll go with that. :wink:

SIKSKIER said:

OK,what the heck is that 2nd to the last pic of?Looks like an outhouse that incinerates waste.

Click to expand...

Probably for snow making

SIKSKIER said:

OK,what the heck is that 2nd to the last pic of?Looks like an outhouse that incinerates waste.

Click to expand...

Okay, okay, here's what it really is. That is the terminus of an old fixed grip double removed in 2008 or 09. The shed/shack is used by the crew that maintains the terrain park.

That shed shack must be new this season. I remember the previous lift, it was slow like the old Spear Triple if memory serves, it was a good way to get part way up on that side w/o the 6 pack.

That shack is brand new this season...Ragged did a nice job maintaining the park all season with some very substantial jumps and features towards the end of the yr.
They have a whole crew with different logo'ed gear working on the terrain park...if only they put effort into a mogul field

xwhaler said:

if only they put effort into a mogul field

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Hear, hear

Aahhh thanks.Its sure obvious now.

Ragged has officially posted that there's to be no skiing when they're closed.

http://raggedmountainresort.com/ContemtTemplate/Blog.aspx?id=1238&postId=10737418590

Is this a policy shift? Seems to me it never bothered them before.

I've been chased away several times in the past - best to go early or late, in my opinion

Other places with better vertical have a ski-at-your-own-risk policy

becca m said:

I've been chased away several times in the past - best to go early or late, in my opinion

Other places with better vertical have a ski-at-your-own-risk policy

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So early might be - what - before 8 am? Late would be after 4 pm? I've always gone around 2 or 2:30 and have never been spoken to. Years ago ( 2008 ) I asked then manager Bob Fries - his take was a don't ask don't tell attitude. Which means he was for it but officially the areas owners were not. And of course I'm sure some lower level management would be quick to exercise their own authority.

welllll my dear old mother who was reading a book while I rode was "talked to" last spring when there were only a few patches left on a Sunday afternoon,,,,, SO, my feeling is if you get there before the hangovers of the "power brokers" there wear off, you're better off

no offense if you work there - just my take - there are some control freaks there

becca m said:

I've been chased away several times in the past - best to go early or late, in my opinion

Other places with better vertical have a ski-at-your-own-risk policy

Click to expand...

Both Pats Peak and Crotched allow it and they have less vert.

Given the mgmt's general level of apathy and non visibility this past ski season I question whether they would even notice/or are on site the next couple mos.

The snow should last a while up there, they blew deep...I bet Yankee lasts the longest.

Was up there Sun. pm

Never saw a sole from Mgmt.

Shhh But Yankee was in great shape !!!!