Bretton Woods 1/28/07

[ctenidae]

Date(s) Skied: 1/28/07

Resort or Ski Area: Bretton Woods

Conditions: Well groomed, solid man-made base with 1-3 inches fresh natural snow

Trip Report:
First time at Bretton woods, but we went with a friend who'd been before (albeit several years ago), but got there an hour before us and did a scout of the mountain. Overall, it was a great day. They do a nice job with blowing and grooming, and the fresh couple of inches didn't hurt any at all.

Seriously, a great mountain. It's not all that tall, but it's got a wide variety of terrain, from easy cruisers to calm glades to steep and bumpy (though not all that bumpy). Waumbek on the far right has some nice sustained pitches, while Little Tuckerman provides a hell of a drop-in, then smooths out on Oscar Barron's to a really nice cruiser. Avalon was boring, as the "Easiest Way" green is supposed to be. Aggasiz could stand some more snow, but was still an interesting wide-open glade with a lot of options for making your way through. Overall, the West Mountain was our favorite part- thin crowds (non-existent, really), and great snow and terrain.

We didn't do much of anything off teh Zephyr quad because it was the most crowded and had a lot of teaching groups around it. It's all blues, anyway, but could be interesting without the students.

The Mount Rosebrook Express serves some great terrain- Bode's Run was steep and fast (and the mandatory two-beer-slam at the start really gets it going), McIntire's Ride had some challenging aspects. The Blackforest Glade could have handled more snow, but was still pretty good. Unfortunately, when we went there it was toward the end of the day, and I think we all spent more time picking lines that required a minimum of turning than we did any turning. Whatever you do, DO NOT go down Two Miles Home! Longest frickin' trail of my life- at least, it seemed that way. There are a brazillion erosion-prevention cuts across the trail, and without a ton of snow, you spend the whole ride absorbing or avoiding them. It's pretty much endless, too, and with the Rosebrook Canyon Glades closed, there was no way off it. Exhausting, to say the least, and not in a fun way. After that debacle, we headed back over to Waumbek for one last hurtle down teh mountain, and called it a day.

Lunch in the lodge was actually pretty good- we brought sandwiches, but supplemented them with fries and chili- both much better than standard fare. We also stopped at Beirbauer (sp?) off exit 23 (Herndon? Something like that) where they make some fantastic sandwiches, and have excellent beers on tap- the Beirebaur Brown Ale was quite tasty. Unfortunately, I had to drive 2 hours home, so one was the limit.

Did we enjoy it? Absolutely- I think we're going back next Saturday to warm up for Italy.

 

[adamti91]

Nice report, I want to get up to BW sometime.

 

[SIKSKIER]

Good report.I will say though to others that have not been,BW is very much an intermediate MT.Take that into consideration when chosing what type of challenge you want.I'll go a couple times in spring but mainly cuz I get 3 freebies with my Cannon pass.They do a wonderfull job at snow quality and the terrain is spread out wider than any other NH area.

 

[ctenidae]

I will say though to others that have not been,BW is very much an intermediate MT.

True, if you're going there for heavy duty black diamonds, major bumps, and ungroomed snow, probably not the best bet. But there's a lot of variety to be had, and they do leave some ungroomed (with big signs saying "Please Do Not Groom"), so, for a group of mixed abilities, it's certainly worth considering.

 

[Angus]

Getting ahead of myself - see later in the week's "where should I ski thread?" - how were/are the crowds at BW? this is a candidate area for this Saturday. i hate to wait long plus I'll be considering cannon as the alternative NH area. thanks.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Nice report --never skied BW but would like to give it a shot

 

[RISkier]

I agree with comments about BW being and intermediate mountain. BW does a very good job with snowmaking and grooming and offers lots of relaxed cruising terrain. There are greens and easy blues from almost every lift. A nice thing about the Bretton greens is that they are mostly fall line skiing; the slopes are mellow but continuous with few real flats. Views of the presidentials are great and the infrastructure is very good. I think of it as a great place for novices, timid intermediates, and intermediates looking for an easy cruising day. I think of most of the blacks as dark blue. If there's good natural snow, I've heard the glades are pretty good for advanced skiers, but I have no direct experience. I've not been there that much but with one exception, I've never found the crowds overwhelming. The main lift tends and greens down to the main lodge can get crowded but we've generally moved to the east side of the mountain in the mornings and then over to the West Mountain area in the afternoon. We were there over New Years this year and crowds were awful, but I attribute that to the combination of it being a holiday weekend combined with limited available terrain.

 

[walkerd2]

If you are skiing or riding with someone who isn't that experienced in the glades, bring them to BW. They have some nice open glades that are good for beginners.