Bretton Woods 2.4.2012

[Cheese]

Date(s) Skied: 2.4.2012

Resort or Ski Area:Bretton Woods

Conditions:Machine groomed w/4" powder

Trip Report:

I wasn't surprised to hit a flurry driving up through Franconia Notch but I was surprised to see the morning corduroy buried by 2" of fresh snow at 8am. Flurries continued throughout the morning bringing the total up to 4". The powder was dry and fluffy so there was no float and it skied more like groomed conditions than powder. All but two trails (Granny's Grit and the one beside it) were groomed and the snow held up well. Off the groomed surface was refreeze from either warm temperature or rain from earlier in the week. The 4" of fluff wasn't enough to repair this so the glades were still dust on crust. The coverage is good in the trees though and the base is solid so when deeper snow arrives, get in the trees! I suspect the 4" of fluff would groom up nicely and if they groomed the two that weren't ready on Saturday, Sunday must have been a great day.

Bottom line, Bretton Woods has done a great job with man made snow. The glades have a strong base over the obstacles so all they need is 6+ inches of powder for a great day in the trees.

 

[St. Bear]

The coverage is good in the trees though and the base is solid so when deeper snow arrives, get in the trees! I suspect the 4" of fluff would groom up nicely and if they groomed the two that weren't ready on Saturday, Sunday must have been a great day.

Bottom line, Bretton Woods has done a great job with man made snow. The glades have a strong base over the obstacles so all they need is 6+ inches of powder for a great day in the trees.

That was my impression when I was there last week. Even some of the steeper terrain in Rosebrook looked good.

 

[Nick]

I've been wondering where good glades are right around now. Most groomers covered by machine made are fairing well but so far this year has yielded poor results on anything snowmakers couldn't cover.