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Bretton Woods to get a new lift

AdironRider

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I must say I would never have guessed of all places to put in a new t-bar, it would be Bretton Woods.
 

deadheadskier

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Does the terrain on Stickney have any pitch? Bretton Woods is one of very few "larger" ski areas in New England I've never skied. The primary reason being is how flat it has looked on the way by. If I'm heading to Northern NH to ski, it's hard for me to divert from either Wildcat or Cannon.
 

AdironRider

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Ive poked around in there a bit, but it was years ago. Its steeper I suppose than most of the mountain, but this isn't going to make it worth the drive. At least I'll have something hopefully to amuse myself with while skiing with the in-laws (BW passholders).
 

4aprice

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Does the terrain on Stickney have any pitch? Bretton Woods is one of very few "larger" ski areas in New England I've never skied. The primary reason being is how flat it has looked on the way by. If I'm heading to Northern NH to ski, it's hard for me to divert from either Wildcat or Cannon.

You should try it. Is it steep? no, but it has alot of nice cruising terrain some fun lower angle glades and bumps and everytime I've been there the snow has been good. The Mt Washington Hotel is truely classic for an afterski cocktail. Cannon and Wildcat are true classics but steeps aren't everything (at least to me) and Bretton is definately worth checking out. Great resort for a family with up and coming skiers/boarders.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

PS Love the T-bar idea
 

riverc0il

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Does the terrain on Stickney have any pitch? Bretton Woods is one of very few "larger" ski areas in New England I've never skied. The primary reason being is how flat it has looked on the way by. If I'm heading to Northern NH to ski, it's hard for me to divert from either Wildcat or Cannon.
Nothing at BW has more than "steep intermediate" pitch (a la Burke intermediate steep). The glades at BW are startlingly short and you spend most of your run getting to them and getting back to the lift. This lift will at least let you lap these glades. Much more glades than tree skiing. My only time skiing BW was last season. And although not a great day conditions wise, I was able to take a good enough measure of the mountain that nothing will ever get me back there:

http://www.thesnowway.com/2012/03/04/bretton-woods-a-matter-of-degrees

Nice to see a new T-bar. When was the last time we saw one of those? 2000 feet long is pretty short vertical. That is what surprised me most about Stickney, how short it is. I think BW is not going to make boarders happy by ditching the chairlift plan in favor of a T-bar but it is certainly better than having to hike a traverse.
 

Smellytele

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I am in the same boat. Never skied there and have been skiing in NH for 30 years. I just can't get my self to drive past Cannon or to go left instead of right to Wildcat. Also it always seemed more more expensive with less discounts offered in the past.
 

bobbutts

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I checked it out once when I had the Bold and Beautiful pass. Pretty much the ultimate for low angle cruising, but limited for everything else. I'd recommend it for bringing along kids and/or beginners.
 

thetrailboss

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I must say I would never have guessed of all places to put in a new t-bar, it would be Bretton Woods.

I agree. The ownership (Presby and crew) invested a ton of money into the place and put a whole bunch of HSQ's in everywhere. I think that they ran out of money when it came to Stickney...they wanted to expand there for many years in order to get something more legitimate for experts. So this is a big change for them and I think a reflection that the current ownership is tighter with the money but also looking to offer something different from HSQ's. An interesting spin.

Does the terrain on Stickney have any pitch? Bretton Woods is one of very few "larger" ski areas in New England I've never skied. The primary reason being is how flat it has looked on the way by. If I'm heading to Northern NH to ski, it's hard for me to divert from either Wildcat or Cannon.

I skied there a few times in the 1990's when Herb Boynton owned it and it was very low key compared to now. One HSQ (Bethlehem) and a mix of locals and vacationers. Then some locals bought it (Presby) as well as the hotel and the Cog. They dumped a ton of money into it and made it into the Deer Valley of the east IMHO. It was a good mountain for beginners and families...but the same flat, easy terrain appeals to richer older folks and BW went that way.

Long hiatus for me. Got free tickets and went last April (2011). I just went to ski, not be critical and keep an open mind. Lots of ego terrain and good grooming. The new terrain was interesting, but all groomed and same pitch. Current ownership, as I mentioned, are tight with money and despite tons of snow on the ground they had most of the lifts closed when I was there, but with the Bethlehem HSQ and the Summit HSQ running I could go pretty far and wide. They cut down tons of trees at the base area and it is much more open. Nice looking ropes course.

They ruined portions of some of the narrower runs such as Zealand, Deception Bowl, etc. Bode's Run is fun, but it is a joke. They had signs up directing groomers not to groom certain trails and those were fun. As Riv said glades were pretty flat, open, and short. But I did like my day and the terrain was fun for a day. The lifts let me get in lots of runs in a short time.

I'd say it is a larger, flatter Sunapee. I'd say Stratton, but that mountain has more pitch. Skis wide and flat. Nice lodge improvements and lifts.
 

LiquidFeet

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There are tight narrow runs through the trees at BWoods, and if there's snow they can be fun and challenging, although not particularly long. You do have to travel wide to get to them, however, which can be frustrating if you just want the trees. I look forward to the new terrain since this won't be an issue.

Up till now BWoods has been engineered to be a beginner's and intermediate's paradise. The terrain sort of dictates this. I took an out-of-shape friend there last year who was terrified since she hadn't skied in 30 years; she was able to ski wide perfectly groomed greens down from every lift. She even went into the easiest trees over on the west side.

The new terrain that they are working on this summer may offer advanced/expert family members something to do that gets them excited; I hope so.
 
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riverc0il

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I'd say it is a larger, flatter Sunapee. I'd say Stratton, but that mountain has more pitch. Skis wide and flat. Nice lodge improvements and lifts.
I'm no fan of Sunapee but that is a dis-service to Sunapee. Sunapee has much more to offer the expert and upper intermediate skier/rider. There isn't any mountain to compare with Bretton Woods. Even many smaller and mid-sized mountains offer more pitch than Bretton. It is really in a class of its own in the East, which is a great thing for the right skier/rider and a bad thing for the wrong skier/rider.
 

riverc0il

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The new terrain that they are working on this summer may offer advanced/expert family members something to do that gets them excited; I hope so.

Bretton Woods said:
The gladed terrain is being expanded and enhanced to open up the steep drop offs and cliff area for those thrillseeking skiers at Bretton Woods. For the less adventurous, many of the glades are being manicured in the Bretton Woods fashion so they will be skiable even in lean snow years and cater to all abilities and age groups.
It will be interesting to see what "being expanded and enhanced" really means. My hunch is don't expect much. Stickney is already gladed and cut. The second part of this quote is interesting. Any glade that can be "manicured" so it will be "skiable even in lean snow years and cater to all abilities and age groups" essentially means green circle pitch wide spaced glading. Essentially, my read is don't expect much more than what is already there. Anything bigger would have been accompanied by more specifics.
 

skiberg

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I have ridden by BW on my road bike about 10 times this summer and i have been studying the terrain. The portion to skiers left will probably be no different than what they already have, however, skiers right is a bit more interesting. I think it will be pretty good, although relatively short. I think the terrain would rate black at most areas. The pitch is fairly consistent. I think it will be the longest consistently steeper terrain at BW. It has a few rolls and looks like a stream bed or two as well. I may try to hike up there soon to get a better look. It might be enough to get me to ski there once a year on good snow days.
 

AdironRider

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I have ridden by BW on my road bike about 10 times this summer and i have been studying the terrain. The portion to skiers left will probably be no different than what they already have, however, skiers right is a bit more interesting. I think it will be pretty good, although relatively short. I think the terrain would rate black at most areas. The pitch is fairly consistent. I think it will be the longest consistently steeper terrain at BW. It has a few rolls and looks like a stream bed or two as well. I may try to hike up there soon to get a better look. It might be enough to get me to ski there once a year on good snow days.

Nothing at Bretton Woods will ever resemble a black diamond run.
 

AdironRider

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AdironRider,
Have you been in the trees at Bretton Woods?

I had a season pass there one year in college as part of a three mtn pass (I believe with Cannon and Cranmore at the time, it tended to change every year) and as mentioned above the in-laws have been passholders for years.

Don't get me wrong, Bretton Woods is good at what it does, it just doesnt happen to have anything that would resemble a black diamond run anywhere else. Just having trees doesnt necessarily make it an expert run. And its only like 5 turns, which any beater can hodgepodge together, but it doesnt make them experts.
 

thetrailboss

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I'm no fan of Sunapee but that is a dis-service to Sunapee. Sunapee has much more to offer the expert and upper intermediate skier/rider.

I don't think that saying that Bretton Woods is a flatter, and therefore, easier mountain when compared to Sunapee is any disservice to Sunapee at all. We actually agree on the assessment regarding BW's terrain.
 
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