Crotched Mt to get detachable quad

[Edd]

I would rather see them replace the summit triple at Attitash, but this is a good use of it as well. Makes Crotched look a bit more attractive than say a Pats Peak(Id still choose Pats).

There was a thread quite awhile back of the merits of an HSQ to the Attitash summit and I think someone argued that it would overload the upper trails. I get the logic but the current lift setup is so goofy (haven't been in 5 years but I drive by frequently) with the slow lift to the summit and an HSQ halfway up....and the lifts cross paths on the way up which weirds me out. I'm sure they thought hard about it and it may be the best decision but I used to shake my head every time I went.

 

[deadheadskier]

There was a thread quite awhile back of the merits of an HSQ to the Attitash summit and I think someone argued that it would overload the upper trails. I get the logic but the current lift setup is so goofy (haven't been in 5 years but I drive by frequently) with the slow lift to the summit and an HSQ halfway up....and the lifts cross paths on the way up which weirds me out. I'm sure they thought hard about it and it may be the best decision but I used to shake my head every time I went.

A HSQ to the summit at Attitash would be a real game changer for them. Much more so than one at Crotched IMO.

According to an old AZ challenge, the plan would be to have a trail expansion as well.
http://skiing.alpinezone.com/articles/challenge/2004/response.htm?resort=attitash

I'd imagine that Attitash skiers will be unhappy with the decision to move the lift to Crotched. I'm sure Wildcat skiers wish that that money was spent on snowmaking. Seems like Wildcat really struggled out of the gate this season.

 

[andyaxa]

There will be blue/green off the summit. If you look at the present trail map http://www.crotchedmountain.com/trail_map.html that trail will be the one to the west entering into present day Moon Walk. I believe reasoning for not going to the summit originally was not actually wind or easy access down, but something to do with the equipment available not being able to make that length of run.

Also, for all their hard work Blanton might be getting a used (err slightly loved) fixed grip quad, paid for by Crotched.:wink:

 

[mlkrgr]

Interesting that Peaks is putting this HSQ at Crotched and not at Wildcat or even Attitash.

I know at least Wildcat really doesn't need one. It'll be a value when the current HSQ is on windhold and on the few busy days they need all lifts to run but that's probably only no more than the 8 or so busiest days. But I haven't seen the quad's line anymore than 5 minutes myself.

 

[bobbutts]

Wow, I really didn't see this coming. I never thought of Crotched as a good candidate for a high speed lift. The existing lift seemed sufficient for the vertical. Are they replacing the existing summit lift or having a parallel install? If replacing, where does the other lift go? I thought the reason they originally didn't go to the summit was lack of access to semi-easy terrain? This is a pretty big "oops" to be going back and redoing this now, just eight years or so after Crotched reopened.

Is there any other ski area in New England with less vertical that has a high speed lift? WaWa maybe but at least WaWa has the visits to justify. Unless Crotched blew up since I was last there on a weekend...

At least for me the big difference is that they are a night operation nearby, so I go there for a shorter time each visit vs. bigger resorts. I pretty much stopped going night skiing because the time on lift vs. hill is just too low at Pat's, Gunstock, and Crotched, each about 8 or more min up and 1 min down. It's mostly cruising terrain, so each run is over pretty quickly and it's night, so it's cold and there's nothing to look at. I found myself envious of wawa.
For my dollars 4 mins up 1 min down is a huge advantage over the competition in the area.

 

[mlkrgr]

At least for me the big difference is that they are a night operation nearby, so I go there for a shorter time each visit vs. bigger resorts. I pretty much stopped going night skiing because the time on lift vs. hill is just too low at Pat's, Gunstock, and Crotched, each about 8 or more min up and 1 min down. It's mostly cruising terrain, so each run is over pretty quickly and it's night, so it's cold and there's nothing to look at. I found myself envious of wawa.
For my dollars 4 mins up 1 min down is a huge advantage over the competition in the area.

True; generally you have Pat's Peak most closely competing against Crotched. And they can use this as a competitive advantage that the time up the hill is the least even though it really starts to not matter if there's a wait. I think it simply comes down to being a more competitive resort. And at 1k vertical, that is almost what you get at Ragged too.

 

[KD7000]

I actually enjoyed hiking up to the summit on a day at Crotched last year. Of course, it was a beautiful day on a mid-week trip only a couple days after a huge storm, so you could ski everything.

Having a real summit lift will probably be a good decision, though.

 

[Newpylong]

Wow, ten years already, damn.

I'd like to know if they plan to address the terrain issue off the top. They didn't go to the top due to not having easier terrain off the summit. If this replaces the existing chair, it seems that they rethought that issue. Which makes sense to rethink, there is already a beginner and intermediate chair so not having a green circle or lower blue square off the summit shouldn't be that much of an issue.

Hey wait... didn't another ski area do something similar with their HSQ?

No, the current Quad had to do with equipment. The Cherokee Quad didn't reach... the top trails (unused) have a similar profile to the current top of the Quad with the exception of the Double Diamond. You had 3 trails, the double diamond (turbo trail) which was back off the top (to your left past the T-Bar). A diamond if you take a left, and a Blue Square if you hook a right. It basically matches what they have now. I believe they will make some changes when they install the new Quad, possibly some regrading so there are two Blue ways down vs One now.

The new terrain, especially Turbo is going to be an awesome addition.

 

[thetrailboss]

With the HSQ I think that Crotched will be competing against Wachusett and Gunstock. 1,000 vertical versus Pat's 710 feet (and the bottom part being a run out) will put Crotched in a different league.

 

[riverc0il]

With the HSQ I think that Crotched will be competing against Wachusett and Gunstock. 1,000 vertical versus Pat's 710 feet (and the bottom part being a run out) will put Crotched in a different league.

Good call on stepping up to the competition. I can see a lot of folks going to Gunstock or WaWa due to the high speed lift (though I can't imagine why any one would want to deal with the crowds at WaWa just because of the lift!). Crotched already was better than Pat's but Pat's has much easier access. Crotched will never over come its biggest shortfall and that is being a PITA to get to. The new lift will definitely swing some visits away from the nearby competition.

 

[riverc0il]

No, the current Quad had to do with equipment. The Cherokee Quad didn't reach... the top trails (unused) have a similar profile to the current top of the Quad with the exception of the Double Diamond. You had 3 trails, the double diamond (turbo trail) which was back off the top (to your left past the T-Bar). A diamond if you take a left, and a Blue Square if you hook a right. It basically matches what they have now. I believe they will make some changes when they install the new Quad, possibly some regrading so there are two Blue ways down vs One now.

My bad, I retract my question on the summit and terrain. I swear I read about that from someone in the know. But after doing some research online, I couldn't find the source. Might have been hearsay. Or I am not remembering correctly.

 

[Smellytele]

Rumor has it there is a detachable coming to Pats as well. Must keep up with the Joneses

 

[Newpylong]

In some ways I prefer Pat's over Crotched but I think putting a High Speed lift at Pat's would be ridiculous for 700 vertical, unless they plan on removing all 3 summit lifts. Even still, that is quite a stretch....

 

[thetrailboss]

Good call on stepping up to the competition. I can see a lot of folks going to Gunstock or WaWa due to the high speed lift (though I can't imagine why any one would want to deal with the crowds at WaWa just because of the lift!). Crotched already was better than Pat's but Pat's has much easier access. Crotched will never over come its biggest shortfall and that is being a PITA to get to. The new lift will definitely swing some visits away from the nearby competition.

There probably still is a segment of the market that will not go to a mountain that does not have high speed lifts. I only have run into these folks at Sunapee, Wachusett, and Loon ("So tell me about Mountain X. Does it have a high speed quad?")

 

[deadheadskier]

Good call on stepping up to the competition. I can see a lot of folks going to Gunstock or WaWa due to the high speed lift (though I can't imagine why any one would want to deal with the crowds at WaWa just because of the lift!). Crotched already was better than Pat's but Pat's has much easier access. Crotched will never over come its biggest shortfall and that is being a PITA to get to. The new lift will definitely swing some visits away from the nearby competition.

I actually like Pat's better than Crotched. The few steep trails Pats has are more enjoyable to ski (for me) than any of the terrain at Crotched. Maybe my feelings will change with the added vertical at Crotched and if that terrain has a bit more pitch.

The HSQ should definitely steal some night business from Gunstock. Crotched is PITA to get to from well anywhere, but Gunstock somewhat sucks to get to from the Manchester metro as well.

I wonder if Gunstock will step up their game and add lighting to the Summit trails so they can offer a HSQ in the evenings as well.

 

[mlkrgr]

True about Pats only being 700ish vertical but they do have a substantial runout. Plus, if they consolidate their summit lifts into 1 HS six pack, that'll be some big labor savings for them.

 

[bobbutts]

Pat's has more challenging terrain vs. Crotched. Hurricane is a legit bump run and everything down the front has more sustained pitch. The advantage Crotched has is sustained blue terrain without a runout.

 

[thetrailboss]

Pats does have legit expert terrain. I don't see them going the high speed lift route due to cost and maintenance. What they have works.

 

[AdironRider]

I guess Ive never really felt the run out at Pats was ever that bad, in your face, etc. The terrain is better also.

Really they were the same hill prior to this, now Crotched has the leg up. Snowmaking, and all the other variables are pretty much a wash. Pats really doesnt have much of a choice but to upgrade and keep one or two of the doubles. Those lifts have to be getting old by now.

 

[threecy]

There was a thread quite awhile back of the merits of an HSQ to the Attitash summit and I think someone argued that it would overload the upper trails. I get the logic but the current lift setup is so goofy (haven't been in 5 years but I drive by frequently) with the slow lift to the summit and an HSQ halfway up....and the lifts cross paths on the way up which weirds me out. I'm sure they thought hard about it and it may be the best decision but I used to shake my head every time I went.

- The Ascutney Quad is too small to reach the current summit of Attitash.
- The Attitash HSQ is on private property. If it went any higher, it'd be subject to USFS approval, and would increase the fees associated with their lease.