First time in the NE, need advice on Ragged and Gunstock

[mlamb2005]

Hi all,

We are taking our first ski trip to the Northeast, and I wanted to get some advice / opinions. We fly into Boston on Thursday, 1/22 and head up to Tilton, NH. We picked Tilton because of the Hampton Inn (I'm a Hilton member, free stay), and because it's in between Ragged Mountain and Gunstock. So, couple of questions:

A) Does anyone have a big preference for one of those two resorts? One better than the other?

B) Where is the best place to rent our gear? We're thinking about getting it from a shop rather than one of the resorts?

Any other advice or good-to-know things?

Thanks!
Matt

 

[davidhowland14]

Ragged better. But it depends on what you're looking for. Ragged wins on glades, crowds, speed and size of lifts, and possibly steeps if they ever get any of that open. I would expect that Gunstock wins on open terrain at the moment however.

 

[riverc0il]

I have never skied anything but the beginner terrain at Gunstock... but I would be surprised that Ragged would be better for steeps. Ragged is incredibly flat despite having two or three trails that have impressive but rather short drops.

Gunstock should have the edge on snow making and grooming and in history of being the better run management of the two areas. Gunstock also has night skiing as well, if that is a factor. Mountain view at Ragged versus a lake view at Gunstock. Both about the same distance from Tilton, though Gunstock probably a hair closer. I don't think you'll find any shops outside the ski area renting gear... at least I don't know of any.

Are you flying into Boston specifically to go skiing or is skiing a secondary element to your trip. If you are flying into Boston specifically to go skiing, my recommendation would be pick better mountains. No offense to either Ragged or Gunstock... but for a very similar priced ticket, you could get substantially more terrain and more vertical. Neither Ragged nor Gunstock are destination resorts.

Any ways, for the average skier, these two areas are on par. Ragged owns for the trees if that interests you at all (if they are even open).

 

[mlamb2005]

Our primary reason for travel is to ski, and we're coming into Boston because that's where I could get miles-ed tickets to. We picked Gunstock and Ragged based on reviews we'd seen online, and to reduce drive time from Boston, as well as the fact that there is a Hilton property in Tilton between the two resorts.

We looked at Attitash, but it's easily double the drive from Boston. What resort(s) would you recommend?

We've only been skiing a couple times prior, so we're certainly amateurs, not looking for anything terribly challenging.

 

[riverc0il]

You guys would have fun at either Ragged or Gunstock having only skied a couple of times. Sounds like travel time and hotel are factors, so either of these two areas would meet your needs. You certainly don't need huge terrain options if you have only skied a couple of times. Though sometimes just having that big mountain feel and base area options are cool.

If someone was flying into New England with the express purpose of skiing and having never visited, I might make suggestions like Sugarloaf, Stowe, Sugarbush... but those are all quite a drive and unlikely near a Hilton.

 

[mlamb2005]

Cool! Thanks for the info, very helpful. I'll keep those other resorts in mind for the future.

 

[Swamp Dog]

if I was coming from Boston, I would stay at the Hampton in Bow (just before Concord) and go to Sunapee. Did that many times driving up from the Cape. It's a 20 - 30 minute drive from Bow, about the same as either Ragged or Gunstock from Tilton. I've skied all three and like Sunapee the best. It's only another hour to Okemo from Sunapee should you want to go to VT.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[hammer]

if I was coming from Boston, I would stay at the Hampton in Bow (just before Concord) and go to Sunapee. Did that many times driving up from the Cape. It's a 20 - 30 minute drive from Bow, about the same as either Ragged or Gunstock from Tilton. I've skied all three and like Sunapee the best. It's only another hour to Okemo from Sunapee should you want to go to VT.

Just my 2 cents.

+1...I like all three areas, but Sunapee would have more trails open than either Ragged or Gunstock.

 

[askstowell]

Never been to Ragged but I get the sense that it's always touch and go there regarding terrain being open, etc. And we've always had a good experience at Gunstock.

I stayed at that Hampton Inn just a couple of weeks ago and it's brand new, good staff, overall good experience.

Alternatively, since it's right off the highway but not knowing how many days you're staying, you could always hit a couple of other areas. Start with Gunstock and then on another day, get back on highway in am and head north up to Waterville or Loon. Use your Hampton Inn at Tilton as a base to jump to a couple of other nearby areas. You're a little under an hour away to both.

 

[riverc0il]

The Sunapee suggestion is really good, that hadn't crossed my mind but seems like it would be the best option.

 

[mlamb2005]

Yeah, from my Google Mapping, it looks like Sunapee, Waterville or Loon are all about an hour away from Tilton, so we'll probably end up hitting Sunapee. Depending on how our re-training goes at Gunstock, see if we can still walk!

Forgive the newbie question, but if we're going to hit three different resorts, what's the best way to handle rental gear? Get it from a local shop around Tilton (I found one called Piche's)? Or do we have to get new rental gear each day, from each mountain?

 

[Angus]

ski shops on 93 from Boston North - don't know. If you want to take a slight detour (15-20 minutes) thru Nashua - you have Ken Jones and Zimmerman's that may rent - http://www.proctorjones.com/pjonline/ & http://www.zimsport.com/

I've bought skis from Piche's and they have been easy to deal with - again not sure about the rental situation.

The Hampton Inn in Tilton is brand new as someone else said - we (summer people) have been watching it go up - was sad to see the Tilton 500 (go carts) go away. from there gunstock is closest and then it's a toss-up between waterville (hwy) and ragged (secondary road). Sunapee is definitely the farthest.

Ragged is a great mountain and would recommend over gunstock but only if - big if -the snow is good.

Waterville is definitely going to give you the biggest mountain feel.

you probably don't need to choose until you get up here so i'd get the skis & lodging taken care and then resurrect this thread a few days before - you'll get lots of opinion.

 

[billski]

I'm gonna shake it up even more, giving it more of a Tourist slant.

Keep Tilton as your base and go to Waterville or Loon on one of the days. Loon can be fun partly because you can ride a gondola if you want to, and ride the train between the two base stations and still ski greens, plus have some super vistas. You'll feel more like you're on vacation at those places, plus there are a lot of watering holes, restaurants, rental shops nearby. Ragged is like a monadnock, off by itself, no restaurants or shops. Ragged is never crowded. It is good on a busy weekend (I'll parrot the other concerns, but you may not have to worry about conditions if you're going to spend your days on greens. They get taken care of first most everywhere. I took my daughters there for five seasons when they were developing skiers, pre-teens. It was not only inexpensive, but I didn't have to worrry about the kids getting careened into on the weekends. Another plus about Ragged, is the absolutely delightful drive through classic New England villages like Andover, which are picture-perfect, with two covered bridges.

Remember, most resorts claim 20-30% beginner stuff, so most every resort will have you covered.

Problem with Gunstock is that it's real convenient to Boston, and brings a lot of rowdy teens and sometimes gets pretty busy on weekends. Not something I would really want to deal with. If you must, do Gunstock during the week.

My suggestion is Loon on a weekday and Ragged on a weekend day.
Every area is doing great right now,from a snowcover point of view. Keep your eye on the weather. If conditions deteriorate, swap out Ragged for one of the others mentioned.

Can't really speak to Sunapee.

As far as I know, the shops in Nashua don't rent, at least when I last asked a couple years ago. You may be thinking of their lease programs. Best to rent from a shop near a resort; they know what they are doing, and you'll have your equipment beforehand, not wasting a lot of time in line. Good,competent shops in Lincoln I know, but you need a nearby shop you can drop things off at on your way out of town.

Have a Grrreat time, the snow is super right now!

 

[Swamp Dog]

Piche's is a great shop. I've never rented from there but I'm sure you'd be fine. If you're staying in Tilton and heading to Gunstock it's easy to get to as well. You'll follow the signs on 3/11 to Gunstock, taking the 3/11 Bypass. When you get to the end of the bypass, Gunstock is a right turn and Piche's is a left. Turn left, under the overpass, and it is immediately on your right. From the bypass it is about 6 miles to Gunstock.

I live in Gilford so feel free to hit me up for any more info you might need.

There is also a ski shop just before the entrance to Sunapee but the name escapes me. If I can pull it's name out of the air I will put it up here. I would call both shops and see what's in there rental fleet for this year. probably easier to get from one shop for all 3 days. Although I would think Piche's would be easier for you to do the Waterville/Loon trip as well.

FWIW Gunstock has a new rental fleet this year. I believe it's a K2 ski? Can't remember that either! CRS!

 

[WJenness]

For Rentals, I'd recommend hitting the Ski Market in Woburn, MA. I rented from them a few times a couple seasons ago before I had my own stuff, and they had reasonable rates, in and out quick, right off the highway...

www.skimarket.com

The Woburn, MA location is on Washington St.

From 93 North, take the exit for 95S, then the next exit (after the exit for 93S) is Washington St. Go to the right when you get off the ramp, up the hill, straight through the light and into the Kohl's parking lot... Ski Market is at the far right of the plaza...

To get back on the highway, take a left out of the plaza, hop on 95N, take the 2nd exit to 93N, and you're back on your way north.

-w

 

[Geoff]

Let's look at further options. I don't think Tilton is the right place to use as your home base.

If you are staying on Hilton HHonors points, your choices are:

Vermont:
Hilton: Burlington
Hampton Inn: Burlington, Bennington, Brattleboro, White River Junction, Rutland

New Hampshire:
Hampton Inn: North Conway, Tilton, Littleton

Nothing in Maine looked particularly close to Sunday River or Sugarloaf.

From White River Junction, Vermont, Killington (Skyeship base on Route 4) is 45 minutes. Pico is another 5 or 10 minutes farther. Sugarbush is an hour with 4WD using Roxbury gap. It's an extra 20 to 30 minutes to go around in a cheap rental car. Okemo is about an hour. Burke is about an hour. You also have Whaleback right down the road.

From Burlington, Vermont, you have Stowe, Smuggs, and Sugarbush all less than an hour. Bolton Valley is really close. Burlington is also a 'real' town.

You can also do Littleton, NH and backtrack to Cannon, Loon, and Waterville.

For novice/intermediate, North Conway would be my #1 choice. You have a real town. You have Cranmore right there in the center of town. You have a bunch of other nearby ski options.

I don't know if you can change hotels at this late date but I think you'd be a lot happier in North Conway than in Tilton.

 

[dropKickMurphy]

Sunapee would be a great choice for a skier of your level.

You might also want to spend a day at Bretton Woods. It's a relatively easy and very scenic drive up through Franconia Notch. Like Sunapee, they focus on grooming, so you'll be pretty comfortable skiing just about everything on the mountain. Its location seems to avoid the brutal wind that can plague many of the other areas in the vicinity. The in-your-face views of Mount Washington, as well as the Mt. Washington hotel below, are spectacular. Second only to those at Wildcat, imo.