- Resort or Ski Area
- Gunstock
- Date
- Dec 13, 2021
- Snow Conditions
-
- Dust on Crust
With Vail an absolute train wreck in NH, I did Not go with an Epic pass this winter. Other than one season, I've had a pass at Wildcat every year since 2012. I had fully planned on getting a seasonal condo rental in Bartlett and put my 6 and 3 year old in seasonal development programs at Wildcat, but decided to opt out. Tough to leave my favorite NH mountain, but not how it's currently being cared for.
So, it's Gunstock plus Indy this season. Have the kids enrolled in a seasonal program at Gunstock. It's only one day per weekend, so I picked Sundays for that and then we will hit Indy areas on Saturdays. Those programs start in January. I like that they only do one day a week vs both days each weekend. That way you aren't wed both days to one mountain.
Today was just a father son day. My second day out and my son's first. I had a pass at Gunstock in 2011, but probably only skied there twice since and not in 5+ years. I remember they had good snowmaking, but what I showed up to today exceeded my expectations.
They had the carpet and 3 chairs open. One run off 2 of the chairs and then 2 top to bottom runs off the summit. Terrain for everyone on opening day. And they would have had the other 2 chairs and about 5 more trails open had they had maybe 48 hours more of snowmaking temps. They had blown quite a bit elsewhere and even had the tubing park with a solid base. Pretty impressive. WAY more impressive than what Vail has done in NH so far this year. Crowds were minor. Ski on most lifts and maybe a ten chair wait for the summit quad. Surfaces very firm from all the rain.
The terrain at Gunstock will likely bore me to tears, but it will be perfect for my 6 and 3 year old, which constitutes 90% of my skiing anyway. Maybe when they are better in a few years, Vail will have finally gotten their shit together at Wildcat or even better, have sold it.
So, it's Gunstock plus Indy this season. Have the kids enrolled in a seasonal program at Gunstock. It's only one day per weekend, so I picked Sundays for that and then we will hit Indy areas on Saturdays. Those programs start in January. I like that they only do one day a week vs both days each weekend. That way you aren't wed both days to one mountain.
Today was just a father son day. My second day out and my son's first. I had a pass at Gunstock in 2011, but probably only skied there twice since and not in 5+ years. I remember they had good snowmaking, but what I showed up to today exceeded my expectations.
They had the carpet and 3 chairs open. One run off 2 of the chairs and then 2 top to bottom runs off the summit. Terrain for everyone on opening day. And they would have had the other 2 chairs and about 5 more trails open had they had maybe 48 hours more of snowmaking temps. They had blown quite a bit elsewhere and even had the tubing park with a solid base. Pretty impressive. WAY more impressive than what Vail has done in NH so far this year. Crowds were minor. Ski on most lifts and maybe a ten chair wait for the summit quad. Surfaces very firm from all the rain.
The terrain at Gunstock will likely bore me to tears, but it will be perfect for my 6 and 3 year old, which constitutes 90% of my skiing anyway. Maybe when they are better in a few years, Vail will have finally gotten their shit together at Wildcat or even better, have sold it.
