Gunstock - 12/16/09

[speden]

Date skied: Wednesday 12/16
Resort: Gunstock, NH
Conditions: Frozen granular, with some loose stuff on top, chilly in the low 20's, some wind

Had the day off so decided to check out Gunstock today. I'd never been there before so was curious what it was like. They didn't have that many trails open, but the price was right at 25 bucks.

The weather didn't look so hot this morning, so I layered up good and expected bitter cold and strong wind. After a couple runs I was sweating so had to stop in the lodge to lose a layer. There really wasn't much wind at all.

There were no trails open from the top. Can't really say why. Maybe due to water bars which I saw on a few unopen areas. Gunstock doesn't seem to be very aggressive about snowmaking. They clearly made some on the trails that were open, and they had a fair amount of natural on the ground. Conditions seemed ideal for snow making today yet I didn't see a single gun running.

Their parking lot had not been plowed, but instead was bumpy frozen slush. Kind of gave me the impression they don't have a big operating budget for the place. The lodge was okay, maybe a little on the older side. When I used the men's john I noticed someone had carved in a stall door, "Go back 2 Mass", so I guess me not welcome there. Oh well.

They put in a new lift this summer in the beginner area, so I checked that out first. It's a super slow fixed quad, and services a couple of rather short beginner trails. It seemed okay, but I'd have to say the valley area of Pat's Peak has nicer beginner trails.

I spent the rest of my time on the Pistol Triple, which is way off on skier's right side of the mountain. It's kind of a pain to get to that lift initially. You can't see it from the base area to even know if it is running, and it's an uphill climb to get to it. The trails off of that kept me busy for a few hours, and it was nice to work on my technique for skiing the frozen stuff. It was very firm, and gave a kind of choppy feel, but it was soft enough to edge. It stayed that way all day and there was really no traffic to change it much.

One thing that's kind of bothersome at Gunstock is they want to scan your lift ticket barcode every time you board a lift. This seemed a bit silly when there were only about five people using that lift! Seems like there would be a better way for ski areas to gather data than that. Once in a while the guy wouldn't bother to scan me, so the data isn't even accurate.

I don't think I'll be in a hurry to go back there, but it was a good trip anyway. It looks like they are going to try to open a run from the top this coming weekend.

Pulling into the lot

A couple shots of the new beginner lift

Some nasty frozen stuff next to the groomed

All the groomed trails looked like this

Some random shots from the base area

 

[Swamp Dog]

they've been making snow there almost non-stop since it got cold. Yesterday was almost 40F which is why they weren't blowing any, and why the parking lot was a slushy mess.

Last weekend was opening weekend and they are planning top to bottom skiing with Panorama Quad running this coming weekend. Pistol is much easier to access once you can go up on Panorama. The big reason for pushing for Pistol to open is that the park is over there. Otherwise, not much reason to ever be over there unless you're bored with the rest of the mountain.

 

[speden]

they've been making snow there almost non-stop since it got cold. Yesterday was almost 40F which is why they weren't blowing any, and why the parking lot was a slushy mess.

Last weekend was opening weekend and they are planning top to bottom skiing with Panorama Quad running this coming weekend. Pistol is much easier to access once you can go up on Panorama. The big reason for pushing for Pistol to open is that the park is over there. Otherwise, not much reason to ever be over there unless you're bored with the rest of the mountain.

Well I did see some whales on at least one upper trail. So they had made snow up there at some point, but hadn't yet spread it out. I guess most places don't open up new terrain that much during the week, when there are so few people coming in. Maybe they thought the wind would be too much today to make more snow, but as it turned out there wasn't much wind, just low temps.

Come to think of it, I didn't really notice a park anywhere, but I wasn't really looking for one so might have walked right by without seeing it.

 

[Gunstock]

Opening Week

Dear Speden,

Thanks for the pics, it is early season and we have been blowing snow non stop since it got cold. Amazing when its 60 degrees on the 4th as to what we have been able to open. We have been pushing between 3000 and 5500 gallons per minute on the mountain. It just takes time to get to where we want to be. Did you know it can take up to 179,000 gallons of water to put 12 inches of snow on 1 acre of land? We werent even able to make snow until after the snowstorm on the 7th!

As you were there 5 days after we opened, we would love to see you back here, and I would love to give you a tour of the mountain when you return, just ask for Bill in the Marketing department, i always love a reason to get out and make some turns.

As for the carving in the bathroom, you, and everyone else is always welcome here, I am headed to the mens room to see how we can make that piece of art go away.

Happy Holidays
The Gunstock Team

 

[billski]

Well-done report, I don't see many on Gunstock. Also nice to see Gunstock checking in here.
I don't have any idea about what they have for a park, but it's been a bit too early snow-wise for anyone to be able to build their parks.

 

[Northernflight]

I have mixed feelings about that new beginner lift. That double was the first chair I ever rode but the quad improves that area drastically. If this was your first visit to Gunstock I'd recommend coming back for a day when they have the summit Quad going. Those trails are loads of fun and have some of the best views in NH with Winnipesaukee in the backdrop.

 

[RootDKJ]

Nice TR. Blue has FG like that often.

 

[snoseek]

Looks pretty firm. I agree with above poster in saying the views are fantastic

Used to go there on snowy nights and had plenty fun. Nice bar too.