Loon Conditions and Advice

[hammer]

I bought SkiNH passes this season for Loon and I'll be going for the first time...family is novices to intermediates.

How have conditions been at Loon lately? Which day would be better (or less bad) for a weekend day trip, Saturday or Sunday? Any other tips for dealing with the weekend crowds?

Thanks...

 

[Vortex]

Avoiding line tips sending via pm. Loon has done a great Job making snow. Conditions are always better than one would expect. They pound a trail before moving to the next. Expansion sometimes goes slow, but coverage is usually good. Mid week is always better at Loon.

 

[DEVO]

We skied there all last week and this past weekend. Conditions were pretty good. They actually had pretty good coverage last week. I agree with Bob R about the snow making, Loon does as good or a better job than any mountain in the east. We went to Waterville last Thursday and ended up leaving and going back to Loon for the afternoon. Much more snow at Loon. Looks like this weekend will be good too.

As far as lift lines go, week days are MUCH better. I know that sounds obvious, but Loon can get real busy on weekends because it's so close to route 93. On weekend if you don't want to wait in long lines avoid the gondola and kancamangus quads and just keep riding the north peak and/or east basin chairs.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I might be going to Loon tomorrow. I'll post a trip report.

 

[Brettski]

Stay off the Gondi...no need to go there really....


I would stick with the North Peal Quad.....and get there early before everyone realizes it's there...and then later use the Kanc D-Quad

I might Gondi up on the first run

We stayed there last year....which is cool to be slopeside.....where are you staying, and how long is the ride to the mountain?

If you are making camp in a ski lodge, I would say use the Octogon Base, you can the easily move to the Mountain Club for a more relaxing lunch/Apres, ect

Go in the bottom of the club where the ski lockers are...don't know if that's kosher...but hey...

 

[billski]

Food!

Stay off the Gondi...no need to go there really....


I would stick with the North Peal Quad.....and get there early before everyone realizes it's there...and then later use the Kanc D-Quad

I might Gondi up on the first run

We stayed there last year....which is cool to be slopeside.....where are you staying, and how long is the ride to the mountain?

If you are making camp in a ski lodge, I would say use the Octogon Base, you can the easily move to the Mountain Club for a more relaxing lunch/Apres, ect

Go in the bottom of the club where the ski lockers are...don't know if that's kosher...but hey...

One good reason to take the Gondola: GRRRREAT Jamaican food at the top!
Gondola is fine midweek. Opt for the single line if it's just a few of you.

 

[AMAC2233]

Saturday and Sunday are equal in terms of crowds IMO, try to work your way across the mountain as mentioned above. Either day, you should get there right at 8, the crowds don't build up until 10 or 11, your first two hours will be the best of the day. The conditions have been really nice considering the weather. When I left yesterday morning it was sleeting but there was a solid 3-5 inches from Sunday/Monday combined, and as always they've been blowing, and their grooming prevents ice for the good part of the day. If you eat lunch early before 11(I know it's early,) or late after 1:30 or 2, you'll really avoid crowds on the slopes and especially in the lodge. I usually eat at Camp 3, which never has bad crowds, the summit cafe is good too, just avoid Governer Adam's lodge and especially the octogan lodge.

 

[snoseek]

north peak quad is definately the most bang for your buck. East basin chair is good on really crowded days. Start skiing very early. I think they may open at 8. To be honest loon scares the crap out of me after 10 on a weekend, lots of uphill capacity, with not enough acres.

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

I've been to Loon 5-days since the first of the year and each week it gets mucho-better. Friday was 30°F and the snow was perfect with natural snow falling and they were making snow. Sunday was cold (6°F at 8:30am) and they had the most terrain open of the year and they were making snow as well.

Loon is a go!

 

[jack97]

Speaking from exp, Loon on a weekend with novices is not a good mix. They don't have many trails that have a gentle pitch. They only have one or two greens (not counting the bunny slope), it gets crowded and scrape off fast. If the novices are timid and need alot of space to get down a trail they might not fare so well on the crowded intermediate trails. I would say its another matter if they were solid intermediates. Best bet is to get there on a mid week.

 

[Mapnut]

Another "Loon was nice on Sunday" (21st) report. Approaching 85% open, though there's less than a foot of natural. Novices can do Bear Claw from the summit, and to avoid liftlines can ski down to the East Basin chair which didn't have significant lines. I agree that there's a serious deficiency of learning slopes. Lower Bear Claw and Brookway are nice runs which can be done off the 7 Brothers triple. Brookway is narrow and the triple chair is slow. I didn't find the trails to be that badly crowded and the snow held up well yesterday.

 

[hammer]

How about Waterville on a Saturday

I'd like to expand my advice request to include Waterville...looks like I'll be going there this Saturday. I know about the weekday advice but, with the exception of the occasional weeknight short trip (to Pats Peak, thanks to the AZ discount), non-holiday weekday skiing isn't an option for me.

Does it really help to show up early? What are the best intermediate trails to hit? Any other advice?

 

[snoseek]

Does it really help to show up early?

yes!

 

[Vortex]

I'll be at Waterville on sunday. Kid in the snowboard comp.

Thankx for using the Discounts Hammer. Makes my day. Pats has been in great shape.