ski areas
sat and sunday 2-21-22-09
1 ski maple valley (closed ) VT
conditions powder, ice water bars, frozen everything
2 granite gorge NH
cond. machine groomed
My journey began Friday early afternoon I had to go into new Hampshire for a sat wedding but I wanted to get some skiing in away from the holiday crowds I pulled into the parking lot of the old maple valley ski area outside of brattleb. VT. I walked around the base lodge and found the snow to be packed down from the freeze thaw with plenty of loose snow on top and underneath. I headed up, sticking to the skiers right side of the mtn climbing the old summit to base green circle trail, taking a few short cuts and criss crossing the old ¾ mile double chair. Things were of course very quite. The area is in complete ruins lifts, lights, snowmaking pipes and all other equipment is trashed, heres the link if you want the mtn http://www.vermont-home.com/ski.htm it took me a while to summit the 1,000 foot vd maple valley. I debated taking the trail that I took up down, but it was so flat I opted not to, I took and old blue to black to blue trail that followed the chair down. The snow was a mix mashed of frozen, powder and water bars, but the over growth was not a problem some rather large pine trees but no thorns or suckers poking out, it was an enjoyable trip up and down, the pictures include the old lift a hall double chair, as you can see in very very bad shape, here’s the trail I took down you can see the glare ice, water bars and powder. Here the old race building ( I think ) and my karhu agent skis.
I spent the night in Keene and awoke the next morning and travled to granite gorge ski area, I love traveling around NE skiing all these smaller and or lesser know areas, granite gorge re-opened a few years back and since then they have added a double chair with a 525 foot drop, snow making system, two magic carpets, a handle tow, terrain park a small warming hut a yurt, tube park, snow shoeing and xc trails and everything else you would expect at a skis area. Its all very nicely done with the color scheme of blue and green. I believe the owner is a contractor or construction worker, and the quality shows. They were having the mountain dew vert challenge and there were plenty of people there, not only skiing but tubing and using the trails xcing and shoeing around it really had some thing for everyone
A varity of trails from the summit include a terrain park and un groomed double black, groomed cruisers and even a half mile green, conditions were great even on the un groomed head-wall trail, skied for three hours then I had to bail to go to the wedding, another nice small local area and another new area for me.
Pictures of the base area and new groomer, head wall trail and chair lift past the mid station.
sat and sunday 2-21-22-09
1 ski maple valley (closed ) VT
conditions powder, ice water bars, frozen everything
2 granite gorge NH
cond. machine groomed
My journey began Friday early afternoon I had to go into new Hampshire for a sat wedding but I wanted to get some skiing in away from the holiday crowds I pulled into the parking lot of the old maple valley ski area outside of brattleb. VT. I walked around the base lodge and found the snow to be packed down from the freeze thaw with plenty of loose snow on top and underneath. I headed up, sticking to the skiers right side of the mtn climbing the old summit to base green circle trail, taking a few short cuts and criss crossing the old ¾ mile double chair. Things were of course very quite. The area is in complete ruins lifts, lights, snowmaking pipes and all other equipment is trashed, heres the link if you want the mtn http://www.vermont-home.com/ski.htm it took me a while to summit the 1,000 foot vd maple valley. I debated taking the trail that I took up down, but it was so flat I opted not to, I took and old blue to black to blue trail that followed the chair down. The snow was a mix mashed of frozen, powder and water bars, but the over growth was not a problem some rather large pine trees but no thorns or suckers poking out, it was an enjoyable trip up and down, the pictures include the old lift a hall double chair, as you can see in very very bad shape, here’s the trail I took down you can see the glare ice, water bars and powder. Here the old race building ( I think ) and my karhu agent skis.
I spent the night in Keene and awoke the next morning and travled to granite gorge ski area, I love traveling around NE skiing all these smaller and or lesser know areas, granite gorge re-opened a few years back and since then they have added a double chair with a 525 foot drop, snow making system, two magic carpets, a handle tow, terrain park a small warming hut a yurt, tube park, snow shoeing and xc trails and everything else you would expect at a skis area. Its all very nicely done with the color scheme of blue and green. I believe the owner is a contractor or construction worker, and the quality shows. They were having the mountain dew vert challenge and there were plenty of people there, not only skiing but tubing and using the trails xcing and shoeing around it really had some thing for everyone
A varity of trails from the summit include a terrain park and un groomed double black, groomed cruisers and even a half mile green, conditions were great even on the un groomed head-wall trail, skied for three hours then I had to bail to go to the wedding, another nice small local area and another new area for me.
Pictures of the base area and new groomer, head wall trail and chair lift past the mid station.
