billski
Active member
The plan was to ski three resorts in the No. Conway Area for the bargain price of $3.30, $9 and $10 respectively
Cranmore turned out to be the pick of the day. Got there for the opening bell. Unbelievably, this was my first time there. Great place for never-evers and progressing intermediates. While the temperature was around nine degrees, no wind along with brilliant sunshine on this south facing mountain made the place quite enjoyable. While trail count was limited, the snowmaking was going in full tilt and what they made, they kept. Check out the snow quality:
Cranmore skiers generally seem to have mastered the advanced , level six skid turn. Mr. Schneider would be appalled if he saw such a thing. I saw more of that, than anything else. A very friendly, intimate place, casual, relaxed, kid-friendly, family abounding kind of place.
Not many learners, but fairly competent blue-trail skiers were in the majority. A mix of a highspeed quad and some old croaker doubles combined to make for no lift lines.
The middle trail, the only black open, was furiously blasting away new snow
Cranmore did a damn good job cleaning up the mess left by the early-week warm-up. Trail count was very limited, but there were a lot of choices. Most trails only had a portion of it groomed, the remainder was essentially un-skiable crust, about one-eight inch on top. Due to lack of wind, whatever they made and loosened stayed where they put it. It wasn't scratchy at all.
Cranmore is one of the most convenient places I've been to. Practically in the village, the walk from parking was easy, flat and convenient, as was the lodge siting - flat out to the lifts,plenty of space in front. The base is a cobble of buildings, all at the same level, and all work well for the small crowds. Because the Mt. faces south, the days seem warmer, and you can always find a sunny spot on the trail, any time of day.
I challenged Hannes to a race to the finish, but he was a non-starter
I'm crouching, but it's impossible to tell with the black and shadows, so I come off looking like a midget! :lol:
By 10 the crowds started to awaken, and by 11 it was time to move on.
Smellytele says he got to Cranmore midday and the line was all the way to town
and decided not to wait. Guess I got the timing good on Cranmore (seems to be a lazy crowd), but flipped it when I got to Cat. (See later).
So next, off to Black, where it turns out the "opening day" had been reduced to a platter-pull beginner run access day. Hmmm. The owner decided the trails were a bit too icy in the middle. Ten buck ticket offer now extended till today, Saturday Dec 19, when they promise they really, really offer lifts to the top. You can't get more local management than that. They are impervious to market forces, resistant to change, and only ready to deliver good slopes when they are ready. Bully for them! I only wished I had called ahead, but it was a pleasant diversion.
The scene at Black:
Lift Lines at Black:
All the skuttlebutt was that Wildcat was closed with 90mph winds. A quick call clarified the situation: all lifts turning except the quad. Onward.
When I got there I knew something was amiss, but what? The skies were blue, the sun was shining, the lifts were turning. 1pm and many folks were leaving. Grabbed my Liftopia ticket; they actually had a huge stack of printouts at a dedicated desk. It literally took me under 1 minute to get my ticket.
First run revealed why even a $9 ticket price was not worth it. The trails were windblown, scratchy and scraped off.
The Wildcat ski/board style is to sideswipe those stopping to take photos of Mt Washington (me.) not bone to bone impact, but a bit too close, clothes brushing. This happened repeatedly throughout the day. Trail conditions sucked on the blues. With essentially no black trails open, I thought I would try a green trail. Amazingly, they were in just as bad a shape. I can't imagine beginners out there. A couple hardy souls doing their best, and I'm sure they'll be good skiers some day.
Smellytele says the AM was good at at Wildcat, save for a couple of trails that should have been closed.
I just could not enjoy it. About 2pm, the winds picked up substantially on the lower mountain just exacerbated the situation.
When Wildcat has good conditions, they are very, very good. When they have bad conditions, it is very, very bad.
All in all, I skied 2 of the three trifecta, picked up a pin from Cranmore to complete my collection and had a bowl of amazingly good tomato basil pepper soup.
Afterward, I stopped back at the Ski Wheeler's club ski house in North Conway. Located down the road from Cranmore, this 120 year old building was formerly a hotel and sleeps 70. I was given a tour and duly impressed. Very cool place to crash.
http://www.skiwheelers.org/
Cranmore turned out to be the pick of the day. Got there for the opening bell. Unbelievably, this was my first time there. Great place for never-evers and progressing intermediates. While the temperature was around nine degrees, no wind along with brilliant sunshine on this south facing mountain made the place quite enjoyable. While trail count was limited, the snowmaking was going in full tilt and what they made, they kept. Check out the snow quality:
Cranmore skiers generally seem to have mastered the advanced , level six skid turn. Mr. Schneider would be appalled if he saw such a thing. I saw more of that, than anything else. A very friendly, intimate place, casual, relaxed, kid-friendly, family abounding kind of place.
Not many learners, but fairly competent blue-trail skiers were in the majority. A mix of a highspeed quad and some old croaker doubles combined to make for no lift lines.
The middle trail, the only black open, was furiously blasting away new snow
Cranmore did a damn good job cleaning up the mess left by the early-week warm-up. Trail count was very limited, but there were a lot of choices. Most trails only had a portion of it groomed, the remainder was essentially un-skiable crust, about one-eight inch on top. Due to lack of wind, whatever they made and loosened stayed where they put it. It wasn't scratchy at all.
Cranmore is one of the most convenient places I've been to. Practically in the village, the walk from parking was easy, flat and convenient, as was the lodge siting - flat out to the lifts,plenty of space in front. The base is a cobble of buildings, all at the same level, and all work well for the small crowds. Because the Mt. faces south, the days seem warmer, and you can always find a sunny spot on the trail, any time of day.
I challenged Hannes to a race to the finish, but he was a non-starter
I'm crouching, but it's impossible to tell with the black and shadows, so I come off looking like a midget! :lol:
By 10 the crowds started to awaken, and by 11 it was time to move on.
Smellytele says he got to Cranmore midday and the line was all the way to town
and decided not to wait. Guess I got the timing good on Cranmore (seems to be a lazy crowd), but flipped it when I got to Cat. (See later).So next, off to Black, where it turns out the "opening day" had been reduced to a platter-pull beginner run access day. Hmmm. The owner decided the trails were a bit too icy in the middle. Ten buck ticket offer now extended till today, Saturday Dec 19, when they promise they really, really offer lifts to the top. You can't get more local management than that. They are impervious to market forces, resistant to change, and only ready to deliver good slopes when they are ready. Bully for them! I only wished I had called ahead, but it was a pleasant diversion.
The scene at Black:
Lift Lines at Black:
All the skuttlebutt was that Wildcat was closed with 90mph winds. A quick call clarified the situation: all lifts turning except the quad. Onward.
When I got there I knew something was amiss, but what? The skies were blue, the sun was shining, the lifts were turning. 1pm and many folks were leaving. Grabbed my Liftopia ticket; they actually had a huge stack of printouts at a dedicated desk. It literally took me under 1 minute to get my ticket.
First run revealed why even a $9 ticket price was not worth it. The trails were windblown, scratchy and scraped off.
The Wildcat ski/board style is to sideswipe those stopping to take photos of Mt Washington (me.) not bone to bone impact, but a bit too close, clothes brushing. This happened repeatedly throughout the day. Trail conditions sucked on the blues. With essentially no black trails open, I thought I would try a green trail. Amazingly, they were in just as bad a shape. I can't imagine beginners out there. A couple hardy souls doing their best, and I'm sure they'll be good skiers some day.
Smellytele says the AM was good at at Wildcat, save for a couple of trails that should have been closed.
I just could not enjoy it. About 2pm, the winds picked up substantially on the lower mountain just exacerbated the situation.
When Wildcat has good conditions, they are very, very good. When they have bad conditions, it is very, very bad.
All in all, I skied 2 of the three trifecta, picked up a pin from Cranmore to complete my collection and had a bowl of amazingly good tomato basil pepper soup.
Afterward, I stopped back at the Ski Wheeler's club ski house in North Conway. Located down the road from Cranmore, this 120 year old building was formerly a hotel and sleeps 70. I was given a tour and duly impressed. Very cool place to crash.
http://www.skiwheelers.org/
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