Pats Peak new trails - one will be a bump run.

[Tin]

For southern NH Pat's has the bumps and Crotched has the glades. I would put Crotched's woods stuff up against anything in NH except Cannon and Wildcat.

 

[MadMadWorld]

It's hard to believe that it's been almost ten years since I regularly skied at Pats. It did the job for the two years I lived in Boston. The passes were affordable, the service was great, the place was clean, and the skiing was overall quite good for what it was. They don't skimp on snowmaking and grooming.

As to bumps, in addition to Hurricane, they used to let portions of Cyclone, Tornado, and Knight Slope bump up. My first season they roped off Vortex and the Peak Double Liftline. I recalled that they rethought this after some feedback from AZ, and even blew snow in here. I recall skiing down some pretty sweet technical lines in this area in 2005. Short, but sweet. I think that they still let these areas bump up.

So yes, they were short on intermediate bumps. They did seed some here and there, but nothing really big. Having another trail for bumps would help.

I think their "glades" fall into two categories: decent northeast glades when there is snow (literally two--Tornado Woods being the best and Hurricane Glade near the top being second) and some thinning in between tree areas that would get snowmaking--both intentionally and unintentionally. The latter were what they had a lot of and they aren't really glades per se. Better than nothing. Would I go to Pats to ski glades? No. If I were in the area, wanted to ski, and they had enough snow so that the Vortex and Peak Liftlines were open and skiable? Sure. I skied there because of convenience and price. It also was just a friendly place to go.

They really have done a tremendous job carving out their niche clientele. It's not a large ski area, no high speed lifts, no hotels, average snowfall....yet they have been extremely successful as a family owned business. It amazes me whenever I go

 

[thetrailboss]

They really have done a tremendous job carving out their niche clientele. It's not a large ski area, no high speed lifts, no hotels, average snowfall....yet they have been extremely successful as a family owned business. It amazes me whenever I go

Very true. They have a good manager. They also keep costs low with regards to lifts and other equipment. I think that Ragged would still be going under the Endriunas Family had they not overextended themselves with the six-pack and trying to run Blue Hills at the same time.

It also helps when your family owns a building supply store and has access to your own construction equipment.....if I got that right.

 

[dlague]

As most have mentioned, cascade basin isn't particularly exciting. IMO it's a step up from the valley area and gives beginners and intermediates a few more options. I will be curious to see what the new bump run will be like. I think Pats could use a bump run that is a bit easier than Hurricane. I see a lot of people struggle their way down, so I would guess a milder alternative will be popular.


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Well for intermediate bumps the lower section of FIS has a nice patch. Remember skiing those the day we were there.


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[Savemeasammy]

Go here for a discussion on Pats' glades including some of my old pics:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php/22141-Pats-Peak-(NH)-Glades?highlight=pats+peak

This was an interesting read. It sounds as though there were more bumps to be found then than what I've seen the past 2 seasons...

I haven't seen the peak liftline in skiable shape the way it is in your pic. For me, that would be a big plus to be able to ski that, but they have the air bag for jumps on knight slope now, so they probably want to keep uphill traffic away.

The glades at pats are weak. Hurricane glade starts off ok, but it gets flat in a hurry. It should start up higher. Then it would be much better. There is a fair amount of steep stuff at the top of pats that could be quality glades if they were inclined to thin it out...


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[Smellytele]

Very true. They have a good manager. They also keep costs low with regards to lifts and other equipment. I think that Ragged would still be going under the Endriunas Family had they not overextended themselves with the six-pack and trying to run Blue Hills at the same time.

It also helps when your family owns a building supply store and has access to your own construction equipment.....if I got that right.

The family owns a well company and a directional drilling company. Also other family memebers own a lumber yard, gravel and cement companies amongst all things.