Ragged Mt NH

[Abubob]

Saturday Dec 17

The following is word for word what I've just posted in SJ so ... no need to read it here if you've read it there. My apologies

I feel like jumping up and down shouting "I skied today I skied today" but I'm too tired. Ragged opened its slopes on Friday and I finally got out Saturday morning. I arrived late around 10 because I just wasn't in a hurry. It wasn't like it was going to be anything spectacular or 6" of fresh to carve before the masses from Mass chopped it up. The first lot wasn't even half full.

And ya know wut? It wasn't half bad! The Six Pack was running with two trails that got you top to bottom - Blueberry Patch and Wild Side. I was expecting some real hard pack from refreezing but they did a decent job of chopping things up. It was like nice crumbled cookies with just a few icy patches. BTW - The RFID worked without a hitch. (I've had this little shoulder pocket on my last two parka's and always wonder what the heck I was supposed to use it for - Ding!) I also like the way they put entry gates at the base Village Green. That's a lot easier than trying to skate past everyone to the opposite side of the Six pack.

Being as out of shape as I am I was played after 4 runs (which I tried to do non-stop for video - posting later - POV warning). So I go in for some juice and a cookie and to rest a bit. After a little while I start to feel like I'm ready to head back out and I hear someone say the lift is down. Happily I happened to have my new (to me) AT set-up so I put my regular Solomon boots away brought my front side Dynastars back out to the car, donned the Scarpa's and Atomic EX10's with Fritchi' bindings and start skinning up Wild Side. I started cramping just as I reached the top of Wild Side and the abandoned lodge. I forgot my pack so no water or munchies which I really need after a hike up like that so I was very stiff coming back down for my first earned turns of the season. They never did get the lift running as far as I know. I was done by 2PM.

Aside from the lift breaking down it was a good day to finally, finally, finally get out and ski. Yay!

 

[Abubob]

The promised POV - enjoy:

 

[Rikka]

Nice report!

 

[bigbog]

Nice report!

+1....and a crystal clear day to spend outdoors.

 

[Abubob]

Nice report!

Thanks.

+1....and a crystal clear day to spend outdoors.

Absolutely why I couldn't just up and head home at 11:30. As it was I still headed home by 2PM but I was toast. The AT set up could be too heavy.

 

[Abubob]

Monday Dec 26

Monday was a beautiful day that just got beautifuler as the day went. Ragged had three different runs to choose from on Monday afternoon - Blueberry to Wildside, Upper and Lower Newfound Ridge to Village Green and Flying Yankee.

Wildside and Newfound had large patches scraped off on the steeper areas while the edges stayed soft where the frozen granular accumulated. Flying Yankee was hard packed and jittery the whole length and was a little hard to take. I took two runs there just to make sure I hadn’t missed any soft spots - I hadn’t.

The snowmaking crew was busy moving guns and hoses to Exhibition at the end of the day so look for that to open soon.

No video this time – just some photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wasabibob/sets/72157628583456571/with/6578952047/


Top of Blueberry by Bob Misu, on Flickr

 

[deadheadskier]

Was surprised to read them opening Yankee prior to Exhibition and even Cardigan. Given the slow start to the season it seems like a smart move to spread the people out.

Have you noticed an improvement in snowmaking capacity due to the upgrades?

 

[Abubob]

Was surprised to read them opening Yankee prior to Exhibition and even Cardigan. Given the slow start to the season it seems like a smart move to spread the people out.

Bob Ashton was new last year and probably did things the way they'd been by under Bob Fries. This year along with a new mountain manager they decided to do things a little differently.

Personally I like the changes. Now they've got three completely different runs top to bottom.

Have you noticed an improvement in snowmaking capacity due to the upgrades?

Really hard to tell with the kind of weather we've had. Grooming seems about the same. Flying Yankee had just opened and I would have thought it would be a smooth carpet. It was hard with golf ball size nuggets.

 

[Abubob]

Sunday Jan 1, 2012

Spring Conditions

I knew before I got out this afternoon it was gonna be good. Warm but good. The snow was soft but my pre-season wax is still good it seems so no slowing down.

Still the same three top to bottom runs. Blueberry to WildSide, Newfound Ridge to Village Green with Headwall thrown it for good measure and Flying Yankee. All skied well and I had a blast. (Sorry no pics or vid - maybe tomorrow.)

btw - There were absolutely no crowds what-so-ever.

 

[Abubob]

Monday Jan 2

Much the same as yesterday except a little tougher. Things hardened up a bit in the morning; softened in the afternoon only to expose the unforgiving base beneath.

But I got POV:

and few GoPro photo photos: Jan 2, 2012 Photos

 

[Bobert540]

Thanks for the report, I miss that Mountain! It was home for me every weekend last year and I fell in love with it. No Crowds, Awesome Tree skiing and a high speed 6-pack to boot!

If you see the Head Race Director on the slopes, tell him Fischers suck from Bob. Lol

 

[Abubob]

Thanks for the report, I miss that Mountain! It was home for me every weekend last year and I fell in love with it. No Crowds, Awesome Tree skiing and a high speed 6-pack to boot!

If we don't get snow soon there won't BE any tree skiing.

If you see the Head Race Director on the slopes, tell him Fischers suck from Bob. Lol

Are you talking about Hans? or Ryan?

 

[Bobert540]

If we don't get snow soon there won't BE any tree skiing.



Are you talking about Hans? or Ryan?

Very true, need a lot of natural snow....it has been quite dry so far this year.

Talking about Ryan. How do you know them?

 

[Abubob]

Talking about Ryan. How do you know them?

Not very well actually. Enough for a nod and an occasional 'Howzit goin'. I was introduced to Ryan last year as the area's media manager. At the time I was trying to interest Ragged in using Flickr to show their photos instead of facebook or as a way to engage skiers to post their own photos at the area. Ryan never responded and I didn't push the idea.

I met Hans on the slope as he was drilling the team and I took a few photos of them as they skied. Nothing more really.

The Ragged Photo group I started is here: Ragged Mountain NH

 

[Bobert540]

Very nice Album!

The guy doing the daffy in the red coat looks familiar ;-)

 

[Abubob]

Very nice Album!

The guy doing the daffy in the red coat looks familiar ;-)

In that case we must have met!


Daffy by Bob Misu, on Flickr

 

[Bobert540]

That is correct.... I remember those snow whales in the park!

Small world, I am hoping to visit Ryan some weekend this winter so maybe I will see you on the slopes at Ragged.

 

[Abubob]

That is correct.... I remember those snow whales in the park!

Small world, I am hoping to visit Ryan some weekend this winter so maybe I will see you on the slopes at Ragged.

Actually they were a seeded mogul experiment gone horribly wrong.


Whale Backs by Bob Misu, on Flickr

 

[Abubob]

Sunday Jan 8

Ragged Mountain

Conditions: Crusty, icy with patches of frozen granular on the side(s)

Trip Report: I wish I had skied Saturday morning but I really had more important things to do. By the afternoon I really didn’t feel like skiing anyway. Still – after reading report of the herculean efforts of the snow making crew I felt Saturday would have been the better day to ski. That is because of yet another thaw that occurred with temps reaching into the 40’s. I had to settle for leftovers of hardened crust on Sunday afternoon. Still at least there’s snow to ski on and Sunday was much less crowded that Saturday must have been and Exhibition is open

And everyone seemed to be in a good mood, even one of the snow making crew that was trudging across the slope with a bottle of propane and a torch happily explained that a plugged line was now clear. He also informally told me that they were planning to do some patchwork on Flying Yankee and Wild Side. “Not Newfound Ridge?” I asked hopefully because I felt it needed it. “Nope”, he said but they might be starting either Lower Ridge or Showboat. Definitely they were going to cover the water bars on Showboat so I’m hopeful that’s next, although on my last run down Wild Side I saw them testing a gun on Lower Ridge.

POVs – view at your own risk:

 

[Abubob]

Short Sunday afternoon at Ragged

Sunday Jan 22

Even after a less than stellar report from Saturday on SJ I had high hopes for Sunday afternoon. I have to say even after all the low temps and natural snow we’ve had Ragged skis as hard as a rock.

Arriving at 2 o’clock I only had time to for six runs so I can tell you exactly what I did - Exhibition was first then over to Spear to have a look at Showboat. I really don’t understand why they only groom a quarter of the slope leaving another quarter unskiable (even if we ever get any natural snow to ski on). Seems to me they could open up quite a bit more with what they had piled up there. And it was rock solid. The area next to it was butter soft with natural snow but protected by “Closed” sign. Even if you did venture into the natural snow you’d have a hard time getting back to the groomed as it was guarded by a rampart of snow boulders. The head wall section was a narrow slide of hardpack with nothing to edge on. There was absolutely nowhere to bail out side to side but at least there was plenty of room to ski out. One run was enough - next was Flying Yankee which was wide and smooth (again I’m thinking why they can’t or won’t do this on Showboat) but with unpredictable ice patches to trip you up if you pick the wrong place to be on edge. Back over to the Six and over the Head Wall, which here again very little to edge on (with a “Slow” sign directly at the bottom) and headed over to Lower Ridge. This was much like Flying Yankee, wide and smooth with little “gotcha’s” unevenly distributed. Next I had to try Newfound Ridge even though I knew a race had taken place and had probably received the most traffic but it was the same as Yankee and Lower Ridge. Last two runs were Exhibition and finished with Yankee.

The only major trail yet to open is Cardigan Turnpike and I could not tell if there was activity there or not. Also the whole center drainage area with Rags, Pels, Birches, Misbehavin and Not too Shabby only have a few inches of natural snow. Tempting but probably not worth skiing on.

As bad as I make it sound though, I gotta say it was very much better than work or grocery shopping with my wife.

See some photos here.