Rank these mountains

[adamh]

Looking for some good deals and these are the mountains within my driving range that have good mid-week deals. Which one should I go to?

Cannon
Ragged
Waterville

Are there any others in NH that I'm missing, preferably south of these mountains?

 

[dw2]

errr, Gunstock? - they have some good mid-week deals. did you check liftopia as well?

 

[SkiScratchPerry]

1. Cannon - tough mountain, varied terrain, steep top to bottom, my choice for boston day trips

2. Ragged - learned here, easier, less steep, less crowded, decent tree skiing. fun.

3. Waterville - never been, and prob won't go. seems cheesy.

 

[adamh]

Actually, Gunstock is 2-1 on Mondays. Is Gunstock preferable to the other 3?

 

[Vortex]

Depends on what you want.parks Waterville. Snow making ie low snow base Waterville. Apres ski Waterville.

Cannon is what as I grew up we called a skiers mountain. More challenging than many places. If you are looking for fast long runs cruisers mid week, I would add loon, again great when low natural snow totals, great parks and pipe. Nothing agaiinst Ragged, but the runs are not long enough for me.

 

[Smellytele]

Cannon
Ragged
Waterville

 

[dw2]

Actually, Gunstock is 2-1 on Mondays. Is Gunstock preferable to the other 3?

Like has been said - depends on what you're looking for, Gunstock has a great park(s) - whish they let Pistol bump up though - red hat is good for bumps - not as steep as waterville or cannon - good cruising though. the steepest stuff is actually off the Tiger triple.

edit to say - the opinions on each place will differ with each skier and their particular skillset/day of skiing/how they slept the night before, etc.... that is everyone has an opinion - not necissarily good or bad.

 

[cannonist]

It all depends what you are looking for.

Waterville Valley: Great Apres ski (William Tell), Long Groomed Runs, A few great bumped up runs, the Schwendi hut= my favorite lodge.

Cannon: Great terrain, yes, a skiers mountain. When the natural snow is there its a great place to be. BE WARE on a cloudy day the top could be socked in.

Both great places.

Never been to Ragged

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm a Ragged pass holder. I would go to Cannon midweek over it in a heartbeat.

Ragged has great tree skiing, an excellent summit lift and is perhaps the least crowded 1000+ vert mountain in NH on weekends.

 

[4aprice]

If I were forced to rank them:

Cannon
Waterville
Ragged.

That being said they are all different areas and each have their own charms. I've been to all 3 and would return to all 3.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[HD333]

Gunstock passholder but if I had to choose from the 3:

Cannon #1 hands down.

Never been to Ragged but hear good things so I would like to give it a shot.

WV #3 - I put them at 3 because it seems to ski small in my opinion.

Gunstock was mentioned as a southern MT I would put that in the same class as Ragged as a BIG step below Connon, it is less vert than WV as well but see above.

For a hardcore skier/rider definitly Cannon over Raqgged or Gstock. Gstock has some of everything but is mostly intermediate terrain. Decent glades(recoil/gunsmoke), Hot Shot is a nice natural trail. Tiger lift services some quick blacks with no lines(redhat, cannonball) that can be fun.

I think DHS has been to both Gstock and Ragged so he may be able to compare the 2.

 

[snowmonster]

Cannon. Even is the summit is socked in, you can keep yourself challenged on the front four trails. If you want backcounty-ish skiing, Mittersill beckons.

 

[Zentaar]

Cannon - good variety of terrain, tends to be less crowded
Ragged - decent mid-size mountain, also has some good variety and is off the beaten path so is always less crowded
Waterville - the mountain is nice, they have a great park, but I wouldn't go there on a weekend, it is right off the highway and is a Boston hot spot, big crowds on weekends - midweek is great.

 

[Smellytele]

Cannon - good variety of terrain, tends to be less crowded
Ragged - decent mid-size mountain, also has some good variety and is off the beaten path so is always less crowded
Waterville - the mountain is nice, they have a great park, but I wouldn't go there on a weekend, it is right off the highway and is a Boston hot spot, big crowds on weekends - midweek is great.

I would not call WV right off the highway - more like 20 minutes.

 

[Zentaar]

If you are a gunstock skier and never been to Ragged they are both excellent mid-size ski areas with less crowds and both areas have decent parks (unlike some of the smaller ski areas).

As for WV, yeah it is a bit off the highway, but 90% of the time when I go there on a weekend, there are 40+ minutes waits in line and a significant amount of buses with MA plates.I like the area, just not the crowds, when I go skiing I want to ski not stand in line.

 

[riverc0il]

As others have posted, it all depends on what you are looking for as to which mountain is better for you. All three excel in different areas.

I would not call WV right off the highway - more like 20 minutes.

This. Driving north on I-93, its barely closer than either Cannon or Loon. Negligible when you factor in the speed limit enforcement on Route 49.

 

[Bkroon9175]

I ski WV a lot and the crowds aren't there anymore. The legendery crownds and long waits only happen during the school vacation weeks and maybe the Sunday of MLK wekend. Eve then, the crowds only exist from10:30-1:30pm. Otherwise the mountain is yours. I would rank them:

Cannon
Waterville
Ragged

I used to love Ragged and to be honest I haven't ben there in two years. But I would take Cannon over all of them. But the crowd thing at WV is not like it used to be.

 

[Zentaar]

That is interesting that WV doesn't get super crowded any more. I may have to check it out again then. I admit other than spring or early season spring skiing, i have not skied there mid-season for many years (because of the crowds). I know Loon has a limit on how many tickets they sell in a day but I also know when they reach that limit it is not an area I want to ski at. Maybe WV reduced their ticket limits to a reasonable number.

 

[Smellytele]

This. Driving north on I-93, its barely closer than either Cannon or Loon. Negligible when you factor in the speed limit enforcement on Route 49.

Bingo

 

[CTNoob]

That is interesting that WV doesn't get super crowded any more. I may have to check it out again then. I admit other than spring or early season spring skiing, i have not skied there mid-season for many years (because of the crowds). I know Loon has a limit on how many tickets they sell in a day but I also know when they reach that limit it is not an area I want to ski at. Maybe WV reduced their ticket limits to a reasonable number.

WV is less crowded nowadays because its main competitor, Loon, has gotten bigger and better while WV stood still, not because of tickets limits. New management under the Sununus will hopefully change that.

WV does alot of midweek deals and for $35 per person, its a really nice day of skiing.