November 13, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Loon landing

by Brion O'Connor/

Loon Mountain is known for its accessibility and variety. (photo: Loon Mountain)

Loon Mountain is known for its accessibility and variety. (photo: Loon Mountain)

Ski writers, myself included, have gone on and on ad nauseam about how easy it is to get to Loon Mountain outside Lincoln, N.H. It’s true, of course, with a straight slice of I-93 hot-top running right up the Granite State’s spine to the Kancamagus Highway. Once again this year, Ski magazine readers voted Loon the No. 1 access resort in the East, which is something akin to saying the Red Sox are the most popular baseball team in Boston.

While that distinction is fine and dandy, it’s just the tip of the mountain. Ski areas could have the Autobahn paved to their doorstep, but if they don’t provide a top-flight experience, skiers and snowboarders will spend their hard-earned coin elsewhere. Plus, the drive isn’t always a 65 mph expressway, especially if your timing is bad. Take it from one who knows: If you leave the Greater Boston area after 2 p.m. on a Friday, you’re playing Russian Road Roulette. I-93 can get congested quickly, particularly when the lanes drop from four to three in Andover, Mass., and from three to two at the New Hampshire border. Also, you don’t want to be trying to get through Manchester and Concord during Friday evening rush hour.

I’ve had success zooming up at the crack of dawn — or before — on Saturday morning. From my home on Boston’s North Shore, to the main parking lot at Loon (with at least one coffee/bathroom break), is roughly 2½ hours. That’s fast, in my book. If we arrive by 7:30, we even get a great spot in the Loon parking lot, which is normally overflowing by 9. We can also be first in line in the rental shop if the girls want to try something different, such as snowboards.

As for the mountain itself, I try to take the same approach as the drive: Early is better. The tough part is deciding where to start, with 55 trails spread over 336 acres, including six acres of tree skiing. The vertical — 2,100 feet — isn’t monstrous, but the trail layout, with 17 percent novice, 16 percent expert, and 67 percent intermediate, makes the most of the available terrain.

My siblings and I are dedicated members of the Bamboo for Breakfast Club, which means we’ll suffer the wrath of surly kids and crack-of-dawn cobwebs in order to make first tracks (a coffeemaker with an auto-timer can be your best friend here). At Loon, that means a beeline to the gondola, and then hopping on to Angel Street to the North Peak Quad. Much has been made of Loon’s new South Peak (more on that later), but for my money, the resort’s North Peak still rules. Especially when the snow is good. And it doesn’t get any better than early morning. Trust me, the rug rats will stop whining once they step off the lifts.

After banging out a few thigh-burning wakeup runs on Walking Boss and Flume, we’ll head into the Camp III Lodge for breakfast while everyone else is just snapping in. Families with younger skiers can scoot around the steep stuff by accessing Haulback via Sunset, getting to Camp III by skiing a large ‘Z’ across North Peak. This is as good a place as any to point out Loon’s underappreciated snowmaking and grooming efforts. The steep pitch of these trails, combined with the well-known vagaries of New England weather, presents a daunting task for the Loon snow crew, and for the most part, the workers are up to it. Snow coverage is typically wall-to-wall, and the base is packed down evenly. Yes, these upper trails are the first on the mountain to get skied off, but that’s why we get here early.

After refueling (the lodge food at Loon, like many Northeast ski areas, has undergone a tremendous improvement in the last 10 years), if the cover is still good we might grab another run on North Peak, or take the East Basin chair to make some turns on Big Dipper. Then, depending on the crowds, we’ll head to either West Basin or the new South Peak. The lift lines at Loon are as unpredictable as New England weather, though the odds favor a long wait on weekends. Loon once attempted to limit ticket sales to ease overcrowding, which was admirable, but season passes have made that practice unwieldy. Plus, as a skier once memorably quipped while standing in line, “What’s the limit? 50,000?” South Peak, fortunately, has remedied much of the congestion.

The cross-mountain Tote Road quad to South Peak, to be diplomatic, is a necessary evil, since you can’t ski between the two areas. But it’s slow. Really slow. So make sure you take full advantage of your time at South Peak (in other words, don’t plan on jumping back and forth often). South Peak, though, has its advantages. In a weird way, it seems many Loon skiers still don’t know about it, even though it was the subject of contentious litigation for the better part of two (or more) decades. It has two long, gentle cruising runs, and when conditions are right, one of the best double black diamonds — Ripsaw — in New England.

Cruiser and Boom Run are marked intermediate, but in all honesty, are gentle enough for most beginners. These are perfect family slopes, with a much different feel and atmosphere compared to “old” Loon. First, due to location and layout, they’re a lot less crowded, which means the lines for the Lincoln Express quad are shorter. Second, the views of Franconia Ridge and Lincoln are stunning, giving skiers the sensation that they’re sliding right into town. Third, the parking lot at South Peak is another undiscovered gem, allowing folks to get on the mountain quickly (all the lifts open at the same time) without the hassle that the main parking lot can produce.

Upping the ante on South Peak is the challenging terrain you’ll find on the Uppercut glade area and Ripsaw, simply one of the best new runs to come along in a long time (two new adjoining trails — Twitcher and Jobber — are scheduled to open for the 2010-11 season). As one Loon veteran told me, Ripsaw, after a good powder dump, is “an awesome trail. It bumps up nicely, and is steep for a long time. It’s truly like a double black out west.” I couldn’t agree more. Plus, families with members of varying abilities can all ski South Peak, comfortable in knowing that all the trails converge at the Pemigewasset Base Camp (provided you don’t take Escape Route off Boom Run, which bypasses the lodge and heads directly to the parking lot). This base camp features one of those cool permanent tent structures, which offers all the amenities of its brick-and-mortar counterparts and is a great spot to enjoy an outdoor snack or après ski beer on milder days.

The latter part of the day is reserved for the middle mountain, which tends to hold its snow quite well and can be a lot of fun when the crowds, and lift lines, thin. I’ve always loved the West Basin runs serviced by the Kancamagus Express quad, especially Rumrunner, Ram Pasture and Blue Ox. They all have enough pitch to generate a nice tailwind, which leads to some sweet, sweeping GS turns (the perfect antidote to legs quivering from lactic acid buildup). Freestylers also can access the Loon Mountain Park from the Kanc quad, as well as the Gondola and pokey Seven Brothers chair. Though my airborne days are behind me – my jumps nowadays are rarely premeditated – my muscles still twitch at the sight of these giant ramps, rails and half-pipes (the resort’s superpipe is 450 feet long, with 18-foot walls!), and I love watching the youngsters who can still go big. It’s no surprise that TransWorld Snowboarding magazine consistently rates Loon the top terrain park in the East.

If we’re parked close to the resort’s main Octagon Lodge, we’ll try to finish the day with a few carving runs underneath the gondola on Picaroon or Seven Brothers. Late day, like early morning, is probably the best time to jump aboard the gondola, which is still one of the nicest lifts in New England. Just make sure the little ones still have enough left in the tank for that last top-to-bottom run.

Another prime benefit at Loon is the resort’s commitment to safety, both with superb signage and “family zones,” and with a top-notch ski patrol. Skiers and boarders have the added security of knowing that the first-aid services feature orthopedic doctors on the hill. In the interest of full disclosure, I should reveal that my brother, Dr. Sean O’Connor, is one of those Loon docs. When I was young and carefree (i.e. single), the biggest benefit was being able to ski with Sean without having to wait in the lift lines. These days, however, as a 52-year-old with a beautiful wife and a pair of “tweener” daughters, I think of this added benefit much differently. It means peace of mind.

Fortunately for me, and the ladies in my house, we’ve never had cause to visit the Loon first-aid station for anything more serious than a few aspirin (still the best après après ski relief) and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with my brother’s clan. Speaking of families, though, Brynne and Maddi, my aforementioned daughters (ages 10 and 12), are pretty outgoing kids, but they’ve always enjoyed the camps and lessons at Loon, and that’s a real testament to a caring and qualified staff. We don’t do private lessons, and at Loon we can be sure that the girls will be placed with skiers of similar abilities. Again, that’s reassuring, and it allows my bride, Lauri, and I to ski stress-free.

Last, my advanced age has given me carte blanche to explore another wonderful slopeside amenity at Loon — the new Viaggio Spa at the Mountain Club. I always try to make the après ski pilgrimage to my favorite watering holes (see sidebar), but the spa helps put my body right. Which means I can get up the next morning, really early, and do it all over again.

E-MAIL PRINT