February 11, 2010 E-MAIL PRINT

White Mountain ski areas feature prime conditions

by Tony Chamberlain/

Some of the finest snow conditions in New England are a constant at Bretton Woods. (photo: Tony Chamerlain)

Some of the finest snow conditions in New England are a constant at Bretton Woods. (photo: Tony Chamerlain)

February is the month for winter school vacations, and in my world that has always translated into ski and ride time. Time to get to the mountains and forget the lowland world for a while.

But don’t forget that the vacation week only begins the sweet spot of ski season. The 10 weeks from early February to about mid-April gets the most snow, temperatures warming all the time and the light getting brighter and brighter.

Having had a place at Intervale, the northern White Mountain areas always comprised a 40-square mile winter playground, every area with its own flavor and nuance. Here are some of my favorite haunts in this region.

Jackson Village has to be one of the sweetest ski towns anywhere. Shoot over that famous red covered bridge and it’s like a gateway to some magical place created by and for snow lovers.

The inns and hotels are, of course, legendary — not for glitz, but for their quiet understated elegance. Not to enumerate, but the range from rustic Whitney’s Inn with its famed Shovel Handle Pub to the stately Eagle Mountain Resort runs through all levels of price and lavishness. But all of them are handy to the skiing and riding, which is what the region is all about.

Many late winter afternoons find the lifts closing with lots of daylight left. In Jackson, that means some nordic skiing at the Jackson Touring Center where, even in relatively snowless times man-made snow blows out over the trails to keep the sport rolling — a fairly rare circumstance in nordic skiing.

Black Mountain — an absolute fave. This historic mountain with 1,100-foot vertical and 40 trails is a bit of a throwback into history, where you can still find those narrow New England switchback trails that defined skiing’s early days.

Not far from Jackson is what many consider the queen of the White Mountains — Wildcat. With 47 trails down its 2,100-foot vertical and 4,000-foot summit, Wildcat is as intense a ski and ride experience as you’ll find anywhere.

From steep steeps to long curvaceous cruisers to some amazing scenery of Mount Washington next peak over, Wildcat just never stops pouring on the winter.

On the other side of Mount Washington around through Crawford Notch is a bit more laid back experience in Bretton Woods. They don’t advertise the “low-stress” anymore in their ads, but this 101-trail network spread broadly across some genial meadowland is just built for people who like to cruise with ease on some of the plushest snow in the East.

“Genial,” meaning mostly that the ski terrain is well protected from some of the extremes of winter wind and weather. There are some testing glades and a few steep faces, but nah, don’t fool yourself — we go to Bretton Woods for the ego skiing.

Also very benign and historic is Cranmore in North Conway, whose sunny southwest face is one of the best alternatives when the wind is whipping winterishly. A little like Bretton Woods, Cranmore is a wonderful cruiser’s area, though last year they opened Gibson Chutes, a natural skiing area with three narrow trails and several entrances. A unique piece of terrain for sure.

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