February 26, 2010
Late winter means great skiing
by Tony Chamberlain/
Runs like Polecat at Wildcat Mountain provide great late winter skiing. (photo: Tony Chamberlain)
Late winter: Pick your own place.
Even though many of the southern coastal storms skirted the heart of New England ski country, the last dump more than made up for it. And all that moisture that seemed to be stirring a pot of glue now has ensured some longevity in this year’s base.
But March is the snowiest month in the Northeast, and now the vacation weeks are over, choosing an area to duck crowds is less of an issue. So, for late winter, with more sunlight and warmer temperatures, here are a couple of favorite backwaters.
We’ve been on the groomed cruiser hunt for much of this season, and enjoying the non-big mountain feel of Bolton Valley. Nestled into the northern Green Mountains near Burlington, Vt., this smaller private area is not the same now as it was a few decades ago when Ralph DesLaurier founded the area.
In 2003 Bob Fries bought it and in the next four years gave it an updating that has left it a very comfortable area in its niche, which is not Stowe or Surgarbush, its big-mountain neighbors.
Bolton is an excellent place to take groups of varied abilities, with its heavy accent on cruising, ego snow, and a beautiful valley setting over a 1,700-foot vertical drop. There are also 10 glades, some terrain parks and a few real testy double-blacks.
And for those who still like the quaint and quiet sport of nordic skiing in your winter mix, Bolton has some wonderful well-groomed rolling trails.
In mid-New Hampshire as warmer temps loosen winter’s grip a bit, I always love a stop at Cannon, the venerable meat-and-potatoes area that time has treated very well. It’s kind of fun to ski down Zoomer with thoughts of Bode Miller, as a child, haunting these slopes by beating the pants off ski racers years older than himself.
Cannon always has a go-fast quality about it, though chargers like Upper Hardscrabble – a classic standby – morph into the high octane cruising on Lower Harscrabble.
The steep frontal shots like Zoomer and Paulie’s Folly are nice quick runouts to the bottom, and Cannon has some fairly remote tree skiing in places like Kinsman Glade.
This is also the time of year when the generally better road conditions encourage touring ski trips. From Cannon, a short drive through the National Forest leads you to TwinMountainand Bretton Woods – great in any season.
After skiing there you can drive right around the base of Mount Washington, through Crawford Notch and around to Pinkham Notch for a visit to another late-season classic, Wildcat.
One of my all-time favorites, Wildcat reaches both ways – it has some modern cruisers along with some old New Englandcrankers. The bookends of this mountain are Wildcat that starts black to blue on one side, and Polecat on the other. If you have skiers intimidated by Wildcat’s old reputation for toughness, put them on Polecat – the longest green circle trail anywhere in ski country.
Of course, Wildcat ranks near the top of ski areas for the sheer beauty of Mount Washington, untrammeled by condo sprawl or factory outlet/fast-food shopping. It is untouched and protected forestland.
