Skiers and riders have two options for day or night bus transportation from Boston to Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H., this year. BRS Transportation will be providing service direct from Boston on Feb. 3, Feb. 15, Feb. 19 and March 15 for $69 per person, including round-trip bus and lift ticket. To reserve a seat and find out about pickup locations and times, visit brstransportation.com/ski-trips.

Pats Peak also has resumed its successful bus service on Saturday afternoons for the 2018 ski season with Boston Common Coach. This bus service departs from various locations in the Boston area, picking up at any metro Boston location with a 15-person minimum and 48 hours advance reservations. The round-trip and lift ticket (3-10 p.m.) combination costs $85 per person. The package also includes snow tubing ticket (5-10 p.m.), lesson tips (4-6 p.m.), rental equipment and entertainment. Advance reservations must be made by calling Boston Common Coach at 877-723-3833 or 617-773-2784.

“The Boston Common Coach bus service out of the Boston area is great for college students, families and others that need transportation to the slopes on Saturday afternoons,” says Celina Braun, group sales coordinator at Pats Peak. “New this year, we are also working with BRS Transportation for other dates for bus transportation from the Boston area.”

Pats Peak has 28 trails and slopes, with nine gladed areas, and a 770-foot vertical, with some of the steepest, longest pitches in southern N.H.

Wildcat Mug Clubbers raise $6,000

When a few open memberships became available this season during renewal time for the mug club at the Wildcat Pub at Wildcat Mountain, organizers took advantage of the high demand to support two organizations — AbilityPlus Adaptive Sports and the Wildcat Ski Team.

Wildcat announced it would accept the highest bids for the club memberships with one caveat: every dollar over the traditional $55 renewal rate would be donated to the two organizations. After two weeks of bidding, Wildcat collected a total of 116 bids. Twentyeight memberships were awarded and — thanks to the generosity of bidders — the area donated close to $3,000 to each organization.

As part of the 60th anniversary celebration this season, Wildcat Pub has partnered with Tuckerman Brewing Co. to create a special ale available to mug club members and the public.

“The ale has been affectionately named Hairball Ale and will be available in the pub. The tap, of course, will feature a custom design handle of a cat,” said Jack Fagone, director of marketing for Attitash and Wildcat Mountain.

Denver-based Snowvation looks East

Snowvation, the startup that sells software for booking and scheduling instructors to ski resorts, is moving eastward, landing contracts with three New Hampshire resorts.

Peak Resorts, the Missouri-based company that operates 14 ski resorts in the Northeast and Midwest, has selected Snowvation to run its booking software at Attitash, Crotched Mountain and Wildcat Mountain. Those three resorts join Mount Snow, a Peak Resorts property in Vermont, in using the software.

With Snowvation’s product Shredbetter, beginner skiers can search online for instructors and schedule a lesson time. The platform allows instructors to make profiles and schedule with new clients, who can write instructor reviews.

The addition of three Peak Resorts properties brings Snowvation’s customer count to 26 resorts, including two in China and four in Japan.

Maine mourns loss of Broomhall

Maine’s skiing community is mourning the passing of its two-time Olympic nordic skiing legend, Wendall “Chummy” Broomhall, who passed at the age of 98.

A World War II veteran, Broomhall raced in the 1948 (St. Moritz) and the 1952 (Oslo) Olympic Winter Games, finishing 65th and 57th, respectively, in the 18 km events. He was a member of the U.S. national team for nine years.

Broomhall designed the cross-country trails for the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, Calif., and the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y., and he served as chief of competition both times. In 1960, Broomhall was the first to use mechanized equipment to groom the trails — a job previously performed by feet and handheld rakes — because of the icy conditions caused by afternoon sun melting the snow followed by cold nights.

He was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1981 and was an inaugural member of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2007, Black Mountain started an annual tournament for Maine collegiate skiers, named the Chummy Broomhall Cup, in his honor.

Bretton Woods gondola planned

Bretton Woods ski resort is pursuing the state and local permits necessary to install New Hampshire’s first eight-passenger gondola and construct a new mountaintop restaurant. The 6,000-foot-long gondola would begin operating during the 2018-19 season, and the 11,000-square-foot restaurant would open in 2019. The new lift would start near the main lodge and end near the top of Fabyan’s Express Triple chairlift. The projects are designed to bolster the area as a four-season destination.

Experts join for backcountry roundtable

Michael Snyder, Vermont commissioner of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation; Adam DesLauriers, owner of Bolton Valley Resort; Angus Mc-Cusker of the Rochester/Randolph Area Sports Trails Alliance; Amy Kelsey, executive director of the Catamount Trail Association; and R.J. Thompson of Vermont Huts Association talked about the future of backcountry as part of Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum’s Thirsty Thursday speakers series. Speakers discussed backcountry centers opening at resorts around the state, and the roundtable included maps and photos. The event was moderated by Lisa Lynn, editor of Vermont Ski and Ride Magazine.