Northeast Ski Blogger's Summit - Attitash and Wildcat

Days 2 and 3 of the "NSBS" were an interesting mix. Yesterday, we skied the groomers and low level trees of Attitash. I had to leave at 1:00 to teach my Community College skiing class at West Mountain (that's right, I drove 4 hours to Glens Falls to teach a 2 hour class, then drove 4 hours back), so I wasn't able to ski most of the afternoon. I don't feel like I missed much, though.

You know how you can get a pretty good sense of how a mountain is after just a few runs? Well, after skating over from the slopeside hotel (posh), we jumped on the high speed quad at Bear Peak and looked down at the pristine grooming, rolling trails, and plunging fall lines. It was going to be a groomer day.

Now, I know I made my feelings about groomers pretty clear. But I had the right tool for the job (my nice 165cm slalom skis), and I was happy to carve some trenches with the rest of the guys. We got into the trees a little, but the day was mostly about good times with good people. After a run through the park, a glance at the ridiculously nice slopeside houses, and a few more leg burning, fall line bombers, I was perfectly content to leave early.

Today, however, was different. We were at Wildcat, and we were everywhere. After a tasty breakfast buffet at the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center, we made our way to the mountain.  We had some quality tour guides and some awesome terrain.  They even took a video of our exploits:



You can't help but be pumped on this mountain. Steep, winding trails, bumps, trees, steeps, and the greatest view from any ski area in the east (even from the parking lot):

Obviously, as very influential bloggers, it was our duty to capture the incredible vistas:

It's hard to avoid the presence of Mount Washington when you're here in New Hampshire. It is visible from just about everywhere, but at Wildcat, it's right in your face on every run:

It was even there when I was trying to eat lunch:

Eventually, we just had to give in. Harv and I set off to hike up to HoJo's and ski the Sherburne Trail back down. The skin was fun, especially when the Ravine came into view:

On the way down, we were looking the other way. Now Wildcat was in our face:

Good stuff.

I was super excited after skiing today. Wildcat has so much cool stuff to offer, I was looking at lines all day. And obviously, Mount Washington is Mount Washington. I think one of the advantages of this whole area is the variety of places that you can visit. You can ski groomers and get pampered on Tuesday, you can rip steeps and ski trees on Wednesday morning, and you can have a miniature backcountry adventure on Wednesday afternoon. Since variety is the spice of life, New Hampshire has been a pretty tasty buffet.