Bretton Woods?

Anyone skied at Bretton Woods before?

There is a Psia event there the week before Xmas.  I have vacation days I need to use and have to take a clinic this yr to maintain my certification

Pretty sure Jamesdeluxe has been there on a pow day.

Lots of tree skiing but for the most part VERY low-angle. Doesn't bother me that much; however, I'm sure that you'd be less thrilled.

Very low angle. BW Blues are greens at other mountains, BW blacks are squares at other mountains, etc. Trees are very lack luster if you enjoy skiing trees. Great place for someone that wants to start learning glades, though. More true to the definition of "glade" skiing than "tree" skiing, lots of space, very mellow, very open. Great views of Mount Washington, excellent base lodge. Some great, but limited vertical feet (i.e. 1 minute runs), cruising off the summit lift. Skied it twice now and I've taken its full measure and won't be back. That may say more about me than BW, your mileage may vary. If you are going for the certification, have at it. If you want to ski anything that will raise your pulse, skip.

Thanks for the info
I’ll find another event

Here's my Bretton Woods TR from seven years ago. Similar to what rivercOil mentioned above, I underscored the family-friendly glade-skiing aspect.

Jamesdeluxe wrote

Here's my Bretton Woods TR from seven years ago. Similar to what rivercOil mentioned above, I underscored the family-friendly glade-skiing aspect.

Thanks for the link.

From what I experienced during a NH ski safari last winter, BW hasn't changed much.  The new gondola wasn't running yet.  But that probably makes more difference during the summer than during the winter, especially for folks looking for tree skiing.

Found your comment that BW and Windham are going after the same market useful since Windham is the only place in the Catskills I haven't checked out other than looking at the base during the off-season.

Unpopular ski message board opinion:

I like Bretton Woods. I have not skied there a lot, but I did have a “Bold and Beautiful” pass (BW & Cannon) for a couple of years and found the two mountains complementary.  They also used to have a great Sunday afternoon deal for Grafton County residents (although it’s not as generous as it used to be).

They open early in the season, doesn’t take a ton of snow to make it skiable, great scenery, some good glades, good lodge food (although pricey for sure), low angle means it generally doesn’t get as scraped down.

It was a nice alternative when there was high wind or attack of the powdersharks at Cannon.

Might not be a bad option for pre Xmas week if it is not a great early snow year.

witch hobble wrote

Unpopular ski message board opinion:

I like Bretton Woods. I have not skied there a lot, but I did have a “Bold and Beautiful” pass (BW & Cannon) for a couple of years and found the two mountains complementary.  They also used to have a great Sunday afternoon deal for Grafton County residents (although it’s not as generous as it used to be).

They open early in the season, doesn’t take a ton of snow to make it skiable, great scenery, some good glades, good lodge food (although pricey for sure), low angle means it generally doesn’t get as scraped down.

It was a nice alternative when there was high wind or attack of the powdersharks at Cannon.

Might not be a bad option for pre Xmas week if it is not a great early snow year.

Being open early was the reason I got to check out BW before heading to Sunday River.  $20 early season deal that I used on 12/14/19.  I met up with a friend who retired to Franconia.  Friend was nursing an injury so BW was the right speed for early season instead of Cannon.  The groomers were in great shape.  Got a good view of Mt. Washington.  I was in tourist mode so riding all the lifts and skiing green/blue trails was of more interest than trees.  Made for an interesting contrast when I got my first introduction to Cannon in March.

BW is the first ski lodge I've been in with a climbing wall.

" ....early season deal that I used on 12/14/19."

You must drive a DeLorean.

In any case. I skied Bretton Woods several times including twice last year. The second time was one day when Cannon was closed due to rain that froze and made the whole mountain a skating rink. Bretton woods was open and wasn't bad that day.
I agree with the descriptions above. Mostly low blue criusers. The t-bar services some low angle woods but the bar in the warming hut at the top of the t-bar is cool.

trackbiker wrote

" ....early season deal that I used on 12/14/19."

You must drive a DeLorean.

In any case. I skied Bretton Woods several times including twice last year. The second time was one day when Cannon was closed due to rain that froze and made the whole mountain a skating rink. Bretton woods was open and wasn't bad that day.
I agree with the descriptions above. Mostly low blue criusers. The t-bar services some low angle woods but the bar in the warming hut at the top of the t-bar is cool.

Oops! Obviously I'm thinking a lot more about the upcoming season than last season.

Towards the end of that ski safari I was back in Franconia.  The day I could've skied Cannon temps were single digits, with the summit lift on wind hold.  Gondola on hold at Loon too (I had Ikon).  I took the day off and booked a room at Waterville Valley and explored the resort "town."  Between BW and WV, WV was more fun.  The high speed lift to the top and the addition of Green Mountain makes for quite a variety, even sticking to groomers.

Bretton Woods has really nice xc trails!  If you want to mix in the downhill experience try the "Mountain Road" over by the downhill area. You can get a lift ticket to $15 or so to ride to the top and then xc down the Mountain Road (about 2 miles down I think) I the snow is soft it would be super fun. The day I did it, it had been groomed the previous day, was perfect xc corderoy, but was very hard snow, so way fast and a good snowplow was needed to maintain some semblance of control.

greif wrote

Bretton Woods has really nice xc trails!  If you want to mix in the downhill experience try the "Mountain Road" over by the downhill area. You can get a lift ticket to $15 or so to ride to the top and then xc down the Mountain Road (about 2 miles down I think) I the snow is soft it would be super fun. The day I did it, it had been groomed the previous day, was perfect xc corderoy, but was very hard snow, so way fast and a good snowplow was needed to maintain some semblance of control.

I skied Bretton Woods once in... hmmm, 3 cars ago, so maybe 2000 or 2001.  The day before the marathon, it was 60 degrees, then it dropped to 25 at 3 AM.  The Ammonoosuc trail system was a skating rink.  Don't remember much else.  I wouldn't mind getting up there in a good snow year.

witch hobble wrote

Unpopular ski message board opinion:

I like Bretton Woods.

BW is absolutely a great destination for skiers that want what it offers. It is perhaps the best area in the northeast for what it offers. The lifts always run and the you'll never find frozen groomer tracks (a la the Links at Cannon) on any of their trails. I don't consider liking BW an unpopular opinion. I just don't think someone that enjoys challenging terrain or trails with pitch is going to find BW worth the trip, especially if coming from a distance and/or paying full boat.