We are undeniably drawn to the mountains in winter; it’s like a
gravitational force that lures us each weekend. Our family loves
discovering New England’s ski resorts, and tapping into the positive
energy at these higher elevations. So each Friday, we pack up the car
and head to the slopes, in search of outdoor excitement and inner
peace.
During
a winter weekend at New Hampshire’s Attitash we found all the
essentials for our kind of spiritual on-slope retreat.
First, Attitash is easy to get to, since the resort is located just 15
minutes north of the North Conway hub.
Second, there are plenty of lodging options to choose from (over
16,000 beds in the region). We opted for beds close to the source
(without camping in the ski patrol hut) by staying at the Grand Summit
Resort Hotel.
Third, the ski area is sizeable with two separate mountain peaks and
modern lift service, an ideal combination of terrain and speedy access
to satisfy our souls and our skis. Attitash is also now sister resort
with Wildcat so you can ski both in a weekend with various ticket
specials.
We arrived at the impressive Grand Summit Hotel on Friday evening, and
moved all our gear into a well-equipped one-bedroom suite.
There was
just enough time for the kids to plunge in the outdoor heated pool
before we went out for a bite. Meanwhile, I toured the Hotel’s gift
shop, restaurant and then the exercise room (which I declined
-figuring I would get enough thigh burning on the hill the next two
days).
A short drive back into North Conway gives you more dining options
than you could tackle over an entire winter. And then there is the
shopping, L.L. Bean, Ann Klein, Polo – all the biggies, all tax-free
for those needing justification to shop. My family reminded me we
didn’t come to shop, but made an exception to browse gear at Joe Jones
Ski and Sport.
After
a fun dinner at Horesfeathers, we drove back to the mountain, enjoying the lights
and sights of the Mount Washington Valley along our way.
Saturday morning, we were up with the sun, and first to load the
Flying Bear high-speed quad. The benefits of being slopeside - you can
slip on your warm ski boots in your room, grab your skis from the
courtesy ski check, and walk out onto the slopes without the stress of
packing up the car and inevitably forgetting goggles (or worse a
family member).
We paused and stretched at the Bear Peak summit, taking in the
spectacular morning rays shining on Mount Washington – glorious and
soul revitalizing – a spiritual moment. Enough of that, it was time to
carve up the fresh groomed snow on Illusion and Mythmaker.
Bear Peak is the newer of the resort’s twin peaks, added in 1994. Bear
has half a dozen wide, well-pitched cruisers serviced by a speedy
quad, a lower mountain triple and the Abenaki quad.
With our kids
we take a few warm up runs, fast
paced and adrenaline producing. They like their Dad’s 10 by 10 creed
(10 runs by 10am), which is certainly attainable riding The Flying
Bear. We saw about 12 others skiers all tolled in the first two hours
– we cherished our solitude. After several laps including the western
most intermediate Wandering Skis trail back to the Hotel to shed a
layer, we headed toward Attitash.
It’s a bit of a huff to get from one mountain to the other, snowboarders be
advised. My husband studies trail maps like scripture, so he planned
our day to include both mountain peaks, but only one crossover.
Attitash is the original ski area dating back to 1965, and there’s a
more traditional flavor to the narrow trails winding from the 2,350’
summit. You get that “what’s around the corner” feeling at every turn,
but the views of The Mount are frequent and magnificent. We found
plenty of interesting twists, rolls and knolls on Tightrope and
Ptarmigan – two of Attitash’s more dynamic trails. There were
certainly more skiers and riders on this side – but we still found our
peaceful white carpet.
I was fascinated to learn that during Attitash’s first decade, it was
known as the Red Carpet ski area. Back then, the resort limited ticket
sales to reservation holders, and the base lodge truly had red
carpeting. Those exclusive days are gone along with the old flooring.
Today the slopes are open to all and served by a plethora of lifts.
Before lunch, our kids insisted we check out the
halfpipe. Being the caboose of the
family, I watched as one by one my husband, daughter and son all
dropped in to the monster pipe and rocked from one 17 foot wall to the
other. What’s a mom to do but follow and hope that everyone comes out
in one piece?
We all had big smiles from our pipe adventure when we sat down to
lunch at Ptarmigan’s Pub. The base lodge has a cafeteria and a
Flatbread Pizza café downstairs. We opted for a sit down meal upstairs
with inspiring views of the slopes. Sans red carpet, we did enjoy wait
service and hearty food but we cannot claim it was as prompt as the
Flying Bear. For our lunchtime entertainment, we watched the Budweiser
Aerial Assault team launching off of huge jumps on the hill in an
incredibly well choreographed show (their tour stop was Attitash on
this March weekend).
After admiring the Olympic caliber aerialists during our repast, the
Palmer X Park was taunting our son. So we checked out the huge
elements in the park.
It was a full ski day. I lost count of runs after 20. My daughter was
ready to fold up by mid-afternoon, and my legs were too. We gals skied
back to the hotel and let our mogul men bash some more glades and
steeps on Bear. This is when the slopeside value kicks in. I would not
want to wait in a busy base lodge till last chair, then cram into the
car. Instead my daughter and I shared soothing hot cocoa back on our
couch by the picture window.
Then we all hit the outdoor pool at 4pm. Here we encountered peak
splash time, lots of bathing bodies. While the kids made new swim
friends, I enjoyed looking up at the slopes reviewing our adventures
while soaking in the steam-covered water.
Dinner in our suite was ideal, since the kids were happy to just hang
out after their big outdoor day knowing there was more of the same on
our Sunday schedule.
Sunday morning came with a dusting of fresh snow, so we were first on
and first up the lift just behind the patrol. We had the benefit of
familiar turf on our second morning, but still found a few new trails
we had overlooked the day before.
None of the terrain here is super challenging, and yet there is plenty
to occupy the total family from forgiving cruisers to glades, and some
kicking terrain park features.
The biggest lift line we saw on this prime early March weekend was
under ten minutes. I kept watching for the after church crowd to
arrive on our fresh powder Sunday, but they must have all gone to
brunch.
In their absence, we made turn after turn on soft snow, with the
occasional pause at the scenic summit. Eventually it was time to
conclude our weekend of downhill delight and head home, feeling
revived with mountain air (plus a dose of physical fatigue).
