Took a trip up north for President's weekend. We only ended up skiing 2 days due to the warm (and rainy) weather. But it was still a nice change of terrain and a great week with family.
On Monday we went to Gunstock which was a short 10 minute drive from our lodging. The view from the top here is beautiful. The resort has about 1400' vert from the top and a series of shorter trails off to the sides, I would say it is somewhere between Whitetail and Snowshoe as far as sides, but with dozens of ways to get down from the top through long and windy trails that are all about 1.5-1.7 miles it makes for a nice day. (The trails off to the side are noticably shorter) As a matter of fact many of the trails reminded me of Cupp in the manner that they were long, windy, and somewhat narrow, with several steep sections mixed in with more mild sections.
Below are a few images from the top. When we got to the parking lot at 8:15 (right before the 8:30 opening) we saw the groomers just finishing up the trails. Apparently Sunday (the day before) the resort had broken all crowd records they have ever had and actually stopped selling tickets despite the spring like temps. The temps later that night dropped below freezing, and the groomers made great work creating a nice packed powder surface. The ungroomed stuff never really softened up and the woods were starting to look thin, but the groomers were fantastic. We staying out from 8:30-3 with just a single lunch and water break. The place was busy, but the lift to the top was running ~5 min wait max and all others were pretty much walk up.
On Wednesday we took the hour or so drive to Ragged Mountain. Again we arrived right at opening and got primo parking. At 9 am the snow was a beautiful powder and the temp at the summit was a nice 32 with cloud cover. We made quick work of the trail system lapping the HSQ and Six-Pack throughout the morning. Around noon we took a lunch break with 16 runs under our belt already. After lunch the sun was fully out and the temp at the summit was 55 degrees... the snow that had started off packed and somewhat fast was not incredibly wet and sticky. We ended up doing another 6-7 runs and calling it a day at 2ish. By Wednesday most of the woods entrances were roped off... but again we were able to explore the groomers. I will say I played a bit on some of the edges of the trails, but the only marked glades I found that appeared to be open were the expedition glades. Ragged is working on what appears to be a relatively large expansion, it looked like many of the new trails had been cut so hopefully this will come into play in the next few years. Summary of the mountain: beautiful lodge, NO lift lines even on holiday week, fantasic staff. The snowmaking and vertical are a bit less than Gunstock but the resort is unique enough that it was worth the trip.
Below: Lodge from my nice parking spot, slopes in the background (view when we left)
Below: Lodge interior at 8:30, just before opening
Below: Six Pack to the top, loads on the back side of the lift... and pretty much never had more of a line than that
Below: Looking down the black diamond off the HSQ (Showboat I believe)
I really looked and tried to get out Friday... but they were calling for downpours and thunderstorms throughout the day. It ended up getting in the mid 60s and randomly rained throughout the day so I'm glad I didn't go out... I will save the additional exploring for next year.
Nice report RB. I'm looking at a trip up that way at the end of March weather permitting.
