A Dandy Day in Danbury – Skiing Ragged Mountain Resort

PHOTO: Dan flying down Cabin Fever at Ragged Mountain. Be sure to plan ahead and buy your lift tickets online in advance. SkiNH.com is a good resource for ski area winter operations updates. Know Before You Go: plan ahead, buy online, wear a face covering, practice physical distancing, boot up at the car and please stay home if you’re feeling sick.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

What a month February is shaping up to be for snowsport enthusiasts! These snow storms, 4 inches again here and another 5 or 6 inches there, have really added up to make for some great snow conditions.
The snow accompanied by the cold weather has made not only skiers and snowboarders happy but everyone from snowmobilers to the participants in the ice fishing derbies are reaping the benefits of these fine winter days. The time couldn’t be better to have some winter fun.
Last week a couple days after a snowstorm I went to Ragged Mountain Resort in Danbury. I learned from their snow report that Mother Nature had filled their glades with snow. I love skiing in the trees at Ragged.
Here we are mid-winter so you probably already know you need to plan ahead. Daily lift tickets must be purchased online in advance. At Ragged season pass holders do not need to make reservations but day tickets are limited and are available online until they are sold out.
I was lucky to be able to get a ticket on Wednesday morning for the following day. I noticed that the weekend ahead had already sold out. If you already have Ragged’s RFID card it can be reloaded online.
On weekdays the lifts open at 9 am (weekends 8:30 am). I arrived early, my friend arrived a minute after I did and pulled into the parking place next to me.

I put on my face covering and all my ski clothes in my car and outside my car I stand on a towel while I jump into my ski boots. Everyone dresses in the parking lot and then heads straight to the lifts.
I confess I did slip into the lodge to visit the Lady’s room before clicking into my skis. I followed the one-way arrows into the lodge and found my way. Everything we need is available and to provide a safe experience for everyone the recommended guidelines are taken seriously.
Physical distancing and limiting time in the lodges are feeling commonplace to me now.
We nabbed the second chair up the Spear Mountain Express and flew down the perfect packed powder corduroy on Showboat beneath the lift. The softness beneath my skis as I cut arching grooves in the snow with my skis thrilled me. Runs like that make us wish they would never end so we did the next best thing and rode the lift to the top again.

Bria is a season pass holder and skis most Thursdays, she knows the mountain well. On the slopes we met another ski pal, Dan. He’s been skiing Ragged since he was a kid. The three of us skied together since it is a good idea not to ski the glades alone and it is a lot more fun skiing with pals. Bria and Dan took turns leading me down the trails and into the glades.
We floated our way down gentle glades, Raggae Glades are wind open and nice packed powder moguls. Raggae Glades is also the Uphill Skiing Route and we stopped and chatted with a couple of men skinning up the mountain. They said they were going to go up and down the mountain two or three times. A current pass/ticket or a $10 uphill only ticket is required and only busy holiday/weekends it may not be permitted.

We worked our way into the more difficult glades that are steeper and the trees are tighter. We had fun going down Pel’s Pass and Not too Shabby and we dodged a few rocks and trees successfully. Even a few days after the snow fell we were able to make fresh tracks in the untouched between the trees.
Between glade runs we skied the trails, groomed and ungroomed. Spear Mountain’s Flying
Yankee was buffed out and the turns and changes in terrain made for some fast bold skiing. Fluffy ungroomed Cabin Fever tested our skills and delighted us.
We skied from the opening bell until 12:30 with no break. Bria and I decided we’d go to the Stone Hearth Bar for lunch. The tables are widely spaced out and due to restricted lodge space we are all asked to limit our time in the lodge to no more than 30 minutes. We ordered a 16 inch pizza and while we waited for it to come out we sipped a glass of Ragged’s signature beer, Rags to Riches IPA brewed locally by The Flying Goose Brew Pub.
Bria checked her tracker and we had skied 14 runs. No wonder we were hungry. I am not lying, we ate the entire pizza. The bartender when she presented us with the check commented she didn’t think we’d really eat the whole thing.

All warmed up and our bellies full and we hit the trails again. I am glad we made it back out because the clouds lifted and a grand view of Mount Cardigan appeared in the distance. A few more groomers and a fun run down Exhibition Glades completed my day. Bria told me she made a couple more runs and hit the magic 20 run mark. Though neither one of us made it until closing at 4 pm, it was a perfectly dandy day. I can’t wait to go back.
Have Fun.

Amy Patenaude is an avid skier/outdoor enthusiast from Henniker, N.H. Readers are welcome to send comments or suggestions to her at: amy@weirs.com.