A Good Week!!
by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer
Monday night is my race night at Pats Peak. It was silly cold, it was below zero. You know what the Scandinavians say: “No bad weather, just bad clothing.”
Everyone showed up wearing a mask or a buff to cover every square inch of their face to keep it from the cold. Sales of the chemical hand warmers must have hit an all-time high. They make chemical toe warmers too that stick right to your socks. I tried a pair and they really kept my toes super toasty warm.
The racing starts at 7pm and I normally go out an hour early and get a lot of runs in beforehand. Even though I had my warmest clothes I decided not to push it and only do a couple runs before I raced. The snow conditions were wonderful soft packed powder. When I pushed off with my ski poles the cold snow squeaked. It wasn’t too cold to ski.
All seven of us on my team showed up and we had a fun night of racing. I love night skiing and I like to see the twinkling lights of the town of Henniker and the lights of towns far away. All the trails are well lit and it is easy to see.
Monday through Thursday 7 to 9pm and on Friday 8 to 10pm the Pats Peak’s Last Call lift ticket is just $15. Regular night skiing is 3pm to closing for $46.
Apres ski in the Sled Pub is fun and cozy and be sure to try the yummy Irish Nachos.
Tuesday night Jeremy sent me a text and told me I should meet him at Whaleback at 5pm to go night skiing. Whaleback’s Last Two Hours ticket flat rate for any age is $20 and on Tuesdays they are open until 7pm. I jumped in my car and drove up I-89, yes Whaleback is that ski area right next to the interstate.
The thermometer read in the double digits and it really did feel warmer. I booted up at the car and Jeremy did the same. We bought our tickets and hit the slopes.
Getting it while the getting is good is what I thought as I clicked into my skis. The snow conditions were wonderful and that awful “R” word was being mentioned in the weather forecast later in the week.
The lights have improved at Whaleback and the grooming was good. We rode the summit chair and skied off the top and I skied a few trails on skier’s right that I had not skied before. The ski area has a good variety of terrain and it is a fun hill.
It wasn’t crowded but there sure were a lot of kids playing in the terrain park.
Whaleback’s trails names are whale related. If you have read Moby Dick you surely are familiar with Ambergris and it was my favorite trail of the night—good snow conditions and fun terrain. (Ambergris is a rare and valuable substance from the intestine of Sperm Whales and it is used in perfumes).
We rode the new T-bar. The T-bar serves a couple of trails nice for intermediate and novices. We skied every trail that was lit and straight through to almost closing time. Before heading to my car I went inside the lodge and bought a hot chocolate. Best deal at a ski area for a hot chocolate that I know – just $2! I snapped a lid on it, carried it to my car and enjoyed it on my drive home.
Wednesday morning I made a last second decision to join a few friends at Mount Sunapee. Wicked Wednesdays at Mount Sunapee is the best deal—non holiday, at the ticket window $47 or in advance online $41 to $44. Buying tickets on-line always is the best way to go and the earlier you make a purchase the better the discount. Sunapee utilizes a new RFID ticket system, just put the card in a pocket and the attendants will scan it in the lift line.
The Spruce Lodge was busy. I think everyone had the same idea about getting after the packed powder snow before the dreaded “R” word showed up. Booting up at the table next to us was the University of New Hampshire ski team. They were there for a couple of hours of training before heading back to Durham for classes.
My friends and I got in the line for the North Peak Triple before 9am and I think the lift opened a few minutes early.
We zoomed down Cataract on fresh corduroy to the base of the Sunbowl. It was windy and warmer than the previous days but it did still feel cold.
We alternated between riding the Sunbowl and the Sunapee Express Quad lifts and skied all over the mountain. Wingding was groomed smooth and the snow was soft and easy to edge a turn. Blast-off was a blast with interesting snowmaking bumps that made the rolly terrain even rollier.
The view of the mountains was fine and we could see that there were quite a few bob houses on Lake Sunapee’s snow covered ice. The sun never really came out and the sky was covered with high dark clouds.
After two hours of fun I had to head to work. I didn’t want to leave. Lots of cars were arriving as I was leaving. I am sure my empty spot in the main parking lot make someone happy they didn’t have to park far away.
Dang! Thursday it rained just like the weather forecast said it would. The rain didn’t help but it didn’t take away the good skiing. We went cross-county skiing on the weekend.
On Sunday Charlie and I raced in the 46th Annual Greschmossel classic race at Bretton Woods. We kicked and glided up and down the foothills of Mount Washington and we finished the race just as it started to snow.
I skied 5 out of the 7 days last week.
That’s a good week.
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.
