Bretton Woods 11-22-16

[Ride Delaware ?]

After an average day at Killington, I was relaxing and checking up on Facebook, when I noticed that Bretton Woods was opening for the season the next day. I had resigned myself to another day fighting the masses and walking the stairway at Killington, but this gave me a little more to think about. The drive to BW is 2.25 hours, but it was priced similarly to Killington at $29, had t2b skiing, and was serviced by a high speed quad. After waffling back and forth for a couple hours, I decided that if I woke up early enough, I would head to BW.

 

I woke up the next morning at around 7:30 and got ready before heading out at 8:30. The drive was mostly uneventful. There was still some snow on the edges of the highway, but otherwise the roads were clear. I arrived at BW just before 11 to 26 degree temps and snowmaking going at the base.

 

Compared to Killington the day before, there was nobody at the mountain. Including the employees, there were maybe 70 cars in the parking lot. I booted up, went inside to grab my $29 lift ticket, then headed out to the lift. They were making snow outside the lodge on the beginner terrain and the other high speed quad.

 

The only trail open was Range View off the Zephyr high speed quad. The trail was only a green, but it had been groomed and was being pounded by snowmaking. They had received roughly 6" of snow two days before. I couldn't see any bare spots from the lift and was already happy with the decision I had made.

 

I got off the lift and immediately decided to head down underneath the guns. Unfortunately, the guns were running a little wet, were glazing my goggles, and the snow was a little wet. The snow report claimed a 4"-18" base, and that was pretty accurate. I was happy with the crowds and coverage, but I was hoping the snow was a bit better.

 

My thoughts on the conditions took a drastic change for the better on my second run. I decided to hit the far skiers right directly under the lift and off the groomed surface. There was a little natural, but there was plenty of blow over from the snow guns. It was ungroomed and dense, but there was still great coverage, I was out of the guns, and I got some "powder" turns. My next run up, I decided to try out skiers left close to the base of the snow guns. The snow guns were blowing farther into the trail, and this side offered more of groomed surface with a light dusting of manmade every run. It was also a smart decision.

 

I ended up doing 12 runs straight. I never waited in a lift line, and there were only skiers and riders on every fifth chair. I decided not to ski under the guns again and stuck to the sides. The water bars on skiers right were a nice touch and allowed for some natural terrain features. I was able to do 12 runs in 10 minutes longer than 11 runs at Killington while doing twice the vertical. It was well worth $29.

 

All in all, I had a great day. BW has great infrastructure and is now owned entirely by Omni resorts. It looked like they would have at least 3-4 more trails and 2 more lifts by Root Friday. It may get a rap for being flat, but the route they offered was much better than what Killington was offering. I'd love to get back later in the season when the whole mountain is open, but overall, I must say, my first trip to BW was a success.