xwhaler

I'd be surprised if there are any changes there---not sure why Vail would meddle so much in that level of detail but I suppose ya never know. We have options though (Pats) if need be

I'm hopeful that this news pushed more of the independents to rally together. For next yr I'm buying an Indy Pass as well as a bunch of vouchers through various means. Will not have a traditional season pass but rather chase variety/snow as I like crowd avoidance and being able to ski different mtns with my 2 young boys. With a young family we place a premium on having uncrowded lodges, low/zero lift lines, and parking that doesn't require a shuttle bus. This is a pretty nice little collection that I'm hoping grows by another mtn or 2 for New England. I can definitely see myself getting 2 days in at Pats/Magic/S6/Bolton at minimum with a possible Berkshire East/Catamount trip as well. I'd like to see Black NH/Tenney/Middlebury/Granite Gorge consider jumping on this pass...they could raise the price up to $399 and add more mtns and I think it could be fairly popular. http://www.indyskipass.com/

Yes, most everyone that is giving away a voucher has bought them and is giving back/paying it forward when offering these up. It's a nice community and hopefully all can reciprocate in the sharing! Benefits us all Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Did you make it to WV a couple weeks ago as well?

Much to my surprise Black Mtn (NH) may be running the lifts this coming wknd per their snow report. I was very surprised they had enough to open last wknd (being a south facing slope) so fairly remarkable they would have both enough snow and enough potential demand (for a place I always view as this may be their last season) to justify opening.

. Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Absolutely awesome ski wknd. I happily ended my season on Saturday with a bunch of friends, amazing conditions, warm weather and cold beer. Huge thanks to@Weatherman for hosting us. Here are some pics Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Damn...that looks awesome. Looking forward to Saturday!

who was the lucky person?!

Steve you coming up? Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

snowing Monday-Wed at Wildcat and Saturday looks partly sunny and low 40's (albeit with some wind) They have 4" already this AM and have 44/48 trails open at this point. Should be an awesome wknd! Looking fwd to heading up Friday night.

What vehicle? Just had my wife's Kia Sorento swapped Thursday. Winter: Hankook RW 11 IPike. 3 Season: Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring Been really happy with this setup for the last 3 yrs Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Saturday: Pico Sunday: Magic (if conditions look okay) or head home

Ragged this coming Sunday 4/7 as well as Magic and Pico Tenney may try for this wknd as well

I can bring a folding table Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Sunday---Perfect spring corn at Ragged. Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Probably the last major significant snowstorm of the season--where is everyone headed? Sunday: Ragged (too much going on to ski both days this wknd and concerned about winds on Saturday)

Yes

I have 4 Middlebury vouchers I'm not going to make use of. Good any day through the rest of the season. Not sure when they are closing but 3/31 for their pond skim would seem to make logical sense. Though maybe they go a bonus wknd if snow allows? Certainly after the Friday storm skiing should be pretty awesome and snowpack is deep up there. Would prefer to give them away as pairs to 2 different people but if only 1 is interested I'll send all 4.

A groomer only wknd and this was the state of the groomers at Magic on Saturday Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Let's get this place open again. One of the very best in the East https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/03/15/boston-investment-firm-offers-to-buy-saddleback/?utm_content=buffer1a40a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer Sent from my moto g(6) using Northeast Mountain Sports mobile app

Yup, totally agree...the steep groomer mtn in NH is Cannon (along with obviously offering a lot of other awesome terrain) The classic New England mtn is Wildcat---Loon is for the yuppie Ma$$Hole to hang out and be seen. Bretton Woods is and older clientele who appreciates impeccable snowmaking and grooming. Attitash definitely has an image problem in that I'm not sure they are really that great at anything or known for anything---I think of Attitash as very much like Waterville Valley...competition around them renders them somewhat of a niche mtn which is hard to do when you run a 7 day operation spread across 2 peaks. Probably why you saw WV stay stagnant for many yrs until the recent Green Peak expansion (which IMHO was really well done and really changes the way WV skis for the better) Hard to justify big expense if it won't lead to more customers or really detract from your existing customer base. Plus if Peaks is seeing tremendous growth at Hunter/Mt Snow it's only smart business to send resources there.

I'm personally of the opinion that having a HSQ to the summit of Attitash would neither attract nor detract customer demand. I think the primary client of Attitash is there because it is close to N Conway, has slopeside lodging (something not common in the MWV) and is generally a good place to bring a family due to having terrain for all ability levels . Also, it's less crowded than Loon with more amenities than Wildcat while being larger than Cranmore so there is going to naturally be some demand for that. As a standalone mtn I think not having the HSQ would hurt them more than being tied in with Wildcat. I'd guess that most of the Peaks passholders in the area are buying passes primarily to ski Wildcat. The day trip/week long ski and stay patron is keeping Attitash afloat (in addition to their summer operation) Not having a HSQ to one of their peaks I don't think keeps that family from coming to Tash. They can look and say we can get to the top of Bear Peak on a fast lift. I'm not sure the Wildcat skier has many other options as well and Peaks knows this so they wont really lose a significant # of passes just because the summit triple is old and slow at Attitash. I also don't think for the advanced/expert day tripper that having a fast sumitt lift would make folks spend their $ at Attitash over a different mtn (say Cannon) The terrain off the sumitt (wilfred's gawm) and just below (tim's trauma, idiot's option) is a lot of fun but I know I personally wouldn;t go there just for that (HSQ or not) I enjoy Attitash/Bear Peak (my family owned a condo nearby for 8 yrs and I have hundreds of days there) However until/unless they get split up from Wildcat I don;t think peaks has any real incentive to change anything up. Back in the ASC days attitash had to and did try harder. just my $.02

UPDATED 3/14/19 Morning Update: With the planetary gear and drive undergoing testing, we are awaiting new information from the good folks at Artec. In the meantime, we wanted to let you know that the Summit Triple will not be operational this weekend. Stay tuned for further updates.