SeniorsSkiing Guide: Easy Going At Bretton Woods
Seniors (65-79) Ski For $25 Mid-Week At This Classic NH Gem.
Majestic Mt. Washington is across the valley from Bretton Woods.
Credit: Bretton Woods
Down Cascade, up to Rosebrook Summit, down Upper Swoop, down Cascade, across to Diamond Ridge, down Deception Bowl, up the Bethlehem Express, down Big Ben, up Zephyr High Speed Quad, down Granny’s Grit.
The skiing at Bretton Woods, NH, was so smooth and our trips so fast, that you didn’t have time to think what joint might be aching that day. We were skiing with a group of 50-plusses and one 80-plus, all fabulous skiers with years of experience behind them. The grooming at Bretton Woods yields the best type of New England skiing with manicured slopes, wide open avenues, very hard pack with enough surface snow to grip. We blazed all over the mountain, happily racking up the vertical, on our apps or psyche. Most of the intermediate slopes were open and provided plenty of fun on Rosebrook and West Mountains.
Beautiful, broad skiing avenues make for nice cruising at Bretton Woods.
Credit: Bretton Woods
The overall experience here is a friendly mountain that’s fun to ski. There’s plenty of skiing available for an older person without putting too much pressure on hips and knees. For tree skiers, the glades are fairly open in keeping with the resort’s easy-going nature. In 2012, Bretton Woods added a T-Bar servicing Mount Stickney with 30 acres of more challenging glades. There is plenty of tough terrain on this hill once nick-named Medicare Mountain.
Four high-speed quads keep you going, and on crowded days the lift personnel keep the lines moving in a fair and congenial way.
What that allows you to do is just relax and rip. Plus all trails lead ultimately to the base lodge, minimizing separation anxiety from your ski companions.
Some say Bretton Woods, NH’s largest ski area, is more protected from the weather than other areas. You can always look across at storm clouds unfurling off Mt. Washington (the Northeast’s highest summit at 6,288 feet) and be happy that at least you’re not up there.
Across the street is the giant Omni Mt. Washington Hotel, like an ocean liner cruising across the White Mountains. Plan a visit, if only to stroll through the wide halls under 23-foot ceilings and take in the views of Mt. Washington from the Rosebrook Lounge sipping a cool Chardonnay.
To walk the hotel’s halls and verandas is to stroll through White Mountain history at its most hospitable. Built in 1902, the hotel most notably hosted the 1944 United National Monetary and Financial Conference to build the bones of a post-World War II economy. Walk into the room off the main lobby where the final treaty was signed.
Meanwhile, stretch your downhill muscles on the 62 miles of impeccably groomed X-C trails. They are also open to snowshoeing and fat tire bike riding.
Bottom Line
Seniors 80 years and up ski free any day, and those 65-79 ski for $25 midweek/non-holiday.
Hot Chocolate: $3
Wiser Woods Program
Open to skiers and riders age 50+. This is group ski program under the guidance of an instructor who will coach you down the mountain. Includes morning refreshments at Slopeside, receive 10% off retail, 10% off demo equipment.
Runs Jan. 3-March 14, Tuesdays 9-12. Meet on Slopeside Level of Base Lodge. $125 per person for the season, $199 per couple.
Mountain Stats
Vertical Drop: 1,500 feet
Trails and Glades: 97
Skiable Acreage: 464
Snowmaking: 92% of Trails
Average Annual Snowfall: 200+ inches
Bretton Woods boasts a network of well-groomed Nordic trails.
Credit: Bretton Woods
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 20)
New Senior Ski Tips eBook, Solitude Races, Big White Resort Review, “Snowbound” Excerpt, Lift Tickets From Speeders?, OR Show Finds.
Oh, and the skiing ostriches. Don’t ask, just watch.
It’s been a busy week at SeniorsSkiing.com. We are seeing ongoing, monumental snow falls in the West that are relieving drought conditions in California and creating avalanche hazards all over the mountains. The Northeast is depending on snowmaking and grooming.
We have received and posted our first ever reader-submitted video. Thanks to Emilio Trampuz for being number one. Look under Community in the top navigation menu. WE WELCOME MORE. If you have a video you want fellow readers to see, post it on Youtube and send us a link. This should be fun.
We also have a new, subscriber-only eBook we developed with Vail instructor Seth Masia called “9 Ski Tips Every Senior Skier Should Know.” If you are a subscriber, just go to Community and select Subscriber-Only Content, confirm your email address and download the file. If you’re not a subscriber, consider subscribing, it’s free.
Correspondent Harriet Wallis contributed two articles this week, one promoting Snowboardcross and Skicross Races at Solitude and another highlighting some really cool, senior-friendly products she found at the OR show.
John Nelson is churning out resort reviews, this week focusing on Big White in BC. It’s low key area with skiing just right for seniors. Check out his report.
With all the snow flying out West, we thought is would be symbolic to publish an excerpt from “Snowbound” John Greenleaf Whittier’s masterpiece about snow and life. Bottom line: Snow changes everything.
Finally, we have an important article from John Brown, a veteran ski patroller, who talks about lifting tickets from speeders and reckless skiers. Turns out, it’s not as easy as it sounds. We know our readers don’t like or are intimidated by speedsters and want the Ski Patrol to lift more tickets. What do you think?
Thanks for subscribing to SeniorsSkiing.com. Remember, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.
Alpine Meadows
Short Swings!
CALIFORNIA
January is Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month, when many resorts offer special “learn to ski or snowboard” programs. Among them is Mountain High where guests can purchase a two-for-one midweek, non-holiday Half-Day First Timer Package with lesson, rentals and a lower-mountain lift ticket.
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows to host the Elite FIS Astle Memorial January 17-20, 2017. The FIS tech series honors of Bryce Astle, one of two U.S. Ski Team members who died in an avalanche in 2015. Nearly 100 men and 100 women will compete in two days of Giant Slalom and two days of Slalom on the same course as the women’s Audi FIS World Cup event to be held at Squaw Valley in March.
COLORADO
January 15 -22 is Gay Ski Week in Aspen with an abundance of parties and entertainment.
UTAH
Two time Olympian Ted Ligety announced that back surgery would sideline him from this season’s World Cup. He expects to race at the 2018 South Korean Olympic Games.
Proceeds from the Snowbird’s Snowcat Skiing for Nature program benefit two local environmentally focused non-profits. Morning guided half-day tours run from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and include breakfast, pre-public, guided skiing in Mineral Basin, lift ticket, and backcountry snowcat skiing in upper American Fork Canyon. $395/person Visit: http://www.snowbird.com/mountain-school/guides/catskiing/
VERMONT
Jay Peak Resort was named among Best Ski areas by Liftopia’s 2016-17 Best in Snow Awards. Voters identified Jay Peak Resort’s “tremendous amount of back country” with “New England-style skiing at its best including tight, twisty runs and challenging glade skiing that is far enough from the coast and gets tons of snow.”
OTHER
Patrick McCloskey is a frequent SeniorsSkiing.com contributor. A PSIA Alpine Level III instructor, he has been teaching skiing for 40 years. A Q&A with Patrick appears in PSIA-AASI’s Member Spotlight.
Thinning Down the Billfold — Almost every skier I know stuffs too many cards and documents into the wallet. It’s unnecessary, unwieldy, and often unsightly! The clever people at Allett designed a line of ultra-slim wallets for skiing, travel, and everyday use. They’re great looking and reasonably priced. A terrific way to slim down. At retail and online.
Don’t Cramp Your Style — Pickle Juice is a product designed to stop muscle cramps. It was developed with football in mind but is extremely relevant to older skiers. A lot of us cramp up a bit too often. Pickle Juice is delish and available at retail and online.
SheJumps is a non-profit dedicated to increasing women’s and girls’ participation in outdoor activities. The group creates “Get the Girls Out!” events, Outdoor Education, Youth Initiatives and grassroots recreational gatherings — some of them on snow. The SheJumps community comprises females of all backgrounds and ages who help one another reach their highest potential through outdoor adventures and education.
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