Dartmouth Skiway has been on my List for ten years. I was determined to get there every year but never determined enough. Which is a shame, I could have had some great days there. The Skiway is my type of mountain. And it definitely won’t be another ten years before I return.

The Skiway has a unique layout: two mountains divided by a road. The road changes to dirt just past the Skiway so traffic is minimal. Holt’s Ledge rises sharply opposite the lodge with the gentler Winslow Mountain on the northern side. The setup is similar, if somewhat reversed, to its EISA competitor’s Snowbowl: two lifts servicing similar vertical and distinctly different faces. Despite the similarities, I enjoyed the Skiway significantly more than the Snowbowl.

The recently built McLane Family Lodge is a stunning post and beam structure with wooden furnishings. Ease of access is incredible for families with a drop off mere feet away from the ticket window and lodge entrance. The main lobby is adorned with tributes to Dartmouth legends of the past, many of whom went on to influence New England skiing (including Fred Harris, Dick Durrance, Charlie Proctor, and Sel Hannah–Brooks Dodge also went to Dartmouth and Otto Schneibs was a coach).

I started on the mostly ungroomed Holt’s Ledge, serviced by an old Hall double refurbished with a Doppelmayr/CTEC engine. I warmed up on the Don Worden Schuss race trail and then started hunting untracked powder pockets left over from Friday night’s storm.

I was stunned that there were untracked pockets of snow right under the lift. The storm was Friday and the powder day was Saturday! But on Sunday, the snow was still stellar with untracked on the sides of trails. I worked skier’s right edge of Lift Line and every left hand turn was untracked; the right hand turns weren’t too shabby either.

Lift Line gave way to Lower Gauntlet which narrowed considerably before dumping out ungraciously on Lower Lyme where I found more untracked. The sun was rising fast with fifty degree temperatures expected, so it was a race against time. I hit Lift Line multiple times mixing in other natural trails including Lyme Drop and Papoose. Only two trails were groomed top to bottom and I found many fun options and combinations.

If not for a technicality (less than six inches of fresh), today would have surely been tagged a powder day. Why was I at Jay on Saturday and not here? Out of the limited number of guests, almost no one was skiing the ungroomed terrain. I suspect the Skiway is a total sleeper on a powder day. Duly noted.

The terrain on Holt’s Ledge has solid pitch and trails have a narrow winding character. Across the street on Winslow Mountain, things are bit more laid back. The trails are a little wider, gentler, and mostly groomed. Instead of a hard plastic seat on an old school Hall double, Winslow has plenty of room for the entire family on a plush CTEC quad. Lower Thomas is the race trail on the northern side of the street but even there the pitch isn’t too steep.

Highlights on Winslow include the degree name trails: M.B.A. and M.D., both narrow natural winders with and without grooming respectfully. I particularly enjoyed the undulated turns of M.B.A. I was unable to take the full measure of Winslow as a few natural trails were closed. Being in the Upper Valley, the Skiway’s biggest downfall is its natural snow average which is less than the White Mountain and Lakes Region competition.

Winslow is an excellent family and learning area with perfectly pitched runs and conditions that retain corduroy until the lifts stop turning. Rank beginners only have a J-bar for learning so never-evers might not appreciate the offerings. But otherwise, this place screams perfect family skiing on the cheap ($43, $38, and $28 are the prices for adult weekend, half day, and mid-week respectfully with $20 days on non-holiday Mondays and Tuesdays).

Nothing approaches excessively steep and there is no pucker factor. The spacious hardwood forest is begging for glading but tree skiing aficionados will currently be disappointed. Views are good but not exceptional. The Skiway is a few vertical feet short of a grand and doesn’t have any one particular aspect that is extraordinary or stand out.

But Dartmouth Skiway is the real deal. The trails have character and the mountains have charm. The base lodge is exceptional and everyone is friendly. The groomers are delightful but there are excellent and fun natural options as well. There is simply an intangible and fine quality to the skiing offered at the Skiway. I can’t wait to get back here on a powder day, the first rather than the second.

Compared to other 1000 vertical mountains I have skied, I rank the Skiway very high. It is right at the forefront of lesser known mid-sized areas that rock along with Black Mountain NH and Mount Abram ME. It is a great place and deserves to be on your list.