Category: December

2002-2003 Season, Attitash, December

Attitash, NH

Friday December 6th was Free Day at Attitash. I had requested the day off from work before I even knew of the event. Serendipity. I planned a cheap ski weekend around the Attitash Free Day. After driving up to Attitash and skiing for free, I would crash at the Hiker’s Paradise in Gorham, NH for only $15 and then hit Cannon Mountain on Saturday to use my $20 coupon. Two days of skiing and lodging for only $35… sweet!

The Free Day and recent snowfall in Boston Metro brought the crowds. I was amazed at how many people made it up for a Friday. But free skiing is free skiing! I encountered attitude everywhere and witnessed kids acting like babies, skiing/riding with complete and total disregard for others.

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2001-2002 Season, Cannon Mountain, December

Cannon Mountain, NH

Cannonball Quad

The forecast depicted today as possibly the coldest day of the 2001-2002 winter so far. Given recent abnormally warm temperatures, this was not saying much. But given Cannon’s well earned reputation for fearsome winds and cold temperatures, I was prepared for the worst Cannon had to offer.

Much to my surprise and relief, the weather was not bad at all and quite pleasant at times! Winds were at their worst on the Peabody Express Quad. Winds seemed to only effect the north facing slopes of the lower mountain. Winds and temperatures were actually pleasant on the Cannonball Quad and the upper mountain trails which normally show Cannon at its worst.

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2001-2002 Season, December, Killington

Killington, VT

After a warm and snow less start to the system, few ski areas had many trails open by mid-December. Thus, I opted to ski at the snow making capital of New England to maximize available of open terrain. This was my first visit to Killington and was unimpressed with the crowds, rudeness, bland terrain, and lack of character.

2000-2001 Season, December, Wildcat

Wildcat, NH

Ski WildcatOn a stormy weekend during a lack luster beginning to one of the Northeast’s biggest seasons, two friends and I packed up the car for a ski trip to Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire. Despite taking a wrong exit off the highway, trying a “short cut” that made for a long drive, and several white knuckle moments due to poor road conditions, we finally made it up through Pinkham Notch to Wildcat. Due to high winds, only the Bobcat Triple was running without access to the Summit. We lapped the Bobcat slopes many times working on our early season technique on our first day out of the season. Due to a variety of circumstances including leaving a job and being unemployed, I was only to ski four days during the fabled epic season of 2000-2001.