Ski Areas Expand as Slopes Beckon This story was Published in The Lowell Sun Ski areas have upgraded and expanded their facilities in anticipation of a strong ski season. The following is a list of what ski areas in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have to offer and improvements they've made for this season. All that remains is to decide where to ski. MASSACHUSETTS Berkshire East, South River Road, Charlemont (413) 339-6617. Beginners area and new gladed areas; 40 trails; 5 lifts; expanded night skiing. Blandford Ski Area, 2nd Division Road, Blandford (413) 848-2860. Geared for the beginner to intermediate skier; 26 trails. Owned and operated by the Springfield Ski Club. Open Friday-Sunday, and during holiday and school vacation weeks. Blue Hills Ski Area, 4001 Washington Street, Canton (781) 828-7490; 7 trails. Bousquet's, Pittsfield (413) 442-8316; 21 trails; snowtubing, snowboarding, nursery/day care. Bradford Ski, Haverhill (978) 373-0071. Snowboard park with halfpipe; 13 trails; 2 triple lifts; 6 surface lifts; glade skiing; night skiing. Brodie Mountain, Route 7, New Ashford (413) 443-4752. Over 40 trails landscaped and widened; 1,250 ft. vertical drop. Cross-country base lodge. Butternut Basin, Great Barrington, (413) 528-2000; 25 trails; top to bottom terrain parks open to skiers/snowboarders; new summit lodge. Jiminy Peak, Hancock, (413) 738-5500; 40 trails; wonder carpet lift for beginners. Nashoba Valley Ski Area, Westford (978) 692-3033. Increased snowmaking; expanded lessons for beginning and intermediate snowboarders; expanded rental facility; 16 trails; 9 lifts, Outlook Restaurant. Wachusett Mountain, Princeton (800) SKI-1234 or (978) 464-5786. Detachable quad chair lift; 18 trails. Special junior, senior and beginners rates available. Ward Ski Area, 100 Main Street, Shrewsbury (508) 845-1797. Snowmaking; open 7 days and nights; separate snow-tubing area; 8 trails. NEW HAMPSHIRE Attitash Bear Peak, Bartlett (603) 374-0946. New family fun zone, connector trail; increased glad acreage includes five new acres; total of 30 acres.
Black Mountain, Jackson (603) 383-4490. Adding 2 novice trails and expanded snowmaking on advanced terrain. Two snowboarding parks operating, weather permitting, as is an oversided halfpipe that is separate from the park. Two fixed chairs; two surface; 30 trails. Bretton Woods, Bretton Woods (800) 232-2972. New 5,100 foot high-speed detachable quad chair lift to replace the old Mount Oscar double chair. Over 345 acres of terrain. Expanded and redesigned base lodge; 15 new acres of advanced glades. Cannon Mountain, Franconia (603) 823-5563. New and improved half-pipe and terrain garden, recreational racing trail, snowtubing park, magic carpet beginner's lift. Snowboarding area with 550-foot halfpipe. Sixty-passenger aerial tram; 7 lifts; 42 trails. Dartmouth Skiway, Hanover (603) 795-2143. Largest ski area construction project in New Hampshire this year - construction of a 16,000 square feet base lodge. Includes rental and retail shop. Eastman Pond Ski Area, Grantham (603) 863-4741; 16 trails. Franconia Village Cross Country Center, Franconia (800) 473-5299. Special "learn to ski" and "ski for free" programs. Lighted outdoor ice skating rink.
King Pine at Purity Spring Resort, East Madison (800) 373-3754. Redesigned and expanded snowboard park that alpine skiers can also use. Added hits and jumps. Two triple lifts; 1 double; 1 surface; 17 trails. Beginners can ride Wonder Carpet to top of beginner slope, located next to base lodge. Loon Mountain, Lincoln (603) 745-8111. Expanded grade areas, new tubing hill for kids, new adventure center, climbing wall. Large snowboard park and halfpipe; 1 gondola; 7 fixed chairs; 1 surface lift; 46 trails. Mt. Cranmore, North Conway (800) 786-6754. New Palmer X Park and Pepsi Grand Prix tubing park. Rebuilt lodge area. Bad Dog Terrain Park. Five fixed lifts; 2 surface; 38 trails. Mt. Sunapee, Mt. Sunapee (603) 763-2356. New quad chairlift, new wonder carpet and new beginner trail. Upgrades to parking area and rental equipment. Snowboard park with hits and jumps. Three triple lifts, 3 double; 2 surface, 39 trails. Ossipee Mountain, Moultonboro (603) 476-5581; 6 trails. Pat's Peak, Henniker (800) 742-7287. Snowboard Jones' snowboarding park with hits and jumps, no restrictions; 7 lifts; 20 trails. Ragged Mountain, Danbury (603) 768-3475. New snowtubing park; addition of Spear Mountain; new triple and five new trails; 170 acres of terrain; 6 lifts; 40 trails. Tenney Mountain, Plymouth (603) 536-4125. Snowboard park with quarterpipe, no restrictions; 90 acres of terrain; 4 lifts; 33 trails. Tuckerman Ravine, Pinkham Notch (no phone). Spring skiing, expert slopes, intermediate trail. No lifts. Waterville Valley, Waterville Valley (603) 236-8311. New little slammer terrain park, tubing area, Park Place terrain park; Boneyard snowboard park; 52 trails. A halfpipe at the top of the new high-speed quad and for children. Snowonder mini-park for ages 8-14. Whaleback Mountain, Lebanon (603) 448-7715. Expanded night skiing and new trail. Offers hits, jumps and table tops. Open for skiers and snowboarders. Mostly teen-oriented. One double lift; 3 surface; 28 trails. Wildcat Mountain, Jackson (800) 494-5322. Expanded rental shop and new tune-up shop; new grooming machine. Improved terrain; "Alley Cat" park includes large hits, table tops, ramps and quarterpipes. One gondola; 5 fixed chairs; 43 trails. VERMONT Ascutney Mountain, Bartlett (800) 243-0011. Five-year improvement plan still under way. Two major upper mountain lifts added, boosting uphill capacity to 6,500 people per hour. New quad chair replaces triple chair lift; 47 trails. Snowmaking increased.
Bromley Mountain, Manchester (802) 824-5522. Snowmaking increased, serving 80 percent of the mountain; 42 trails. Burke Mountain, East Burke (802) 626-3305; 31 trails; 2,000 ft. vertical drop. Cochran Ski Area, 910 Cochran Road, Richmond (802) 434-2479; 8 trails; 4 lifts; 350 ft. vertical drop.
Killington, Sherburne (800) 621-6867. A new, self-contained family mountain at Rams Head will feature a new center, top-to-bottom trails, snowmaking and a detachable quad chair. The new 14,000 square-foot facility will provide convenient access to ski school, child care and rental equipment; over 100 restaurants; 250 trails. Mad River Glen, Waitsfield (802) 496-3551. New gladed terrain added; 44 trails. Middlebury College Snow Bowl, Middlebury (802) 388-4356; 15 trails serviced by lift; 1 hiking trail. Mount Snow/Haystack, Mount Snow (800) 245-7669. High-speed quad, expanded Vacation Center with new rental shop and skier development facilities for first time skiers; expanded learning terrain with a new surface lift; 134 trails; a lighted halfpipe for night snowboarding; new mile-long, high-speed detachable quad to replace two fixed-grip doubles to increase lift speed and capacity. Okemo Mountain, Ludlow (802) 228-4041. Total 98 trails. Main base lodge expanded and renovated. Smuggler's Notch, Jeffersonville (802) 644-8851. All-terrain access, offering 250 acres 60 marked trails and glades; access to an additional 750 acres of woods in between. Smuggler's Notch, and Stowe Mountain Resort are fully trail connected and offers a Ski Over the Mountain Pass.
Stratton Mountain, Stratton Mountain (802) 297-2200. "Stratton Unplugged" -- a new multi-faceted mountain adventure park for skiers and snowboarders of all abilities. A Pipe Dragon added for grooming snowboarding area; 90 trails. Sugarbush Vermont, Warren (802) 583-2381. Snowmaking enhancements made with more hydrants, guns and automation; 116 trails. Suicide Six, Woodstock (802) 457-6661. Snowmaking capability expanded with new HKD tower snowguns; 22 trails. MAINE Black Mountain, Rumford (207) 364-8977. Base lodge includes storage facilities; rest room renovations and updating of rental equipment; 9 trails. Lost Valley, Auburn (207) 784-1561; 15 trails; 2 double chair lifts; night skiing. Mt. Abram, Locke Mills (207) 875-5003. White Wave snowtubing park; lodge on west side of mountain, featuring 12-person outdoor hot tub, saunas; double-sided fireplace; new cafeteria; 36 trails; 2 double chairs; 3 tow bars.
Shawnee Peak, Pleasant Mountain (207) 647-8444. Mountainside Sports Shop featuring parabolic skis, tubing park, snowshoe rentals and Elan SCX learning center; 38 trails. Sugarloaf USA, Kingfield (207) 237-2000. Timberline Quad, the new summit lift, gives skiers and riders improved access to the summit, and the start of four three-mile cruising trails; 126 trails; 4 quad chairs (2 high speed); 1 triple; 8 double; 2,800 ft. vertical drop. Sunday River Resort, Bethel (207) 824-3000. Third double black diamond glade added to Oz, Sunday River's 8th mountain peak; Pipe Dragon for grooming snowboard halfpipes; luxury slopeside townhouses; enhancements to snowmaking system; 126 trails; 9 quad chairs (4 high speed); 4 triple; 2 double; 3 surface. |
Balsams
Wilderness, Dixville (603) 255-3951. Refurbishing of Grand Resort
Hotel; new beaver lodge culinary apprentice center; expanded L.L.
Bean workshops. Snowboarding, half pipe; 87 acres of terrain; 14
trails; 3 surface lifts. 
Gunstock,
Gilford (800) 486-7862. Ricochet terrain snowboard park with
quarterpipe and table tops, jumps and hits; 8 lifts; 45 trails. 
Bolton
Valley, Bolton (802) 434-6400. New 4,000-foot trail, featuring
gladed terrain; 50 trails. Wilderness chair lift upgraded to
provide easier access for children and beginners. Lodge, ski shop,
general store; base lodge. 
Jay
Peak, Jay (800) 451-4449. Two new extreme chutes and hundreds of
acres of off-site terrain for back-country skiers; 67 trails. 
Stowe
Mountain Resort, Stowe (802) 253-3000. New on-mountain test site
for a variety of the newest and latest equipment; 47 trails. 
Saddleback
Mountain, Rangeley (207) 864-5671; 41 trails; 2 double chairs; 3
tow bars.