NEW HAMPSHIRE

Kid friendly skiing rates in Granite State 

This story was Published in The New England Ski Journal
Published: January 2004

By Heather Burke
If it’s good enough for Bode Miller, surely the White Mountain State can satisfy your family of schussers. U.S. Ski Team star Miller carved his first turns on New Hampshire’s peaks.

New Hampshire ski areas have all the musts: big mountains, beautiful scenery, family programs, accessibility (except perhaps for the remote but regal Balsams), and in many cases – affordability. Now N.H. has the added “cool” factor as Miller’s home turf.

The Granite State has dozens of ski resorts geared toward families. And this season, N.H. is where the dough is – with over $20 million in ski area improvements, much of that spent on family enhancements.

Gunstock tops NH’s list of extreme makeovers this winter. A new high-speed quad to the panoramic summit has reduced the ride time from 13 minutes to 6 – that could mean twice as many ski runs in a day. The old triple chair moved to the Pistol area where snowmaking, a terrain park, and lights have been added. Pistol was once a favorite among kids and is destined to be again, especially since the pipe and park has been relocated and expanded on Blundersmoke.

Gunstock is a convenient ski stop for young families, with a contained atmosphere offset by stunning views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the surrounding mountains. Gunstock’s Sunday Family Four Pack is a decent deal at $129 for two adult and two kids’ lift tickets.

If you are just getting started, Gunstock’s friendly instructors teach everything from one-time lessons, to a 3-day Mountain Magic package for $109. This learn to ski or ride program includes 3 days of lifts, lessons and rentals and at the end of day three, you receive a Gunstock Magic Card good for discounts on equipment and lift tickets for the rest of the season, plus a deal on next season’s pass.

Bretton Woods is an ever-expanding resort, with yet another new high-speed quad this season (the area’s fourth), and a dozen new trails. Bode Miller has signed on as Bretton Wood’s director of skiing, so your kids will be eager to ski the new expert Bode’s Run which he helped design.

For the littlest ones, the dedicated Family Learning Center, next to Bretton Woods’ expanded base lodge, is home to the popular Hobbit Ski and Snowboard School. If you insist on learning solo, Bretton Woods continues to operate the Learning Center Quad gratis for new skiers and riders to practice their turns before graduating to the main mountain lifts.

Bretton Woods is a winner for families because of its gentle well-buffed terrain all over the mountain. If the awesome views of Mount Washington aren’t entertaining enough, try the glade trails and the new advanced runs off the Rosebrook summit.

Mount Sunapee, in southern New Hampshire, continues to invest in its littlest customers, with a beautiful new Children’s Center. The Mother Goose childcare is sparkly new – a mother’s dream. Sunapee’s young skiers and riders, Snow Stars, also utilize the new Center, which is just steps from the South Peak learning slopes. For kids new to sliding, South Peak offers super-tame confidence-building trails and five dedicated lifts tucked away from Sunapee’s more mainstream terrain.

Tenney is born-again, not by some religious movement – although General Manager Dan Egan is religious about his skiing – he’s traveled the world, starred in abundant ski flicks, and has his own winter TV show. Now Tenney is Egan’s pet project and making skiing more affordable and less seasonal are his goals. With patented Japanese SnowMagic technology, Tenney has a longer season (first to open this October), and snow tubing in the summer.

What remains unchanged at Tenney is the homey atmosphere – you park a snowball’s toss from the central base lodge, there’s a summit chair, a mid mountain triple, three surface lifts, and a variety of trails from cruisers to bumps to glades (and a few cliffs to keep Dan amused).

For the “next gen” Tenney has a kickin’ terrain park. For the wee ones, there is a designated beginner area plus Tenney Tots and Cutting Edge Kids lesson programs.

Tenney’s Sunday morning $25 ticket, for skiing and riding from 8:30am-12:30pm, buys you the best turns of the weekend. Of note, Tenney’s entire rental fleet consists of new Atomics – not your average borrowed boards.

Crotched is yet another revitalized N.H. ski area. This 875’ vertical hill is now under Midwest management - and so far Peak Resorts has not been afraid to open their wallet in the Granite State, spending $9 million to get the party started. Crotched has reopened (after 14 defunct years) with two quads, a triple, a double, a magic carpet, snowmaking and a brand-new mountain lodge.

If your kids enjoy night skiing, 100% of Crotched’s trails are illuminated. The Jurassic Snow Park is located in prime view of the new base lodge if Mom and Dad want to supervise from inside.

Crotched’s X-treme Midnight Fridays and Saturdays allow you to ski or ride from 8pm to 3am. Now that’s extreme skiing – extremely late, or extremely early depending upon how you look at your watch. These zany ski hours have been wildly popular in the Midwest (I wonder how it will fly in early to bed Yankee territory). If you have teens, this is the place to keep them amused long after dark.

Cannon is also the recipient of a new lift and much-needed new novice terrain – check out their seven trails served by the Tuckerbrook quad. Cannon’s long standing reputation as an expert mountain, with N.H.’s greatest vertical of 2,146’ and some steep fall line, may have scared young families away in the past.

Cannon’s improvements, the Notch View Lodge and the Brookside Natural Learning Area, are good news for intermediates and beginners – and tickets for the novice area are $20 – more good news.

Cannon is so scenic, it’s a State Park after all – riding the Tram to the upper mountain terrain is a unique treat. To cap off the Cannon experience, you can drive the kids by the “no-more man on the mountain,” which continues to be a major attraction despite its nosedive.

These are just a few of N.H.’s 18 ski resorts that have invested in themselves this season. Let’s face it – new is nice. Moms and Dads appreciate new lifts and lodges, and kids get stoked on the latest parks and play areas. So treat your family to some White Mountain fun this winter.

If You Go:
Bretton Woods Mountain Resort www.brettonwoods.com
Cannon www.cannonmt.com 
Crotched Mountain www.crotchedmountain.com 
Gunstock www.gunstock.com 
Mount Sunapee www.mountsunapee.com
Tenney www.tenneymtn.com

For information on all New Hampshire’s ski areas www.skinh.com 
 

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All Photography by Greg Burke

 

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