If it’s good enough for Bode Miller, then it is good enough for me.
New Hampshire’s largest ski area is where Bode served as poster boy
and Director of Skiing during his Olympic reign. If you haven’t skied
Bretton Woods
in a while, it’s time to take another look - even if it takes Bode’s
stardom to draw you there.
What was once called Medicare Mountain for its tame terrain and
aesthetic views now offers something for almost everyone with new
trails, glades, terrain parks, speedy lifts, a beautiful base-loge and
even a ski train.
Bretton
Woods has grown significantly during the past decade to become NH’s
largest ski resort, eclipsing Attitash in 1999. It has always been a
photogenic spot, surrounded by Mount Washington, The Presidentials and
Crawford Notch. While the views obviously haven’t changed, the venue
has. The ski area now sprawls to the west and east, tripling the
resort’s original 1973 size, and opening up new vistas for skiers and
riders while tapping into more challenging terrain. Director of
Operations Chris Ellms said, “We’re excited about the ongoing growth
at Bretton Woods.”
Even when few other New Hampshire
ski resorts are open, Bretton Woods makes plenty of snow with
their impressive snowmaking system. In fact, Bretton Woods often boasts
the longest ski season in New Hampshire, though sometimes rivaled by
Wildcat in the spring.
Arriving at the Base Lodge, which has grown leaps and bounds in the
past decade, we were greeted by cheery Mountain Hosts, who
actually helped unload our skis. My kids both commented on how staff
was “everywhere,” my daughter was a bit spooked that, “they are all
smiling.” Must be something in the White Mountain spring water, I told
her.
My
kids aren’t the only ones to notice this attention to detail. Ski
Magazine referred to Bretton Woods as the “Deer Valley of New
Hampshire”. If you know Deer Valley, you
know it is the most posh ski resort on the planet with service nearing
perfection. The owners of Bretton Woods I am certain did not mind this
comparison since they emphasize staff friendliness in their extensive
training.
The resort is now owned by Omni Hotels, with the
Mount
Washington Hotel . Previous owners, the Bedors, purchased the
Hotel at auction in ’91, the Golf Course
and Nordic ski area followed in ’93, and the Ski Area and Sport Center
plus 950 acres were acquired in ’97 – they
re-consolidated the original resort and revitalized it before selling
to CNL and Omni.
We
had skied Bretton Woods before the addition of the high-speed quad on
West Mountain (added in 2001) and the Rosebrook Summit expansion
(2003-2004 season), and always found the intermediate boulevards to be
groomed to pleasant perfection, framed by the outstanding view of
Mount Washington. But we didn’t find anything particularly
challenging, nothing to get your heart pumping. My son loves steeps
and my daughter loves to ski in the trees.
Well, it seems they read our minds, by carving out some steeper trails
on both Rosebrook and West Mountains, like the short but sweet pitch
on Little Tuckerman served by the West Mountain Express. Black-diamond runs reached by the Rosebrook high-speed quad include
trails that Bode Miller helped design like Snake, Devil’s Den, and his
namesake Bode’s Run under the lift – show off. To satisfy my
daughter’s glade craving, West Mountain is sprinkled with beautiful
birch grove glades, and Rosebrook Canyon to the east offers nearly a
dozen more unique tree-lined runs.
The
resort now offers over 10o trails, serviced by 9 lifts, 4 of which are
high-speed quads. And there is more on tap, according to Ellms, with
future plans for more trails and a lift on Mt. Stickney, east of Mt.
Rosebrook.
Andy Norton, Assistant Mountain Manager said, “We want to make sure
our guests have the best ski experience possible, from the snow
quality to the grooming, the lifts and the friendliness of everyone
here.” N.H. native Norton grew up in the ski biz; his father Bill ran
Cannon for years.
For a splendidly scenic lunch spot, get a window table at the Top
O’Quad Restaurant. A warm-up break inside the authentic Cog railcar at
the summit of West Mountain is another novelty.
Snowshoe trails at Bretton Woods are lift-accessible so they
(and cross-country skiers) can enjoy the upper elevation snow and
incredible views without the hike. Bretton Woods also has two terrain
parks and a Canopy Tour and Zip Line. Night owls can ski under
the lights on 4 trails on weekends and holidays.
Bretton Woods still shines brightly as a place for learning families.
The Learning Center Quad is free if you want to learn to turn on your
own, or get your youngster out for “first tracks.”
Next door to the expansive base lodge is the Learning Center where you
can get professional “Red Carpet” ski instruction and set your kids up
at the Hobbit Ski School. Babes In the Woods Nursery is for
not-yet-skiing children 2 months to 5 years. I took my kids here when
they were wee-ones (admittedly, a while ago). It was great then – and
looks like it has only gotten better – exceptional staff, organized
daily programs. They even host themed kids’ après-ski parties so Mom
and Dad can enjoy live entertainment and a toddy in the Slopeside Pub.
But
we encourage skiers to go over to the Hotel for their après ski and
think of it as an extended base lodge, not just for hotel guests.
Sitting by the grand fireplace in the lobby or watching the
alpenglow on Mount Washington from the Rosebrook Lounge is a
glorious way to end a ski day.
Take it from our experience, once you enter the winter wonderland of
the 1902 Mount Washington Hotel, you will want to stay… for cocktails
in the Princess Lounge, for dinner and dancing in the Ballroom, for
the live band in the speakeasy Cave, for a romantic sleigh ride around
the resort, or just to say you slept in a palace. The historic Hotel
was winterized and opened for its first ski guests in 1999. It is one
of the most grand ski hotels in the country and their Presidential Spa
is appropriately named given the view an the expansive oferrings.
While
our family is not nuts about Nordic (preferring the gravitational pull
of downhill skiing) we were nothing but impressed by Bretton Woods’
Ski Touring Center. Entering the posh Nordic Center, you immediately recognize that skinny skiing can be refined, not
rustic like your average lean-to. This beautiful lodge serves as the
Golf Club House in the summer - Bode comes to golf too. 100-kilometers
of Nordic trails surround the Hotel property, 1,770 acres – much of
the network is within White Mountain National Forest.
See, Bode knew a good thing when he joined
Bretton
Woods in 2003. You should check out Bretton Woods too.
