Black Mountain of NH 1/20/2008

eatskisleep

New member
Date(s) Skied: January 20th, 2008

Resort or Ski Area: Black Mountain Ski Area of NH.

Conditions: Packed Powder

Liftlines: No liftlines. At most, you would have a couplke of people in front of you, but most of the time you could just ski right onto the chair.

Crowds: No crowds on the trails. They were pretty empty.

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Trip Report: Black Mountain truly is a place with Classic New England Style trails. The only two "really wide" trails are Jackson Standard and Maple Slalom. Both of which are the two main trails one can see from the road. Next, I would like to say it seems like Black is putting in a much better effort this year than previous years. They had really good coverage, and they were making more snow than I have ever seen them make. If anyone has seen the Men at Black advertisement (haha), they are out working hard this time around. They were making snow on Jackson Standard, Maple Slalom, not just a little, but a lot. With more piles of snow stockpiled in certain areas. Lostbo was open. White Knuckle was open, much to my surprise. All the greens were open. All blues were open with the exception of the top portion of Bob-O-Link. Most of the Blacks were open. With a little more snow, I would say that everything could be open. If you haven't been here yet this season, be sure to go, becasue Black is a fun mountain!

Now on to everyone's favorite part of the post, the pictures... 8)

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Jackson Standard:
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Guns running all the way up Maple Slalom:
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Untracked snow awaits... yet again!:
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A lot of time must have went into making these lift towers, each piece bolted together:
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Upper Galloping Goose:
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White Knuckle, steeper than it looks:
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More White Knuckle:
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Random Skier drops into Lostbo:
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Looking down on a snowboarder from the top of Lostbo:
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I like the way that this photo came out, approaching the half-way stop on the Summit Double:
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Comments Wanted/Appreciated. Thanks for looking!
 
do they currently haved a skiable bump run? if so what is the name of it? and how long is it?
 
Wow - that place looks really cool. Love White Knuckle and Lostbo. Good thing it's not crowded...could be a killing field if it was!
 
Noooo!!! It’s a great little hill. Hoping it’s just temporary. South facing hill doesn’t help.

Been there once on our NH March break 2008, we skied 5 areas, Balsams and Black are now closed.

 
Black Mountain - while historic - had all sorts of issues and I specifically never visited it because it was not competitive with most NH ‘little areas that rock’.

1. The resort faced South and often would experience refrozen conditions.

2. Relatively low snowfall. Sits in a bit of a shadow of Presidentials.

3. A 3 hour drive from Boston.

4. Competition.

The biggest issues are the 3 hr drive and competition. There are so many more classic areas with reasonable lift tickets - some only 1.5 hours from Boston.

New Hampshire: Wildcat, Cannon, Ragged, Gunstock, Mt Sunappee. Cranmore/Attitash was a $29 ticket in the ASC 90s with a Mobile gas discount.

Vermont: Magic Mt., Pico, Mad River Glen, Sugarbush - all 3 hrs or less from Boston.

Maine: Saddleback is only 3.5 hrs.

Massachusetts: Berkshire East.

Why expend effort to go to Black Mountain NH for an experience that is below all the areas I listed. And their lift tickets were not that much cheaper.

If you are staying in North Conway for a few days - sure, add Black Mountain. But it would be best for the mountain coming under Vail’s Attitash/Wildcat umbrella or Jiminy Peak’s Mt Cranmore mgt. I actually think Cranmore is a more historic area than Black Mt. More interesting. Overlooks town. Home of the old skimobille lift.

Also Black Mt had issues with the Portland ME market. You could get to Shawnee Peak or Sunday River quicker and Sugarloaf 30 min more.

So while sad to see Black Mt close, it was always a difficult area to run It’s been through quite a few bankruptcies over the years. Also, I feel like Black’s challenges were structural- almost no mgt could team could make it a success. Hopefully a local valley operator buys it out.
 
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Lots of pix and discussion in the comments of NELSAP's Facebook post. It was clearly a New England ski touchstone for many people.

Thought this was one of the more apropo posts from Facebook:

The reason places like this close is their great customers buy discount tickets, pack their own beer and lunch so they don't spend $$. Then they complain about the big corporations taking over skiing.
If you want your local hill to stay open, buy a beer and snack in the lodge. If not, you'll soon be buying an Ikon or epic pass.


It’s most loyal customers do not really support the mountain.
 
The reason places like this close is their great customers buy discount tickets, pack their own beer and lunch so they don't spend $$. Then they complain about the big corporations taking over skiing.
If you want your local hill to stay open, buy a beer and snack in the lodge. If not, you'll soon be buying an Ikon or epic pass.

This quote spoke to me too.
 
This quote spoke to me too.

A-Basin has a bit of a policy to deal with the situation of food and alcohol free-for-alls. Here


Beach reservations for the 2023-24 winter season Open October 1, 2023!

The Beach is Arapahoe Basin's front-row parking, aka prime ski-in, ski-out real estate adjacent to the bottom of our frontside lifts. Home to parties, reunions, or just gatherings of old friends and new, The Beach is where you want to be whether you are racking up Pali laps all day or you don't ski at all and just want to hang out where the fun is.

VERY IMPORTANT FINE PRINT BECAUSE RULES:

The Beach is a one-day parking rental.
ALL commercial activity is prohibited by the U.S. Forest Service and Arapahoe Basin. The parking lots are not privately owned by A-Basin; they are still federal land.
You may not charge for anything at your spot or sell anything on The Beach. You can't give samples away or run raffles, either.
Any promotional activity (including free giveaways) must have prior approval from us. Inquiries regarding promotional activity must be submitted at least 72 hours in advance of your event. Please read the rest of this page, then call us.

Pricing 23-24 Season

November 1 - February 15: $150 (Everyday)
February 19 - May 30: $200 (Monday – Thursday)
February 16 – May 31: $250 (Friday)
February 17 – June 2: $300 (Saturday – Sunday)

How to Be Excellent on The Beach (i.e. some rules, regs)

No camping or overnight parking. Gates open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m.
No glass, charcoal grills (gas grills OK), open fires, live bands, DJs, hot tubs, or pet dragons. Dogs are OK if leashed.
No marijuana. It’s illegal on federal land. Which we are on.
Beach spots are non-refundable if canceled within 14 days of your reservation.
NO DRONES.
Be kind and clean up your trash. All are welcome.
We love designated drivers. You should, too. Please be safe out there!

How to Check-in

Let one of the staff people working the parking lot know the name on The Beach spot reservation and they will guide you to your spot.
You get two passenger car spots. Beyond that, your guests need to park in the lots.
No charter buses or vehicles over 20 feet without prior permission from us.
 
Interesting how they've thought of virtually any potential infractions in the bullets above. Wow, those parking fees must be a good deterrent.

I try to think of how my behavior might be negatively impacting indy-ski-area revenues as noted above. For example, when I go to Plattekill once a season, I still can't believe that I'm paying just short of $100 to ski there. I always buy a beer at the well-stocked bar upstairs; however, vittles from their cafeteria are a no-fly zone for me.
 
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nteresting how they've thought of virtually any potential infractions in the bullets above. Wow, those parking fees must be a good deterrent.

Those parking fees must be significant revenue. Covers any food/drink loss from tailgating.

Still likely cheaper to get a group together, bring food for grilling lunch/dinner, snacks and beer/liquor for Apres.
 
$88 I think last year?

I remember Plattekill Facebook Day in 2011. It was a drive to grow fans, all fans ski for free. A bunch of guys, grilling there own food and a cooler of beers on the deck. I think it is fair to say that after that day those guys aren't very fond of me.

 
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