A
Anonymous
Guest
A bit late with the report, but I had to rest up. <BR> <BR>Awoke Tuesday to two feet of dry snow outside my window in Enfield, NH, and then to the telephone informing my wife that she had a snow day (she's and elementary school teacher). Of course I could not fall back to sleep, as visions of face shots danced in my head. Could I justify blowing off work to ski? Could I not? How upset would my wife be if I went skiing? She's eight months pregnant, and get jealous when I ski these days, or do other things like walk upstairs without getting winded, etc. <BR> <BR>My mind was made up when I saw my neighbor brushing of her car, and asked me if I wanted to come along to Ascutney. Let's do it! <BR>Having never been to Ascutney, I did not know what to expect. The new quad running to the summit was shut down, for no obvious reason. Despite that, and the fact that every school in the area was closed, there were no lines all day. What there was was plenty of pow! Even arriving and hour after the lifts started turning, there were lots of untouched lines. Knee-deep powder all morning, light and dry snow, and pretty warm temps. We did laps off the triple to the left side of the mountain (skiers right) until most of the new snow was chopped up and my legs were wobbly. <BR> <BR>After lunch, met up with some friends of friends, and skied the (skiers) left side of the hill. Lots of soft bumps, and still no one there. <BR>Took one jaunt into the glades, via the Cabin Chute, which turned into an adventure. Maybe we missed the entrance to the gladed area, but after a promising looking opening, the trail turned into a goat path through dense sapplings and pucker brush. There may well be skiable lines in there, but I could not find them. If any locals have any secrets they are willing to divulge, I'll be discrete. <BR> <BR>Overall, Ascutney seems like a fun little place. No killer steeps, but there is a good mix of trails, with plenty of variety. <BR> <BR>Only gripes I have are the lack of a microwave oven to heat my lunch, but then that discourages people from spending $5 for french fries. Also, only one water fountain hidden downstairs.