This is more a review of the resort than the conditions. While we have always been the black diamond type, given what BW is, I've oriented this review to the serious advanced intermediate skier. <BR> <BR>Though we are Cannon regulars, we expected intolerable weekend crowds since there's snow in nearly everyone's backyard now. Began to think this was true on the trip up 93 from Boston - more traffic at 7am than I can remember in prior years. As lines peeled off to Sunapee, Gunstock, Waterville, Loon, we kept going an extra 20 mins to BW. <BR> <BR>Parking was quite reasonable close. The big suprise was that for nearly the entire day, the ski racks in front of the lodge remained filled nearly the whole day. Skiing at 5 degrees F never phased me, so I guess I expected everyone would be out cruising. Wrong! No matter what time of day we came in, the crowd was just as strong in the lodge. This is not a complaint. Looked like they all bought lift tix, were wearing their new ski duds and sitting inside "staying warm". So, we all won - BW made big bucks and we had the trails nearly to ourselves. A pleasant suprise. <BR> <BR>You have to give BW an "A" for effort. They are trying quite hard to distinguish themselves from the other nearby areas. The remodelled lodge is nice, though there still isn't enough seating (well maybe its the 5 degree syndrome), the new cafeteria on the base level is excellent. It's about 3x the size of the previous and the selection and cooking is vastly improved. They continue to push the sit-down waiter style service which consumes a big chunk of the 2nd floor and the entire "top of the quad" restaurant. These were all underutilized; I'd rather see more space setaside for the pizza and burger crowd. Money aside, I don't want to spend the TIME waiting to be served. $57 a day ticket is way too much to spend to just sit and eat... <BR> <BR>Back to "effort". BW has worked hard to improve customer sat - many more staffers everywhere. They have all clearly been trained and coached in good manners. Made for a much more enjoyable day. <BR> <BR>Glades- <BR>Rosebrook Canyon glades was clearly where it was at for advanced intermediates and up. I've never seen so much snow in glades in the east - it was marvelous. Top of Rosebrook was the best. While the glades weren't that fast, the trails were cut well, with plently of lines to ski. Not many folks chose them, which was fine with me. By lift, they are difficult to get to. You must take Bethlehem chair and ski to Fabyans chair, then hoof across two miles to get to them - that probably explains the lack of skiers on them... Looks to me like the Mt. Stickney future expansion will create a bottom to top lift to get there. <BR> <BR>Mt. Rosebrook was where everyone was at. It was a little scratchy, but no complaints. <BR> <BR>West Mt. was good, lots of powder. The trails were unchallenging as ever, but they had the BW signature impeccable grooming. I was glad to see that they are leaving some of the wide boulevards ungroomed. Plenty of powder to kick around over there. The glades on West are somewhat quirky - it seems like they are unfinished compared to Rosebrook. Waumbek black diamond was the best of the cruisers. Boundary Line glades double black had cover but lots of rocks and stumps, enough to make it more dangerous than exciting. Stopped at one point and looked uphill to see a stack of cordwood IN the trail. <BR> <BR> <BR>NASTAR - This was the most organized program I've seen anywhere. It's an all day, permanently installed course. You could ski one run for $3, two for $5 and $10 for unlimited runs all day. They have a PA system that works, registration is a breeze and the gates are first class breakaways. Course was excellent and they have friendly racekeepers at top and bottom. Results were posted to the web by the time I got home. They now have upgraded medals/pins, which may not seem like a big deal to diehard skiers, but it's another sign that they are trying. <BR> <BR>Nice ski racks, they don't try to pick your pockets here with for-fee racks that no one uses and don't hold enough skis. They do have a "ski valet service". I was bummed - I thought this was a guy who would come out to your car and carry your skis in 
but alas, it's just like the coat check guy at the Met. <BR> <BR>I always forget how short the vertical is here. We must have skied more than 40 runs. So that puts me at about $1.20 per run (my new metric for value since the lift prices have become so stratospheric). I'm going to have to convert it to dollars per 1000 feet of vertical - probably a better measure. <BR> <BR>Nice looking demo center, right above the lodge. Easy in/out. <BR> <BR>Half pipe wasn't open to my suprise - still had heavy machinery building it. <BR> <BR>An "E" for effort for the series of jumps/bumps they put on the side of one of the trails.
but alas, it's just like the coat check guy at the Met. <BR> <BR>I always forget how short the vertical is here. We must have skied more than 40 runs. So that puts me at about $1.20 per run (my new metric for value since the lift prices have become so stratospheric). I'm going to have to convert it to dollars per 1000 feet of vertical - probably a better measure. <BR> <BR>Nice looking demo center, right above the lodge. Easy in/out. <BR> <BR>Half pipe wasn't open to my suprise - still had heavy machinery building it. <BR> <BR>An "E" for effort for the series of jumps/bumps they put on the side of one of the trails.