For Immediate Release
New Hampshire Ski Resorts Treat Tens of Thousands of Skiers to
Remarkably Good Snow Conditions
Loon Mountain, Waterville Valley and Cranmore Mountain Resort
Reports Fresh Snow with Powder Surfaces
LINCOLN, NH – To paraphrase American Humorist Mark Twain, three popular New Hampshire ski resorts want New England skiers and snowboarders to know that “Rumors of their death have been greatly exaggerated.” With backyards in southern New England remaining stubbornly brown, the resorts’ snowy slopes surprised and pleased over 36,000 guests in the last 10 days.
While many weather prognosticators and newscasters have been bemoaning winter’s delay in the Boston news-media, skiers and riders in the know have been enjoying prime conditions, with snow surfaces and trail counts improving on a daily basis since early January.
On Friday, Tom Rizzotti from Newton, Mass. visited Waterville Valley Resort in Waterville Valley, NH, as chaperone for F.A. Day Middle School. His 150 students discovered that old man winter has been no stranger at the snow-covered mountain. Rizzotti had this to report, “In the kids’ words – it’s awesome out there! We’re having a great day.” Waterville was reporting 42 trails on packed powder conditions Saturday. A fast-moving Friday night storm left 5” of new snow on the slopes and snowmaking continues.
Because seeing is believing, this winter Waterville Valley launched a daily “video snack” on their website. The short, which is a download with streaming video set to music, lets people see for themselves what conditions are like on a daily basis. Or for those who prefer to hear it from the top, General Manager Tom Day is star of another video short available on the site.
“Frequently there are misconceptions out there about what the snow or weather is like at the mountain,” states the ebullient Day, “I like to give our guests the lowdown on conditions and tell it like it is.” Day’s video updates were launched last winter and resulted in thousands of downloads from site visitors. Both videos can be found on the home page of www.waterville.com.
Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, NH has doubled its trail count to 31 in the last 10 days and plans on being 100% open in a matter of days. “Our investment in energy-efficient snow-guns this year has paid off nicely,” stated Ben Wilcox, Cranmore’s General Manager. Since prime snowmaking temperatures returned 3 weeks ago, Cranmore’s snowmakers have literally been working around the clock. Cranmore also received close to 5” of snow in Friday night’s storm.
Visitors to the resort had high praise for snow surfaces and the men who brave the cold to make the snow. Kathy Sweeney of Albany, NH, who skied at Cranmore on both Monday and Friday of this week, had this to say, “I skied almost every trail on the mountain. There’s not a bad spot to be found. The snowmakers have really done a great job.”
With the abundance of snow, Cranmore has opened several trails that remained closed all of last year, a year whose conditions have already been eclipsed by this winter’s excellent snow surfaces. “We’re just about done with snowmaking on new trails for this winter, with the opening of Arlberg projected for early next week, “ stated head of snowmaking, John Mersereau. “Then there is nothing left but glades which require natural snow to open.”
Visitors who wish to preview Cranmore’s snow conditions can find two live webcams and a still photo of the day on the home page of www.cranmore.com.
On Saturday, Loon Mountain, home to New Hampshire’s most powerful snowmaking system, reached the 100% mark for open terrain, including tree skiing. That makes for 275 acres and almost 20 miles of trails. Number one in popularity among New Hampshire skiers, Loon Mountain was home to thousands of happy guests on Friday.
Skier David Feitler from Marlboro, Mass. had this to say, “This is the first time I've been up this season. I'm surprised that the snow is excellent."
Snowboarder Trevor Wellen of Orlando, Fla. added, "I'm really surprised how the snow conditions are. I was skiing in [Vermont] a couple weeks ago and it was terrible. There are hardly any bare spots here."
Loon Mountain is also producing a daily Video Snack which provides guests with an insider’s perspective of skiing and riding at the mountain. To download the video snack, or to view live webcams or still photography, visit the resort website at www.loonmtn.com.
Loon Mountain backs its snow conditions with a promise of satisfaction. Guests who are not satisfied with the day’s snow conditions may return their lift ticket by 11am to receive a voucher valid for any other day during the '06-'07 winter season.
Snow fans will be delighted with the short-term forecast. The Mount Washington Weather Observatory is predicting continued cold weather for the next week.
All three resorts are open daily for the winter season. More information may be found at the resort websites listed above, or they may each be contacted by phone: Loon Mountain (603-745-8111); Cranmore Mountain (1-800-SUN-N-SKI); or Waterville Valley (603-236-8311).
Download high resolution photos here:
Cranmore: Photo taken February 3, 2007. Skiers enjoy fresh powder and moguls on the Koessler trail at Cranmore. (caption)
Loon: Photo taken February 2, 2007. Loon Mountain saw 8” of fresh snow on Saturday as these skiers can attest. (caption)
Waterville Valley: Photo taken Feb. 2, 2007. Waterville Valley's snowmaking efforts have resulted in superior conditions at this point of the season. (caption)
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