Pat's Peak Report

We visited Pat's Peak in Henniker, NH yesterday - 2/3/2007. The skiing could not have been any better!!! This one was of our best skiing trips ever. Well... it could have been maybe a tad bit warmer but with our good thick layers of clothing we were warm. This was especially refreshing since we had a very disappointing trip at Cranmore when we visited in mid January.

With it being a sunny Saturday, in the low 30s, with a fresh batch of snow in the area (2-4"), it was sure crowded here. With the new snow being a big deal for us since our area has had no real significant snow at all this year. To alleviate the crowds, Pat's Peak opened up ALL their lifts including the Vortex double (which I rarely see opened). Therefore the lifts lines weren't that bad at all. When the 3-10PM skiiers came in, things got a bit crowded but that was for a short time and the lines were certaintly reasonable.

Some reports on the trails:
Puff/Whisper - Great snow! Small to medium jumps on Whisper. GREAT trails for beginners!!!
Squall Line - Great snow but very cold biting wind. You'll need a scarf. Level in some places. Need to pick up speed.
Zephyr/Glades - Love skiing through the woods. This was 100% snow covered and a lot of fun!
Blast - Lots of cool little jumps. Again 100% snow covered. This is one of my all-time favorite trails.

There were a few trails that were not 100% opened so their advertizement of being 100% was incorrect. Examples: path between Squal Line and Blast, path between Hurricane and Tornado.

Lifts:
- Hurricane Triple -- On this lift when you get near the top, on a very clear day, I believe you can spot a snowy Mt. Washington is the very FAR distance. I wish this lift went a little bit faster.
- They don't force you to go double or triple (like they do at Cranmore)
- The Vortex double and Valley double go somewhat faster to the top than the Hurricane Triple.

Lodge:
- Jammed pack. Eat lunch early to get place to eat. Love the outdoor bench seat (sun keeps you warm).

Other things to note:
- Pat's Peak BLUE trails aren't that too difficult to ski. Pat's Peak's black diamond trails are like Cranmore's BLUE square trails.

Here is a link with some of our pictures (included is two of them from Cranmore).