The snow was really fine on the trails at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., and Bretton Woods in Bretton Woods, N.H., yesterday -- but below-zero temps kept most skiers away, and prompted frequent lodge stops among those hardy enough to get dressed and go skiing.
Credit snowmaking and grooming in ideal weather for conditions that have done a one-eighty since the MLK weekend.
Yesterday's strategy called for an early start at Loon, to ride the gondola and avoid the chairs first thing.
It was the best visit to Loon in many years, with good snow conditions and only a handful of other skiers on the trails of this wildly popular mountain. That combo doesn't happen often.
Next, a stop at Cannon to ride the tram up this always windswept area - but oops, they haven't started running the tram yet, because of lean snow cover on the summit trails. Next week, they say. (I'll try again then.)
(We should be grateful this State of New Hampshire-run area extended its snowmaking operations by three weeks, so they could actually make snow this winter.)
Then on to Bretton Woods, nestled in a cold valley south of the Presidential Range, where it was 4 below in the parking lot and more people were inside the base lodge than on the trails.
Temps like that are why folks invented fuzzy garments and windproof parkas and ski pants, balaclavas, face masks and goggles, and mittens or gloves.
Oh yeah, and fireplaces, cocoa and coffee.