Ski and Snowboard News, Deals, and Events

Among the improvements in Granite State skiing and snowboarding are these:

Loon Mountain in Lincoln added 14 acres of skiing terrain, installed a magic carpet on Sarsparilla, and moved the handle tow it replaced to the upper part of the trail, and added 20 new Boyne Low-E fan guns and 50 new tower guns to its snowmaking arsenal.

Bretton Woods Mountain Resort installed a new spa and conference center, opened Canopy Tours that offer a 1,000-foot descent on zip lines, suspension bridges and hiking trails; added rope tow, sledding hill, and fire pit to Kinderwoods Playground; replaced all rental skis and snowboards; and started seasonal rentals of high-end demo gear.

Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway is adding two intermediate trails, a connector trail, and a new glade.

Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch is adding four expert glades and one intermediate glade to the upper mountain, and another glade and new trail to the Tuckerbrook Family Area; naming some existing trails to make on-mountain navigation easier; and adding a new Prinoth Bison grooming machine to its fleet.

Granite Gorge in Keene has three new trails, an upgraded snowmaking system, new rental facility, and valet parking.

Crotched Mountain in Bennington has more snowmaking, a new glade, regraded trails, expanded base lodge, and refurbished groomers.

Mount Sunapee in Newbury put in 30 new HKD tower guns.

Pats Peak in Henniker added 14 HKD tower guns, eight SMI fan guns and a high-capacity water pump to its snowmaking, which now covers 100 percent of the area; added lights to Tornado Trail, for 100 percent night skiing; cut a new glade; and added new gear to it rentals.

Wildcat Mountain in Pinkham Notch is expanding terrain park features, renovating the base lodge, and upgrading snowmaking.

Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme Center blasted and regraded 200,000 square feet of its FIS competition slalom and giant slalom trials to meet FIS suggested upgrades; enhanced its snowmaking with three new SMI fan guns, rebuilt pumps, and added new gear to its rentals.