Liz1281
Certified Ski Diva
Ummmm my first trip report...
My husband managed to find $37 lift tickets on liftopia.com so off we went to Ragged Mountain for the first time
It took us about 2 hours to get there from Boston, so not too bad of a drive; about 45 minutes of this was on the back roads (well, state highways, but I think they're scenic enough to be considered back roads). Pretty easy to navigate (we used Mapquest).
When we pulled in, my first reaction was - wow! I get to park right next to the lodge, finally! They had nice facilities that look like a New England farmhouse, with a massive stone fireplace, a bar and pizza place upstairs, and a typical snack bar downstairs. Honestly, I think I loved it because I get so claustrophobic with the crowds at some other resorts (like when people are swarming over you at the end of the day as you're trying to get your boots off) and this was a refreshing change from that. There were plenty of people but it wasn't ... crowded. Phew.
Conditions were great! The place was pretty lively, but no lift lines AT ALL, so we got plenty of runs in. The grooming was good, I thought, nice packed powder that softened up just the tiniest bit toward the end of the day. Another good thing was that the trails never got icy toward the end of the day (possibly because there weren't thousands of people scraping them down). There are two peaks; one is served by a high-speed 6-person lift, and the other by a much slower 3-person lift. Good mix of trails - some short little glade runs (my first foray "off-piste" by the way). Nothing too scary or too steep, but definitely enough to have kept us entertained all day.
By the way (many of you were kind enough to help me out with my new skis conundrum) I finally made up my mind and got Volkl's Attiva S5's in 154, and loooooooooove them! This was my second time skiing on them, and they're just so much fun, and quite confidence-boosting. They're a bit more work to ski than my old Nordica, because I feel like I have to concentrate on my form just that much more, but definitely rewarding. So yay!
Back to the trip review: my only wish is that the lift to the second peak (the triple) was a little faster, because the trails off that lift were a little bit more interesting than those off the high-speed (in my opinion, of course). Otherwise we were very impressed, and will definitely go back!
(BTW $399 season passes!!! wow good deal! especially for those lucky people that live close by)
My husband managed to find $37 lift tickets on liftopia.com so off we went to Ragged Mountain for the first time
It took us about 2 hours to get there from Boston, so not too bad of a drive; about 45 minutes of this was on the back roads (well, state highways, but I think they're scenic enough to be considered back roads). Pretty easy to navigate (we used Mapquest).
When we pulled in, my first reaction was - wow! I get to park right next to the lodge, finally! They had nice facilities that look like a New England farmhouse, with a massive stone fireplace, a bar and pizza place upstairs, and a typical snack bar downstairs. Honestly, I think I loved it because I get so claustrophobic with the crowds at some other resorts (like when people are swarming over you at the end of the day as you're trying to get your boots off) and this was a refreshing change from that. There were plenty of people but it wasn't ... crowded. Phew.
Conditions were great! The place was pretty lively, but no lift lines AT ALL, so we got plenty of runs in. The grooming was good, I thought, nice packed powder that softened up just the tiniest bit toward the end of the day. Another good thing was that the trails never got icy toward the end of the day (possibly because there weren't thousands of people scraping them down). There are two peaks; one is served by a high-speed 6-person lift, and the other by a much slower 3-person lift. Good mix of trails - some short little glade runs (my first foray "off-piste" by the way). Nothing too scary or too steep, but definitely enough to have kept us entertained all day.
By the way (many of you were kind enough to help me out with my new skis conundrum) I finally made up my mind and got Volkl's Attiva S5's in 154, and loooooooooove them! This was my second time skiing on them, and they're just so much fun, and quite confidence-boosting. They're a bit more work to ski than my old Nordica, because I feel like I have to concentrate on my form just that much more, but definitely rewarding. So yay!
Back to the trip review: my only wish is that the lift to the second peak (the triple) was a little faster, because the trails off that lift were a little bit more interesting than those off the high-speed (in my opinion, of course). Otherwise we were very impressed, and will definitely go back!
(BTW $399 season passes!!! wow good deal! especially for those lucky people that live close by)
