TR Tenney Mountain in NH, day trip from Boston for fresh snow on 3/10/2019

[marzNC]

2018-19 was the first full season for Tenney Mountain, near Plymouth, NH, after it closed abruptly in 2008. I had a great time at Tenney after a big snow storm in early March 2018 when the new owners finally could open for a few days after a few years of hard work to restore the place to working order. So I was excited that I could go back when both chairlifts and all trails were open on Sunday, 3/10/2019. It was a bonus that it snowed that weekend since my trip to New England was based on the dates of my daughter’s dance performance and spring break.

Tenney is an independent ski area that is completely “old school.” There are two slow fixed-grip lifts, mostly natural snow, narrow twisty trails as well as a few wider groomers plus trees, and only as much grooming as necessary outside of the “easy way down” trails. With 110 acres and 1400 ft vertical, but is little likelihood of a lift line even on weekends. For 2018-19, Tenney was open Wed-Sun once there was enough snow coverage.

For a little history about how Tenney was re-opened and more pics, check out my March 2018 trip report:
TR Tenney, NH 3/9/2018

For people in eastern MA or NH who like Wildcat, Magic, or Mt. Abram, well worth checking out Tenney. The first lift-served ski area dates from the 1960s, but people started skiing on Tenney Mountain in the 1930s. One of the key people for Tenney was a 10th Mountain veteran. It’s great New England terrain. Have heard that more clearing will be done this summer in overgrown trees.

 

[marzNC]

Given the weather forecast of snow almost all day, along with locals there were also people who thought it was worth a day trip from the Boston area. While booting up, I chatted with three men who drove from Plymouth, MA. Tenney is about 2 hours from Boston, straight up I-93 to Plymouth. The snow didn't start until about 9:00 so the drive was uneventful. Mid-morning there was a small group of families with young kids, mostly under age 10, who were clearly local. Once all the kids were dressed and in their ski boots, the parents took the kids over to the beginner slope that’s serve by a “platter pull” aka a poma lift. I would guess that at least a few of the parents learned to ski at Tenney.

The main lift is the Hornet double, which loads near the 2-story base lodge. It takes 12-15 min to reach the summit so the footrests are handy. Most of the terrain can be reached from the top of Hornet. The other lift is the Eclipse triple and it usually doesn’t run midweek. There are a couple of nice wide blues off Eclipse, so a good area for intermediates to warm up or kids ready for more than a bunny slope.

The bar/restaurant opens up for lunch and for weekend evenings. It’s going to be open with weekly music performances during the off-season. I opted to drive into town to M’nM for Soup & Scoop
on the way back to Boston since I couldn’t stay to ski all day. Can’t beat a bowl of homemade soup with a large helping of ice cream for under $10. :-)

Stairs to the lodge were built in the fall 2018. Per usual, Hank was involved.


Restrooms are on the lower floor


Steady snow all morning with no wind, first ride was on Hornet about 9:20


A few people left their skis near the ramp to the lodge when they went in for an early lunch break


While it wasn't crowded, clearly people are starting to hear about Tenney


There was 4-5 inches of new snow on my minivan as I got ready to leave about 1:30. When it started snowing shortly after I arrived at 8:30, I made a trek to the parking lot to put on my windshield cover before booting up. Glad I remember to bring it from NC!

 

[marzNC]

Everything about Tenney is no frills, but fully functional. Time and money is put into making sure all the equipment is safe and working. Having a good groomer machine is more important than a glossy brochure or trail map. The trail maps are printed out from a color printer. It's an old trail map so Terrain Park and Lighted Area were blacked out manually for 2018-19.

 

[marzNC]

Forgot I wrote quick notes in the NH/ME thread on 3/10 in case I never did a formal trip report. If I'm ever close enough to Tenney in the future for a full day of skiing and the weather looks good, I'll be there.

The snow was coming down at a one-inch-per-hour rate, so about 3 inches by lunch time. It was a little dense but good fun on top of the nicely groomed trails. Very rarely hit bottom.

The roads in Plymouth were all snow covered by the time I drove into town at 1:30 for a late lunch. I left Plymouth before 2:30 and it felt like lots of people drove south to Boston on I-93 earlier than usual for a Sunday. Plows on I-93 had no trouble keeping up with the snow. A bit of sleet by Manchester, and soon after it was just a drizzle with the temp around 34. I guess that’s pretty typical New England weather.

Since Tenney depends on natural snow, it didn’t open until some time in January. The schedule was generally Wed-Sun, but have had lifts running a few Mondays after a snow storm.

The lift tickets were $59 full-day on weekends and $50 half-day. Between the snow and wanting to avoid too much Boston traffic, I got the AM half-day, 9:00-12:30. Not much of a discount per usual for a half-day ticket but nice to have the option of morning instead of afternoon. I had a dinner date with my daughter.

Unusual to see more than three chairs in a row to be occupied on Hornet. Riding Eclipse was like having a private mountain. Chair rides are on the long side since they are vintage lifts (have foot rests). The towers are old style and short, well below the tops of the trees, which means relatively little wind as a result. The head of the ownership group, Michael, is skiing now. It's his first full season, although I think he got out on the slopes a few times last winter.

 

[marzNC]

The trail maps are printed out from a color printer.
View attachment 10829

Forgot to note that the pink highlighter shows which trails I skied on 3/10. Since I'd skied off Hornet the year before, I spent most of the time exploring off Eclipse and figuring out the connector trails. There was untracked snow on #16-Eclipse every time since it's a big wide meadow near the base of the lift. For that matter, I was getting fresh tracks on all the trails off Eclipse since no one else was there.

 

[liquidfeet]

Hey @marzNC, do you have any new info on Tenney?

 

[diymom]

Thanks for the thread bump- reminded me that I have a Tenney ticket from the ski show when I got the Ski and Ride card. One for BW too.

 

[MissySki]

They just opened for the season at noon today according to their Facebook page.