I read about Wildcat Mountain in the New York Times recently. Big mountain in NH's White Mountain National Preserve that is pretty empty even on the weekends. There are no hotels, gas stations, restaurants, banks or any of that crap, just a mountain, a fast lift, a parking lot and a lodge. There busiest days are as busy as the slowest days at other mountains. I was thinking about setting up a trip one weekend in March, maybe make it a 3 day since its a pretty long haul. Anyone interested?
Wildcat Mountain: A Family Favorite Celebrating 50 Years of Lift-Serviced Skiing The factsAccess our 4,062 ft. summit, and 2,112 ft. of vertical, in just 6 minutes via New England's most powerful Quad chairlift.
Wildcat's 2,000 ft. base elevation and proximity to Mt. Washington produces an annual natural snowfall of over 200 inches.
Wildcat has the most continuous vertical of any ski area in the White Mountains, and is the closest ski area to backcountry ski mecca Tuckerman Ravine.
Wildcat, the first ski area established on the White Mountain National Forest, is located 100% on National Forest Land.
ElevationBase: 2,000 feet Summit: 4,062 feet
Vertical Drop2,112 feet
Annual SnowfallAverage annual snowfall OVER 16 FEET!
2001 Snowfall228"
Ski & Snowboard SeasonMid-November through early May
Winter Hours of OperationMon. - Fri. (non-holiday): 9:00 am - 3:30 pm*
Weekends & Holidays: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Lifts operate later beginning in February, as daylight hours permit.
Holidays: Dec. 25, 2008 - Jan. 4, 2009; Jan. 17-19, 2009; Feb. 14-22, 2009
Wildcat is not open Thanksgiving (Nov. 27, 2008) or Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 2008).
Trails and Terrain47 Trails on 225 acres, include wide groomed trails, glades, bumps, steeps, and backcountry tree skiing
Beginner 25%; Intermediate 45%; Expert 30%
Polecat Trail - longest ski trail in New Hampshire, 2.75 mile beginner trail from the summit
Wildcat Valley Trail - with a 3,240 ft. vertical, is a 17.8 km expert cross-country trail from Wildcat's summit to to Jackson Village along the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation trail system.
Snowmaking and Grooming 90% Coverage, using 4 Prinoth snow grooming vehicles nightly; typically grooming 70% of terrain.
LiftsWinter: 1 Quad, 3 Triples - Uphill capacity of 6,700 skiers per hour
Wildcat Express Quad - 6,700 feet
Tomcat Triple - 4,450 feet
Bobcat Triple - 2,700 feet
Snowcat Triple - 1,500 feet