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Wildcat Mountain, NH

4K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  neednsnow 
#1 · (Edited)
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 facts
Access 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.
Elevation
Base: 2,000 feet Summit: 4,062 feet

Vertical Drop
2,112 feet

Annual Snowfall
Average annual snowfall OVER 16 FEET!

2001 Snowfall
228"

Ski & Snowboard Season
Mid-November through early May

Winter Hours of Operation
Mon. - 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 Terrain
47 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.
Lifts
Winter: 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
 
#2 ·
Unfortunately I'm stuck at college until May, but I absolutely love Wildcat. It's a true mountain and that's why it's never crowded. Even on the weekends of a school vacation there are no lift lines. The lift is the fastest in New England, there is always fresh snow, never any young annoying kids, they just put in a couple of rails, and their trails are so fun.
 
#20 ·
"can someone give me an idea on conditions in NH during late March"===Poop!

"Whiteface/Lake Placid and Camelback"== 24/7 Poop!

So should I just bail on riding East coast and whenever I can head for the Rockies??
Umm, if you are planning, especially during that time, then I'd go west. Come Late-March/Early April, I'm bagging my east-coast trips for a West Coast Trip (Last year Breck, this year will be Tahoe or SLC) Have you been out west?

There are no guarantees anywhere. However if you are getting in an airplane from Florida, you must be out of your effing mind to fly to NH / VT. Fly to Denver / SLC / Tahoe.
Werd!
 
#18 ·
I'd be possibly interested, even VT isn't looking friendly in this shit hole weather, hopefully NH is away from it enough depending how far north the resort is and yes I'm too lazy to check. Do you have planned a place to stay or just a meet up and every man and/or woman for themselves?
 
#22 ·
I understand the cash thing....the economy is whooping all sorts of ass. I just figured if you were already committing to I don't know where you are flying in to, but I just don't know that Wildcat is worth much more than a day trip, Maybe (I stress maybe) two days. While it has a decent vertical drop (2100'), the acreage(225) is less than what Hunter Mountain, NY has. Comparing that to the west (Heavenly.....which is HUGE.....has 4000+ acres, while a Breckenridge is 2600)

But hey, I'm not going to tell somebody not to come to the East Coast, just be sure to expect the unexpected. You could get sunny spring skiing in T-shirt weather, a heavy dumping of 2 feet, or a shitload of rain (which results in boilerplate shit!). I've been in all three in March New England weather. Enjoy!
 
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