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Differences between New Hampshire Ski Areas and Resorts.
Cannon Mountain is the biggest New Hampshire ski mountain by vertical and elevation.
Okay. What is the difference? New Hampshire Ski areas are different than the ski resorts? Technically no, however resorts like
Bretton Woods and Loon Mountain
are in a completely different ballgame than some of the smaller ski areas in southern New Hampshire.
First of all. The above mentioned areas have tons of lodging options on and off the mountain. There are more than enough ski condos, hotels and bread and breakfasts at the larger resorts
to fill their trails everyday. You will not find this kind of setup at Whaleback Mountain
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out also that the trail counts vary by a huge margin. Check out the difference between the number of trails at
Attitash ski resort and Pats Peak.
Not that trail count always matters that much but it is definitely an aspect that distinguishes a New Hampshire ski area from a resort.
The next aspect and probably the most glaring and obvious is mountain size. Vertical drop and trail counts are important if a ski resort wants to attract the highest number of skiers
and riders possible. Cannon Mountain ski resort boasts the highest elevation and vertical in the state. That is why
it gets the reputation as being nasty. High winds and cold come with being the biggest. In complete contrast to Cannon, you have
Granite Gorge. You cannot compare these two New Hampshire Ski Areas with each
other, it is comparing apples to oranges.
Now based on this information how does one decide where to ski and ride. The first thought might be to go to the biggest place with the most trails
and the fancy hotel with the pool, skating rink etc. Ask yourself this question. Do you need all the bells and whistles or do you just want to be on the slopes?
I am guilty of frequenting the larger resorts myself and now I sometimes question why I spent so much on a week in a luxury condo
when I could have skied twice as many days if I had gone to smaller, less popular resorts.
One thing I have found while researching for this site is that many of the smaller ski areas really focus on good terrain parks.
This may not be of interest to more seasoned skiers like myself but the younger crowd really appreciates them.
I am not telling you where to go or not go for your ski vacation but to just go somewhere. Consider your options carefully and get to the slopes. Let it snow. ALOT!
Use the links below to see all the choices for skiing in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire ski resorts
Southern New Hampshire ski areas
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