Wildcat Mountain's location in the shadow of Mt. Washington means tons of snow; imagine it with much better snowmaking! (Tim Jones photo)

In a major consolidation of power in the Mt. Washington Valley and New England skiing, Peak Resorts, owner of Attitash, Mount Snow, and Crotched Mountain, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all of the assets of Wildcat Mountain.

This is a major purchase for several reasons, and has the potential to provide major benefits for skiers.  First, Peak has a well-deserved reputation for their snowmaking; they introduced mountain-wide fan guns at Crotched in 2002, effectively starting a “snow war” that has benefitted skiers across the region.  They followed that with a huge refit of the snowmaking system at Attitash; we’re among the skiers who have seen a profound difference in the quality of the snow and skiing at that resort since the changeover.  They did the same with Mount Snow, and have proven that they aren’t “one note Johnnys” by continuing with other renovations; a half million put into Mount Snow’s Snow Lake Lodge this year, for instance.  Over the past decade, Peak has been one of the most innovative and stable of the ski area owners in New England; their purchase of Wildcat indicates a continued committment to the region.

As the coldest mountain in New England, Wildcat will benefit from the connection to warmer Attitash (Tim Jones photo)

What does this mean for you?  Simple…more, better skiing, and more options.  For starters, expect combined season’s passes for Wildcat and Attitash.  Wildcat, in the shadow of Mt. Washington, is probably the coldest ski area in New England.  So, on a brutally cold day, ski Attitash (or have Wildcat virtually to yourself).  Spring skiing?  When things turn to slush at other  mountains, head for Wildcat; or, ski Attitash in the morning, have lunch in Jackson, and head up to the ‘Cat for the afternoon.  Options, option, options…

And, of course, Peak won’t leave Wildcat alone.  Expect updated snowmaking, which will mean better conditions all winter PLUS an extended season.  More snow, greater snow depths, wicked cold mountain…April skiing?  Obviously.  May skiing?  Don’t bet against it and put your skis away early.  Some of the changes are planned for this ski season, so the benefit will be felt immediately.

Wildcat's classic New England trails are among our favorites, even without enhanced snowmaking (Tim Jones photo)

More to come as more information comes to us, but for now, we’re excited by the potential improvements to Wildcat, and by the fact that a major player sees the New England ski industry as alive, vibrant, and worth greater investment!

Snow covered bridge! You can ski right over the Ellis River on this beautiful covered bridge in Jackson, NH on the network of trails maintained by Jackson XC. (Tim Jones photo)

My sweetheart Marilyn and I were up in Jackson, NH, recently with our friends David and Susan  to celebrate the 75th birthday of the venerable  Black Mountain ski area(1-800-475-4669) one of our favorite alpine ski hills. Jackson NH  is certainly a wonderful destination for Active Outdoors types. In addition to Black Mountain (read our resort review here) for alpine skiers there’s also  Jackson XC (1-800-927-6697) for cross country buffs.

Jackson also has some wonderful places to stay and eat. On this trip, we’d all comfortably settled into the historic Eagle Mountain House (1-800-966-5799; ) which has cozy rooms, very comfortable beds, a hot tub, great breakfasts and warming libations and comfort food in the Highfields Tavern. This lovely old hotel is perfectly positioned close to Jackson Village with a view of the summit of Black Mountain. They’ve got sledding, skating, snowshoe and ski trails right on the property, and ski-and-stay package deals. What more could you ask for?

Other places we’ve stayed in Jackson  include the Snowflake Inn,  the Wentworth Country Inn (which we’ve reviewed here)  and the Inn at Jackson.

This particular weekend was cold, clear and very windy—does that sound familiar? We’d skied hard on Saturday (Black Mountain faces south so there was little wind and lots of sun). Saturday night we partied and danced to the Swingtones, a 14-piece big band playing great 40s-era music. On Sunday morning with the temperature hovering just above zero and the wind rattling the windows, Marilyn and Susan decided to cocoon in the warm hotel while David and I got active outdoors.

A torrential rain a few days before our visit had somewhat limited our options. While the groomed snowmaking trails at the mountain had been in great shape, natural snow cover was crusty everywhere and thin (or non-existent!) in spots. We had snowshoes with us and there are many beautiful trails to explore, but we’d both been doing a lot of snowshoeing recently for the great snowshoe test, and not much cross-country skiing. So we called Jackson XC to see what they had to offer. Jackson is so big, with so many varied trails that you can almost always find what you want–even if the weather hasn’t been particularly cooperative.

Thom Perkins, the director of the non-profit foundation which runs Jackson XC, who was answering the phone that morning, told us that the “core”  trails in the valley near their touring center were generally in better shape than the ones farther out on their system. He strongly recommended we come down to the valley and ski the Ellis River Trail. When in doubt, trust the people with local knowledge. Thom knows every inch of the Jackson trail system and he certainly gave good information this day.

Jackson XC delivers sunshine, blues skies, and some healthy exercise. What more could you ask for on a cold winter morning! (Tim Jones photo)

We started out from their touring center across the windy, mostly flat golf course, Snowcover twas thin in spots, but perfectly groomed and very skiable. We  crossed a covered bridge over the Ellis River and skied through a tunnel under busy Route 16, then skied more open golf course trail until we had to take off our skis and cross Green Hill Road to reach the Ellis River Trail. Good warmup for the real thing!

This was never meant to be a major excursion, just a chance to get out on skis on a beautiful cold, bright morning and burn off a few more calories before lunch.  If the womenfolk had come with us, we could have made a wonderful day of it with a picnic lunch at the Ellis River Cabin. But the point is to get out when and where you can. If you can only go for an hour or two, that’s time well spent that no one can ever take away from you.

The whole experience changed when we left the open golf course behind and hit the wooded trail along the river. This is one of Jackson’s most popular trails—for good reason. The entire trail is over 7 km in each direction, green circle (easier) all the way with only a few little rolling up-and-down sections. It still had plenty of snow and was beautifully groomed  with a wide, flat path for skate skiing and double-tracks for classic  technique.

David was on touring gear, lighter and faster than the Alpina Discovery backcountry gear I always have with me for whatever the conditons offer, so he flew out ahead and flew back while I puttered along at my slow-but-steady pace. We both got a good workout, he just saw more of the trail than I did! In retrospect, I should have taken my skate skis—maybe I could have kept up!

The Riverbank Loop diverts from the  Ellis River Trail and runs for a full kilometer along–you guessed it!– the riverbank. This narrower trail is double tracked for classic skiers only, and we explored its twisting undulations, hearing only the soft swish of our skis, the wind in the trees and the soft murmurs of the ice-bound river. Lovely!

Even if you’ve never, ever been on cross-country skis before, this is a trail you could enjoy on any winter day. We never planned on doing the whole trail and the six or seven kilometers I traveled was just enough.

Cross country skiing at Jackson XC isn’t just for super-athletes! Whatever your fitness level, you can improve it with a winter morning on cross-country skis. (Tim Jones photo)

Of course Jackson XC offers a whole lot more than just  flat and easy green circles across golf courses and through the woods along rivers. They’ve got groomed black diamonds like the 12 kilometer Hall Trail and the East Pasture Trail (near the Black Mountain Cabin) and the Wildcat valley Trail that are going to be a challenge for anyone on backcountry  gear. Then there are the steep, twisty, ungroomed black diamonds such as the Black Mountain Cabin Trail and the Doublehead Ski Trail that are probably better tackled on Tele or AT gear with skins.

When Mother Nature is being uncooperative, Jackson XC almost always has something worth skiing. And when she’s being generous, this is a playground you could explore for a week without even beginning to see all of it.

That’s not the kind of forecast that gives you warm fuzzies…in fact, it might even send a chill down your spine.  Cover every square inch of skin, use handwarmers, 6 layers of clothing…and take 2 runs, then go into the lodge and warm up.

Or, go to Black Mountain in Jackson, NH.

One of Tim’s “Forgotten Favorite” ski mountains, Black has two things going for it that most areas don’t.  First, it faces south…instead of the sun disappearing over the back side for most of the day, it warms you on the slopes and on the lifts.  Second, it sits in the shadow of Mt. Washington…and when I say shadow, I really mean “windshadow.”  The prevailing winds that come off that rockpile go around Black Mountain.  On days when other ski areas are shutting their lifts down for safety reasons, it’s calm at Black.  That’s a valuable thing to know…even if your ski trip is at another mountain in the Mt. Washington Valley, you may be able to save a lost day!

But on this day, Black Mountain was the intended destination.  In 1935, an inventor named George Morton designed the first overhead cable lift in the country; and he just happened to live in Bartlett, right  around the corner…and the rest is history.  Black became perhaps the first ski area in New Hampshire, one of the first in the country, and has operated ever since.  And, how can you have a 75th anniversary without a party???

And, to steal a phrase, they partied like it’s 1939.  The Swingtones, a local 14 piece band that specializes in Glenn Miller-era big band had the dance floor packed.  Well, except for when a group of skiers and boarders recreated a torchlight parade from Black Mountain’s history…and it was worth shivering outside to watch the lights swinging and swaying down the mountain.

Owner Andy & daughter Nicole take a break from serving to "cut a rug" (David Shedd photo)

Back inside, the party continued, with stories of Black Mountain’s history filling in gaps between food and dance.  And the nature of Black was brought home by realizing that one of the owners was carving and serving the ham on the buffet…and his kids were doing the serving and cleaning up.  Truly a family mountain, Black has been owned by two brothers, John & Andy Fichera, since 1996.  They grew up skiing on the mountain, and bought it to retain its original character.  John moved his family up from Massachusetts when they bought it, and basically lives and breathes the mountain; his 18 year old son is an active part of the mountain operations.  Andy’s still down in MA, but obviously comes up with his family to help when he can!

And they’ve been successful in retaining the mountain’s original charm.  Black is a classic old-style skiers mountain.  No wide open cruisers here; the trails are narrow and twisty, winding through gnarled trees to the base area.  Until you know the mountain well, you may be surprised when you come out into the open and find yourself in a totally different place than you expected!  We were worried about the conditions we’d find; this was Saturday, and on Monday we’d had one of those horrible January rainstorms, dumping nearly 4 inches and melting everything in sight.  Our fears were unfounded, though…virtually no boilerplate, and most of the runs a firm corduroy that took an edge easily.  Even Susan, a relative beginner, had no problems, and later in the day was flying down the trails, having a total ball!  This is the kind of mountain where anyone can have fun…enough steep areas, enough twisties to keep you focused, and no crowds.  On a sunny Saturday, we literally didn’t wait in a lift line behind more than two groups at any time.  Like the slopes, the lifts are in the wind shadow, so we had comfortable, quiet trips up…perfect for enjoying our companions.

Old style lifts, old style trails, and old fashioned fun define Black Mountain (David Shedd photo)

In an era of mega-mountains, of more trails, faster lifts, bigger terrain parks, the charm of areas like Black Mountain really hits you.  There’s a totally different pace; people aren’t pushing to get into the lines (WHAT lines?) to make sure they get that one extra run in.  Perhaps its because they aren’t feeling as much wallet pinch…if you manage to buy the most expensive lift ticket possible, you’re out a whole $39.  Juniors, from 6-17, set you back $25…that’s weekend and holiday pricing.  But keep your eyes open for deals…if you’ve got a group going up, drop them an email and see what they can do for you.

Or take advantage of the deals they’ve worked out with area lodging.  We stayed at the Eagle Mountain Resort, a historic hotel that looks across at Black Mountain, and sits directly on the Jackson XC trails.  An old-style “grand hotel”, it was built in 1916 and looks a bit like a pocket-sized Mt. Washington Hotel.  Packages here are very affordable…their “Ski & Stay” package, which gets you a room, full breakfast, access to the fitness/spa area, and a ticket at Black or other local downhill or nordic areas, runs $124/person.  There are family-friendly packages as well; you can spend a weekend skiing with your family here for less than one airfare to a Western resort!

For once, a "white elephant" is a GOOD thing! (David Shedd photo)

And then there’s the rest of the story, which is the town itself.  Black Mountain and Jackson have an interwoven history, both supporting each other over the 75 years.  Drive the whole 2 minutes from Black to downtown Jackson, and find a host of shops, restaurants, and activities.  This year, Jackson decided to have their annual snow sculpting competition coincide with Black Mountain’s 75th anniversary…and the long partnership between the two paid off for them.  That miserable rainstorm early in the week wiped out their snow for the competition, but Black came to the rescue.  Their snowmaking equipment saved the day, and with the sculpting and judging moved to the ski area’s base lodge, the festive atmosphere grew.  I’ve never skied down a mountain before to be faced with a white Art Deco elephant, or a giant hand holding a half eaten apple.  Watching the sculptors at work was enlightening…the speed and precision of these people needs to be seen to be believed.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait another 75 years to see this repeated…but wait, just think what their 100th anniversary party will be like!  In the meantime, take advantage of the warm slopes and warm family atmosphere at Black Mountain, and in Jackson as a whole.