Sign of the Times?

[The Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by Waterbaby

I've never been to Wildcat to ski but was there this past August for the Zipride (what a blast that was!!!!!) and to ride the gondolas to the summit August of '07, and was dismayed to see how rundown the facilities were. I lived in North Conway, um, let's just say a bit of time ago and Wildcat was a blast in the winter............. very, very sad to see, I think the lousy winters in the more recent past have taken their toll on the finances there.

FYI, back in the day when I skiied every weekend, and mostly at Cannon and Wild Cat, they have been run down and the toughest ski conditions in the State, for at least the 30 years I skied them. Cannon is famous for their blue ice slopes, Wild Cat is wind blown, cold as cold can be and icy as anything. Both places have always looked run down, every 10 years someone comes along and puts a coat of paint over the last coat of paint to try and make the places look better. The reality is they are what they are, the toughest conditions, hardest slopes, icy and dingy accomidations. Add this all up and you have real skiing for the hard core!

[Waterbaby]

Originally Posted by The Big Kahuna

FYI, back in the day when I skiied every weekend, and mostly at Cannon and Wild Cat, they have been run down and the toughest ski conditions in the State, for at least the 30 years I skied them. Cannon is famous for their blue ice slopes, Wild Cat is wind blown, cold as cold can be and icy as anything. Both places have always looked run down, every 10 years someone comes along and puts a coat of paint over the last coat of paint to try and make the places look better. The reality is they are what they are, the toughest conditions, hardest slopes, icy and dingy accomidations. Add this all up and you have real skiing for the hard core!

Please re-read my post, especially the first line.......... who says I was there for the skiing back in the day?

[SIKSUKR]

Cannon has actually done a LOT more to improve the mountain than Wildcat in the past 10 years.They have installed 4 new lifts along with a whole new beginer area with it's own lift(Tuckerbrook).Now they have the final approval for reopening Mittersill next door that will effectively increase the size of the ski area 50%.A new lift will be installed there as well along with snowmaking.Wildcat on the other hand replaced the old Gondi with a detach quad about 8 years ago and that's about it.

[CanisLupusArctos]

To set the record straight:

Cannon Mountain's facilities are state-owned, on state property (Franconia Notch State Park, which sits within Federal property, White Mountain National Forest.)

Wildcat Mountain's facilities are privately owned, on Federal property (White Mountain National Forest) and operate on a special use permit from them.

The big thing about Wildcat is that it faces northwest. All winter long, it gets no sun. It can be quite challenging, weather-wise, to ski there in winter. BUT, the tradeoff is the best thing about Wildcat. All winter long, snow blows off the summit of Mt. Washington and over to Wildcat. They also get a good deal of naturally-falling snow that no one else gets. Since it faces away from the sun, the mountain keeps its winter snowpack. Wildcat has always been my favorite place to enjoy midwinter conditions in spring. I have had my best ski days up there in March, April, and May... in deep snow... even had some powder days up there in mid-April after everyone else was closed.