Favorite Ski & Snowboard Runs

Black Forest Glade

(by Peter Gordon, Mt. Washington Place)

Black Forest is a great, relatively easy run for anyone who wants to venture off the groomed cruisers and sample the joys of skiing in our beautiful woods. It's never groomed and it's filled with bumps, dips, and trees... but the pitch is mostly gentle, the bumps are usually smooth and round, and the snow is usually great. Though the trees are a bit tighter than on Agassiz (see below), on this gentle run you'll have a lot of fun going around them. Just keep an eye out for the road that cuts across about 3/4 of the way down - sometimes the snow gets scraped off above and below it.

Whenever I take kids through Black Forest, they love the trees and dips and swoops (and yes, sometimes even the little jumps), and they invariably ask "Can we do that again?" If you relax, stay loose, and keep looking ahead, Black Forest is a delightful run for the young and the young-at-heart. It will help put some playfulness into your skiing. Enjoy!

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Granny's Grit

(By Peter Gordon - Mt. Washington Place)

I don't know anybody who doesn't love Granny's Grit. It's probably the quintessential Bretton Woods ski run. Great for "cruising," with just enough twists, turns, and dips to give it character and keep it interesting. Granny's starts just below the top of the Zephyr chairlift, and the entrance is narrow and twisty in the classic New England style. Then it opens up and entices you to go faster and faster - just awesome for big swooping side-to-side turns. Be careful though - it can be a popular run, so watch for traffic. And keep your eyes open in the lower half, because there are some big rollers and drop-offs that can send you flying. Hit them right, and the sensation of weightless floating will give you a thrill and make you fall in love with this classic run.

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Agassiz

(By Peter Gordon - Mt. Washington Place & BW Ski School)

The big sign at the entrance to Agassiz captures the essence of this run: No grooming! But don't let that scare you away. Give it a try if you'd like to practice skiing or riding in bumps. The pitch is not too steep, the trail is wide, and the bumps that form tend to be round and well shaped. If the bumps in the middle give you trouble, head to the edges where they tend to be smaller. Agassiz also can give you a little taste of tree skiing. The trees are spaced widely apart, so you have plenty of room to relax and enjoy swooping through the beautiful glades. Finally, the no grooming policy makes Agassiz a great run on a powder day. Stay near the edges for freshies that often last into the middle of the day. Enjoy!

By the way, some historical background courtesy of Daniel Jacob from Mt. Washington Place: Daniel (a Harvard professor) reminded me that this run is named after Louis Agassiz, the Harvard professor who discovered the Ice Ages from the observation of erratic boulders! And be sure to see Daniel's great description below of the "hidden" runs at Bretton Woods.

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The "Hidden Trails"

(By Daniel Jacob - Mt. Washington Place)

A wonderful thing about skiing and snowboarding at Bretton Woods is that there are trails for everyone. This is for you glade lovers. When the snow is piled deep it's time to start exploring the nooks and crannies of the mountain – trails and passages that are not on the map but let you twist your way through trees or cruise through a woods road, often breaking trail and enjoying powder long after the last snowfall. Some are just little jaunts into the woods from an existing trail, others pleasantly connect different trails, others are more adventuresome. Some are hard to find (that’s the idea!) but you may see marks at the entrance to guide you. And they’re generally not roped off, but if they are, respect the ropes and do not enter!

INTERMEDIATE:

· Starr King – Waumbek connector. Stay on the left after the steep part of Starr King and look for an opening in the woods next to a snowmaking system valve. There’s a woods road that can take you two different ways to connect with Waumbek.

· The Blood Trail. So-called for the red marks on trees. As you get off the Zephyr chair going toward Avalon, stay to the left and look for an opening in the trees. There’s a path that will take you down a narrow but gentle path in the woods before exiting at the top of Avalon.

· Avalon-Agassiz connector. As you go down Avalon on the right you will see the exits of Blowdown Gully and Pebomauke Falls. Immediately after the latter, look for an opening in the woods on your right. There’s a path that takes you to Agassiz just above Millenium Maze. A little creek that may require care crossing.

· Panorama Loop. As you go down Panorama and get ready to turn left into Black Forest Glades, look instead for an opening in the woods to your right. That’s a nice little loop through the woods that will deposit you across from the entrance to Black Forest Glades.

· Enchanted Bear to Black Forest. As you go down Enchanted Bear from Two Miles Home, stay on your left. Soon you will see a woods road. Take it and it will eventually deposit you in Black Forest Glades.

EXPERT:

· Rangeview mountain bike path. This path runs the length of the woods between Rangeview and Granny’s Grit. As you ride up Zephyr, scout it to your right across from Rangeview. Start going down Rangeview and stay to your left, dropping into the woods at the first chance you can. You’ll see some gladed terrain and a mountain bike path. You can remain in the woods almost to the bottom, but be careful at the end because there’s a little canyon to avoid.

· Rosebrook Canyon. Why limit yourself to the glades on the map? As you come down the east side of the Rosebrook lift (such as from Bode’s), drop into the woods at the level of the lift and go down into the canyon. Eventually you’ll run into the exit of the official glade trails at the bottom.

· Between Glade West and Coos Caper. The woods between Glade West and Coos Caper are open enough for a great run. Right after the steep part of Glade West, look for an opening in the woods on your right and cruise through the woods all the way down to where Glade West rejoins Coos Caper.

· Between Joseph’s Run and Boundary Line Glades. From the top of the West Mountain lift, enter the woods next to the railway car. If you remain to the right that will take you to Boundary Line Glades, but stay instead in the woods to the left and just off from Joseph’s Run. There are indistinct paths to go down and a ledge to jump.

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Roz's

(by Peter Gordon - Mt. Washington Place & BW Ski School)

I love this run! It's the "antidote" to Bretton Woods' gentle, wide open cruising terrain.

The entrance to Roz's is tucked away on the right side of Black Forest glade. Most people zip right by. If it does catch your eye, it looks inviting at first, but don't be fooled by the gentle entrance. Once you get lured in, there's no escape, and skiing Roz's is like skiing down a gun barrel - a straight, narrow chute, moderately steep, with banks on each side sort of like an unkempt half-pipe. Not a lot of room to bail out - on your right you're hemmed in by a high steep wall; on your left, a smaller lip, with a sharp dropoff behind it down into a stream bed far below. No mistakes here!

And did I mention that Roz's is usually filled with bumps?

A word of caution: Just when the run starts to level out down near the bottom, don't ease up! This area is filled with bumps, roots, narrow chutes between trees, even a little snow bridge that frequently goes over open water. Keep your concentration and control here, or you'll pay.

To ski or ride successfully down Roz's, you need to turn. Or I should say turn, turn, turn, turn... And that's why I love to take my more advanced students down it. It forces you to look ahead, start each new turn quickly, and finish each turn completely to control your speed -- no long, lazy railroad tracks here!

On a powder day, get in there early for an amazing run. If the base is deep and you're confident of your turning, try staying up on the lip on the left side, making quick little turns up and over - my instructor buddy Walter and I call this "edge dancing." If you like jumps, there are a few huge rocks and ledges jutting out from the right wall - get a little speed, zip up and over, and you can get some pretty good air. Better check the landing first or have a spotter.

But for me, maybe the most fun on Roz's is simply to get a rhythm going, and keep it going, and going, and going... And there's one more thing I love about this great run. Stop part way down (you'll probably have to anyway to catch your breath). Listen to the quiet and enjoy the peace of these beautiful woods deep in Rosebrook Canyon. It's magical in there...

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