Bretton Woods - Skiing (2/12/25)

This past week, Dragonfly and I went skiing. We had planned the trip for a while. I am a decent skier, and she is very good, so we try to get out once or twice a year if we can make it work. We went to Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, which is a ski resort that I enjoy because it has a gondola.

Dragonfly and Hawk, ready to ski!

Riding a gondola is a much better way to ride up the mountain than a ski lift. First off, you're not exposed to the wind, so it's warmer. Second, if you need to re-arrange your gear, you can't drop it down onto the mountain. It's also easier to talk to people when you're sitting across from them.

Bretton Woods opens for skiing at 9 AM. Being the early bird that I am, I arrived around 8:15. It took a while to get lift tickets, because the guy in front of me in line had a complex order that took forever. Guest services had no one waiting, but I guess they can't do lift ticket sales. Eventually, I got the lift tickets. Bretton Woods had a new system this year. Instead of getting a ticket, you get an RFID card. The card then lets you scan in past the gate. I had already seen this at Saddleback, so it didn't surprise me. Lots of people seemed to have trouble with the gate over the course of the day, but I never did. I think it's because you had to be a certain height for the RFID card to line up with the scanner correctly.

I had my gear on by 8:40 or so. It was supposed to be cold, so I wore heavy leggings with athletic pants over them and ski pants over that. I also wore my favorite black midweight base layer shirt that I use for hiking with my hiking fleece layered over that and my ski jacket layered over that. On my head, I wore my balaclava with my helmet and goggles over it, as you can see in the picture above. I love my ski helmet, as it has Bluetooth, so I can listen to music while riding the lift or skiing down the mountain. Theoretically I can also answer phone calls on it, but that didn't work so well when I tried it. I also wore my ski boots, and they gave me nothing but trouble throughout the day. More on them later.

I got into line at about 8:50, and they made us wait until 9:00 precisely before they let us start getting on the ski lifts. I stuck my skis in the holder on the outside of the lift and got in. I was riding with two other guys, and this was my worst lift ride of the day. One thing that I dislike about skiing is all the rich people. You get a bunch of old white retired people with way too much money, and these two were the epitome of that. They spent the entire ride trying to one-up each other on how many resorts they had passes to. I was so happy when that lift ride ended.

I decided to start by riding a green, or easy, trail for my first trip down. I took Outer Bounds down to Range View, and I really enjoyed the run. According to the app that I use (Ski Tracks), it was the first of my eleven runs on the day.

For my second run, I moved on to a blue, or intermediate trail, running Coos Caper. This would prove to be my favorite trail of the day, and I went back to it several times.

The views of Mt. Washington were spectacular on this day.

I got two more runs in before I heard from Dragonfly that she had arrived. That was about 10:30, so I took a break to go meet her. She skis very differently than I do. We run the same trails, but we have very different styles. Where I use large wide skis, she uses old straight skis that she affectionately calls sticks. Where I use a helmet and goggles, she uses a hat and glasses. Where I like to build up some speed going down the mountain (but not too much), she likes to take her time drifting from side to side. Despite the different styles, I enjoy skiing with her. She's a better skier than I am, though. She can do things like ski backwards, and she has more control than I do. She could probably ski the most advanced terrain, whereas I would struggle more on it, I think.

After a few runs with Dragonfly, my toes were really starting to bother me. I have had my skis and ski boots for over a decade now, and the boots have been causing me toe problems the entire time. It consistently cuts my ski days short. when I first bought them, the people at the store told me that they were supposed to be tight, and they would mold to my foot with time, but that has never happened. During this trip, I realized that it's finally time to get new ski boots. Unfortunately, that will likely be quite expensive.

On one particular lift ride, Dragonfly and I rode with a lady who was just as much of a geek as me, and it was fun. She and I talked about the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference that set international economic policy and created the IMF and World Bank, and we also discussed the Portsmouth Naval Treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War. I'm pretty sure that we bored Dragonfly and the lady's family to tears.

The Mt. Washington Resort, where I would imagine the Conference took place.

When I got to nine runs on the day, with five for Dragonfly, she decided that she needed a break. I was all too happy to give my poor toes a break, so we went in the lodge. I didn't dare take my boots off for fear that I wouldn't be able to get them back on. I told Dragonfly that I probably had two more runs left in me before my toes were beyond repair.

We ran our first black diamond (expert level) of the day, Upper Express, on the tenth run. We both handled it fine. It's been a few years since the last time I skied one, but they're really not that much more difficult than blues are (most of the time). Besides, only the top of the run was a black diamond; the rest was blue.

For the eleventh run of the day, I went back to Coos Caper, which was my favorite. Dragonfly and I had the run all to ourselves, and we took our time, which was nice. Skiing is always more fun when there are fewer people around.

After that, we finished up. I was proud of myself for getting eleven runs in, and not falling even once. Dragonfly got seven runs. She thought about continuing, but decided not to. It was probably a good call, because of the parking situation. Having gotten there early, I was parked right up front (they'll probably eventually start charging for that, too). Dragonfly was parked in a far away lot. Thus, we packed all the stuff into my car, and I was able to drive her back to her car.

I was sad to leave her when the day finished, but I am sure that I will see her again soon. Whether you're hiking or you're skiing, always remember that you can't take flight until you spread your wings!