Mountain Layout—Skiing

This is a mountain that was designed for beginners and intermediates but now has a growing assortment of glades and short steeps to provide thrills. The traditional Bretton Woods trails such as Sawyer’s Swoop, Big Ben and Range View have been joined with an excellent series of expert glades in the newly developed West Mountain and Rosebrook Canyon. The trail names sound more sinister than they really are, however they do offer a quantum leap in difficulty over previous Bretton Woods trails.

RESORT OVERVIEW | SNOW CONDITIONS

When darkness falls at Bretton Woods, the skiing fun continues. The Bethlehem Express high-speed detachable quad accesses the Bigger Ben, Big Ben and Bretton's Wood trails. Beginner skiers also can become night owls at Bretton Woods. The Learning Center Quad is a four-person, user-friendly lift that services the lighted Rosebrook Meadow trail, is ideal for the first-time skier.

Here's a larger trail map.

Expert, Advanced: Glades, glades, glades. Head to West Mountain and warm up on Peppersass or Cherry Mountain Slide, wide-open glades that aren’t steep. The double-diamond glades on West Mountain have short steep pitches with varying density of trees. The most challenging terrain is now Rosebrook Canyon, an almost entirely gladed area on the resort’s eastern side. With such thick, dark woods, this canyon feels like a backcountry experience. Only extreme-skiing junkies will be out of place and probably won’t be found here unless they are skiing the trees out of bounds. [TOP]

Intermediate: Cruising is ideal here. Coos Caper, Herb’s Secret, Granny’s Grit and Crawford’s Blaze are great for just rolling those edges side-to-side. Strong intermediates won’t feel over their heads on any of the single-black diamond trails such as MacIntire’s Ride or Bode’s Run. To sample glade skiing, try Peppersass, Cherry Mountain Slide or Millennium Maze on West Mountain. You can pop out on easier trails if the trees seem daunting. [TOP]

Beginner, First-timer: The Zephyr and Bethlehem express quads serve long beginner runs—perhaps the longest beginner runs you’ll find anywhere. The traditional Bretton Woods trails, such as Sawyer’s Swoop, Big Ben and Range View, are ideal for cruising autopilot. This is a good place for strong beginners to test their skills on blue runs such as Coos Caper and Granny’s Grit. For first-timers, the Learning Center quad serves Rosebrook Meadow and Rosebrook Lane, both dedicated learning slopes. [TOP]