Skiing Black Mountain (NH)
Sunday, January 19th, 2025
Runs: 7
Distance: 5.15 miles
Elevation: 5,325 feet
Max Speed: 19.4 mph
Avg. Speed: 9.4 mph
Moving Time: 32 minutes, 26 seconds
Total Time: 3 hours, 16 minutes, 19 seconds
We were up at 6:00am and Emma officially decided to not make the voyage with us - both her brakes and brake lines were overdue for a changing and she didn't feel comfortable driving through the whites with the possibility of breaking down. Gen and I talked about it at Jay, and we would definitely support her regardless of her decision, but we were definitely bummed. Our drive was nice and easy, first through mostly back roads of Vermont and eventually onto some highways. This was my car's first time driving through Crawford and Pinkham notches, which was exciting! We drove straight to the mountain, which had a small and mostly-full parking lot. We made our way into the lodge to scope things out. Lots of memoribilia was hanging by the bathrooms which was cool, and the upstairs lodge is a beautiful open room with a bar and cafeteria in another room. Downstairs is where rentals and ticketing happens, and that was a bit of a mess. Apparently they recently switched over to using RFID cards instead of wicket tickets, so it seemed they were figuring out those kinks on the busiest weekend of the year... We went back to the car to boot up and then got in line, which took 20-30 minutes. Once we were loaded up, we put on our skis and headed up to the East Bowl Triple for some skiing!
Snow Report & Daily Conditions:
Today's Report at Black Mountain - January 19th
We woke up to a stunning 3 inches of fresh snow overnight, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the best days of the season. Our team immediately sprang into action, grooming the slopes during the snowfall so you can find a combination of resh corduroy and untouched trails all over the mountain. The conditions are exceptional, and with the addition of new terrain - Lo Road, Valley View, Big Dipper, and Jackson Standard - there's more room than ever for incredible skiing and riding. The mountain buzzes with energy as we offer the best conditions in the valley. From the crisp, smooth runs to the newly opened areas, every turn feels fresh and exhilerating.
Today's schedule is packed with amazing activities to complement the perfect skiing conditions. Enjoy live music from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. by Ryan St. onge, followed by a fantastic set from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. by The Majestic Loonbirds. While you're taking a break between runs, consider heading to the Alpine Cabin for a delightful midday treat: indulge in some warm fondue and champange or cozy up with a comforting cup of hot cocoa while soaking in the mountain views.
Given the promise of excellent snow and a busy day ahead, we recommend arriving early. Purchase your passes online to save time at the lifts and maximize your day on the mountain. With the fresh snow, newly groomed terrain, diverse runs, and vibrant music scene, today at Black Mountain is shaping up to be truly special.
Come experience it for yourself - it's better at Black!
Run 1: East Bowl Triple - East Bowl - Galloping Goose - Spruce - Black Beauty - Lower Black Beauty
[0.69 mi; 4:19; 758 ft; 17.2 mph max; 9.7 mph avg]
The East Bowl Triple was a slow, beautiful ride, well within the trees. I could immediately sence a different vibe at this place compared to Jay, and I really liked it. It just felt calmer and more "local," if that makes sense. The trails below were narrower and looked just lovely. We could see the Jackson Standard Trail to the right that had an impressive man-made snow base, and then we finally made it to the top and hopped up when disaster struck! Gen's skis weren't fully locked into her bindings, and no matter what we did we couldn't get it to fully lock. We eventually got it to mostly stay in place and slowly made it down the easiest way, which had fantastic snow, but was very busy. At the bottom, we FaceTimed Emma, who had the same suspicions as we did - too much snow buildup, but we couldn't tell where. Gen decided to sit out the next run and go into the rental shop and see what they had to say about it, so I headed over to the Summit Double.
Run 2: Summit Double - Upper Black Beauty - Galloping Goose - Spruce - Black Beauty - Lower Black Beauty
[1.11 mi; 5:21; 1,015 ft; 17.6 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]
The Summit Double was a very old-feeling chair that has a mid-station at the same spot the Triple, but continues up another few hundred feet. It was a slow, long ride, but a beautiful one! The top had a fantastic view toward Mt. Washington, the southern presidential range, and the Montalban Ridge. I followed Upper Black Beauty down which had reasonable grades but was very narrow and required some careful dodging of uphillers (and there were A LOT of them!). Then I continued onto the same easiest route down without a problem - although the snow was starting to get a little bumpy at certain spots. I do feel like I'm less terrified of not-steep bumps now, which is good!
Run 3: East Bowl Triple - Chute - Upper Jackson Standard - Lower Jackson Standard
[0.66 mi; 4:35; 751 ft; 19.2 mph max; 8.6 mph avg]
I met Gen back at the triple - she said the rental shop isn't allowed to look at any personal equipment, but the guy did say it seems her bindings are set a little too wide so the smallest bit of snow could mess that up. Standing inside for all the snow to melt solved the problem! She wanted to try the Jackson Standard trail (her first on-purpose black!), so I happily obliged. I personally loved this trail, just steep enough at the steepest part. I got a fun time-lapse of Gen wiggling her way down, too.
Run 4: Platter Pull Surface Lift - Jubilee
[0.26 mi; 1:55; 213 ft; 14.7 mph max; 8.2 mph avg]
To mix things up, Black Mountain also has a Poma/Platter lift, so Gen and I decided we'd give it a try since we'd never used one before (and it seemed less daunting than the High Country T-Bar at Waterville. Mounting the platter was nice and easy, but the ride was rough. My thighs were ACTIVATED trying to keep my legs close together to hold the disc in place. The voyage was fun and beautiful, though. There was even a little dip in the terrain. The gates overhead made you feel like you were on a carnival ridge, which was fun. We followed Jubilee down from here, which was nice and easy. Afterwards, we took a snack break at the car. It was delightfully warm out (a whopping 33 degrees!) - it made me wish I had a fun drink for the parking lot. We were ready for a freezing cold day, so this was a welcomed treat.
Run 5: Summit Double - Upper Black Beauty - Galloping Goose - Spruce - Black Beauty - Lower Black Beauty
[1.07 mi; 6:49; 1,030 ft; 17.3 mph max; 9.4 mph avg]
After our snack (I was now working my way through my second pizza - I might always need a pizza on ski days from now on...) we headed back to the double so Gen could see the view. Upper Black Beauty was a bit crustier this time, but not too bad. I really appreciated how different the skiing was at this mountain versus Jay - it made me use my brain and body in different ways, which was challenging and fun! The rest of the run was nice and easy, minus the insane amount of people again (also acknowledging this is likely the busiest weekend the mounatin will have).
Run 6: East Bowl Triple - Maple Slalom Chute - Upper Speedwell - Lower Speedwell - Quick Way - Twilight
[0.65 mi; 4:19; 768 ft; 19.4 mph max; 8.9 mph avg]
After, we headed over back to the Triple to discover some trails we hadn't skied on yet. We skated uphill a bit past the Alpine Lodge and onto the Maple Slalom Chute, followed by Upper and Lower Speedwell (a black and a blue, respectively), which were tight and fun and only a little icy. We then turned onto Quick Way and then followed the DELIGHTFUL green run "Twilight" back.
Run 7: Summit Double - Maple Slalom Chute - Valley View - Big Dipper - Quick Way - Twilight
[0.71 mi; 5:05; 791 ft; 18.4 mph max; 8.3 mph avg]
Our final run for the day was going to be mostly the same, but slightly different. We took the double up and got off at the mid-station, turning sharply left before getting to the Alpine Lodge to join the Maple Slalom Chute. From there, we followed Valley View, which was icier and narrower than other trails. After Valley View, Gen followed a spur to Lower Speedwell and I, feeling foolishly brave, turned onto Big Dipper, which was agian, icier than before! The headwall on Big Dipper was short but very steep and had no grip. I definitely lost control for a moment but powered through and made it down. We wrapped up our run with Quick Way and Twilight and skied most of the way to the car.
After, we changed and planned to get an apres beverage in the lodge, but it was super croweded and we were both hungry, so we headed back to the car (after buying sweatshirts, of course) and drove into Jackson for late lunch/early dinner at the Wildcat Inn and Tavern, which was just lovely. After, we drove up to the Quality Inn in Gorham, showered, got Oreo McFlurries at McDonalds, and watched a bunch of cable TV before heading to bed. Our drive back the next morning was nice and easy, minus Gen's car battery being dead, but truly, that was a perfect way to end the weekend that baptised my new car!
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