Skiing Ragged Mountain (Day 39/Indy Day 31)

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Friday, Apriil 3rd, 2026

Runs: 14

Distance: 13.22 miles

Elevation: 14,026 feet

Max Speed: 37.5 mph

Avg. Speed: 18.3 mph

Moving Time: 49 minutes, 47 seconds

Total Time: 2 hours, 41 minutes, 58 seconds

It's officially April, which means that the skiing is going to get silly, it's likely going to rain every weekend, and the looming cloud signaling the end of season is not too far away. To celebrate, Sarah and I decided to ski in pouring rain at Ragged since we had Good Friday off of work! I scooped her up just after 6am, we got breakfast at Hooksett, and made it to the parking lot around 8:30am and started cackling when we saw we were one of like, five cars there. I guess nobody else wanted to ski on a rainy Friday morning in April? Crazy! We got dressed in the comically empty lodge and threw on matching purple ponchos I snagged off of Amazon. We looked absolutely goofy and were already having a blast. We got to skiing just after 9:00am!

Mountain Report

Currently at Ragged Mountain

The 2026+27 Stash Pass is on sale now. Grab yours today!

The groomers are in prime spring form right now. Smooth corduroy in the morning giving way to soft, buttery corn snow as the day rolls on. This is the season's final stretch and conditions are going out on a high note. Come enjoy it.

For the Ski Touring Enthusiasts. The Uphill Route remains OPEN to mid-mountain. Please check in with our Guest Services team before heading up for the latest route information.

Runs 1-5

Run 1: Summit Six Express - Upper Exhibition - Birches

[0.74 mi; 2:49; 1,138 ft; 31.7 mph max; 15.9 mph avg]

Run 2: Summit Six Express - Exhibition

[0.84 mi; 2:52; 1,093 ft; 31.0 mph max; 17.4 mph avg]

Run 3: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Newfound Ridge - Lower Crewcut - Town Meeting

[0.96 mi; 3:23; 1,063 ft; 32.0 mph max; 17.0 mph avg]

Run 4: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Newfound Ridge - Main Street

[0.93 mi; 3:01; 1,125 ft; 30.5 mph max; 18.6 mph avg]

Run 5: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Upper Chute - Lower Chute - Main Street

[1.00 mi; 3:59; 1,109 ft; 26.7 mph max; 15.0 mph avg]

Our plan was just to work out way across the mountain. It still had all of the groomers/snowmaking trails open, which was a welcome surprise! They announced that this was their closing weekend, but they still had PLENTY of snow left. We were wondering/thinking that Exhibition was probably hard and fast by the looks of it, but there was one (1) person ahead of us on the chair and we saw him go down and it looked nice and soft! Also on this chair ride, we got torrentially downpoured on... fun! Lots of giggles were had before the first run.

Once we got off the chair we turned right onto Exhibition, and it was a delight! Easy turns on fast snow. We decided to start with Birches and work our way over - Birches is a fun one! Labeled as a black, probably because of a short double fall line and it's a little narrower than the blues (but by no means a truly difficult trail). It was in fantastic shape, and sopping wet, we got right back on the Summit Six Express!

Run #2 was a joyful run down Exhibition all the way. Run #3 was down Upper Ridge to Newfound Ridge to Lower Crewcut, which was... open! It was one of two ungroomed trails open (the other being Headwall) and it was dicey, but skiiable, I guess? We crossed it off the list and continued onto Town Meeting, which was super fun to making wide, sweeping turns on.

Run #4 was Upper Ridge to Newfound Ridge, which had a little crevasse (as we kept calling it) about 5" wide and a few feet deep, gotta watch out! We took this down to Main Street and again, it was just a treat.

We shared candy cigarettes I bought at Hooksett on our fifth ride up the Summit Six Express. The rain was on and off all morning so far, my pants were soaked, but the poncos were working their magic! Run #5 brought us down Upper Ridge to Headwall - I joked about straightlining it to get a new PR, but then I discovered it was ungroomed and was mostly dirt and rock, so I pumped the breaks and screamed down while making a few turns (classic). We followed Upper Chute to Lower Chute, which was a nice banked turn run, but not so nice that we couldn't see anything because of the fog that had rolled in. Oh well!

Runs 6-9

Run 6: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.11 mi; 3:21; 1,132 ft; 29.9 mph max; 19.8 mph avg]

Run 7: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Lower Ridge - Pines

[1.14 mi; 3:42; 1,099 ft; 32.3 mph max; 18.5 mph avg]

Run 8: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Lower Ridge

[1.13 mi; 4:16; 1,093 ft; 27.5 mph max; 18.0 mph avg]

Run 9: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Newfound Ridge - Main Street

[0.85 mi; 2:50; 1,053 ft; 28.4 mph max; 18.0 mph avg]

Continuing onto the further looker's left side of the mountain, we followed Blueberry Patch for Run #6, which was an instant favorite, with super fun rollers! From there, we followed Raggedy Andy to Main Street. The fog was pretending to lift, which was fun! We had the most fun peeling the frozen rain off of the chair backs and throwing it at each other, though. 

Run #7 was Blueberry Patch to Lower Ridge to Pines. Lower Ridge was fun with a few dirt islands to dodge. Run #8 was Upper Ridge to Lower Ridge, which was another favorite one. We were lucky - the sopping wet snow wasn't sticky at all, and actually pretty fast, so minimal skating was required! We took a quick break to use the bathroom after Run #8 (we also wrung out our sopping wet mittens) and got back our for a victory lap down Upper and Newfound Ridges (I wanted a photo of the crevasse) to Main Street. 

Runs 10-12

Run 10: Spear Mountain Express - Showboat - Showoff

[0.75 mi; 2:07; 973 ft; 31.4 mph max; 21.4 mph avg]

Run 11: Spear Mountain Express - Flying Yankee

[0.92 mi; 2:38; 984 ft; 32.6 mph max; 20.9 mph avg]

Run 12: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Turnpike - Homerun - Barnyard

[1.21 mi; 4:23; 1,047 ft; 29.6 mph max; 16.6 mph avg]

We continued onto the Spear Mountain Express. We were definitely starting to feel colder now that we had a little break and were still sopping wet (not our upper bodies, though - thanks ponchos!). We flew down Showboat and Showoff, which is always a super fun one, and it was nice to finally ski Flying Yankee without a race or literally anybody else. We were getting ready to put a bow on the day once we got to Run #12, so we followed Cardigan, which then became the pick of the day. SUCH a fun trail, especially with the spring corn. Sarah took Jug Handle, I took the "headwall" onto Turnpike, and then we cut over to Barnyard, and the Barn was still open! There was one snowmaking pipe to hop over and a patch of grass to ski through, but it's always so fun and worth it.

Runs 13-14

Run 13: Barnyard Triple - Home Run - Turnpike

[0.35 mi; 1:21; 184 ft; 24.5 mph max; 15.5 mph avg]

Run 14: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Jug Handle - Turnpike

[1.29 mi; 3:18; 1,030 ft; 33.3 mph max; 23.4 mph avg]

To wrap things up, we rode the Barnyard Triple (the lifty sang "skiiiiing in the rain... just skiiiiiiiing in the rain...") and we skied down Homerun to Turnpike, back to the Spear Mountain Express for our two more skip the last. We both decided Cardigan to Turnpike was our favorite of the day, and down we went! I took Jug Handle just to mix things up this time, and we giggled all the way down.

Back at the lodge, we joyfully changed into dry clothes, bought matching sweatpants that were 50% off, and started the schlep home. I wanted to get home a little early so I could nap before Ray's big Rocky Horror Picture Show themed Passover that night. We had lunch at Hooksett, and I was cozy in bed by 3:30pm!

Map of Ragged Mountain

Skiing Ragged Mountain (Day 13/Indy Day 11)

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Thursday, January 22nd, 2026

Runs: 20

Distance: 22.45 miles

Elevation: 21,841 feet

Max Speed: 38.7 mph

Avg. Speed: 17.8 mph

Moving Time: 1 hour, 24 minutes, 3 seconds

Total Time: 3 hours, 47 minutes, 24 seconds

'Twas the day after my winter chorus concert and I was supposed to have jury duty for the first time. I was not upset about this, as I am frankly a nosy person and have little issues with not being at work. Yesterday, I made my sub plans, went for a hike in the Fells, did the concert, and then learned I was not needed for jury duty. The sub plans were already made, though... Time to ski! I toyed with hiking instead, but when I saw Ragged was mostly open (the past three times I'd been only the snowmaking trails were open), I decided that was my destination for the day! The drive wasn't bad at all, temps were wildly reasonable in the upper 20s, and the clouds were starting to part, making for a wonderful morning!

Runs 1-6

Run 1: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Newfound Ridge - Main Street

[0.91 mi; 3:04; 1,099 ft; 31.6 mph max; 17.9 mph avg]

Run 2: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Upper Chute - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.02 mi; 3:03; 1,152 ft; 32.1 mph max; 20.0 mph avg]

Run 3: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Sunnyside - Blueberry Patch - Upper Chute - Lower Chute - Village Green

[1.07 mi; 2:51; 1,152 ft; 33.4 mph max; 22.6 mph avg]

Run 4: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Upper Crewcut - Upper Ridge - Lower Ridge - Pines

[1.18 mi; 4:35; 1,145 ft; 31.0 mph max; 15.4 mph avg]

Run 5: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Lower Ridge

[1.19 mi; 3:39; 1,099 ft; 32.6 mph max; 19.5 mph avg]

Run 6: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Newfound Ridge - Main Street

[0.90 mi; 2:31; 1,060 ft; 32.6 mph max; 21.4 mph avg]

My first batch of runs were all of the groomers on the Ragged Mountain side. To my delight, it was gloriously uncrowded (and I think I was the youngest person in the lodge before first chair by at least 20 years... I cannot wait to be retired!). These runs were fun and fast with fresh corduroy for the majority. I never waited in a lift line for the gates, and never waited more than three chairs once through the gates. It was wonderful!

Run #1 was down Upper Ridge to Newfound Ridge to Main Street. As per tradition, I fully forgot how to effectively ski for most of this run, but I eventually remembered that I actually do know how to engage my edges by the end of it!

I hit the infamous Headwall on Run #2 - short and fast and fun! In hindsight, not nearly as steep as I thought it was the first time I skied it. From there I followed Upper Chute to Raggedy Andy to Main Street, definitely starting to remember how to ski! 

Run #3 followed Sunnyside to Blueberry Patch, which had some fun mellow rollers down to Upper and Lower Chutes before ending on Village Green - I was feeling good! I was also enjoying watching the groomers push out the whales on Exhibition. Each time I rode the lift they were tacking a new whale - it was cool to see!

Run #4 was more adventerous. I went down the black run Upper Crewcut from the Upper Ridge, not realizing it was ungroomed and had some powdered sugar bumps on top of boilerplate ice... made for some interesting "turns"! From there, I followed the Upper Ridge to Lower Ridge and scooted out on Pines, all of which were in great shape still!

I completed the full Lower Ridge (and subsequent skate back to the lift) on Run #5 and did a repeat run for Run #6 down Upper Ridge, Newfound Ridge, and Main Street before hopping on the Spear Mountain Express!

Runs 7-10

Run 7: Spear Mountain Express - Showboat - Showoff

[0.85 mi; 2:23; 991 ft; 36.3 mph max; 21.3 mph avg]

Run 8: Spear Mountain Express - Flying Yankee

[0.92 mi; 2:27; 994 ft; 33.3 mph max; 22.6 mph avg]

Run 9: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Turnpike

[1.21 mi; 3:25; 1,047 ft; 34.4 mph max; 21.3 mph avg]

Run 10: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Jughandle - Turnpike - Home Run - Barnyard

[1.34 mi; 6:24; 1,073 ft; 27.2 mph max. 12.6 mph avg]

The plan on this side was just to work my way from Showboat to Cardigan and MAYBE peek into the woods... MAYBE. Run #7 went down Showboat and Showoff, which I did NOT ski my best on. I did ski fast and in control, but I did not excel in making active, carving turns at a high speed and steeper pitch. Oh well! Run #8 was down Flying Yankee and... I did the same. Pull it together!

Turns out I just needed an easier run to remember how to ski again. Run #9 was down Cardigan and Turnpike and I was back to knowing how to ski well - I need to work on bridging the carving skill gap between mellower and steeper runs. Run #10 went back down Cardigan (with a peek into the woods... super soft up at the entrances...) to Jughandle, and then I got crazy and went into Home Run and Barnyard (of COURSE I skied through the barn!).

Runs 11-15

Run 11: Meadows Carpet - Summit Six Express - Upper Easy Winder - Lower Easy Winder

[1.54 mi; 7:12; 1,135 ft; 26.6 mph max; 12.8 mph avg]

Run 12: Summit Six Express - Upper Easy Winder - Big Rock - Upper Easy Winder - Lower Easy Winder

[1.52 mi; 7:20; 1,138 ft; 28.8 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]

Run 13: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Reggae Glades - Pines

[1.20 mi; 5:49; 1,135 ft; 31.7 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]

Run 14: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Lower Ridge - Moose Alley - Lower Easy Winder

[1.19 mi; 5:46; 1,138 ft; 28.3 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]

Run 15: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.13 mi; 3:07; 1,138 ft; 30.9 mph max; 21.7 mph avg]

Tragically, the Barnyard Triple was temporarily down for some mechanical something, so I rode the Meadows Carpet back up and then skated over back to the six-pack. Now it was time to explore some of the natural and gladed trails on the Ragged Mountain side!

Run #11 brought me down Upper and Lower Easy Winder. Upper Easy Winder had a steep entrance off of the snowmaking hardpack and traversed some bumps and whales with a few drops. It was fun, but confusing to ski on initially because of the wildly variable snow conditions. It was good practice for me, and I enjoyed myself! Lower Easy Winder was mostly flat and easy with a few water bars to navigate, but I was going slow enough where it wasn't remotely a problem. It was a fun, quiet trail!

Run #12 started back on Upper Easy Winder and then I turned onto Big Rock, which I assume was named for a rocky ledge that it descends. There was a little bit of exposed rock, but nothing I hadn't done before. The bumps were bumpier on this run, and again, I had fun!

Run #13 was down the Reggae Glades, which weren't really glades, but more a normal blue run at Ragged with an occasional tree. This was the bumpiest run of the day, which I enjoyed. Only thing I didn't enjoy about this one was that between the bumps was some boilerplate ice, which made for some exciting slips!

Run #14 brought me into the actual woods on Moose Alley, a blue glade run. The layout itself was not difficult at all, but the woods were very boney, so dodging rocks and roots made for some more technical skiing than I was ready for (again... good practice... this season is all about practice). 

Back to feeling good about myself... Run #15 was a groomer run down Blueberry Patch, Raggedy Andy, and Main Street! The fresh cords were naturally gone, but the trails were holding up beautifully!

Runs 16-19

Run 16: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Gobbler's Knob - Ridge Runner - Turnpike

[1.10 mi; 6:46; 1,056 ft; 31.5 mph max; 9.7 mph avg]

Run 17: Spear Mountain Express - Showboat - Showoff

[0.87 mi; 2:15; 1,050 ft; 38.7 mph max; 23.2 mph avg]

Run 18: Spear Mountain Express - Flying Yankee

[0.94 mi; 2:19; 1,030 ft; 37.2 mph max; 24.4 mph avg]

Run 19: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Turnpike

[1.26 mi; 3:46; 1,066 ft; 33.6 mph max; 20.0 mph avg]

Time to check out the woods on the Spear Mountain side! I skied down Cardigan and went in at the comically named Gobbler's Knob! Tree spacing and grade were both right at my skillset, but the low-tide was less than ideal! There were a few patches of deeper snow to turn through, but it was pretty boney. I think I maneuvered my way over to Ridge Runner, which was tracked out and narrow on skier's left but more bumpy on skier's right (I went right). Both funneled to a narrow, boney runout, and I did manage to scrape on a rock which sent me down to the ground, but nothing too bad! I did NOT feel the need to go back in there, though!

Runs #17-#19 were all repeats of groomers, and fast ones, apparently! I redeemed myself on Showboat and Flying Yankee (and apparently FLEW, hitting my fastest speeds of the season), and I wrapped up the Spear Mountain Side with a nice mellow run down Cardigan and Turnpike.

Run 20

Run 20: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Reggae Glades - Pines

[1.11 mi; 5:21; 1,145 ft; 31.2 mph max; 12.5 mph avg]

To wrap up my truly wonderful day at Ragged Mountain, I hopped back on the Summit Six Express for one final run down Upper Ridge, Headwall, and then the Reggae Glades. At this point in the day, it was cloudy again and snowing! 20 runs in less than four hours elapsed is pretty solid - I could get used to the midweek skiing!

My return trip was slightly eventful. I got stuck behind a pretty serious car fire on I-93 right before the Hooksett rest area, and since I was meeting a friend in Cambridge to see Wonder (a new musical), I didn't have time to go home and change, so I had to stop at an Old Navy and bought a full outfit for the night... so silly!

Map of Ragged Mountain

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Sunday March 9th, 2025

Runs: 11

Distance: 10.21 miles

Elevation: 11,206 feet

Max Speed: 32.9 mph

Avg. Speed: 15.6 mph

Moving Time: 36 minutes, 40 seconds

Total Time: 2 hours, 42 minutes, 42 seconds

After an EXCEPTIONAL night's sleep, we were up and chit-chatting with Snowboard Emma's parents for a while before finally committing to going skiing for the day. Emma and I got breakfast sandwiches and we all made the relatively quick drive over to Ragged! We landed a little after 10, so we decided to boot up at the car. We met team snowboard on the walk up and got our passes - which unfortunately I had to pay for! I did use my 25% off coupon I get from Indy, but it hurt to actually pay for skiing... oh well! It was busy but the lines were moving well, I'd say longest wait was a bit over 5 minutes. First stop was the Summit Six Express!

Runs 1-3

Run 1: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Upper Crewcut - Lower Crewcut - Town Meeting - Upper Exhibition - Lower Exhibition

[0.94 mi; 3:43; 1,161 ft; 32.9 mph max; 15.2 mph avg]

Run 2: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Upper Chute - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[0.98 mi; 3:47; 1,132 ft; 30.3 mph max; 15.5 mph avg]

Run 3: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Upper Chute - Raggedy Andy - Lower Chute - Village Green - Main Street

[0.97 mi; 3:48; 1,135 ft; 32.7 mph max; 15.4 mph avg]

Tragically, we shared the lift with two VERY friendly kids who first didn't want to put the bar down and then chatted us up on every topic from the best runs to speaking different languages. I tried to get Emma to speak in an New Zealand accent, but she wouldn't commit to the bit. In an act of war, Elizabeth told the kids Emma and I were music teachers, which I denied immediately. Anyways, once off the lift, we scooted to Upper Ridge and followed Crewcut down to Town Meeting and then Exhibition - I had never skied Crewcut before! It wasn't too steep, but it was more narrow than other trails. We were DELIGHTED with the snow conditions. I had quite the day at Black (agian, vibes were EXCELLENT, skiing was rough) and team snowboard skied Loon and said it was dreadful. Back in line for the Six Pack, we went up again and went over to Headwall. Snowboard Emma reminisced about how scary it was when she was a kid, and Emma and I made a few "GNAR" jokes from the film. From there, we followed Upper Chute to Raggedy Andy to Main Street. Run #3 was the same, but Emma and I went into Lower Chute for some fun banked turns while team snowboard went into the park.

Runs 4-6

Run 4: Summit Six Express - Upper Exhibition - Birches

[0.85 mi; 2:43; 1,122 ft; 32.9 mph max; 18.7 mph avg]

Run 5: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Lower Ridge - Pines

[1.14 mi; 3:56; 1,093 ft; 29.8 mph max; 17.4 mph avg]

Run 6: Summit Six Express - Upper Exhibition - Birches

[0.83 mi; 3:06; 1,109 ft; 29.3 mph max; 16.0 mph avg]

Team snowboard went back into the park for Run #4, so Emma and I went on our own down Upper Exhibition into Birches, another run I hadn't done before. On the lift, we had solo riders on either side of the four of us. I made a joking comment about waiting for snowboarders, and acknowledged that team snowboard is not slow, but Elizabeth starting to come for me about it, so I mentioned how backflips are easy, which is something that Snowboard Emma and Elizbeth got into a hysterical-but-apparently-serious fight about last year, and that got the two of them going, fully taking the heat off of me. Emma and I were cackling and fighting for air as the two of them kept going, and at one point they even got onto the topic of learning Spanish?! The poor strangers... ANYWAY, birches was super fun! A bit steeper, a bit windier, and it had some rolling bumps at the end. The first one I got some fun air on, and the second I LAUNCHED myself off of. I ALMOST stuck the landing, but didn't support with my quads, so I landed on my bum and then skidded out. Emma had a great time with this particular wipeout. 

I wanted to go wide for Run #5, so we followed Blueberry Patch to Lower Ridge to Pines. Lovely, and moderately unpopulated. Run #6 was another lap down Birches with team snowboard to get us in line for the Spear Mountain Express (I did not get air this time - I wanted to get a little "pop," but there were too many people in front of us). 

Runs 7-9

Run 7: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Home Run - Barnyard

[1.19 mi; 5:54; 1,070 ft; 28.7 mph max; 12.1 mph avg]

Run 8: Banyard Triple - Turnpike

[0.39 mi; 1:30; 159 ft; 27.9 mph max; 16.4 mph avg]

Run 9: Spear Mountain Express - Flying Yankee

[0.93 mi; 3:24; 1,004 ft; 27.9 mph max; 16.4 mph avg]

The line for the quad was physically shorter, but moved at about the same pace. Nobody wanted to follow the liftline down, and there was race training on Flying Yankee (the blue), so we went on the easiest way down on Cardigan (with a great view to Mt. Cardigan!). We got our pole picture up here and then braved the crowds and carnage on Cardigan, which was a bit rough. I think people see the easy green route and go for it, but it's on the long side and both times I've done it I've seen people struggle. Near the bottom, we cut over to the Barnyard side to hit Home Run and of course, the Barn! The Barn is so fun and silly to ski through.

I either made a friend or enemy on the Barnyard Triple - the person I was clearly in front of said "after you!" and "have a great day!" in a tone that was questionable, but whatever. Emma and I shared the comically slow lift and decided we were good over here. Team Snowboard played in the baby park while Emma and I went back to the quad and hit Flying Yankee, which was super fun! Upper half skied super well, and lower half had race training, which caused some congestion, but it was fine.

Runs 10-11

Run 10: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Upper Crewcut - Lower Crewcut - Town Meeting - Main Street

[0.93 mi; 2:59; 1,099 ft; 28.6 mph max; 18.7 mph avg]

Run 11: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Sunnyside - Blueberry Patch - Raggedy Andy - Lower Chute - Village Green - Main Street

[1.06 mi; 3:19; 1,122 ft; 29.8 mph max; 19.2 mph avg]

Emma and I bounced back over to the Summit Six after that run and followed the Crewcuts back down, which were a little skied off but still decent. We planned to meet team snowboard for a two more skip the last, but they were now in line for waffles and were all done for the day. Emma and I hit Sunnyside for the first time and then did the banked turns on Lower Chute as a final hurrah of the day!

Back at the cars, Snowboard Emma and Elizabeth brought over some leftover chocolate cake that we all DEVOURED. Emma gave Elizabeth back the pants she borrowed (this is the second time Emma had forgotten her shells) and team snowboard went on their merry way. Emma and I went up to the Stone Hearth - the top floor of the lodge at Ragged for an apres drink and some delicious pizza before eventually heading home. This was the first day of the "spring forward" daylight savings time, so we both made it home in the daylight, which was amazing! Another super fun weekend skiing - I am starting to feel the "end of season blues" and thinking about how long I can stretch it and also flirting with making some kind of video or something at the end (Elizabeth does this on Instagram, so maybe?).

Map of Ragged Mountain

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Sunday, January 26th, 2025

Runs: 15

Distance: 15.07 miles

Elevation: 15,489 feet

Max Speed: 33.7 mph

Avg. Speed: 15.0 mph

Moving Time: 1 hour, 1 minute, 10 seconds

Total Time: 5 hours, 1 minute, 46 seconds

Back to skiing! Sarah and I planned to either hike Carter Dome, hike Isolation, or ski somewhere on the Indy Pass. The forecast for the high peaks looked absolutely miserable, so skiing it was! Sarah proposed Ragged, which I was thrilled to revisit now that it was more open. This would also be the first time she would meet my new car! I scooped her up at 6:00am, and we made it to the mountain just after 8:00am. We got loaded hash browns from Hooksett which were DELIGHTFUL - we ended up saving our Hooksett breakfast sandwiches for later. We got our Indy tickets loaded into our RFID cards and set up camp in the back corner of the lodge to get ready. Just after the lifts started spinning at 8:30am, we were off!

Mountain Report

We are now skiing and riding on 33 trails and 163 acres of terrain. Current snow surfaces are primarily Machine Groomed with secondary Packed Poweder. Our Uphill Route is now OPEN to the summit.

Runs 1-6

Run 1: Summit Six Express - Upper Exhibition - Lower Exhibition

[0.89 mi; 3:40; 1,178 ft; 25.0 mph max; 14.5 mph avg]

Run 2: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Lower Ridge - Pines

[1.19 mi; 4:34; 1,158; 27.4 mph max; 15.7 mph avg]

Run 3: Summit Six Express - Blueberry Patch - Lower Ridge

[1.19 mi; 3:48; 1,106 ft; 32.8 mph max; 18.8 mph avg]

Run 4: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - New Found Ridge - Main Street

[0.89 mi; 3:26: 1,086 ft; 31.5 mph max; 15.6 mph avg]

Run 5: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.00 mi; 4:05; 1,138 ft; 33.7 mph max; 14.7 mph avg]

Run 6: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Raggedy Andy - Lower Chute - Village Green - Main Street

[1.04 mi; 4:39; 1,102 ft; 30.0 mph max; 13.5 mph avg]

Our first batch of runs were off of the Summit Six Express and let me tell you, they were delightful. I was glad to be skiing with Sarah again because 1) last time we skied together was the first day of the season for the both of us at Waterville Valley and conditions were ROUGH, 2) I missed her!, and 3) she is better than me and I am able to learn a lot from watching her! Partly her confidence in her skiing, but also how she makes turns and the works. For example, I would have NEVER chosen the lift line for the first run of the day, but with her off we went! It skied really nicely with just a few scratchy patches. It was a more intense run than I'm used to for my first run of the day, but it was also a great way to rip off the band-aid! It was also snowing!

Our next two runs followed Blueberry Patch to Lower Ridge. Run #2 followed Pines and Run #3 followed Lower Ridge all the way down - both required some speed to get back up to the lift area. These were LOVELY runs, easier than Exhibition, and there were no humans out this way yet. My only qualm was that a skate was required to get back to the lift line.

Now the lift line was starting to fill up, but we never waited more than 5 minutes at this point in the day, and they started the day with a lifty ushering people onto full chairs, which I appreciated. Run #4 followed the Upper Ridge to New Found Ridge and Main Street which was another lovely route. All of these trails were wide and at a nice level of steepness for my comfort level.

I remembered to get the obligatory ski-poles photo at the top of one of these runs - Emma is still better at it, but I'm starting to get the hang!

Runs #5 and #6 included the Headwall trail - which was an approrpiately named super short and steep Headwall. This headwall is about where my comfort limit is with steeps, and it is nice because I can clearly see the end of it. I still get spooked by long steep sections of trail. We maneuvered our way down both runs trying to ski all of the open trails on this side of the mountain (we were MOSTLY successful) before heading inside for a hot chocolate, breakfast sandwich, and warming break.

Runs 7-9

Run 7: Spear Mountain Express - Showboat - Showoff

[0.81 mi; 3:22; 991 ft; 27.0 mph max; 14.4 mph avg]

Run 8: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Turnpike

[1.21 mi; 4:49; 1,056 ft; 28.2 mph max; 15.1 mph avg]

Run 9: Spear Mountain Express - Flying Yankee

[1.24 mi; 6:53: 1,027 ft; 28.4 mph max; 10.2 mph avg]

We had a nice 40-ish minute break inside and came out to see just how many people were now on the mountain - yikes! The line for the six-pack was now past the ropes, so we decided it would be a lovely time to check out the trails off the Spear Mountain Express. The lines for this quad were MUCH shorter, which we were delighted about. Run #7 had the only actual black run (I don't count Headwall) I'd follow for the day - Showboat, which was also the lift line. It was overall manageable, and if there were less ice, I think I'd actually ski it well. I had a moment of "oh" on the steepest section where I realized it would simply be easier to go faster and ski like I know how to ski, versus shifting from hockey stop to hockey stop. What a silly activity!

Run #8 was down the long green run - Cardigan and Turnpike - which was lovely! Definitely congested near the bottom. It had a nice headwall section that could be bypassed, too. Someone learning could definitely spend good time on this run methodically working their way down - I was a big fan! Run #9 was my favorite off of Spear Mountain - the Flying Yankee. Just a nice cruiser blue run.

Unfortunately, we both had to pee badly at this point since we were post-hot chocoalte, so we did a QUICK break inside before getting some more laps in. I was starting to feel a bit tired and longing for a larger mountain like Jay to keep my interest piqued, but again, skiing with Sarah was so fun and she quickly got me back into it when my brain was getting tired!

Runs 10-12

Run 10: Spear Mountain Express - Showboat - Showoff

[0.85 mi; 3:09; 1,106 ft; 29.3 mph max; 16.2 mph avg]

Run 11: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Jug Handle - Turnpike

[1.27 mi; 4:34; 1,066 ft; 26.9 mph max; 16.6 mph avg]

Run 12: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Upper Chute - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.00 mi; 3:26; 1,096 ft; 28.3 mph max; 17.5 mph avg]

We planned to hit the six-pack again, but the line was brutal at this point, so back to the quad! We hit the Showboat/Showoff run again after a lovely chair ride with a ski instructor and young girl (no older than 5) - the kid was working on "no pizza," but to work on it you had to chant: "CAPITAL N. CAPITAL O. NO PIZZA" followed by 63 exclamation points. 

The wind was picking up at this point and Flying Yankee was closed for race training practice, which was a bummer. We followed Caridgan and Turnpike again for the next run, but also hit the "Jug Handle" spur, which was a gentler bypass to the headwall on Cardigan. We also realized that the white  mountain we could see from the top was not Moosilauke, but Mt. Cardigan!

Sarah wanted to try to hit the "thin cover - ungroomed" Sweepsteakes run. I said "go for it!" not wanting to take any unnecessary risks after the brutal January I've had. I wiggled my way down the blues and met her at the bottom, where we decided we'd start the process of wrapping up for the day.

Runs 13-15

Run 13: Summit Six Express - Upper Ridge - New Found Ridge - Main Street

[0.94 mi; 3:23; 1,145 ft; 28.5 mph max; 16.7 mph avg]

Run 14: Spear Mountain Express - Cardigan - Turnpike - Wanna Be Wild

[1.20 mi; 3:53; 1,014 ft; 30.2 mph max; 18.5 mph avg]

Run 15: Barnyard Triple - Barnyard

[0.35 mi; 3:04; 220 ft; 21.6 mph max; 6.8 mph avg]

We decided we'd work our way across the three chair lifts to wrap up our day, ending with a nice easy run off the triple. For Run #13 we headed up the six-pack and followed Upper Ridge, New Found Ridge, and Main Street down, and then we got in the almost non-existent line for the quad (the line for the six-pack was still dreadful - and by dreadful, Sarah timed it, a 12 minute wait, which truly isn't that horrible). We followed Cardigan and Turnpike again for Run #14, and then cut through the Wanna Be Wild park, which was just a series of three pseudo-jumps, but lovely. The truly wild thig about Run #14 was the absolute and utter carnage of the lower Turnpike. Imagine a scene in a disaster movie where Tom Cruise is sprinting away from whatever "the doom" is, and everything around him is blowing up - that was the lower Turnpike. People were flying over bumps, wiping out by doing nothing. The trail was littered with yard sales and snowboarders who popped a squat mid-trail, it was WILD. 

Our final run for the day, our "two more skip the last," was a DELIGHTFUL run down Barnyard, which included a brief stint through the actual barn! I don't know if it simply wasn't there on my last visit or if I had missed it, but it was a DELIGHT. We followed the run over to the Meadows Carpet, which brought us back up to the base area where we packed up and went upstairs to the Stone Hearth (upstairs in the back room of the Elmwood Lodge) for some delicious pizzas. We had an easy, albeit long-feeling Sunday-evening drive back home. This was a LOVELY day!

Oh, and a quick note about layers because I'm trying to be more mindful of what works in what conditions! I wore the mid-cushion Darn Tough ski socks, two pairs of the Costco leggins cut below the knee, Backcountry GoreTex pants (new!), midweight merino wool baselayer from Backcountry, Trail Mix microgrid fleece from Outdoor Research, Patagonia Nano Puff (for the first 6 runs), Helly Hansen shell, and a lightweight merino wool Buff, and I felt good! Toes got cold before the sun came out. Conditions didn't get above freezing until the end of the day. My body felt good, though! I could feel coldness on my thighs as these new pants are thinner, but they never felt cold, if that makes sense. It got windy at the end of the day, but I didn't need to put my puff back on. 

Map of Ragged Mountain

Skiing Ragged Mountain

Skiing Ragged Mountain

December 22nd, 2024

Runs: 8

Distance: 6.36 miles

Elevation: 6,854 feet

Max Speed: 26.8 mph

Avg. Speed: 14.3 mph

Moving Time: 26 minutes, 28 seconds

Total Time: 2 hours, 27 minutes, 35 seconds

Emma is also on the Indy Pass this year, so we wanted to hit another Indy mountain on the way down to Boston/RI. We wanted to hit Pats Peak, but didn't realize they had blackout dates, so Ragged it was! We had a beautiful early drive (I got ahead of her since she needed to clean out her car). There was an incredible ice crystal rainbow on I-89 after Montpelier, and then I had an interesting time trying to see through the dried salt on my windshield (it's always around this time of year when I remember I need to add the de-icer windshield washer fluid...). 

The drive into Ragged Mountain was clear until it wasn't. I remember reading on Facebook that Google likes to mess people up, so in a panic I ignored most of the turns and just followed signs, which truly worked fine. There weren't too many cars when I landed just after opening, and it was a balmy 2 degrees out! I got my pass for the day and booted up in the nicely sized lodge.

Runs 1-3:

Run 1: Barnyard Triple - Barnyard

[0.30 mi; 1:13; 249 ft; 21.8 mph max; 14.7 mph avg]

Run 2: Barnyard Triple - Barnyard

[0.29 mi; 1:14; 226 ft; 20.5 mph max; 14.3 mph avg]

Run 3: Barnyard Triple - Barnyard

[0.36 mi; 2:23; 230 ft; 25.6 mph max; 9.1 mph avg]

I decided to head to the Barnyard area for a few runs while Emma finished up her drive. The Banyard Triple was nice and gentle and the Barnyard run itself was wide, groomed, and lovely! I only wished it was a little longer so I could have warmed up a bit more during these runs. It was a bluebird day, though, with minimal winds!

Runs 4-6:

Run 4: Summit Six - Blueberry Patch - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.15 mi; 4:41; 1,250 ft; 23.2 mph max; 14.7 mph avg]

Run 5: Summit Six - Blueberry Patch - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.13 mi; 4:07; 1,243 ft; 24.4 mph max; 16.5 mph avg]

Run 6: Summit Six - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Wild Side - Village Green - Main Street

[1.03 mi; 5:09; 1,211 ft; 26.8 mph max; 12.0 mph avg]

Once Emma arrived I met her to get her pass, and they comped her the RFID card becuase she's a patroller at Jay - yay! Lola, her dog, was snug as a bug in the car, which stayed remarkably warm. We fully booted and layered up in the lodge and got our first few runs in on the Summit Six. There were no lifties outside to man the detachable, but they were blasting "Defying Gravity" as we took off, which was objectively VERY fun. The view toward the Whites was stunning from the top, and the runs were fun! The third run in this set we hit the only open black - Headwall - which was no issue at all. After the three we were COLD. We headed inside for a bit and Emma went to check on Lola. I got us hot chocolate! Emma said that Lola was doing great but her car wasn't starting... oop!

Runs 7-8:

Run 7: Summit Six - Upper Ridge - Headwall - Raggedy Andy - Lower Chute - Main Street

[1.02 mi; 4:10; 1,227 ft; 24.1 mph max; 14.7 mph avg]

Run 8: Summit Six - Upper Ridge - Sunnyside - Blueberry Patch - Raggedy Andy - Main Street

[1.07 mi; 3:31; 1,220 ft; 25.3 mph max; 18.3 mph avg]

We got a couple more runs in after our hot chocolate break, but we were absolutely frigid and Emma was stressed about her car. We did successfully ski every open trail the mountain had (minus one that was partially closed for race training), and we had a great time! I am definitely excited to check it out again during the good part of the season. We packed up, got back to the cars, and Emma's car started! A Ragged Mountain miracle!

Map of Ragged Mountain (2024-2025)