Balsams Wilderness, NH - March 16, 08 - Day 5

[Patrick]

Last day of Spring Break.

Schedule today:

Leave North Conway towards the border, Montreal and arrive in Ottawa. This was going to be a long day with a lot of driving ... and some skiing.

We didn't get the early start, because I was a nice dad and let the girls watch TV. :roll:

we didn't want to girls to go to bed to late (wishful thinking - The Incredibles movie on on TV until 11pm).

We finally left North Conway at about 9:30am driving the 80 miles to Balsams Wilderness. Why Balsams? Because I've driven past this area on a number of times on the way from Montreal to Sunday River and was always intrigued by this place. The place wouldn't be worth a couple of hours by itself, but this was on the back (detour and not the quickest way). Vertical is 1000' with 18 trails nestled in Dixville Notch far from everything except the high end hotel.

Our journey to us from North Conway through Gorham, Berlin and the one of the most car motion sickness road (without gaining altitude) to Errol that I have ever seen. We were wondering if between the bumps and rolls, the car wouldn't fall into one of the holes in the road. Sick!!! :? Morgane was green and it wasn't because of her Irish heritage because of St.Patrick's Day. :-& Once in Errol, we were back on the main highway and drive from Quebec to Sunday River. Only 10-15 miles to go before Dixville Notch.

Arrived at the tiny chalet at 11:30ish. Small parking next to a beautiful Day lodge (outside and inside). Small and cosy. Many cars were from Quebec as the border is only 30 miles away. There is also a shuttle from the hotel to the ski hill.

Started skiing with Morgane at around noon. Skiing twisting groomed trails like Abenaki and Notch. Morgane was disapointed by the lack of difficulty of the narrow double black Notch, regardless, it was a fun trail. Snow conditions here were very different than what we encountered during this trip. We mostly had packed powder conditions, not the refrozen stuff. WOW!!! I guess the altitude and latitude of this place plus the small skier traffic are important factors on the great snow conditions we got. Snow level were also higher here than elsewhere on this trip. This was a Sunday, rarely saw anyone in front of us getting on the chairlift.

There are 3 chairlifts, a triple and an old double serves the main mountain will a small triple served two small beginner runs. There is also a handle tow. On this busy :roll: Sunday, the old double was closed. Based on what I saw, I can hardly imagine a day where they would have a need to run that double (maybe during the Holidays?).

I tagged up with Tara to ski the top-to-bottom Monadnock and Connecticut greens, but also did a few runs on the small lift afterwards. Tara was able to lead all of us from top-to-bottom at her own speed, definitely a memorable moment of this trip. Tara was so proud of herself, plus her sister was so excited for her. We were all proud of them even if they drove us nuts many times during this trip.

Morgane got to ski all the open trails on the mountain. The only thing closed was the Wilderness Glades (counted as one run) even if they seem to be a few official glades on the mountain.

Ah yes, it was snowing again during this day.

Total cost: $38 (2-for-1 from Morgane's 5th grade NH Passport), free tix for Morgane (passport) and free for Tara (5 or less).

Total cost of 5 days of skiing for the whole family of 4 on this trip: $265
A great trip and excellent value.

http://www.thebalsams.com

Summary of 5 days (Wildcat, Cannon, Black, Cranmore, Balsams).

Best places by Morgane: Wildcat and Cannon.
Best snow according to parents: Black (Spring) and Balsams (Winter).

 

[icelanticskier]

shhhhhh! northern mount wachusett, that's all. french canadiens instead of massholes, i'm a masshole and i'm damn proud of it, so i can say that.
rog

 

[riverc0il]

Total cost of 5 days of skiing for the whole family of 4 on this trip: $265

:shock:

Was that USD or CAN?

8)

Good show. That is an average cost of $13.25 per day per skier with your most expensive day arguably being the worst mountain of the five.

 

[Patrick]

Good show. That is an average cost of $13.25 per day per skier with your most expensive day arguably being the worst mountain of the five.

Thanks, you can understand some of the madness behind this trip now. If I would have done to Bretton Woods, I would have blown this wayout. A day ticket for Tara would have cost $35 + our tickets. :shock:

 

[Tony Crocker]

Sometimes you get what you pay for....

I still think Quebec City was the call in this "once in a generation season," as I believe Patrick referred to it in another post.

Inflexible plans are a surefire recipe for mediocrity (or worse) in eastern skiing.

 

[Patrick]

Sometimes you get what you pay for....

Okay, so the most expensive place on this trip was Cranmore (less favorite mountain and conditions) at $80 (for 4).

Best in term of conditions was Black and Balsams at respectively $29 and $38.

I still think Quebec City was the call in this "once in a generation season," as I believe Patrick referred to it in another post.

We have been skiing "once in a generation season" in Ottawa all year. :twisted:

Quebec City ski areas are relatively far apart for our purpose, especially that the kids were pretty hard on us during the drives, they would have driven us up the wall.

Stoneham isn't a small hill.
Le Relais is... comparable to a beginner mole hill outside Ottawa. Absolutely no charm here, worst than the beginner in Ottawa.
Although I love MSA, the place is big with high capacity, not the charm as the big ones from NH.
Le Massif, big again.
Massif du Sud, never been, on my "to-do" list.
Grand Fonds (never been) small family area that would have fit perfectly for our trip.

What is the distance between these areas??? We are talking many hours to any for us when the kids are fighting in the cars and the parents have had enough. You forget the purpose of this trip, it wasn't a only skis matters trip. It was an easy family vacation, it wasn't a road trip holiday.

Ah yes, the roads. The storm hit the most of the St.Lawrence Valley, we are talking closed autoroutes and roads between Montreal and Quebec City. Roads were closed not only because of the snow, but the wind. A recipe for disaster with kids,young kids, in the car. I had this issue alone with Morgane last year, I cannot imagine with the whole family. :x

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... php?t=3155

Inflexible plans are a surefire recipe for mediocrity (or worse) in eastern skiing.

Says the person who skied in mediocrity under the rain in NZ at one time. You would have happy to as sucky conditions as we had. :x

I was very flexible with my plans and even missed the St.Patrick's day parade in Montreal. I delayed by 5 days the departure for this trip once I saw the storm coming. Got two Ottawa powder days before we left. Once we started skiing in NH we got 2 days of sun and 3 days of snow. If that is mediocrity, I don't what is?

This trip goals were:

1) to see different places, atmospheres and ambiances from the place we usually ski.
2) without driving long-distance and staying in a charming place/village.
3) Places that would challenge Morgane
4) Places that would be perfect for Tara to have fun and to continue to learn to ski.

I have absolutely no regrets about this trip and we do it again under the same circumstances. Nothing was pre-booked, I was still willing to cancel during that weekend, but after looking at a few factors plus the weather, I didn't. I'm happy I didn't. Of course, if the forecast would have been rain during the week then I might have changed plans, but it wasn't.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I've always wanted to check out The Balsams... sounds like what it lacks in challenge and size, it makes up for in ambiance and low crowds.

No pics again?
:x

 

[Patrick]

No pics again?
:x

Sorry, no digital again! :roll: I need to get a new scanner.

Place definitely seem to have the feel of a private country club (not that I would know).

 

[Tony Crocker]

Says the person who skied in mediocrity under the rain in NZ at one time

Very true. I'll admit to being a nutcase and trying to make the most out of bad conditions once I'm committed. That's a different question from trying to adjust the commitments in advance to the likely best conditions.

We had to deal with the kids-fighting-in-the-car issues too. With the 4-year age difference there are going to be trips that are doable with the older one and not practical for the younger one. The younger child will get some one-on-one trips later when the older one is in high school/college and less interested in doing things with parents.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Says the person who skied in mediocrity under the rain in NZ at one time.

It's a language thing, but this line ^^ cracks me up.

Tony wasn't just skiing in mediocre conditions... he was "skiing in mediocrity."
:lol:

 

[Patrick]

The younger child will get some one-on-one trips later when the older one is in high school/college and less interested in doing things with parents.

Our girls have a 5 year difference.

Morgane got some quality skiing when she was 5, there isn't a reason why Tara cannot get the same attention at her age than Morgane had. The purpose of this trip was a family vacation. In the past we've still the girls didn't spend all of Spring Break together for the days we took off work.

2007: Morgane got 2 days skiing at MRG / Tara stayed in Montreal
2006: Morgane and Tara had 2 days on small Laurentians ski areas. Morgane then got 3 days in VT.
2005: Tara got her 1st turns at St-Bruno then Morgane went 2 days@ MRG. Would had another day at Jay if her ski pants weren't left at MRG. We realized this once back in MTL. :x
2004: Morgane got 1 day @ MRG

 

[Tony Crocker]

It's a language thing, but this line ^^ cracks me up.

Yes, Patrick's writing is a mystery to me because he has no foreign accent/syntax whatsoever when he speaks. For most of us the ear/speaking are much harder than the reading/writing.

No argument that 5-year-olds should be getting some ski time. But an advanced 8+year-old should get a whole week at a real mountain for spring break IMHO.

 

[Patrick]

It's a language thing, but this line ^^ cracks me up.

Yes, Patrick's writing is a mystery to me because he has no foreign accent/syntax whatsoever when he speaks.

Yea, I know. It's not a language thing..it's called lousy writing skills (ie. skipping words, using wrong ones, etc). It might be a form of dyslexia?

I fuck up as much in French. :? This happens when I don't read what I write, write too fast or writing and thinking about something else. I something screw up writing numbers down (ie. phone numbers). I've even lost a $20 bet confusing a hockey team even if I knew the answer.

The only thing I know, I seldom screw up when I ski. :shock:

But an advanced 8+year-old should get a whole week at a real mountain for spring break IMHO.

I do my best.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

But an advanced 8+year-old should get a whole week at a real mountain for spring break IMHO.

I've noticed the frequent barbs to Patrick about taking his daughter out west... I've never met him and have no idea if this applies to him, but have you considered that not everyone can afford a major destination trip to a big league resort?

If my three-year-old turns out to be an enthusiastic or hotshot skier, I'll certainly give him plenty of ski time, but even if my finances allow it, I wouldn't bestow several serious trips a year, cat/heli skiing, etc. on him because I don't want him to feel entitled to that kind of luxury life... the same reason I won't buy him an expensive car when he's old enough to drive. Not making any judgments one way or the other, just sayin'.

 

[Tony Crocker]

My ski lifestyle while the kids were young was not what it is now, and getting value for the ski dollar was important. We drove from L.A. to SLC a few times, and once to Steamboat and Vail.

The more high-end trips started when Adam was 12-14 years old. jamesdeluxe's concerns are certainly valid. Time will tell whether it had a corrupting influence.

The only thing I know, I seldom screw up when I ski.

It took about 5 minutes at Bridger Bowl for me to notice that :wink: .

 

[Patrick]

I something screw up

I meant "sometimes". It might be hard to believe, but I've passed the government bilingual language tests (written, comprehension, oral) with high marks that made me exempt for exams in the future (normally tested every 5 years of you're in a bilingual position).

Geez, sometimes you can even write straight. (edit: CAN'T)

As for Morgane making some big league trips, she has to merit them. I wouldn't want her or any of my friends for that matter during a ski trip to become a drag. When it happens, I don't want to regret it. I personally didn't get to make it out West before my 23rd birthday in June. Talk about marginal conditions. June Powder and major league sunburn in the same trip, Saudan Couloir, 7th Heaven, it was great!!!

Now enough on my family choices.

The only thing I know, I seldom screw up when I ski.

It took about 5 minutes at Bridger Bowl for me to notice that.

Hard to believe that I sometimes have to write reports in both official languages (don't worry - I review what I write). :? Maybe I should get a job where only skiing is involved. I'm open to suggestions and offers. 8)

 

[riverc0il]

I've noticed the frequent barbs to Patrick about taking his daughter out west... I've never met him and have no idea if this applies to him, but have you considered that not everyone can afford a major destination trip to a big league resort?

What the man said.

I don't know how my dad did it with a family of four. We only got one or two "big trips" a year growing up and occasionally those big trips involved places like Gunstock and Wachusett. But usually, we went all over New England trying new (to us kids) places every year. I still fondly recall trips to Sugarbush, Cannon, Loon, Wildcat, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf. I couldn't ski powder, so a trip out west would have been completely wasted on me even if it was affordable to fly a family a four to Utah or Colorado on the shake of the dice that it would be powder... cause we certainly couldn't ski big mountain at that point. I still feel bad for pulling attitude one day at Waterville because I was having a hard time skiing in the three inches of fresh snow... meanwhile my dad was spending a ton of money for a family weekend and he was enjoying the conditions while I was mopping around the mountain. We took a family picture that day at the top of the lift... one of those horrific tourist traps I avoid at all costs now. One of my favorite pictures to this date.

You know what I remember most fondly from those trips? The family being together and having fun together. Don't need to fly halfway across the country to have a better experience than that.

 

[Patrick]

I still feel bad for pulling attitude one day ... we was enjoying the conditions while I was mopping around the mountain.

Ah yes, I've had this experience many times. Some on this recent trip by both kids. Not necessarily ski related, but a pain in the ass. I've also had this attitude by my wife on a powder day in Whistler. :roll: I try to look beyond that I enjoy myself, not always easy when you get bad vibes.

Don't need to fly halfway across the country to have a better experience than that.

Amen. I hope my kids have such great memories when they're older. :roll:

 

[Tony Crocker]

Some on this recent trip by both kids. Not necessarily ski related, but a pain in the ass. I've also had this attitude by my wife

I can certainly relate. The ex-wife and Andrew had a fair amount of "attitude," so no surprise they went on fewer trips and Adam went on more.

Adam was no model kid at home, but since he was highly motivated to ski he was usually cooperative on the trips, even at a young age. Patrick's comments about Morgane at ages 6-7 were so similar to what I remember from Adam that I assume she would appreciate similar experiences.

 

[jasoncapecod]

Children and ski trips. I could go on for hours. If you don’t have the ability to roll with the punches, kids on a ski trip will make you miserable.
Jamesdeluxe has skied with my kids twice, I’m sure he is reaching the end of his rope.

Car sick kid, no problem.. It’s all about prevention. For small kids the answer is 12.5mg Benedryl , before you hit the road.. My daughter almost decorated the rental car on the way up to Whistler. The ride down, no problem.