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Attitash Mountain Resort

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Coordinates: 44°04′56″N 71°13′47″W / 44.08222°N 71.22972°W / 44.08222; -71.22972
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"Attitash" redirects here. For the lake in Amesbury and Merrimac, Massachusetts, see Lake Attitash.
Attitash Mountain Resort
A view of Attitash and Bear Peak
A view of Attitash and Bear Peak
LocationBartlett, New Hampshire, US
Nearest major cityNorth Conway
Coordinates44°04′56″N 71°13′47″W / 44.08222°N 71.22972°W / 44.08222; -71.22972
Vertical1,750 ft (530 m)
Trails68
: 29% beginner
: 44% intermediate
: 27% advanced
Longest run1.34 mi (2.16 km)[1]
Lift system8 Chairlifts: 2 High Speed Quads, 2 Fixed Grip Quads, 3 Triples, and 1 Surface Lift.
Snowmaking98%
Websitewww.attitash.com
Skiing at Attitash

Attitash Mountain Resort is a ski area located on U.S. Route 302 in Bartlett, New Hampshire, near North Conway. Constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration,[2] as of October 2019, Attitash is operated by Vail Resorts (after being purchased from the previous owners, Peak Resorts).[3] It operates under a special-use permit with the White Mountain National Forest.[4]

Located in the heart of the White Mountains, Attitash is home to two mountains, Attitash and Bear Peak. Attitash/Bear Peak has a total of 68 ski runs. It is a resort that appeals to all skill levels.

Attitash means "blueberry" in the Abenaki language.[5]

Mountain statistics

  • Vertical drop: 1,750 ft (530 m) (Attitash); 1,450 ft (440 m) (Bear Peak)
  • Base elevation: 600 ft (180 m) (Attitash); 600 ft (180 m) (Bear Peak)
  • Summit elevation: 2,350 ft (720 m) (Attitash); 2,050 ft (620 m) (Bear Peak)
  • Trails and glades: 68; most difficult 27%; more difficult 44%; easiest 29%[6]
  • Total skiable area: 311 acres (1.26 km2)
  • Trail length: 23 miles (37 km)
  • Tree skiing: 60 acres (240,000 m2) of terrain in different glades across Attitash and Bear Peak
  • Average annual snowfall: 120 inches (3,000 mm)
  • Typical season length: December through April (actual dates subject to change)
  • Hours of operation: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekends and holidays, EST; 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. mid-week, EST; Times may vary early season: Nov to Dec - 3:30 PM
  • Uphill lift capacity: 14,385 people per hour

Lifts

  • Attitash currently has 7 lifts,[7] and 1 magic carpet.
Name Type Manufacturer Built Vertical
(feet)		 Length
(feet)		 Notes
Flying Bear High Speed Quad Doppelmayr 1995 1467 5215 Main lift to Bear Peak summit.
Flying Yankee Garaventa CTEC 1998 883 3070 Named after the Flying Yankee locomotive. Travels under the summit triple.
Abenki Quad 1994 1020 3825 Extended downhill in 2007.
Progression Quad Doppelmayr 2022 Currently under construction, it will open in 2022.
Summit Triple CTEC 1986 1672 6205 Longest lift at Attitash, goes over the Flying Yankee Express.
Kanchia Triple Borvig 1997 512 2200 Relocated from Sunday River in 1997. [8]
Learning Center Triple CTEC 1988 263 1210

Winter

A view of the slopes of Attitash in summer

Attitash has two peaks, Attitash and Bear Peak, both of which offer a variety of terrain. Attitash consists of old New England-style trails. The more challenging terrain on this mountain are narrow trails with challenging fall lines. It also offers a learning center, featuring a Snowbelt, Learning Center chairlift and the Progression Quad (Formerly home to the Double Double chairlift, which served 627 vertical feet in 11 minutes),[9] which provided access to longer greens trails. Exact data on the Progression Quad is not yet know as it is being built currentl, but it is planned to serve the same are. Bear Peak was developed by the American Ski Company and features wider trails and glades. Both mountains have high-speed quads, the Flying Bear at Bear Peak taking skiers straight to the summit (1,462 vertical feet in 8 minutes), and the Flying Yankee at Attitash taking skiers halfway up the mountain (860 vertical feet in 6 minutes).[10] The Summit Triple (1,659 vertical feet) takes about 11.5 minutes to get to the top.[11] A rather hated lift, it is planned to be replaced for the 2023-2024 season.

In the era of Peak Resorts, snowmaking and grooming were vastly improved. Despite concerns from locals, Peak was the company that managed to finally get the resort out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. While the half pipe was removed, the terrain park was arguably improved by splitting it into three separate parks and moving them all to Bear Peak, allowing the blue they originally occupied to be used for the ski school.

In the second half of the 2018/2019 season, the top half of Attitash was closed due to major problems with the Summit Triple. Despite a fairly new bull wheel (replaced just a few years earlier), it was found to also be in need of massive repair to the gear box, including a replacement "planetary gear". The triple's replacement had long been a hot topic, but no owner had been willing to attempt it. This finally changed when Vail Resorts purchased the resort in 2019.

Things started in the 2021-2022 when technical issues plagued the Double Double and Kachina Triple (The Summit Triple was fine that year, besides the usual complaints about the ride time). Vail announced the replacement of the two double with a fixed-quip quad (not high speed) quad, and repairs to the Kachina, both to be completed by the 2022-23.

But the big new came in June. While the Summit Triple would remain for that season, this would be it's final one (assuming things go to plan as they did with he replacement of the Double Double). Unlike the Double Double and, it will operate in it's final year standing.

There is still a small chance for the US Forest Service to deny this project, however Vail Resorts and the General Manager were confident enough that like the replacement of the Double Double, it would be approved. In fact, they were confident enough to make an official announcement for the plan in June 2022 and that this would be done in time for the 2023-2024 ski season.[12]

Summer

Attitash also has summer activities, including an alpine slide, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Peak Resorts has brought new attractions like the year-round mountain coaster (a faster, powered version of the alpine slide), a climbing wall, four Euro bungee trampolines, a giant air bag jump, and the newest attraction, the East Coast's longest single-span zip-line.[13]

They also used to have 4 water slides, 3 with mats and one ridden with a tube, but these were removed in Summer 2022 by new oners Vail who has bought the resort back in 2019, as they impeded the construction of the two new lifts - One being built that summer (the tube slide was very close), and one planned the following summer (especially this one, as it went over the 3 mat slides), causing summer operations to be closed for the first summer since opening, though the previous summer operations had been limited. The new General Manager Brandon Swartz, who announced this all in a video on the official Attitash Facebook page in May, also clarified summer operations would resume Summer 2023, and new summer attractions were being discussed. [14]

References

  1. ^ "Attitash Bear Peak: Wandering Skis". Jollyturns.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "Attitash Mountain Resort". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  3. ^ "Vail Resorts Closes its Acquisition of Peak Resorts; Adds 17 U.S. Ski Areas Near Major Metropolitan Areas to Portfolio" (Press release). PR Newswire. September 24, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  4. ^ "Attitash Mountain Resort". Peak Resorts. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  5. ^ "About the Wonderful NH Seasons".
  6. ^ "Mountain Stats". Attitash Mountain Resort. Retrieved 2016-06-24.
  7. ^ "Attitash, NH". 25 October 2015.
  8. ^ https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=711
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ https://www.snowjournal.com/discussion/3449/vail-applies-to-replace-attitash-summit-triple
  13. ^ {{cite web|url=http://attitash.com/ziptour.html
  14. ^ https://www.skijournal.com/attitash-wont-be-offering-summer-attractions-for-a-second-straight-year/#:~:text=It's%20going%20to%20be%20another,attractions%20or%20activities%20this%20summer
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