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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
StatusOperating
OwnerVail Resorts
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.
SnowmakingYes, 98%
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. Both peaks have a high speed quad going from the base to summit as of the 2023-2024 ski season. 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: Early December through Early April (depending on natural snowfall and how often temperatures are low enough to allow snowmaking)
  • 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 has 7 lifts,[7] and 1 magic carpet. While new lifts were installed in earlier years, they are usually to replace a current lift these day. In the past, the Top Notch Double extended the peak to 3/4 of the way up Little Attitash Mountain instead of halfway, requiring a new lift line, and the Summit Triple did the same but the whole way up. As the name suggests, The Summit Triple went all the way up. The original lift was replaced by a high speed quad to serve the lower half of the mountain, but used the same lift line. Peak Resorts stopped running the Top Notch Double in 2014 and removed it in 2018, but no replacement ever went in.

It wasn't until the ownership of Vail that a change was made again. The Summit Triple was demolished after Spring 2023, after plans were approved to replace it with a High Speed Quad starting in the 2023-2024 season. [8]

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 lift and ends halfway up Attitash. Replaced the resort's first lift.
Abenaki Quad Fixed Grip Quad 1994 1020 3825 Extended downhill in 2007 to serve the condos in between the two mountains.
Progression Quad Fixed Grip Quad Doppelmayr 2022 640 2627 Replaced the Double-Doubles.
Kachina Triple Triple Borvig 1997 512 2200 Relocated from Sunday River in 1997.[9] Technical issues prevented it from operating in the 2021–22 season, but it was repaired and reopened for the next season.
Learning Center Triple Triple CTEC 1988 263 1210 While not exclusive to those taking lessons, it only serves The Learning Center trail.
The Mountaineer High-Speed Quad Leitner-Poma 2023 1670 6204 Tree cutting began in Fall 2022. The new lift is being built in Summer 2023 to open for the 2023–24 season. It replaced the old, and now demolished, Summit Triple.

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, many of which are narrow with challenging fall lines. It also offers a learning center, featuring a Snowbelt, Learning Center chairlift and the Progression Quad (formerly the Double Double chairlift),[10] which provides access to beginner green trails and an intermediate blue trail.

Several black diamond trails, namely Upper Ptarmigan, Middle Ptarmigan, and Tim's Trauma, have a very high difficulty even in good conditions due to the terrain. Attitash also features several beginner-friendly green trails, such as Counselor's Run and Inside Out, and moderate blue trails, such as Ammonoosuc and Upper/Lower Cathedral. There is one official glade located between Lower Cathedral and Lower Highway.

Bear Peak was developed by the American Ski Company as a competitor, but financial issues prevented it from opening until a partnership deal was reached with Attitash, who needed their connections to get permits. It features wider trails and more glades, most of which are located directly under the Abenaki lift, with the other being located on Wandering Skis. Highlights on this peak include that trail due to its long length with a steady drop, the racing trail Illusion with its balance of flats and steeps, as well as a few other black diamonds that range in difficulty. Although there is a small kids' area, it is much smaller compared to the Attitash kids' area.

The resort has three high-speed quads. The Mountaineer and The Flying Bear at Attitash and Bear Peak take skiers straight to the summits, and the Flying Yankee at Attitash taking skiers halfway up the mountain 860 vertical feet in 6 minutes (4.5 minutes no stops).[11] The Summit Triple (1,659 vertical feet) takes about 16 minutes to get to the top with pauses or 11.5 minutes with no pauses.[12]

In the era of Peak Resorts, snowmaking and grooming were vastly improved, and Attitash Mountain Resort finally overcame its long 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 lift. Despite a fairly new bull wheel (replaced just a few years earlier to prevent further breakdowns), it was found to also be in need of massive repair to the gear box, including a replacement planetary gear.[13]

In the 2021-2022 ski season, technical issues plagued the Double Double and Kachina Triple lifts. Vail announced the replacement of the Double Double with a fixed-quip quad (not high speed), and repairs to the Kachina Triple, both to be completed by the start of the 2022-23 ski season. These were successful and a welcome improvements. The dining areas also reopened after COVID that season.

Meanwhile, after announcing to locals Vail was going to be the first owners to actually attempt a replacement for the Triple, they got approval for a high speed quad in November 2022.[14] The replacement, now named The Mountaineer, is scheduled to be opened in time for the 2023-2024 ski season. Trees were cut during the season, and the lift closed one week early to ensure it is finished I'm time for the next season, as the Progression Quad was.[15] It will cut the time to the summit to 6 minutes instead of 16.

Summer

Attitash also has summer activities. A summer day pass includes the alpine slides, both of which run the same route starting halfway up the mountain, the mountain coaster (similar to the alpine slide, but allows for higher speeds due to being locked onto the track), a climbing wall, Euro bungee trampolines, a giant air bag jump, and cornhole boards.

Three attractions available for an additional cost are Mountain biking, horseback riding and the newest attraction, the East Coast's longest single-span zip-line,[16] installed by previous owner Peak Resorts. Closed in 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to COVID, Attitash resumed summer operations in 2023.

The mountain formerly featured four water slides that were demolished in Fall 2022 to make way for lift improvements. However, General Manager Brandon Swartz has announced that new summer attractions are being discussed for 2023. All other summer attractions are expected to return, though it is unclear whether annual events like the Blueberry Festival will also resume. [17]

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=353
  9. ^ https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=711
  10. ^ "Attitash Unofficial Guide - EpicSki Community". Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  11. ^ "Attitash Unofficial Guide - EpicSki Community". Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  12. ^ "Attitash Unofficial Guide - EpicSki Community". Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  13. ^ "Attitash fixing its Summit Triple chairlift woes".
  14. ^ "USDA Approves Work To Replacement Summit Triple With a High Speed Quad".
  15. ^ "Summit Triple Closes For Good".
  16. ^ http://attitash.com/ziptour.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ "Attitash won't be offering summer attractions for a second-straight year". 14 April 2022.
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