Skiing Small

Edging off the chairlift that had carried us to the summit of Bretton Woods ski area, we stopped for a moment to let our eyes admire the wild beauty of the snow-covered White Mountains. On the far side of the wooded Ammonoosuc Valley, 6,288-foot Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast, dominated the skyline. Below us was the elegant Mount Washington Hotel.

My wife, Gail, our teenage twin daughters and I were having a wonderful holiday skiing at a family-oriented resort with a vertical rise of 1,500 feet and a few short trails steep enough to excite powder hounds. But we also were experiencing something dramatically different: low-tech skiing in an age of mega-resorts, in a region that is quintessential small-town New England. (Despite recent ice storms in the Northeast, Bretton Woods spokesman Ben Wilcox said his area had not been hit by power outages and had remained open throughout the inclement weather.)

We had chosen the Mt. Washington Resort at Bretton Woods instead of a dazzling mega-mountain for reasons only those who frolic at any of the alternative, low-key gems scattered throughout North America can appreciate. We wanted the pleasure of skiing slopes packed with powder, not with skiers, where even the most impatient can’t growl at a two-minute wait to board a lift. Yet Bretton Woods is a 2,600-acre ski resort with 32 runs ranging from easy to black diamond for downhill skiing, 60 miles of cross-country trails, the Mount Washington Hotel, the Bretton Arms Country Inn, the Bretton Woods Motor Inn and the comfortable and pleasant Townhomes at Bretton Woods. My family and I stayed in the latter, and enjoyed skiing from our door directly onto the slopes.

Nor do your credit cards complain because prices for everything from a juicy hamburger and crisp fries to ski school lessons and lift tickets are from 10% to 30% below the soaring costs at most U.S. mega-resorts. At Aspen and Vail, Colo., for example, one-day weekend lift tickets are $55 and up, compared with $44 at Bretton Woods.

When we ski the big ones, we feel under unspoken pressure to ski, and ski every day, as much of the mountain as possible. By contrast, after our first day at Bretton Woods we had skied every run that interested us. Now we had the easy pleasure of knowing that the next day we could ski them again, or take a few hours off to explore a corner of the United States where villages predate the American Revolution.

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Lured by history, we slipped away from the slopes on several occasions. On our sightseeing journeys we admired white wooden churches with soaring steeples where today’s congregations serve the same savory corn bread, ham and turkey their predecessors dished out at church suppers 150 years ago. Such dinners are served, we were told, at St. Patrick’s Church at nearby Twin Mountain and Eaton Village Church in Eaton Village. We drove past rustic inns whose first customers arrived in horse-drawn carriages to sleep in their four-poster beds. Among them are the Bretton Arms, near the base of Bretton Woods ski area, and Eagle Mountain House, near Jackson.

With the exception of ski resorts and shopping malls in the larger cities of Conway and Littleton, the entire territory has changed little in the past 100 years.

On our second day of skiing the exceptionally well-groomed slopes, we stopped for a lunch of gourmet sandwiches in the noisy, busy cafeteria in the Bretton Woods base lodge. My wife fell into conversation with two friendly women skiers. Almost as soon as we finished lunch, my wife explained that we were going to quit skiing early the next day and drive to the town of Littleton.

“What’s in Littleton?,” I asked.

“Antiquing. They told me the best antique stores are in Bethlehem and Littleton. They gave me some names.”

It took us about 45 minutes the next afternoon to reach Littleton, about 20 miles west of Bretton Woods, driving on roads with signs warning motorists to “Brake for Moose.” We saw one in a snowy field. The twins screamed with delight.

We visited several shops stocked with fine antiques and objects made by local artisans. I bought a miniature fur-covered raccoon toy, then left my family to their bargain hunting while I wandered over to look at the famous stained-glass windows in the historic Community House, and the architecture of the vintage Opera House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Our next off-the-slopes adventure was an all-day loop trip that included a drive through the village of Franconia, about 20 miles southwest of Bretton Woods, to visit the Robert Frost house. It was closed for the season but usually reopens by May. Frost once said everything he wrote had a touch of New Hampshire.

From there it was a short drive to see if we could catch a glimpse of the well-known New England site, the Old Man of the Mountains: a huge rock formation that resembles a man looking out over the valley. We parked and walked down a snowy path to get a better view of the celebrated rocky profile.

On the ride back to our condo we drove through several villages whose first wood or stone homes were built in the 1700s. As we traveled through the timbered countryside, the girls played a car game. They gave themselves points for who would be the first to see the next covered bridge--5 points, moose--10 or deer--2.

The only ride we did not take on our ski-sightseeing vacation was on the nearby cog railroad. Its puffing steam engines have been pushing passenger cars to the top of Mt. Washington since 1869. But it was closed for the winter, to reopen in May. The original engine, Peppersass, is on display in front of the cog railroad office. Those who are not paralyzed by hairpin turns on narrow roads that edge along 1,000-foot cliffs, may drive to the summit in their own cars or take a sightseeing limousine--but not on snowy roads.

The official U.S. weather station on the top of the mountain has recorded the second highest wind velocity in the world, sweeping in from Canada in excess of 230 miles per hour. (A new record was set a few weeks ago when a hurricane swept across Guam, recording a gust of 236 miles per hour at the local weather station.) Temperatures on the mountain, which is crossed by the famed Appalachian trail, have been known to drop 50 degrees in 15 minutes. But properly equipped, hikers climb the mountain all winter long.

High on the flanks of Mt. Washington is Tuckerman’s Ravine: a mile-wide double black diamond (extremely difficult) snow field that is often the last skiable run before summer arrives, since it can retain snow into June. It is for the strong of heart and back, an almost 2 1/2-mile hike up a steep trail to the bottom of the snow field, skis and boots on your back. You then edge into your ski boots and climb on foot as high up the treacherous, unmarked and never groomed runs as your nerve will allow. Next it’s on with the skis for a wild plunge down to the base of the field. Three runs are about maximum. After all, it’s a 2 1/2-mile hike down from the infamous Tuckerman’s Ravine to where you parked your car.

Just across from the ski area is one of the most palatial resort hotels ever built in the United States: the Mount Washington. A gleaming white building with a red gabled roof and a 900-foot-long veranda, the 195-room hotel, erected in 1902, is considered a splendid example of Spanish Renaissance architecture. And the rooms are lovely.

Although not open for guests in the winter (usually open late April to early November, depending upon the weather), the hotel offers tours three times a week year round. Visitors can admire Tiffany stained-glass and crystal chandeliers and the elegant rooms where delegates from 45 countries meeting in the summer of 1944 agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The ornate room in which they signed the agreement, now a national landmark, is maintained precisely as it was when they set the price of gold at $35 an ounce and declared the dollar the backbone of international monetary exchange--all while the Allied armies slowly smashed their way to victory in Europe.

A short walk from the Mount Washington is the Bretton Arms. It is a handsome, restored year-round country inn built in 1896, with 34 rooms, and a public dining room where we had a fine meal. Both the Mount Washington Hotel and the Bretton Arms Country Inn also are on the National Register of Historic Places.

The ski resort itself is well-endowed with dining facilities. At the top half of the mountain is the Top ‘o Quad restaurant. And the base lodge has both a cafeteria and restaurant. A brief walk away from the base lodge is Fabayan’s Station in the restored railroad depot. The nachos there are wonderful.

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Half of Bretton Woods’ 32 trails are blue for intermediate skiers and one-third are green for the beginning crowd. The balance are black-diamond runs for experts. The trails are serviced by four chairlifts, and two surface lifts for beginners. Uphill capacity is 7,500 people an hour, meaning lines generally are not an issue.

There’s a joke about parents who take their children skiing:

“What are the saddest words on the mountain?”

“Follow me, Dad!”

I first heard those words when we got off a lift at Steamboat Springs, Colo., that serviced both mean, double-black diamond slopes and user-friendly intermediate runs. The girls pointed toward the snow-covered hostile cliffs. “Follow us,” they shouted in unison. As they dropped down the precipitous run, I mumbled after them: “Meet you at the base.”

Their Bretton Woods skiing was chiefly on a cluster of blacks. We frequently met at the base.

All ski runs at Bretton Woods are open to snowboarders, although there is also a challenging 400-foot special run called the Accelerator Half Pipe, open only to snowboarders. There is night skiing on Fridays and Saturdays and special holidays.

From the day the Bretton Woods ski area opened a quarter century ago, cross-country skiing has been a major part of the fun. Bretton Woods operates one of the nation’s outstanding cross-country ski systems, with maintained and marked trails ranging from beginner to expert. (Trail tickets are $12 per day, weekends, and $9 on week days.) One expert trail terminates at a small cabin with a wood stove. It is available for overnight stays by reservation only. (Call Bretton Woods at [603] 278-5000 and ask for the Cross Country Center.) Trails are groomed for the “do it any way you can” crowd, as well as for high-speed skate skiers. Increasingly popular is the growing sport of cross-country snowshoeing. I found it a wonderful sport, especially good for hiking easy trails at night in the back country.

Unusual for a U.S. ski area is the ski biathlon competition at Bretton Woods. (Races will be held this year, March 7 and 8.) It involves a cross-country race to a firing range and then a test of rifle marksmanship.

Both cross-country and telemark ski schools are located in the Cross Country Center near the Bretton Arms Country Inn. The center has an exceptionally large selection of rental cross-country skis, telemark skis and snowshoes.

Gordon is a New York-based writer and author of “Essential Skiing,” Lyons & Burford, $14.95.

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GUIDEBOOK

Bretton Woods

Getting there: US Airways, Delta, Continental and United fly, with one change of planes, from LAX to Manchester, N.H., which is about 90 miles from Mt. Washington Resort at Bretton Woods. Advance-purchase, round-trip fares start at about $345.

Where to stay: Lodging at Mt. Washington Resort at Bretton Woods includes the restored 19th century Bretton Arms Country Inn, which has 34 units, ranging from single rooms to suites, for $90 to $169. Also at Bretton Woods is the Bretton Woods Motor Inn, which has 50 units from $70 to $95. The Townhomes at Bretton Woods include four complexes of slope-side condominiums, from one to five bedrooms, with kitchens. Prices range from $129 to $369. The Mount Washington Hotel is open from May to October. Reservations should be made at least two months in advance. Rates range from $185 for a double to $800 for a suite, including breakfast and dinner. Telephone for all: (800) 258-0330.

Lodging at Twin Mountain, five miles from Bretton Woods, includes the completely refurbished old and charming Fieldstone Country Inn, which has seven units. The price is $55 to $85 per night for a double, including breakfast; tel. (603) 846-5646.

The picturesque Sunset Hill House is a Victorian inn at Franconia, 17 miles from Bretton Woods. There are seven units, with prices ranging from $80 to $160 per night for a double; tel. (603) 823-5522.

Where to eat: Across the highway from the ski area is Fabian’s, built in an abandoned landmark railroad station. A succulent dish of broiled ribs or a hearty pasta will range from $8 to $14.

Darby’s, in the Bretton Woods Motor Inn, is a pleasant upscale restaurant with entrees ranging from $10 to $16.

Formal dining is possible at the Bretton Arms Country Inn. The food is good. Entrees range from $13 to $22. Reservations are recommended.

For more information: New Hampshire Office of Vacation Travel, P.O. Box 1856, Concord, NH 03302-1856; (603) 271-2666.