Grays On Trays

One thing I enjoy about visiting different ski areas is seeing how they differ from each other. There’s a lot of similarity in ski area management, but sometimes you’ll spot something new.

For example, I was at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, when I noticed a sign at the loading station of the Kancamagus Quad that said “This lift may run in reverse.”

(Poor-quality photo taken with a disposable camera. My digicam died the night before I left home.)

Now if that makes you say “huh?,” you’re not alone. I asked the folks in the Loon public relations office, and here’s the answer I received:

“We have those signs on detachable lifts only. This is because when the cars/chairs go around the bull wheel and reattach to the cable there are some sensors that the grip/cable pass through. If one of those sensors senses that something is amiss, then we will stop the lift. It is easier/safer to run the lift in reverse and fix the problem vs. unloading/evacuating the guests from that particular car/chair. This is a very rare occurrence.”

This is consistent with the other answers I have been able to find. Still, it’s a bit strange. I suppose it’s one of those things that you hope you hear about but never experience.

In late March I visited Loon Mountain, New Hampshire. I just received some photos from their marketing department to supplement the ones I took. I’ll be rolling out a few of them here in this space.

There are three different base areas at Loon. You can of course plan your time on the mountain so that you ski from one to the other. But if you’ve got kids who aren’t interested in snow-time-all-the-time, you might entertain them by taking a small train between the Octagon Lodge and the Governor Adams lodge. As a bonus, it’s got a steam-powered engine.

(Photo courtesy Loon Mountain)

During the summer of 2007, Loon was clearing some land for new trails on South Peak. What happened to the wood? Some of it ended up powering the train.

You can get an even better view of the engine at New England Trip Planner.

One thing I enjoy about visiting different ski areas is seeing how the mountain management does things. Usually they observe the same practices, but sometimes you’ll see something different.

I’m used to seeing signs in Aspen/Snowmass that say “Easiest Way Down.” That makes sense; you don’t want a beginning snowboarder or skier to plunge down a steep blue if he is still working on the basics.

But when I was at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, I saw something different. Some signs said “More difficult.” Some read “Most difficult way.”

Maybe it’s a way to boost the egos of intermediates? It doesn’t matter much, I suppose, and it serves a similar purpose to the “Easiest Way Down” signs. It helps beginners to know where to go, though unlike the case with Aspen, indirectly.