Cruising riders will love this resort. Coos Caper, Herb’s Secret, Granny’s Grit and Crawford’s Blaze are great for just rolling those edges side-to-side. Strong intermediates won’t feel over their heads on any of the single-black diamond trails such as MacIntire’s Ride or Bode’s Run.

TERRAIN PARK PAGES FROM BRETTON WOODS

Fun terrain can be found in the trees, where there are plenty of natural hits for jumping and spinning.To sample glade riding, try Peppersass, Cherry Mountain Slide or Millennium Maze on West Mountain. You can pop out on easier trails if the trees seem daunting. The double-diamond glades on West Mountain have short steep pitches with varying density of trees. The most challenging terrain is now Rosebrook Canyon, an almost entirely gladed area on the resort’s eastern side.

When riding back from West Mountain to the main base area, snowboarders can avoid the Crawford Ridge, where it’s difficult to maintain momentum and impossible for non-experienced snowboarders. About two-thirds of the way down Avalon, before a big rock on the right, take a right into the woods and cross over to Aggassiz. Then take the Coos Connector off to the right and go down Coos Caper. To get to West Mountain off of Fabyan’s Triple chair, speed and momentum are necessary to make it to the top of Avalon, so take off with keep-your-speed intentions.

Bretton Woods also is a great place to learn. The Zephyr and Bethlehem express quads serve long beginner runs—perhaps the longest beginner runs you’ll find anywhere. The traditional Bretton Woods trails, such as Sawyer’s Swoop, Big Ben and Range View, are ideal for cruising autopilot. This is a good place for strong beginners to test their skills on blue runs such as Coos Caper and Granny’s Grit. For first-timers, the Learning Center quad serves Rosebrook Meadow and Rosebrook Lane, both dedicated learning slopes.

When darkness falls at Bretton Woods, the skiing and riding fun continues. The Bethlehem Express high-speed detachable quad accesses the Bigger Ben, Big Ben and Bretton's Wood trails. The Learning Center Quad is a four-person, user-friendly lift that services the lighted Rosebrook Meadow trail which is ideal for the first-time skier or snowboarder.

Parks and pipes
Experienced riders might find the Accelerator Halfpipe and Terrain Park a bit of a yawn, but it suits the intermediates who favor this resort. At night, they're lit for riding. Whether it's skis, boards or blades, all are welcome to take on the hits, ride the rails or go for big air on the professionally groomed pipe and terrain elements contrived by the resort's newest groomer attachment, the Pipe Magician. This patented grooming tool is the latest invention of Piston Bully, the German manufacturer of groomers that are the demand for worldwide FIS and World Cup events.