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, as of October 2019, Attitash is operated by Vail Resorts (after being purchased from the previous owners, Peak Resorts). It operates under a special-use permit with the White Mountain National Forest.

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.

It was announced that starting in the 2023-2024 ski season, both peaks will have a high speed quad going from the base to summit (Presently only Bear Peak does). ''Attitash'' means "blueberry" in the Abenaki language.

Mountain statistics

*Vertical drop: (Attitash); (Bear Peak)
*Base elevation: (Attitash); (Bear Peak)
*Summit elevation: (Attitash); (Bear Peak)
*Trails and glades: 68; most difficult 27%; more difficult 44%; easiest 29%
*Total skiable area:
*Trail length:
*Tree skiing: of terrain in different glades across Attitash and Bear Peak
*Average annual snowfall:
*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 currently has 7 lifts, and 1 magic carpet.

Winter

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), which provided access to longer greens trails. Exact measurements of the Progression Quad are not yet known, but it is fully operational and serves the same area so is a very similar length. It did increase uphill capacity for the beginners area, however.

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 glades. Both mountains have high-speed quads, with 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). The Summit Triple (1,659 vertical feet) takes about 11.5 minutes to get to the top with no pauses (On average with pauses it is more like 16 minutes). Many skiers hated the lift and desired its replacement, but the Chapter 11 bankruptcy prevented this.

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 their 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. 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". The triple's replacement had long been a hot topic, but no owner had been able to get it done yet, and Peak Resorts was unwilling to attempt it despite the resort once again turning a profit. This finally changed when Vail Resorts purchased the resort in 2019.

Things started in the 2021-2022 ski season. Thanks to even further snowmaking improvements, trails were opened fast despite poor snowfall. However, 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 was unable to operate either, meaning the other lifts now had more people to handle, including more beginners. They announced the replacement of the two doubles with a fixed-quip quad (not high speed), and repairs to the Kachina, both to be completed by the start of the 2022-23 ski season.

In January 2022, rumors were once again going around that Summit Triple would finally be replaced, as Vail had applied for the needed permits. Unfortunately due to past experience, many people assumed this would fail. However, in June 2022, an official announcement from the General Manager on the Attitash Facebook Page clarified that while the project was still pending final approval from the US Forest Service, they were confident it would be approved. If so, the hated lift would finally be replaced in Summer 2023, and done in time for the 2023-2024 ski season.

Although the official confirmation will be the new lift being listed in Vail's 2023 lift upgrade announcements, as the Progression Quad was in 2022, final approval for the lift was actually given in Fall of 2022. Riding the lift in the 2022/2023 season, it was noticable that in several areas, trees were already strategically cut to give access to replace the lift towers, especially on the top half.

Summer

Attitash also has summer activities, including an alpine slide, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Peak Resorts had brought new attractions like a 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.

They also used to have 4 water slides, but these were shut down after Summer 2019. In fact, there were no Summer 2020, 2021, or 2022 operations at all, due to the pandemic and Vail choosing to focus on improvements for Winter. The water slides were demolished in Fall 2022 as part of preparations to bult the new high speed quad in Summer 2023, with that being the planned area for the base terminal.

However the General Manager at the time, Brandon Swartz, announced plans to resume summer operations in Summer 2023, minus the water slides and despite them also using that year to build the new High Speed Quad, and that new summer attractions were also being discussed for the future.

External links

Attitash
- Official site

References

{{NHski

Buildings and structures in Carroll County, New Hampshire
Ski areas and resorts in New Hampshire
Peak Resorts
Tourist attractions in Carroll County, New Hampshire
Works Progress Administration in New Hampshire
Bartlett, New Hampshire