Reported in for turns at Wildcat promptly at 9:00 A.M. With an evening rain storm the night before after several warm days in a row, I wondered just how much snow would actually remain. Approaching Wildcat on Route 16 in Pinkham Notch, things looked rather grim. I hesitantly bought my $52.00 lift ticket believing that I would be lucky to get my monies worth. Fifty-two dollars worth of turns later, I departed Wildcat with a smile on my face.

Every time I ski Wildcat, without fail, the first time up the Wildcat Express is always an amazing trip. “Wow!” that thing flies. Hands down the fastest High Speed Quad in New England and after more than a dozen ski days riding it I can still be surprised by that initial rush of speed.

The weather was consistent throughout the day with a cloud ceiling around 3500 vertical feet. Above that elevation, visibility was limited to about fifty feet (about the length of one chair in front of you on the Quad) or less in thick foggy conditions. I got one good look into Tuckerman Ravine and saw a huge cravass from a recent wet slide. Clouds also parted for a head shot of the summit of Big George, spectacular.

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Original plans called for Skiing Wildcat on Thursday instead of Friday (Ladies Day, Yeah Baby!); one day after a significant snow fall blanketed northern locations of New Hampshire. However; due to high winds and the threat of lift holds, I opted to wait one day and venture up to The Cat on Friday instead. This was a wise decision as the Quad was on a Wind Hold on Thursday, and conditions were very poor. What I should have done, was skied Cannon or Bretton Woods Thursday where reports have been confirmed of up to a foot of powder in places on Thursday.

For the trip up, I awoke at or around 5AM and had the wheels turning at 5:30AM just before the first hint of sun light. Traveling up I-95 into NH, I could hardly contain my devilish grin as I passed people commuting to work while I was commuting to a day of skiing! The drive was uneventful and I arrived at Wildcat just after 8:00 A.M. Lifts opened at 9:00 A.M., so I relaxed and enjoyed a snack while awaiting vertical delight.

I was aboard the third chair of the Wildcat Express Quad. For the morning, a single cloud incessantly hovered over Mount Washington, as if Big George had some evil thoughts and was in a crappy mood. But the Mount Washington Valley would not allow it to take command as else where was sunny and blue skies. The first Quad up was a cold one though and windy too boot.

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March 8, 2001 goes down in the books as one of the best days of skiing I have ever had in my life. Two days after a foot of snow got dumped on New England, I left home at 5:30AM for Wildcat Mountain in Pinkham Notch of the White Mountain National Forest. I picked up a pair of Volkl P40 Platinum demo skis on the way through North Conway due to my pair of Rossy 9.9 9x recently breaking at Magic Mountain and hit the slopes around 9:15AM.

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