Martha Wilson’s Perfect Ski Day at Bretton Woods

Here’s an excerpt from Yankee Publishing Inc.’s newest special interest publication, NH Ski & Snow Magazine. It is available for free at sports and outdoor retailers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, coastal Connecticut, Southern New Hampshire and Maine, and at New Hampshire Welcome Centers. You can also view the electronic version here: Digital NH Ski and Snow. I wrote a story for the magazine called “Tips for the Perfect Ski Day.” It features 10 locals who share their favorite ways to spend a day at their home mountains. These are the kind of insider tips that you definitely want before you head to the hills! When I started to think about the people I wanted to interview, the first person on my list was Martha Wilson. I first met Martha when she worked at Ski NH. After working there for a couple years, she became the PR person for Omni Mount Washington Resort and Bretton Woods.

Now she is  the  Outdoor Mom bretton-woods-outdoormom.blogspot.com, an über ski mom who knows the mountain as if it were her home. With two winter-loving kids in tow, she blogs about her family’s adventures for Bretton Woods. Here’s what she told me about her perfect ski day at Bretton Woods. THE ARRIVAL Martha avoids chaos by pulling up to the unloading zone, stashing her family’s gear at the rack (with the help of mountain ambassadors), and then parking. The unloading zone is your friend, and the ambassadors are there to help. FAVORITE RUNS Martha’s favorite runs are on the mountain’s far reaches. To access the eastern side of Bretton Woods, she rides the Rosebrook Quad. At the peak, she takes in her favorite view: the valley, the Mount Washington Hotel, the Cog Railway, and even the Mount Washington Observatory in the distance.

On powder days, the woods hold snow, so Martha first skis McIntire’s Ride and Zealand. Next, she heads to the Stickney Backcountry Glades.  She is also very excited about the expanded gladed terrain, new surface lift, and warming cabin as part of the Mount Stickney expansion. The new 600-square-foot log cabin features an outdoor stone fireplace. For going “fast and furious,” Martha’s favorite run is Waumbek, the mountain’s westernmost trail. “It’s got a good sustained headwall,” she reports, “where you can cruise over the lip, then make some really fast, steep turns.” LUNCH AT A RAILWAY DEPOT The kids’ favorite lunch spot is Fabyan’s Station Restaurant (603-278-2222; bretton woods.com/dining/bretton_woods_dining/overview), just across the street from Bretton Woods. “They love to watch the model train while they’re eating,” Martha notes. A special dessert treat: Hoodsies, little cups of half-chocolate and half-vanilla ice cream. APRÈS & BEYOND At the base lodge on select Saturdays and daily during vacation weeks, children can go to “Kids’ Après-Ski Parties” to meet clowns, storytellers, musicians, and more—while Matt and Martha head to the Slopeside Pub (603-278-3320; brettonwoods.com/dining/ bretton_woods_dining/overview). If après-ski is sans kids and she needs some pampering, Martha books a treatment at The Spa at Mount Washington Resort (603-278-4286; mountwashingtonresort.com). Or she might meet a friend for a hot toddy and an appetizer at the Rosebrook Bar (603-278-1000; omnihotels.com).

To read more about the Outdoor Mom’s adventures, visit: bretton-woods-outdoormom.blogspot.com.

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