Back to Conway
February school break provided time for a longer ski trip back to North Conway. Our usual place was occupied so Cristin chose another rental that happened to be a bit off the beaten path down on the west side of the Saco. I picked up the new car on Thursday and the girls were able to enjoy the amenities (TVs and captain’s chairs) on the way up and the space behind the rear seats was more than adequate for storing the skis so we didn’t have to deal with a MPG-killing roof box. We stopped at the New England Boat show on the way up, the shortest trip to the show I have ever experienced and where Ellie would consume the first in a series of many hamburgers. We were able to get primo parking and a 240V plug to charge the van and ended up accidentally trespassing into the show through a poorly guarded entrance. We looked at the few sailboats that were there and then spent a bit of time on the center consoles, stopping briefly to look at the $1M Whaler 420 Outrage rigged with quadruple (yes, 4) 350 HP Verados. If there were ever a glimmer of hope about our climate future, it is quickly squashed by the excess at the boat show.
After the show we headed North in time for me to grab skis from the American Ski Company and a quick dinner at Houligans, a self-proclaimed “Irish Pub” which probably is reason enough to require consulate approval for such titles. Sunday we got the kids to Attitash in time for lessons and I had the opportunity to do some skiing on the ungroomed sections of the upper mountain before we convened with the Campbell’s for lunch and an afternoon of group skiing. Phoebe spent time with Cora and Ellie stuck close to me, skeptical of their run selections after being peer pressured to traverse Grand Stand with a foot of fresh powder and moguls up to her shoulders on the previous ski trip. When you spend the day chasing a friend who is a good skiier you advance quickly and I could see differences in Phoebe by the end of the day. Monday we returned to Attitash and despite being a federal holiday, there were no lift lines. When I was skiing on my own I asked my chairlift mates their opinion on this and there were two categories of responses. The first is that people have become soft (it was lightly snowing) and the second was that the ski industry had priced out what remains of the middle class. Given that they charge $52 for lunch for a family of four and people seemed to be spending more time in the lodge than on the hill, there is probably some truth to both of these points. Monday night we left Phoebe with the Cambells for a sleepover and took Ellie into town for dinner at Horsefeathers. Service was oddly slow but we ate well and took Ellie to Dairy Queen for a treat. Tuesday was our last day at Attitash and we started from Bear Peak which is the most civilized of the three lodges and Ellie and I skied the glades before moving over to Attitash Peak with the Cambells. Once again there were no lift lines at all and we enjoyed a full and hard day of skiing to the last lift. We picked up pizzas at the Red Fox and took them to the Cambell’s beautiful house on a mountainside in Jackson which has incredible views of the presidential range. When we left, I watched the high voltage battery in the car gain 6% charge through regenerative braking down the hillside. That is only sufficient for around 2-3 miles of horizontal driving but this shows the key advantage of hybrid systems. When we got home I failed once again to assert myself and Cristin’s approach of “we’ll pack in the morning” resulted in us getting on the slopes at King Pine roughly 30 minutes before lunch. The kids were pretty smoked but refused to leave so we skied to 3:30 before departing and heading home. Overall it was a great trip. The kids are really progressing with their skiing and we experienced chilly but skiable weather and no more than a 20 second wait in line the entire trip. Phoebe is already pestering us about getting back up to NH.
