I was in Florida over the weekend, so it isn’t as if I should entirely bemoan about missing out on the weather in the Northeast. But that knowledge didn’t stop a local high school student, who coaches at Attitash Mountain Resort on the weekends, from informing me how I had missed out on the best pre-holiday weekend in recent memory.
While others shopped over the last full weekend before the Christmas rush, he skied the leftover powder that dropped up to two feet of snow last week in parts of New England, free from the crowded slopes to come during the school vacation crush which is only days away.
One of the biggest stretches on the resort calendar begins this weekend, with plenty of holiday cheer to go around, all at a slope near you.
There’s an entire calendar of events planned at Sunday River Mountain Resort in Maine, beginning with a Christmas Eve worship service at Barker Lodge, fireworks and family dinner reservations available at the mid-mountain Peak Lodge. It’s a family-filled affair at Vermont’s Burke Mountain as well, filled with visits from Santa, holiday sledding, pizza parties, skiing and snowboarding and much more.
Things are more geared toward the adults though at Stratton Mountain Resorts beer-pairing dinner with Zero Gravity Brewing on Saturday, featuring a four-course meal complemented by local beers from one of Burlington’s best breweries (Only 50 tickets available, $50 per person, stratton.com). Grown-up skiers can also enjoy an après ski ugly sweater party at Bretton Woods this Saturday afternoon, all while the kids have their own shindig, the craft-filled Little Elves Toyshop Kid’s Après Party (appropriate for ages 4-12).
Dozens of ski areas across the region also have New Year’s Eve plans lines up. The lifts will be running until midnight at Wachusett Mountain, which will also have live entertainment in the Coppertop Lounge and fireworks at 10 p.m. The celebration at Okemo Mountain Resort is fit for the whole family as well, also including fireworks and an evening torch parade down the hill.
Cranmore Mountain Resort will host its event-filled Cranapalooza in North Conway, N.H. King Pine will have skiing and riding until 9 p.m. with a bonfire and torchlight parade, and Mount Snow Resort will welcome 2018 in style with a family-friendly nightclub-style event that includes hors d’oeuvre station, party favors, and a champagne toast at midnight. ($45 for adults, $25 for children).
Be sure to check your favorite ski area or resort’s calendar for a full listing of events.
