Mount Sunapee Ski Area Profile

Since Mount Sunapee"s lease a few years back to the folks who own Okemo in Vermont, this sleepy state-owned mountain has joined the front ranks of New England skiing.

Always a mountain with great potential and a loyal following, the decision to lease it has seen the fulfillment of that potential and an even bigger base of loyalists. With the basics already in place - a good location, scenery, lodging, decent vertical and interesting terrain - it wasn"t long before Okemo"s owners Tim and Diane Mueller brought Sunapee into the big time. New lifts - including a high-speed summit quad - greatly enhanced snowmaking, new trails, and a stunning new base lodge, all added in a few short years, have revved up the excitement level at the mountain several notches above the past.

The new management team did this by enhancing the experience for beginners, improving the experience for intermediates, and adding more challenging terrain for the advanced. Start with the South Peak beginner area, where a series of short surface lifts serves gentle terrain and a beginner quad provides a ride to a network of longer beginner (and one easier intermediate) trails. Completely separate from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the resort (but there is a convenient connector trail), South Peak is a fine low-key place to learn and provides the right progression to an eventual move to the main mountain.

The main mountain is dominated by intermediate terrain that accommodates a wide range of skills. On the mellow side there"s Upper Ridge, which ends as a green circle trail in its lower reaches. Bonanza to Chipmunk is a bit more difficult, as is the full length of Wingding in the Sunbowl area. Black diamond Upper Blast-Off and Dare Ya are off the Sunapee Express, the top to bottom high-speed quad, but additional black diamond terrain can be found off the North Peak Triple. Advanced skiers and riders can play on Upper Hansen Chase to Chase ledges, the wonderful rolling Lynx, and Upper Flying Goose. For a step up from there try Goose Bumps or the glades. Summit Glades is a good long ride, lasting all the way down to Beck Brook.

The Spruce Triple gets you into the terrain parks and ½ pipe, as well as serving a couple of less-crowded blue-square trails. And let"s not forget the Sunbowl, with its own quad. Besides the aforementioned Wingding, Upper and Lower Cataract (black diamond through the top half), Skyway, Kartwheel, and Liftline are all fun cruisers. And Williamson skirts the edge of the Sunbowl through pretty hardwoods.

Pretty doesn"t do justice to Sunapee"s "million dollar view" from the top of Skyway Ledges. With the white expanse of Lake Sunapee rolled out below you, the rolling hills of central New Hampshire in the middle distance and the White Mountains beyond, the view is arguably worth the price of admission alone.

Spruce Lodge at the lower end of the main parking lot still offers a full range of services, including rentals. Near the base of the Sunapee Express is the Sunapee Lodge, a bright airy building with exposed log beams and generous views of the mountain. The outside is so in scale with the surroundings that the spaciousness of the interior may surprise you.

The New London-Lake Sunapee region has long been a four-season destination, so there"s seemingly no end to lodging choices. Many of the country inns nearby offer their own cross-country or snowshoe trails, sledding hills, or access to the local network of snowmobile trails.

Dining, shopping, music, and movies are all available in the area, and touring the region"s charming and scenic villages is a worthy pastime itself. The Norsk Cross-Country Ski Center is handy, and local snowmobile trails hook up with a statewide network. Horse-drawn sleigh rides can be arranged. Colby-Sawyer College and Dartmouth College are nearby, where it"s possible to catch a hockey or basketball game, visit a gallery, or take in an evening"s theater production.

Start your day in east-facing Sunbowl, especially on a cool spring morning when the snow here softens first and you"re likely to catch some corn. Intermediates who wish to practice their turns without an audience should ride the Spruce Triple and turn left at the top. Everyone else turns right for the terrain parks and the ½ pipe, leaving Elliot Slope remarkably uncrowded.