A check of records shows that the last article I penned for DCSki was in 2017! Hard to believe so much time has passed since that last trip report from Steamboat Springs, CO. Scott Smith has generously allowed me to continue to be listed as a DCSki Columnist, so I figured it was time to earn (re-earn?) that honor with a Firsthand Report from the snowy north country.

A lot has happened since that last report – most notably, my family and I have moved north to New England where the temperatures have been consistently in the single digits to low 20’s all winter long. As I type this article, snow is gently falling with predictions of up to 6” of the fluffy white stuff coming down by late afternoon — and more coming this weekend!

The view from Upper Ridge at Ragged Mountain. Photo by James Chen.

And I am still patrolling, albeit at the new-to-me resort of Ragged Mountain. One of the benefits of being a member of the National Ski Patrol (NSP) is the consistency in training, emergency care and transportation across all NSP member areas. Ragged Mountain is no exception. Joining the Patrol has been a nearly seamless exercise with my nearly 30 years of Outdoor Emergency Care and Outdoor Emergency Transport skills and experience from Liberty Mountain translating easily to Ragged Mountain. Although I will note that with a much longer season (started on December 7th and not ending until early April), there have been a lot more sleds to haul!

And I can’t say enough about how welcoming, generous and helpful every member of the Ragged Mountain Ski Patrol (RMSP) has been in including me on the team. In fact, my introduction to the RMSP was facilitated by the daughter of one of my closest Liberty Ski Patrol buddies, David P. While Dave has since retired from Patrolling, his daughter, Polly, has picked up the mantle and serves as a patroller at Ragged Mountain.

Ragged Mountain Resort boasts an amazing 1,250 vertical feet across 57 trails and 250 acres of skiable terrain across two peaks served by two high speed, detachable chair lifts. A slower fixed grip lift serves the beginner area, along with a magic carpet. By comparison, Liberty Mountain, my former home area, has 650 vertical feet over 100 acres on a single peak with trails on both sides of the mountain.

Ragged Mountain features gladed runs, including Raggae Glades, shown above. Photo by James Chen.

What really sets Ragged Mountain apart, however, are the glades. Due to the mostly abundant snowfall, Ragged Mountain Resort has over a dozen trails running through forested areas. As of the date of this article, quite a few of those glade runs have opened up and provide an abundance of challenging terrain for advanced and expert skiers alike. This is a good thing as Ragged Mountain does not have a dedicated “bump run” unlike Liberty Mountain, which typically carves bumps on Lower Eastwind with natural bumps allowed to form on Upper Strata and Upper Eastwind.

The only downside to the glades appears to be watching out for those natural “obstacles” that appear through the snow (including a few rocks and tree stumps!). For the most part, however, the glades are well tended – often by RMSP patrollers who voluntarily clean and maintain the trails during the off season. No question the RMSP bunch are passionate about skiing AND giving back to the area and the customers that support them.

Sunrise from Cardigan Run. Photo by James Chen.

While I can say that I miss my old friends and colleagues at Liberty Mountain, relocating to New England has been a dream come true for my wife and I. The snow is abundant for this former Mid-Atlantic skier (I’m told that this year is actually a bit “thin” on snow!) and the people are open, friendly and welcoming. My new friends and colleagues at the RMSP are a quality group – and a team I look forward to working with (can I call this “work”??) for many years to come.

With several airlines running flights daily from the DC area to Manchester, NH’s regional airport, I would encourage DCSkiers to come check out what this privately held mountain resort has to offer.

Author James Chen is enjoying his recent move to New Hampshire. Photo provided by James Chen.