Skiing Mount Washington has been a rite of passage for experts on the East Coast for almost 100 years, long reserved for those able and willing to hike two and a half hours up the east side of the mountain, scale a near-vertical bowl with skis thrown over their shoulders and drop the 55-degree headwall of the Tuckerman Ravine each spring. No longer. Last Sunday, the Mount Washington Cog Railway Ski Train officially opened on the opposite, west face of the mountain, allowing skiers and snowboarders to have free rein on a 75-foot-wide, mile-long swath of ambling intermediate and beginner terrain running parallel to the train below the tree line.
The slope is sedate in comparison to Tuck's, but the mystique of the peak and the pervading history of the 135-year-old cog railway were enough to spur skiers like Lisa and Geoffrey Colby of Boston to turn out for opening day. "Geoff wanted to come so he could tell people at home he skied Mount Washington," Ms. Colby said.
The cog train is run by a group of partners headed by three families who also share ownership of the Bretton Woods Mountain Resort and four lodging properties, including the Mount Washington Hotel six miles down the valley. The ski train is their latest effort to expand as a four-season resort. In 2000, after a $7.5 million renovation, they opened the sprawling, 102-year-old hotel for its first winter season, then added a slew of new features at the ski resort. These have included an expanded base lodge, 25 new trails in the last three years and another high-speed four-person chairlift.
