
Ski Wednesday: Awards season adds the ‘Rara’s’
It’s a lucky space I exist in: I get to go skiing, wax poetic and spend hours pondering my beloved sport – and call it work.
I also get to not only have opinions, but share them. WIth that, my annual “Rara’s,” the awards that I – known to most as Moira but my grands as Rara – choose with total non-objectivity. It’s just for fun, and a way for me to share places, programs and more that I think are truly crushing things in the ski world.
Here’s my list, the 2025 Rara’s. If you’re mentioned, rah! To you. If you’re not, tell me why you should be next time. Enjoy.
Best Apres Ski Tunes: Holiday weekend or slower one, every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, Attitash Mountain Resort crushes live apres. Want rock of some kind (they host everything from 70s to Dead to solid rock or the great Shark Martin I caught there recently)? Head to the Attitash side base where Ptarmigan’s Pub is your spot. More of a guitar strum, mellow mood? The Bear Peak side has you set.
Best Fancy Mountaintop nosh spot: The Nest at Saddleback, hands down. Super cool 70s-ish vibe (James Bond would sip a martini there before escaping the bad guys), and the food – straight from the memories and creative mind of Chef Coco is out of this world. Done to perfection, and worth the trip. Plus, the skiing’s great too.
Best old-school upgrade: Lostbo Cabin at Black Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire is the new way to go old-school. Basic and beautiful, small but airy, this cabin is the perfect retrofit for an old school mountain. There’s a big new deck, live music and get this: they serve fondue and champagne, a little slice of European fun in quaint Jackson.
Best Family Trail Layout: Bretton Woods is the largest ski area in New Hampshire, yet it skis like a family’s BFF. Most trails are totally doable to almost all. Skiing top to bottom is an easy yes for just about any level. And even non-skiers can hop the gondola and meet the family for lunch way up at the Rosebrook Lodge. The candy store at the peak seals the deal.
Best total ski immersion: Jay Peak, Vermont. First of all: don’t let all that “it’s too long a drive” nonsense put you off. First, it’s not *that* long and second, sometimes you have to earn your paradise. Jay has it all: amazing trails, glades for all levels, tons of snow thanks to the “Jay Bubble,” a tram (which, in fairness doesn’t always run but they do their best with nature). There’s slopeside lodging, wicked awesome apres (never mind the massive indoor waterpark at the base). There’s the pride of being a Jay skier/rider too, and that sense of community keeps you marinated in joy while there. Top that off with a hot bowl of deliciousness from Miso Hungry (serving out of an old tram car) and you’ve got it all.
Best overall close to Boston day trip: It’s a tie. First up, Wachusett Mountain Resort where you can rack up some impressive vertical thanks to top-notch lifts, where the ski school is nationally heralded, where you can find all kinds of great food and where you can even rent a slopeside suite – a kind of condo without bedrooms to make your home base for the day. Red Apple Cider serves hot cider and fresh doughnuts mid-mountain.
Next up: Pat’s Peak, New Hampshire. Long the master of the day trip scene, Pat’s somehow packs them in while never feeling overcrowded. Their rental fleet is primo and so is their ski school, and their trail layout is fun and exciting for every level. They loves a fun event (check their calendar), and it’s practically a law that you tuck into one of their giant base lodge cookies. It’s hard to not have a perfect day there.
Best effort: You’ve got to tip your helmet to current Black Mountain, New Hampshire owner Erik Mogensen. Mogensen stepped up when Black was shuttering, putting up the cash to keep it open while transitioning it to a co-op. But he’s done more than flash cash. He’s out grooming trails, hammering nails, posting to social, learning about the community and giving his all to bringing the historic area new life.
Best spot for you: The one you can get to on whatever day you are heading out. Ski areas absolutely have their own personalities, as they should. But find me one not worth bonding with. The limit does not exist.