I went up to Ski Roundtop at about 4 p.m. this past Friday, and from the moment I pulled up to the facilities, I knew it was going to be a good one.
Finding a parking spot wasn’t a problem. I found a spot at the bottom of Minuteman, I guess because the day crowd was just thinning out. Even if it had been more crowded, they had both shuttle busses running from the top lot to the ticket window and tubing area, so that was nice. After a short walk to the ticket window, I got in a fairly short line, where I was greeted by Dot, one of the members of the courtesy staff that is usually around. $15 with my Advantage Card and I was on my way to the lifts.
I started out on Minuteman, the main intermediate trail in the middle of the mountain, and got through the lift line in no time. The snow on Minuteman had to have been the best in years. All powder with no bare spots, and a couple of moguls at the face. I hopped back up on the lift, and figured I ought to try out Gunbarrel, since this is the first time it’s been open in 3 years.
I crossed over to Exhibition where snowmaking was in full force, and cut across Ramrod to Gunbarrel. The Gunbarrel slope wasn’t that crowded -; I guess a lot of people hadn’t yet figured out that it was open. Much to my enjoyment, Gunbarrel was back in all its past glory. As Roundtop’s longest trail, I think it’s just over 3/4 mile long from top to bottom. (I think the top is opening Saturday or Sunday).
I rode chair #6 back to the top and, of course, no line at all. I decided to venture over to Lower Recruit, where Roundtop’s new terrain park just opened this year. They had a nice variety of man-made obstacles, although I’m not familiar with their names.
Several runs later, I was freezing cold in the below zero windchills, so I took a break at the lodge. Other than the lodge being full of people, it was nice and warm, and I went up to the third floor to eat my dinner. Nice view of Fife and Drum and the Halfpipe. May I suggest, for a change of taste, try the new chicken BBQ wrap. It has grilled chicken and all the fixings. (Including the twist- seasoned curly french fries!)
Went back out for a few more runs, and was just as pleased as before (except for a small problem they had with chair #6 -; they just moved everyone over to chair #4 for the rest of the night) At last, I was all tired out, and decided to head home.
Overall, I was very satisfied with my visit. 100% open with the best snow conditions in years! My rating: 4.8 of 5 snowballs!
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