Mount Washington Valley News Brought To You By Horsefeathers

(North Conway NH) The Conway Area Humane Society will be opening ReTails, a boutique offering men and women’s clothing and accessories in Norcross Circle. The CAHS will host a kick- off party at the store on Thursday, March 19th at 7:00 with light appetizers, desserts and wine; those attending are encouraged to bring along gently used fashionable goods to the event. All sales at the shop will be used to benefit the Conway based shelter.
Executive Director Virginia Moore states that she believes the shop will be of interest to bargain hunters in the valley seeking affordable but chic fashions. The shop will carry both men and women’s clothing, jewelry, handbags and other accessories. She encourages all fashion hounds in the valley contemplating a spring cleaning to bring in items they wish to donate. “It’s getting warmer, and to that time of year when we put away the clothes we wear in 20-below temps and start wearing our spring duds. It’s the perfect time to give away things that don’t fit or that you know you’re never going to wear.” Any clothing that the store will not be able to offer at Retails will be donated to the Gibson Center and other local non-profit thrift stores.

Moore adds that “during this economic climate, resale shops are doing well all over the country. We believe this is just one other way we can generate revenue for the shelter and continue our mission of helping nearly 1,000 homeless pets a year.”

Individuals wishing to drop off donations to the new store can contact Executive Director Virginia Moore at the shelter, 447-5605.Photo Caption: Village Barber Shop black Lab Noel visits the new ReTails Boutique in Norcross Circle.

By Tom Eastman - Conway Daily Sun

NORTH CONWAY — Cranmore Mountain Meisters celebrated at the Eating House for the end-of-season awards bash Wednesday night, March 25.
Taking home the team honors out of the 37-team field was past champion Trail Map Express with a season total of 1469 points, edging out the second-place Synergy Sage-Monkeys, who had 1421 points and Conway Seat Cover, who were third with 1410 points.
In the individual categories, Kelli MacDonald of Horsefeathers was unbeaten all 10 weeks of the season to win the ladies’ division with 150 points. She was followed in second by Cathy Fisher of the Eaton Boogers, with 129 points, and Kathy Van Deursen of Sam Adams with 123 points.
For the men, tops was Tim Simoneau of Skippy’s Express with 129 points, followed by Brent Grygiel of Cranmore Jagermeisters with 115 points and this past Monday’s Conway Daily Sun front page cover boy in Tuckerman Ravine, Bond MacGilivray, who was third with 110 points, skiing for Mattys B’s.
Winning individual special awards were:
• Jesse E. Lyman III Memorial Downhill winners: Women: Kelli MacDonald – 37.87; Men: Matt MacDonald – 35.53;
• Steve Spofford Spirit Award: Best Team Attendance: Eaton Boogers;
•Hot Jocks by best time: Female: Kelli MacDonald, Horsefeathers: - 24.20; Male: Matt MacDonald, Media Meisters - 23.15;
• Top female snowboarder: Leslie Jones of Matty B’s - 34.13; top male snowboarder: Christian Trecarten, Joe Jones - 31.58;
• Top female telemarker: Kasia Scontas, Oxford House Inn - 33.85; top male telemarker: Eric Derby, Skippy’s Express - 28.52;
• Master Meister Awards by total points: Ski: Kelli MacDonald, Horsefeathers – 150 points (perfect season); Snowboard: Melissa Morisette, Lobster Trap – 119 points; Telemark: Annarie VanCoesant, Another Team – 126 points;
• Hospitality Award: Non=sponsored team with most points not in Top 3: F Troop - 1346 points;
• Business Award: Sponsored team with most points not in Top 3: Horsefeathers - 1384 points;
• Team awards: 1) Trail Map Express - 1469 points; 2) Synergy Sage-Monkeys - 1421; 3) Conway Seat Cover - 1413.
Mountain Meisters is said to be the largest weekly citizens’ recreational racing season in the nation. First held in 1972 as Local Yokel and founded by Steve Sherlock and Herbert Schneider, it has been known as Mountain Meisters since 1982.

BARTLETT NH - The 36th annual Red Parka Challenge Cup Race will be held at Attitash in Bartlett. This race brings the best competitors from all over New England. The qualifying runs begin at 9:30 a.m. At 1 p.m. the top 32 racers go head-to-head in dual slalom in two divisions to determine the winners. Applications are available online at www.redparkapub.com.
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By Tom Eastman
JACKSON NH - Then travel through the Honeymoon Covered Bridge off Route 16 to Jackson Village, and turn right to the Nestlenook Estate and Resort (383-0845; www.nestlenookestate.com). You’ll drive into a beautiful Victorian setting, one which takes you back in time to a less-hurried era where life seems to travel at the pace of a sleigh ride.
The resort was developed by Robert and the late Nancy Cyr, and today offers everything you might need for a family outing or romantic couple’s escape.
In addition to the inn and guest suites, the resort features ice skating on Emerald Pond, snowshoeing, and Austrian sleigh rides (the latter by reservation).
After getting outfitted in the rental shop, we headed to the warming station, where we enjoyed complimentary hot chocolate as we tied our skates, and then well-warmed, we headed out to the pond. Beautifully landscaped, the pond is a skater’s paradise, replete with ornate bridges that looked like something from atop a white wedding cake.
Revelers skated on the pond as the sun began to set behind Iron Mountain, with the scene looking like something out of a Currier & Ives painting — or perhaps a “Charlie Brown Christmas,” minus Snoopy, of course.
We were then treated to a 12-passenger Austrian sleigh ride by driver Ken Carver, a longtime friend who has been around horses all his life, once having even logged with a pair of Percherons in Bartlett in the 1970s.
We toured the sparkling white-lighted grounds, where we got to stop to feed the fallow deer, as well as a breathtaking view from a bluff.
After that, it was time for one last hot chocolate — and then to complete the visit to Jackson, a stop at the always happening Wildcat Tavern for Hoot Night on Tuesdays.
For further information, call the Nestlenook at 383-0845.
Other resorts offering sleigh rides by reservation include Purity Spring Resort (367-8896) in East Madison; the Darby Field Inn (447-2181), located off Bald Hill Road just south of Conway Village; and the Stables at the Farm by the River (356-6640) on West Side Road in North Conway.

NORTH CONWAY, NH – Spring has sprung at Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, and the venerable resort has lined up a month’s worth of fun family events to celebrate its return.

Cranmore, famous for its motto of “tan more at Cranmore,” continues to offer Cranapalooza, its night-time family festival, as well as terrain park competitions such as Cranarchy in the Darkside. Biodiesel Day also returns for its final 2009 event where hybrid car drivers receive a free lift ticket.

Cranmore is open daily through the end of the month and offers online two-for-one lift tickets Monday-Thursday with a 48 hour advance purchase. For more details on events, go to cranmore.com or see below for a complete list of March events.

March 7
Hannes Schneider Meister Cup
A fundraiser event for the New England Ski Museum honoring the history of Cranmore. Join us for racing, ice carving, a silent auction, a vintage ski wear contest, torch light parade, food, fireworks, and live music.

Cranapalooza
Fireworks will light the skies and Dennis & Davey will rock the Eating House. Plus, night skiing, games and s’mores for the whole family!

Fun Zone Open
Check out our huge indoor activity center with large bouncy house, 65-foot obstacle course, fun, games and action. Open 4:30-9pm.

March 14
Cranapalooza
Bobo T. Clown will entertain the kids and Cooney & Hospers will keep the older folks rockin’ in the Eating House. Plus, night skiing, games, and s’mores for the whole family!

Fun Zone Open
Fun Zone is open again for fun and games!

March 21
Biodiesel Day
Free lift ticket and VIP parking for drivers of hybrid vehicles plus learn more about this eco-friendly fuel and how we’re using it here at Cranmore.

Cranapalooza
Mr. Phil will entertain the kids and live music for all in the Eating House. Plus, night skiing, games, and s’mores for the whole family!  Last evening for night skiing for the season!

Fun Zone Open
Come bounce one last time this winter season at the Fun Zone!

March 28
Mountain Dew Spring Splash
Everyone’s favorite spring event! Come to Cranmore to see how far you can go in our Slush Pool Party tinted green with Mountain Dew.

March 29
Cranarchy!
Last rail jam of the season with a BBQ for loyal Darkside riders.

Cranmore Mountain is located in the heart of North Conway Village in New Hampshire. Its website is www.cranmore.com and phone number is 603-356-5544.

by Tom Eastman

PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H.  Looking for an exceptional adventure while raising funds for a great outdoor cause? The ninth annual Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon returns to Mount Washington Valley, NH Saturday, April 18, presented by the non-profit Friends of Tuckerman Ravine organization. New this year, Friends of Tuckerman Ravine is also concurrently presenting the recreational and less challenging Wildcat Wildfire Pentathlon, which will begin an hour later than the Inferno. Both events raise funds for the organization’s efforts to promote wise use of the backcountry and the preservation of the year-round Tuckerman experience.

Both pentathlons are open to teams of five as well as solo female and male competitors, the latter of whom compete as TuckerWomen and TuckerMen. Individuals  Wildmen and Wildwomen  may also compete in the Wildcat Wildfire event. The Wildfire will also feature a ski club division. The Inferno begins at 7 a.m. with a run from Story Land over Glen Ledge to Attitash’s Thorne Pond. It then continues with a kayak-canoe race down the Saco River to Humphrey’s Ledge off the West Side Road in Bartlett. Participants then bicycle on Route 16 to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, where they hike up the Tuckerman Trail to the floor of famed Tuckerman Ravine, Mount Washington’s steep and demanding spring ski bowl. A skier/snowboarder is then tagged, who hikes to the top of one of Tuckerman’s chosen routes for the final leg of the race.

The Wildcat Wildfire, meanwhile, begins at the same start location but at 8 a.m. It follows Route 16 to the Glen intersection and then follows Route 302 west to Attitash’s Thorne Pond for the kayak put- in. The bicycle portion will depart from Humphrey’s Ledge up West Side Road to U.S. Route 302 east to Route 16 and then north past the Appalachian Mountain Club to Wildcat Mountain Ski Area. Hikers will then head up the Polecat Trail and across to the area on the Wildcat Trail known as Sun Valley, at which point the ski leg will begin.
An awards party will take place at Wildcat Mountain’s base lodge at 5 p.m. New this year, Friends of Tuckerman will present the Steve Eastman Memorial Award to the racer or volunteer who best exemplifies the team spirit, dedication and love for the mountain shown by Eastman, 58, a Mount Washington Valley community leader and past Friends of Tuckerman supporter who succumbed to brain cancer April 25, 2008.

Spectators are welcome for all portions of the races, along with volunteers, notes Friends of Tuckerman Ravine executive director Al Risch.
The organization’s recent accomplishments have included:  building (with the help of former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley’s efforts in Congress) a foot bridge from the parking area at the AMC’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center; obtaining funding with former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu’s help for new radios and a telephone link between Pinkham Notch and the U.S. Forest Service’s Hermit Lake Shelter at the base of the ravine’s lower headwall for rescue communications;  through another appeal with U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg’s assistance, obtaining funding for a reliable potable water source at Hermit Lake; thanks to a gift from the Nelson Gildersleeve Memorial Fund, replenishing First Aid caches in the ravine; and initiating a membership volunteer maintenance program on the Sherburne and Tuckerman Trails. The organization is currently raising funds to replace the Tuckerman Ravine snow conditions board at the U.S. Forest Sevice’s shelter at the base of the Lower Headwall.
Tuckerman Ravine is located on the eastern shoulder of Mount Washington. Every spring, skiers and riders flock to the glacial cirque to test themselves against some of the steepest and toughest non-lift serviced terrain in the east.

For further information about being prepared to take on the ravine, go to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Web site at www.outdoors.org or Friends of Tuckerman at www.friendsoftuckermanravine.org For further information about the events or how to become a member of Friends of Tuckerman Ravine, go to www.friendsoftuckerman.org or call 603-367-4417.