Taking Attitash from the top

By Marty Basch

Top-to-bottom is what skiers and riders want. The snow guns have been blasting around the valley when the temps have cooperated and longer runs can be pieced together on the ever-growing terrain.So for 1,750 feet of vertical, try it from the top at Attitash.In its entirety, Saco is a cruiser from the Bartlett mountain's summit, both picturesque and coy. At least that's the case on the beginning of the intermediate run from the top where the valley's scenery greets skiers and riders out on the horizon. That's about the fullest look at Mount Washington during the run that starts with a ride on the pokey Summit Triple.Let those boards get to know gravity again. Glide by the steeps of Humphrey's Ledge as the trail soon narrows by the Top Notch Double. Make a beeline for the double-diamond fire of Tightrope, and follow that fall line. Experts keep to the edges, while those still getting their ski legs take up much of the narrow, angled terrain, carving from side to side. Keep the head up a bit for the vista over to Bear Peak. Pick up speed for that bend to the right before seeing the junction with Spillway, Whitehorse and Middle Ptarmigan. The Whitehorse/Middle Ptarmigan way leads to the jumping-off place for the Flying Yankee high-speed quad. When Attitash first opened for the season earlier this month, that's where it all began.Give those quads, undergoing an early winter winter reawakening no doubt, a bit of a break for an all-too-short breather on Turkey Chute.Take that turkey to Moat. Moat means a lot in this valley. Use it in these parts and it can refer to a mountain range, restaurant, beer, trail and medieval security device. This one's the trail. Pause a bit and see the Washington summit in the background with the rounded Crippiesthose humpsin the foreground. Wide, fast, speedster's charge, but there's enough room for arcing turns, too. Zip down and roll out on Lower Grandstand. It's show time. There's the base lodge. Find that lift and taken another ride.