Ski resort reviews can be helpful only if you know the skill level and skiing perspective of the person authoring the review. My perspective is focused on the actual skiing experience (terrain, crowd, and snow factors), and not so much on the ancillary aspects surrounding skiing. I am a middle-age advanced skier with no interest in jumping off cornices or cliffs. I will often at high speeds hit a small lip in the terrain and get a little air, but that is about the extent of it. I venture in and out of moderate mogul fields in an attempt to become a better all-around skier, but I tend not to spend a majority of my ski day dealing with the bumps. If I had to describe the type of skier with which I most closely identify, it would be a high speed cruiser who enjoys medium to giant slalom turns. During the Presidents Week vacation period, my granddaughter and I traveled to the southern New Hampshire lakes region to ski Gunstock and Mount Sunapee. With that said, here is my opinion of Mt. Sunapee (Sunapee).

Terrain: Rated 4.0:
At 230 acres and a 1,500 foot vertical, Sunapee is the largest ski hill happening in southern New Hampshire. When I last visited Sunapee five years ago, I came away with the impression that the terrain was somewhat “namby-pamby”. What I learned from this trip is that I didn’t explore enough of the mountain. Killer steeps I did not find. But what I did find were some relatively steep bumped trails such as their double-diamonded “Goosebumps” trail. Many of their black diamond trails were really blue trails on modified steroids, not very steep, but with many interesting dips and turns. Sunapee specializes in the intermediate groomed cruisers, but when we were there, they did us a great favor. We had a five inch snowfall the night before, and many of the intermediate trails were not groomed. The ungroomed conditions made those trails a great deal more interesting and tougher to ski. When you visit Sunapee don’t miss the Sunbowl section of the mountain. The Sunrise Glades are just to the right of the Sunbowl quad as you ride the quad to the summit. They have a great pitch with some moderately spaced trees. This presents the opportunity to take advantage of some fantastic glade runs. The terrain at Sunapee is a fun-filled skiing experience.

Service: Rated 3.0:
I was somewhat disappointed when we entered Sunapee’s far parking lot and found out that we had to schlep all of our gear for about a quarter of a mile to the main lodge. Why? Because when you need ski shuttles in the furthermost parking lots, you find that Sunapee is too cheap to provide them. They do provide a free baggage check. I am finding out that free ski as well as baggage checks are becoming the standard fare in ski country. I had my standard bowl of chili which had a nice kick but was somewhat on the soupy side. They also gave me shredded cheese as a topping, but where’s the beef?

Crowds: Rated 4.0:
I am really beginning to see that this bad economy is also affecting ski country. Here it is President’s Day week and no real crowds to speak of. There are barely any lift lines at the main lifts and we sat anywhere we wanted in the Spruce Lodge which is to the left and downhill to the main lodge as you face the mountain. And once again, this is the biggest ski hill in southern New Hampshire.

Activities: Rated 2.0:
Sunapee does have two relatively small terrain parks. But if you are thinking about a cosmopolitan town or scenic village near by, forget about it!

Value: Rated 3.0:
It begins to concern me when medium ski hills begin to charge almost $70 for a weekend, all day ticket. But what can you do? It’s the biggest and baddest ski hill in southern New Hampshire

In summary, I found Sunapee to be an extremely enjoyable ski hill. Since I am a cruiser and a glade man, I had a ball. Would I go back? Certainly! It skis a lot bigger and is more entertaining than Gunstock.