Different Slopes

New Hampshire

Maybe it’s the global warming, or maybe it’s the in-town competition (before the Celtics were half-decent, there wasn’t much reason to stick around Boston on the weekend), but several resorts in the Granite State have amped up their snowmaking for 2008. In Bartlett, Attitash (603-374-2368, attitash.com) poured $2.5 million into new guns that will powder some of the mountain’s best trails, including Illusion, Moat, Spillway, and Thad’s Choice. Waterville Valley (800-468-2553, waterville.com) added 20 guns, and Crotched Mountain (603-588-3668, crotchedmountain.com) in Bennington beefed up as well, giving those slopes more skiable terrain when nature doesn’t cooperate. But the greatest new draw might be Mount Sunapee (603-763-3500, mtsunapee.com) in Newbury, where management installed a $20,000 sound system at its SoBe Freeride Zone terrain park—because busting 360s out of the halfpipe is so much cooler when done to the beats of Jay-Z.

Maine

Sugarloaf (207-237-2000, sugarloaf.com) in Carrabassett Valley and Sunday River (207-824-3000, sundayriver.com) in Bethel were purchased last year by CNL Income Properties, which also owns Bretton Woods and Loon in New Hampshire. Since the takeover, Sunday River has increased snowmaking capacities and set up a Kaser Magic Ski (a 100-yard-long conveyor belt) to transport ski schoolers to its Perfect Turn Discovery Center. The resort also renovated its flagship hotels, the Jordan Grand and the Grand Summit, and expanded spa amenities.

Vermont

The Green Mountain State is turning greener. Last year Middlebury College Snow Bowl (802-388-4356, middle burysnowbowl.com) neutralized its carbon footprint by teaming up with a local company called NativeEnergy. Joining them are Burke Mountain (888-287-5388, skiburke.com), which uses energy-efficient snowmaking guns, and Mad River Glen (802-496-3551, madriverglen.com) in Waitsfield, which purchases carbon offsets and plans to use them to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At Killington (802-422-6200, killington.com), the Grand Resort Hotel and Spa is showing off a $2.5 million upgrade that added local handmade furniture to its rooms and workout equipment to the gym. This year the mountain is also increasing its already aggressive snowmaking—the most extensive such operation in the world—but what really seems to be getting ski bums jazzed is the new Long Trail Pub at the Snowshed lodge, which offers six flat-screens, live entertainment, and, naturally, a steady flow of Long Trail Ale.