Take Your Skills Over to the Darkside

Cranmore Adds Snow-Making Power to Signature Park

NORTH CONWAY, NH – With last year’s record-breaking snowfall still in the minds of the skiers and riders of Mount Washington Valley, Cranmore Mountain is setting its sights on an even snowier season this winter in its signature Darkside Terrain Park. The Darkside is one of three terrain parks and is now outfitted with its own fixed position fan gun situated near the top of the park.

“This new gun shows Cranmore’s commitment to building a quality park and keeping snow conditions top-notch throughout the season,” stated Cranmore General Manager Ben Wilcox. “Additionally, it is an energy-efficient fan gun, meaning that we are making more snow with less energy, which is great for us, our guests and the environment.”

In addition to the Darkside, Cranmore features a progression learning area at the Other Side Terrain Park and the Lucky Loop Park with small features and its own handle tow surface lift.  Cranmore’s terrain parks are overseen by Snow Park Technologies (SPT), an industry leader in terrain park design and construction.

Skiers and riders looking for premiere training grounds to keep those freestyle skills sharp or a learning area to start it all will not be disappointed. The Darkside Terrain Park offers intermediate/advanced features such as a wall ride, down-flat-down rail, A-frame rail, C-rail, rainbow box, stair set and many other jibs and jumps.  The Other Side Terrain Park is a progression learning area for beginners. Freestyle lessons are available to any guest who needs guided direction on how to properly approach and hit a terrain park feature.  The Lucky Loop Park is located on Beginner’s Luck trail and has a selection of small boxes and rails.

A rider hits a box at the bottom of the Darkside Terrain Park at Cranmore.

Park riders who can’t get enough of the Darkside are invited to stay tuned into park happenings online. The resort features a uniquely-designed website just for its terrain park fans.  It can be viewed at http://terrainparks.cranmore.com. Cranmore also hosts a presence on the popular website, “My Space” at: www.myspace.com/cranmoredarkside .

“We’ve had a ‘My Space’ page for several years now and it is incredibly popular,” stated Terrain Park Supervisor Jess Richitelli, “We have over 500 friends and hope to add many more this year! We post video and share event bulletins with our friends so we encourage everyone to add us!”

Night skiing and riding begins on Saturday, December 27, and continues every Saturday night throughout the season, top-to-bottom on 11 trails until 9 p.m.  The Darkside is serviced by two lifts in the evening, the Skimobile Express Quad and the South Double Chair, while the Other Side Park is serviced by the South Double Chair.

"The Darkside and Other Side Terrain Parks will continue to offer precise jumps, rails and boxes for day and night time action," said Richitelli.  "The Darkside Terrain Park is particularly popular during the day and even more so during the night sessions.  Combined with great music, tubing and other night-time events, Cranmore is an exciting nighttime destination."

The Darkside Crew will host the following ski and snowboard events this winter:

For more information on night skiing and riding, terrain parks, or events, please visit www.cranmore.com or call toll-free 800-SUN.N.SKI.