Cog claims you need to pay to cross the tracks

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It was $5.00 several years ago and if I am staying in C-Notch or West and South of there of coming up from 93, that was money was spent as opposed to driving time and gas used to drive around to PNVC. The FS lot used to be closed in winter. The Ammo & Jewel access is quite a bit shorter from Base Station.


Is the FS Ammo lot now open year round? (Actually I will be up there next week and will take a look myself, not hiking Washington or Monroe)

Plowing cost seems to be the cost they are looking at recovering. Where the DOT and the Cog decide where to plow is probably more of a case of convenience as you can turn around at the four corners more easily. State DOT likely has to plow as far as the streets that now have homes on them being the Hotel. I doubt the Cog wants to get the DOT worked up as they, as previously mentioned, are covering most of the cost of plowing the road.

I've been up in winter with non-hikers and walking around Base Station and buying souvenirs always is fun.

I've asked hikers who ski before on their thoughts on the ski train and the idea is not well received. It has one wide trail that is not groomed and the train right of way is not even. (You have trestles so the train ride is smooth.) You would run the train, what, every half hour? It's not like getting to the bottom of a run and getting on a chair or in a gondola, well it's like a gondola for 30 or 40, (per car) it won't make a special trip just for you if you beat others down the run or if you are late.

Are the tracks a hand rail to the top? I guess however, if the weather and visibility is bad, that weather likely is coming from some direction between N and W. It likely will involve descending into the teeth of the weather.

Personally, I like the western approaches as they start about 500 feet higher than PNVC and are closer to where I usually start that day from. They don't capture a lot of wind-blown snow so typically they have less avalanche danger.
 
Is the FS Ammo lot now open year round?

Yes, I believe starting last year. It was plowed after the November and December storms this "fall."

I've asked hikers who ski before on their thoughts on the ski train and the idea is not well received. It has one wide trail that is not groomed and the train right of way is not even.
The section they provided train service to in the past was groomed and even had snowmaking.
https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/NewHampshire/cograilway.php
 
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Yes, I believe starting last year. It was plowed after the November and December storms this "fall."


The section they provided train service to in the past was groomed and even had snowmaking.
https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/NewHampshire/cograilway.php

Thanks for the link and info, groomed would be helpful. It would bbe a nice diversion for half a day from a multi-day trip to Bretton Woods as it was the two years they operated. Would be curious on why the FS and AMC was opposed to them running skiers up the other side for skiing Tucks, it would relieve the parking at PNVC. (You would encourage people to ski over the lip who probably shouldn't, and other safe skiing reasons why it's a bad idea, but curious if they were mention. what happens if weather gets bad, you encourage people to hike up to catch train back to the car... okay, it was a dumb idea)

It's still a limited area. For those who have a home mountain or home company they buy passes for, how many times to you go to (insert resort name here) each year? Could you see yourself going down the cleared R.O.W. on multiple days.
 
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