Let me start this post off with an admission of guilt. Actually, its been almost two weeks and I’m still feeling guilty about this. I. Did. Not. Take. Advantage. Of. The. Wildcat. Ziprider. I balked guys. I let fear of, I have no idea really, not so much heights, and I knew I was safe and wouldn’t fall but … I couldn’t get myself over to the Wildcat Ziprider on Wildcat Mountain for a second. And, I regret it immensely. Because, I mean – just look at how much fun it probably is ….
Wildcat Mountain’s four-person ZipRider zipline brings riders a huge rush, combining exhilarating feelings of flight and beautiful scenery. The Wildcat Mountain ZipRider descends 2,100 feet over the trails, treetops and the Peabody River to a landing platform located a short distance from the Main Base Lodge. Riders travel on cables suspended at heights up to 70 feet on a 12 percent grade, and reach speeds up to 45 miles per hour.
See why I’m still feeling guilty? I missed out. So did my kids and my husband. But, we still had so much fun during our afternoon at Wildcat Mountain. Unlike my husband, I didn’t let my fear of heights (okay, apparently I am afraid of heights) ruin the entire day. In fact, I climbed excitedly on board the Scenic Gondola which offers a 360 degree view of Mt Washington, the Presidential Range and. on a clear day you can see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean! Cool, right?
Almost as awesome as the view was the moment we cruised above a mama moose and her baby. Such a neat sighting but not a surprising one since moose are a common sight in Pinkham Notch and around northern New Hampshire. I did manage to snap a quit photo of the moose enjoying their roughage lunch about halfway up the 4,000 foot mountain.
Wildcat Mountain is the only place in North America where you’ll find the unique lift conversion from a high-speed Quad in the winter to a scenic gondola in the summer. To view the Best Scenery in the East (SKI Magazine 2014), ride aboard our four-person enclosed scenic gondola to Wildcat Mountain’s 4,000+ foot summit. Gondolas run continuously during hours of operation and reservations are not required. Fresh Lunch & Ride packages are available for you to enjoy a unique picnic experience and lasting vacation memory.
Once we reached the summit we were given some time to explore and take in the many beautiful mountain views. The Presidential Range is absolutely breathtaking and worth a climb up any one of the mountains just to see the rest of them. The picture below is our view of Mount Washington, and even though it was a cloudy day it was hard to miss. It was also interesting for me to see Mt Washington from this perspective only a few weeks after hiking it for the first time in my life (goals!). I still can’t believe I summitted that mountain of my own free will but it’s a memory that will never leave me!
The ride down was uneventful and a little quiet as the kids and I were captivated by the sites. We were even able to spot our home town of Berlin, NH from the Gondola! Back at the base of Wildcat Mountain we found Mr Chaos patiently waiting with his feet firmly planted on the ground. There we set off to explore the world of nature via The Way of the Wildcat trail which is a 1/2 mile family loop trail through the woods with fun markers giving great descriptions of our surroundings.
Our next trip to Wildcat Mountain will see me on that zipline. I mean it. No more guilt!! We’re also going to check out the Wildcat Mountain Alpine Disc Golf Course, a 9-hole disc golf course on the property. Below is a fun little slideshow from our day at Wildcat Mountain. You can watch our Facebook Live video while on the Gondola here and see more of our Mt Washington Valley trip here. And of course, there’s a whole lot to do at Wildcat Mountain during the winter, obviously, since it’s a ski resort!
Thank you to the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce for arranging our visit and to Wildcat Mountain for hosting the ButeauFull Chaos clan!
