By Marty Basch

The Presidential Range is a stunning backdrop for the 100-kilometers of skate and classically tracked trails at Bretton Woods. Most people ski the easily accessed Ammonoosuc System loaded with wide beginner and intermediate runs. For a 7-mile excursion that includes flats and hills, try a loop that incorporates the B&M Trail through the woods, playful Porcupine Lane, snake-like Sebosis and Perimeter.

New London's non-profit Pine Hill Ski Club serves up some 15 miles of trails maintained by four volunteer groomers. Established in 2005, skiers can leave from a parking area at 220 Mountain Road for an intermediate ski on rolling terrain to Robb's Hut. Though the network is open daily, the hut operates Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with snacks and hot drinks and sometimes chili or pancakes prepared by club members. It's a pure kick and glide 2.6-kilometer ski to the hut, says club member John Schlosser.

"It takes about forty minute to ski to the hut," he says. From the deck, watch as Cascade Brook meanders through the snow-covered rocks.

For those with dogs, ski the 4-kilometer Ridgeway instead.

Jackson's 154-kilometer network is often romanticized for its inn-to-inn skiing and bucolic Ellis River Trail. But there are some serious challenges in the hills above the village, like on the 10-kilometer plus East Pasture Loop that begins with an arduous wind-sucking climb when done in a clockwise direction followed by a series of crazy s-turns. Remember though, what goes up, does come down (and sometimes rather quickly).