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SAM Magazine-North Woodstock, N.H., Sept. 15, 2008-Additional trails, improved snowmaking, more ziplines, new rental fleets and tubing expansions highlight capital improvements at New Hampshire resorts. Here's a recap of the developments.

Loon Mountain, as part of its ongoing South Peak expansion, is adding two trails with 14 acres of additional terrain, along with 20 new Boyne Low-E fan guns and 50 new tower guns.

Bretton Woods will open its new spa and conference center along with a novel year-round Canopy Tour-a 1,000-vertical-foot descent through the trees via ziplines, suspension bridges and occasional short hikes. The resort's entire rental fleet has also been replaced with state-of-the-art gear-including high-end demos, so that guests can choose the right skis for the day's conditions.

New trails: Cranmore is adding several new trails to bring its total to 50. The resort has also added Gibson Chutes, a new gladed area. Cannon has added six glades and a new trail. One of the glades and the new trail will be located in the Tuckerbrook Family Area, bringing the total there to 14 trails and glades. Other glades-four expert, one intermediate-will be located on the upper mountain.

Energy-efficient snowmaking is high on the list of several areas. Mount Sunapee, for example, has added 30 HKD energy efficient snow guns.

Crotched Mountain has boosted snowmaking capacity, regraded trails, and rebuilt and expanded the base lodge deck. New glades have been cleared as well. Similarly, Granite Gorge has made major upgrades to its snowmaking system, which will now reach the summit, and added lighting to the summit. Also in the works: three new trails and improvements to the base and summit lodges.

Great Glen's snowtubing hill has tripled in size and can accommodate twice as many tubers. The resort, one of the few XC areas in New England with snowmaking, will now cover an additional .5k.

Pats Peak has added 14 HKD tower guns, 8 new SMI fan guns, and a high-capacity water pump. Pats will also have 100 percent of its terrain available for night skiing. A new gladed area has been cut between the East Wind and Duster trail. The rental shop has refreshed its inventory with 200 new pairs of skis and bindings, 300 pairs of ski boots, and 150 snowboards. Improvements are also being made to the ticketing system, base lodge, seasonal lockers, and food service options.

Wildcat is adding several boxes and rails in the resort's enhanced park, increasing its ZipRider ziplines to four, updating the base lodge, and adding low-energy snowguns that will help reduce environmental impact as well as energy costs. Other environmental efforts include a vegetation restoration project in Mountain Jag glade.

Dartmouth Skiway blasted and regraded 200,000 square feet of its FIS competition slalom and giant slalom trials to meet FIS suggested upgrades. Snowmaking improvements include three new SMI fan guns, rebuilt pumps, and drainage. Rental equipment upgrades include Volkl Skis, Dalbello boots, and Marker bindings.

Jackson XC Ski Touring Foundation has a new FIS-eligible competition course that makes Jackson one of just six XC areas to meet FIS homologation standards. This will allow the area to host high-level national and international competitions. \