My husband, Brian, and I head to Bretton Woods midweek, and the mountain is empty, the snowfields full, as we attach our chamois “skins” on backcountry skis and loosen our boots for the hike uphill. Spring skiing in New Hampshire can be like skiing on a beach with sugar snow and with the temperatures rising to the upper 40’s and a cloudless sky, we are baking as we hoof it up. So, jackets get wrapped around waists and ski pants are zipped into shorts, and it’s a SPF-day on the slopes.

Bretton Woods is a beauty mountain, with winding trails and views across to the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. Mount Washington is brilliant and blazing white as we rise above Avalon Trail and stop for a snack on an exposed granite ledge. Two hawks eye us as they glide down toward the Ammonoosuc River along Crawford Ridge. The gondola rises in the distance, but this side of the mountain is lift-less and still pristine from previous grooming, which means chunk-free corduroy snowpack. We zip into pine glades off Abel’s Traverse and it’s a free-for-all through soft spring powder as we curve and careen past obstacles of stump and rock island. With intermediate terrain, the vertical drop is a workable grade. Jacob’s Ladder takes us over to the smooth ride through Alpine Gardens and soon, we are down to the Tyrolean-inspired Main Lodge for Tuckerman lagers on an outside deck.

Omni Mount Washington Resort operates a ski shuttle from Bretton Woods Ski Area. It’s a quick hop on the apres-ski bus to the elegance of the castle-like hotel. Regal and sitting center stage to iconic Mount Washington, this historic architectural queen takes my breath away every time–even more than hiking up 1500 feet on a ski trail. Lit fireplaces, grouped seating areas, and a sun porch lined with Adirondack chairs overlooking classic peaks, this is a retreat that has inspired “poets and presidents.”

“You skied up the mountain?” the front desk attendant asks. “You didn’t take the gondola?”

Brian and I shrug, smiling. Off season, and early spring/midweek means rates available for the Presidential Wing, the hotel’s newest addition. With a panoramic deck and a soaker tub extraordinaire, we are rewarded for our efforts by relaxation with a view.

That night, we dine in the revamped dining room that feels intimately stunning, with curved couches and sunset views over the mountains. The menu is farm-to-table inspired and Brian and I load up on corn and lobster chowders and beet salads and then continue on to seared salmon and roasted chicken with parsnip puree. We, of course, order desserts: slices of blackout cake with chocolate pudding. All that decadence makes for easy sleep.

The next morning, after a buffet of fresh fruit, homemade granola, muffins, eggs benedict, and steel cut oatmeal, we drink piles of coffee and get ready for a bicycle ride up to the Cog Railway. With warming temperatures and a sunny afternoon, it’ll be a new day and a new spring challenge up a mountain.