One of the ski areas we always enjoy visiting is the Wilderness at the Balsams.

After a scenic drive through Grafton Notch and breakfast, we arrive at the ski area between 9:15-9:30 and park in the second row, less than 50 feet from the base lodge.

At 10 a.m., we ski down to the beginner triple for a warm-up run and ski right onto the lift. The same thing happens when we ski to the Notchair, a new triple dedicated a few years ago to the late Warren Pearson, who grew up skiing in Buckfield and became one of the managing partners at the Balsams. This lift takes us to the top, where we can choose from 14 trails, all perfectly buffed out by the groomers. Traffic is so light we are still finding untracked corduroy at lunch time.

This is what makes the Balsams so unique. There are no nearby population centers from which to draw day skiers. Most skiers come from the hotel, but their guests are divided between alpine skiers, cross country skiers, snowmobilers, and some who simply walk along wooded trails on snowshoes. Even if every guest at the hotel was an alpine skier, there would not be enough to crowd the ski area.

A few times during the morning we skied into the line behind another couple or two, but mostly it was simply ski onto the lift. The skiing is relaxed, occasionally catching up with other skiers on the trails.

Weekend tickets are $45, and with nonexistent lift lines, getting your money’s worth is no problem. I took a run on every trail before noon. There are some black diamond runs, but nothing a solid intermediate coulldn’t handle. There are some open glades between some trails and one stretch of ungroomed bumps near the base to add variety.

I also caught up with Warren’s son, Andy, who directs the skiing operations. He had been busy earlier in the morning getting a cross country event under way. He told me of plans for a festival the next day, which would show off not only the cross country trails, but the resort’s culinary excellence.

The next big event will be March 12 when the Telefest will feature clinics, demo gear, food and drinks. Tele skiers can find the details at www.thebalsams.com. Our visit was simply a day trip, so we didn’t get to enjoy the food and hospitality of the hotel, but we did enjoy what a friend who patrolled for me at Sunday River, once described as “ballroom” skiing.

My one mid week outing this past week was a trip to Mount Abram, which gave me a chance to watch some of the racing on the final alpine day at the Class B high school state championships. Some of the skiers found the steepness of Boris Badenov a challenge and the DNF’s on the board bore evidence of the difficulty of running a tight slalom course on such a pitch. Despite it’s reputation (well deserved) as a family ski area, the two groomed black diamond runs — the other to the left of the T-bar — are plenty steep, and Boris is as good a race hill as you’ll find anywhere. It’s also one of a handful of race hills in New England where you can watch an entire race from the base lodge.

I caught the racing between runs as I skied around the mountain and learned more about the changes. I took one run over on the West Mountain area, and when I took Hay Road, I got to see some individual homes with great views. PR director Kevin Rosenberg told me there were no more lots available there, but spoke about a new development on the East side of the mountain by Duane’s retreat. From this side of the mountain, the homes will have lake views to Twitchell and South Ponds. Owner Matt Hancock told me the area has had a very good season to date and he’s optimistic for the rest of the season.

As always I enjoyed my visits to a pair of mountains that cater to families and intermediate skiers, one in a luxury resort and the other in a small Maine community, with both offering well-groomed runs and plenty of fun

I was at Sugarloaf last weekend for the annual Maine Ski Heritage Day, a fundraiser for the Ski Museum of Maine and the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. No time to ski since I worked on the event, but the turnout was great and the museum’s finances are in much better shape, thanks to those who made the auction a success.

See you on the slopes.