I'd be happy to meet up with you at Cannon either of those days. My ski club is in Lincoln, so Cannon is near me. I used to teach at Cannon. Good times. Bretton Woods, where I've most recently taught, is a nice 45 minute drive with views. So if you want to ski at Bretton Woods, I'd be happy to meet you there.
I don't have a pass so probably won't fork over the Epic day price to ski at Wildcat.
Views: All three have great views of nearby snow-covered mountains.
Bumps: BWoods has bump runs of progressive difficulty. A never-ever bump skier can learn there. Cannon and Mittersill have mostly tough bump runs, many with double fall lines. Wildcat has graduated difficulty bump runs, and on a good day you can ski almost all the way from the summit to the base under the summit chair on mild bumps.
Trees: BWoods has glades of progressive difficulty. Some are really short; others not. Many low pitch glades. Cannon and Mittersill have high intensity glades. There's not much in the medium challenge category, and almost nothing easy. For this reason Cannon is known as a "skier's mountain." The tree runs at Wildcat tend to be at the challenging end of the spectrum.
Groomers: BWoods has tons of easy peasy green and blue groomers, some of them genuinely wide. If you are into relaxed cruising, or want to work on your carving skills, or do drills, this is the place to do those things. There are a few steep gulp-inducing (for most people) drops, but they are short, short, short. Cannon has mostly narrow groomers, and a few old school winding ones from the top. People like to zoom around those curves at speed. If you want gulp-inducing (for most people) steep groomers, you can have them at Cannon. Wildcat has mostly narrow groomers. This is fun when you aren't surrounded by other skiers clumped together. It also has a 2 mile long groomer on its north perimeter that is fun to ski at full speed when no one's around. But Wildcat does get high intensity up-slope winds sometimes, earning it the reputation of being windy. It isn't windy every day though. And on a clear day you can look over at Tuckerman Ravine and almost see the line of boot-packers working their way up the headwall.
Snow: Because of the surrounding mountains, BWoods is protected from wind. So when it snows the wind doesn't blow the freshies into the trees. After a storm it's a great place to ski, as long as you know how to manage our NEngland dense snow on low pitch terrain. And BWoods blows a ton of snow. Cannon has a traffic congestion problem at the top of the main lift. There are limited ways to get from one area to another, so traffic polishes the snow surface on those runs to a nice shine - before lunch on any weekday. Even without a thaw, Cannon earns its reputation of being icy. But but but, Cannon blows humongous whales at the start of the season and leaves them up for a long time. Those formations make for a great adventure playground. Cannon always opens the trails when there are whales on them. I've never seen whales on an open trail at BWoods, nor at Wildcat. Natural snow at Wildcat is plentiful, but it does get blown into the woods by those heavy duty winds coming across the valley from Mt. Washington. So WIldcat is great when it's great. But Vail has pretty much abandoned the maintenance of its snow-blowing apparatus over the last few years. I hope they have decided that they must update failing pipes etc in order to avoiding the need to sell the place. But I haven't heard anything in the news lately about updates.
Terrain parks: BWoods has a low key terrain park. Cannon wins with its competition size jumps. Is there a terrain park at Wildcat? Can't remember one.
Lodges and parking: BWoods has a nicely appointed base lodge, with nearby parking that doesn't involve negotiating a hill with all your gear. It also has a brand new luxury lodge at the top of the gondola. It is used for weddings, but they graciously open it for skiers in the winter. Bathrooms are new in that lodge. This is unexpected for a New England ski area lodge, so I am mentioning it. Cannon's Peabody base lodge has a big active bar, a tiny cafeteria, and old seating that's serviceable but nothing to write home about. It feels very user-friendly in there with no pretensions at all. The parking lot that accesses this Peabody base lodge does involve a bit of an uphill slog, and on a crowded day you might need to park across the street or down the road and take a shuttle. Cannon's other base lodge at the tram, just off I-93, is really small and old. I don't ever start my day there. Cannon also has a summit lodge with a nice cafeteria and bar. It's a great place to take a mid-morning break, or to warm up when it's subzero outside. Wildcat's base lodge is old and needs updating. But it's spacious and the bar scene on weekends has good music. The water in the bathrooms smells like sulfur and looks yellow. Parking does not involve walking uphill.
@dbostedo, I hope this helps you decide where to go. These three are my favorite mountains in New England.
