Ski Ward, March 17, 2005: Trailboss' Small Hill Tour Rolls On

[thetrailboss]

Date(s) Skied: March 17, 2005

Resort or Ski Area: Ski Ward

Conditions: Spring Corn Snow, fresh corduroy ALL afternoon!

Trip Report: I HAVE A THING for small ski areas..they are usually less pretentious and cool places to hang out for a while and yesterday I got the opportunity to try another one: Ward Hill in Shrewsbury. I was out in Worcester on business and had my short sticks in the trunk of my car. I'd read Billski's report and pics and was curious so I made the side trip, only about 3-4 miles from 290, to Ward Hill. After pulling in the parking lot I had lunch and stared at the hill in front of me. It was a cross between Blue Hills and Nashoba..the summit station of the chair was within clear sight. If anything, it resembled the big hill on my family farm in Vermont with a chairlift and T-Bar. Kind of cool.

A local was surpised to see me take a picture for AZ/Chairlift.org ("the Brazilians in town think this is cool 'cause there's snow, but you don't look Brazilian to me, so why are you taking a picture?").

The lodge was cozy and had a lot of character as well as a nice snackbar. I got suited up, bought my ticket and headed out to the Triple which opened for the day at 1pm. I was one of about 20 people there...a surprising number considering it was a weekday, but the hill does a fair number of lessons for kids and adults and there were some taking advantage.

The new triple chair, a retrofitted double, was literally about a 3 min. ride and it dumped you at the top of the hill where one could ski under the lift, toward the T-Bar, or over to skier's right. 30-40 second runs ruled the day, but the runs on skier's right mixed it up a bit.

My first run was down White Out, which was on the right as you rode up the chair. The grooming was sweet and the snow was soft! Base depths were great. Like Nashoba, the trail was distinguished from its sister, Winter's Magic by snowfencing. This trail had some nice bumps on one section for beginners to try their skills on and TB went in here on several runs to play. Lots of fun. The run of the day in terms of conditions was the aptly named Dream Maker which ran underneath the T-Bar. Fresh grooming and softer snow all afternoon...nice hero turns and my own powder "8's" all day. All three of these runs had the same pitch (like Nashoba).

From here I ventured out to Nor'Easta which was fun and soft as well. It left the main summit and struck off onto the side...a change of pace but the pitch was about equal. The trail spilled into the Learning Area and a slog back to the triple, but it was fun. Confession: Trailboss played in the halfpipe on Richie's Ravine and had fun :P . I've always cursed half-pipes, but this mini-one was cool. The only other run that was open (I think) was East Bowl and this was similar to Nor'Easta in pitch and that it led away from the face slopes. In the PM it got crusty when the sun went down.

I did all of these runs in less than an hour, which was . Snow Day was not open but looked really gnarly!

One big problem I had was that there were no trail signs and I played a guessing game as to what I was hitting...especially on the skier's right side of the mountain. This could be an issue for first timers who don't want to stray, but to be honest the pitches were all about the same.

The people were friendly, especially the cute instructor who 'ed a Trailboss several times (uh-oh...better not tell Ms. Trailboss 'else I might be ). I rode solo everytime except for one run when I spoke to a local. "Nice place for a few hours and then it gets boring," she said before adding, "but it's better than nothing."

At 5:15pm, after about 40 or so runs, I called it quits especially since things were freezing back up. The Tuba Slide looked fun and a crowd was gathering over there. Never a lift line, great grooming that was fresh all afternoon, a fun experience for little money (two for $20 night skiing the rest of the season...can't go wrong with that).

I had a fun time here...the lodge had some old pictures of the hill when it was started in the 1930's or 1940's, which was cool. Didn't realize that this place was so old. The chair was nice...new triple...and the snow was deep. Fun place for never-evers as Billski put it and small families on a budget, but an afternoon will pretty much do it (as I did). The bumps and pipe are great for beginners as well.

A cool little place...look for some pics soon!

[Bob R]

Thanks for review. TB would it be around the same level as Nashoba ie a night out for a couple of runs of is it less than that? I wonder how long they will be open I could give this a try.

[thetrailboss]

Originally Posted by Bob R

Thanks for review. TB would it be around the same level as Nashoba ie a night out for a couple of runs of is it less than that? I wonder how long they will be open I could give this a try.

Smaller than Nashoba. Liftie said that the hill might be closing this weekend. The two-for-$20 nights though make it a good deal...just don't expect long runs. Friendly folks...no real restaurant, just a snackbar.

[Bob R]

To bad We'll hit it next year.

[thetrailboss]

Just checked their website...closed for the season

[billski]

Originally Posted by thetrailboss

Just checked their website...closed for the season

Wow. How can these places make a buck?

[ozskier]

I'm hearing rumors buzzing around that they may make a 40 foot jump during one of the nights this week and have some sort of photo / ride session for the regulars.

Not sure how they are getting away with this due to insurance, I just know it would be hella cool to see and that I'd be in my car at the drop of a hat with the immersive cam.

[thetrailboss]

Here are the pics from my visit:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/modules...view_album.php

Enjoy!!