ss20
Well-known member
Just got back from 3 great days of skiing! Friday at Mount Snow, Saturday afternoon/evening at Wachusett, and then today at Mount Snow again.
Friday was hardpack with snowmaking...wherever the hill had re-surfaced was good. A-ok day at Mount Snow!
Saturday was my first time at Wachusett. Max Pass day #3. They were in the bull's eye for the storm. I skied 12-7:30pm on the 4 trails they had open. I stayed off to the sides of trails. Lot's of fresh there. Made some nice turns later in the evening. Extremely icy underneath all that new snow though. Being my first time I'll elaborate a little bit on what stood out to me...
1. The clientele matched what an urban "gateway" ski area would be to a T. Lots of kids, snowboarders, and non-whites (not PC, I know) all out enjoying the hill mixed in with some racers.
2. The base lodge was beautiful but limited in space...keep in mind it was not very busy...I can't imagine what it must be like on mid-winter weekends.
3. The Wachusett marketing team must be doing something right because the number of first-timers and casual skiers (groups who won't ski till they see snow on the ground) was staggering. I was shocked. Lessons and kids everywhere. The beginner slope was packed.
4. I had the idea in my mind that it would ski similar to a place the size of Butternut. Definitely wrong. The vertical "felt" bigger than 1,000ft and while there were only 3 trails open, there looks to be a lot of variety in pitch/width of the trails.
Sunday I was going to do Sunapee but they didn't have enough terrain open to justify going there. Stratton looked good on the report and they claimed 6" but I figured they would groom everything out. That pretty much left Mount Snow in the running, because I figured the North face would be ungroomed. It was. I was the 15th chair up the hill, and first down the North Face. The lifty told me..."hey, you're the first one down! How is it?" Plummet was really good in the AM. Good variety of whales, bumps, and "flat" areas of powder. Freefall was slick underneath but had a decent bump line form in the PM. Chute had funky snowmaking/grooming with massive balls of ice on the side of the trail. Not much fun. The main face was pretty scraped off. I wound some good windblown lines on Ridge and South Bowl at the end of the day. South Bowl was incredibly slick at the top but after the first pitch you could get on edge and just RAIL down the rest of the trail. The contrast was just crazy! Worst snow on the hill to the best in about 20 feet. The kickers at the bottom were funky...those Snowlogic guns make weird whale shapes. Some whales had a second kicker immediately where you would land off of the first kicker.
It was a weekend of snow...and crowds. Certainly not "busy" at either place but the early season is gone with this snow. Looks like I get to start teaching next weekend so if all goes right I won't pleasure-ski on a weekend till mid-March...fine with me!
Friday was hardpack with snowmaking...wherever the hill had re-surfaced was good. A-ok day at Mount Snow!
Saturday was my first time at Wachusett. Max Pass day #3. They were in the bull's eye for the storm. I skied 12-7:30pm on the 4 trails they had open. I stayed off to the sides of trails. Lot's of fresh there. Made some nice turns later in the evening. Extremely icy underneath all that new snow though. Being my first time I'll elaborate a little bit on what stood out to me...
1. The clientele matched what an urban "gateway" ski area would be to a T. Lots of kids, snowboarders, and non-whites (not PC, I know) all out enjoying the hill mixed in with some racers.
2. The base lodge was beautiful but limited in space...keep in mind it was not very busy...I can't imagine what it must be like on mid-winter weekends.
3. The Wachusett marketing team must be doing something right because the number of first-timers and casual skiers (groups who won't ski till they see snow on the ground) was staggering. I was shocked. Lessons and kids everywhere. The beginner slope was packed.
4. I had the idea in my mind that it would ski similar to a place the size of Butternut. Definitely wrong. The vertical "felt" bigger than 1,000ft and while there were only 3 trails open, there looks to be a lot of variety in pitch/width of the trails.
Sunday I was going to do Sunapee but they didn't have enough terrain open to justify going there. Stratton looked good on the report and they claimed 6" but I figured they would groom everything out. That pretty much left Mount Snow in the running, because I figured the North face would be ungroomed. It was. I was the 15th chair up the hill, and first down the North Face. The lifty told me..."hey, you're the first one down! How is it?" Plummet was really good in the AM. Good variety of whales, bumps, and "flat" areas of powder. Freefall was slick underneath but had a decent bump line form in the PM. Chute had funky snowmaking/grooming with massive balls of ice on the side of the trail. Not much fun. The main face was pretty scraped off. I wound some good windblown lines on Ridge and South Bowl at the end of the day. South Bowl was incredibly slick at the top but after the first pitch you could get on edge and just RAIL down the rest of the trail. The contrast was just crazy! Worst snow on the hill to the best in about 20 feet. The kickers at the bottom were funky...those Snowlogic guns make weird whale shapes. Some whales had a second kicker immediately where you would land off of the first kicker.
It was a weekend of snow...and crowds. Certainly not "busy" at either place but the early season is gone with this snow. Looks like I get to start teaching next weekend so if all goes right I won't pleasure-ski on a weekend till mid-March...fine with me!
