Wachusett 1.5.2012

[Nick]

Waiting in the lift line for the minuteman express.

 

[gmcunni]

yikes!

 

[Puck it]

That place is a $hit show on weekends. I made the mistake of going with th kids years ago on a weekend and have never been back.

 

[Nick]

Its actually fairly speedy... was about eight min

 

[bdfreetuna]

 

[Nick]

Well in the 2 hrs my wife was in a lesson I got in 4 runs total. Oh well. Still a fun day, snow was nice and soft, not an ice patch to be found. Did 2 runs down off Minuteman and 2 off Polar Express. More to share later.

 

[KD7000]

That place is a $hit show on weekends.

Early mornings aren't that bad. It's doom by mid-morning, though.

 

[wa-loaf]

Don't go there mid season Saturdays! Or Fri nights for that matter.

 

[soulseller]

I was there both today and yesterday. Conditions were better then expected both days and lift lines started getting troublesome around 10am both days. Luckily I was there 8:30 yesterday, 8am today so I was able to get my 15 laps in and get the eff out.

 

[David Metsky]

I was there teaching telemark for the AMC on Saturday. The lines were long but not unbearable, maybe 10-12 minutes tops.

 

[xlr8r]

I was there Sunday Night. The place was pretty beat up by then due to the weekend crowds, but even their night grooming was less effective than usual.

I'm also starting to get really tired of the attitude their ski patrol has. One of them didn't seem to like it when I was the first person to stop at the entrance to Conifer to wait for them to open it after grooming. He wanted me to go away saying that it would be awhile before it was done grooming but it really only took 10min of waiting (which is less time than it would've taken to do another run) before it opened. Also they have to constantly threaten everybody that they will pull their ticket before they opened the run. There is no need for the Ski Patrol to act like the Police looking to fill their ticket quota.

Look I have been a longtime pass holder. But it is starting to seem like they just don't care about Adult passholders their anymore, instead it is just a place for kids to hangout. It was a Sunday night the kids should be at home anyway.

I'll get off my soapbox now

 

[soulseller]

I'm also starting to get really tired of the attitude their ski patrol has.

My buddy and I have also been talking about the change in attitude and/or focus over the past 6-7 years we have been pass holders at Wa.

I was really irritated this past weekend being there both days, lift line management on the Polar Express chair was non-existent. When the two lifties weren't too busy standing next to each other chatting, their main concern was checking tickets meanwhile messy rows 4's 5's and 6's tried to make there way to the chair while the singles line grew uncontrollably. At one point I yelled over to them interrupting their conversation, "hey you need to do something about this line its a mess!" That inspired a half hearted effort that consisted mainly of ticket checking for the next 20 minutes until they settled back in their corner...

 

[Nick]

Hmmm interesteing experiences. I feel it's the same as it's been. The crowd is the crowd - high schoolers, day trippers, newbies who don't want to drive far away. I think Wachusett offers a lot for the location. For me it's about a 45 min drive - I'm on the slopes in 50 min after leaving my house. I can't really do a full day there (gets boring) but half days just to work the legs are good, especially when they have soem moguls on 10th or Smith.

I met a few patrollers and "rangers" last time I was there and they all seemed really nice. I think one of the things is that when you have one or two employees who are being uptight then it kind or sours the whole experience. Like an obnoxious flight attendant ruining the flight when they complain about a bag in the bin.

 

[MadMadWorld]

10-15 minutes is nothing at Wachusett. I have seen lines during February vacation that take 45-60 minutes to get a chair. I knew I was getting shot 100+ dirty looks when I cut the line with a lesson.

 

[soulseller]

I met a few patrollers and "rangers" last time I was there and they all seemed really nice. I think one of the things is that when you have one or two employees who are being uptight then it kind or sours the whole experience. Like an obnoxious flight attendant ruining the flight when they complain about a bag in the bin.

This is not a complete list of observations, I'll let my buddy chime in if he wants to elaborate, this is merely one example of an annoyance that I noticed this weekend that contributes to a growing feeling that they are more concerned with squeezing every last drop of revenue rather then the customer experience.

Furthermore, I have no gripes about the rangers, I've never had a run in with them on trail and every interaction I have had with them on a chair has been nothing but pleasant.

 

[The Sneak]

I am the passholder soulseller referred to. Yes, I am getting increasingly irritated with the obsessive ticket checking. Every f#cking run - can I see your pass? Can I see your ticket? Sometimes by more than 1 worker. It's right there on my arm. What do you think - I'm wearing an empty passholder sleeve?

Meanwhile, the singles line backs way up and the lift corral becomes a circus.
Perhaps it is some kind of karmic revenge for my skiing the woods off balance rock.

 

[Cheese]

Furthermore, I have no gripes about the rangers, I've never had a run in with them on trail and every interaction I have had with them on a chair has been nothing but pleasant.

I tried to explain to a blinking night time ranger that air happens even at slow speeds on a trail like Conifer. He wasn't buying it and the fact that I had spun a 360 didn't help my cause any. I lost that discussion miserably but he was nice enough to let me continue on with a warning.

Two weeks ago they were finishing up an evening groom on 10th. There was a line of people at the rope patiently waiting for it to drop since the cats were finished and at the summit. Rather than drop the rope, they shut down the chair and began grooming the unloading area. Ski patrol went around and asked everyone by the rope to leave the area (below the unload area). There was no reason they couldn't have dropped the rope and let people ski the fresh corduroy completely away from the grooming going on at the unloading area. Those skiers were politely waiting for the "all clear" and for that they were scolded and forced to ski down other terrain to a lift that was closed due to unloading area grooming. I thought that was very unfair.

 

[Nick]

I am the passholder soulseller referred to. Yes, I am getting increasingly irritated with the obsessive ticket checking. Every f#cking run - can I see your pass? Can I see your ticket? Sometimes by more than 1 worker. It's right there on my arm. What do you think - I'm wearing an empty passholder sleeve?

Meanwhile, the singles line backs way up and the lift corral becomes a circus.
Perhaps it is some kind of karmic revenge for my skiing the woods off balance rock.

Ironically I was just noticing last time I went I didn't get checked once. And my ticket was under my jacket.

 

[hammer]

I tried to explain to a blinking night time ranger that air happens even at slow speeds on a trail like Conifer. He wasn't buying it and the fact that I had spun a 360 didn't help my cause any. I lost that discussion miserably but he was nice enough to let me continue on with a warning.

Was this at the spot where Roper's Road and Balance Rock come out? Have not been to Wachusett lately, but when I had a pass there and went evenings that's where I remember usually seeing the blinking night time ranger.

BTW either you can do a 360 awfully quickly or you were going too fast for that trail...:wink:

 

[wa-loaf]

If you are wearing a race suit they don't check your pass, and don't get yelled at for skiing fast (unless you are on Conifer doing 360s...).