billski
Active member
I was supposed to be at the Thunderbolt today, but since it was postponed, I've a day on my hands. The thread about areas close by not skied, provoked me to take a spin down the 8-lane to Canton/Milton Mass to the State-owned Blue Hills Reservation. I called to see if they have ski pins. A pleasant young lady on the phone said, "yes we do! And we have skiing too! A nice touch :beer:
Weighing in at a mighty 309 vertical feet, I pulled in the lot really not knowing what to expect. An explore for sure.
Parking for sure can be a challenge if you arrive much past 11am. They jam em into the diminutive DCR lots tighter than a Fitz-in lot for a Bruins game in the North End. You're definitely not out in the free range. A little mini school bus with ski carrier on the side putts up into the lot, you sit down and navigate the 1 way roads and a jug handle just for a few hundred feet shuttle :???:
First impression: The place is just chock full of beginners and a few frustrated advanced skiers who quietly would like to be somewhere else. A well run operation. They know their customers and have adjusted accordingly.
The lines got old real fast. About 10 minutes for a 30 second run.
By my third run, the liftie was visibly upset. He shut the lift and walked up and down the lanes , lecturing everyone about who the ski school lane was for in a rather unpleasant tone of voice. I've never been group lectured before. Then again, the majority of skiers seemed rather clueless (not abusive) of protocol and signs.
I never saw so many land lubbers in my life - folks with city wool coats and shoes standing around the base lodge.
I decided to warm up on the black diamonds,
I talked with a Ski Patrol doing triple duty as ticket checker and hall monitor. He advised me that this was a learning hill. Once you master the "chute" trail, you have graduated from Blue Hills and can competently move to intermediate mountains. On the radio - "yeah, the kid went into the woods off the lip and hit a tree. It's OK though, his mother was with him." His mother is a trauma nurse.
The lift lines were so agonizingly slow that by the 3rd run I was ready to leave. The ski schools had like 20 kids in each class, filled with very pleasant young women running them. Then I met Juraj from Belarus. This young fellow came with his friends last year and essentially taught himself to ski. He's quite a trooper. Out there every weekend, practicing his skid turns. I encouraged him a lot, we talked about areas he might want to graduate to. He followed my fairly quickly down through the chute, several times. Without this conversation, the lift lines would have been unbearable.
I guess this think isn't for jumping:
the patroller said the snow is about 3' deep. They put away the fan guns for the season, as the ice around the lodge began to melt in the 40 degree sun.
The chute:
This was probably the only place I can remember skiing where you could see a city outline, and an industrial complex. Convenient, for sure, 1 mile off I 93.
the lift was hugely slow and dated, probably one of the first doubles, and for the record, one of the smallest
Inside the lodge I got to chatting with a mom, with her young girl taking a lesson. This mom grew up skiing in Utah skiing nearly every day. But now she's here, aspiring to Loon in a few weeks. She told stories about her single days skiing about the west, all the guys chasing her around Vail, about how she would gauge interest in a guy depending on their skiing ability and enthusiasm. She'd ski real chutes with chest-deep powder, being scared out of her mind. Then she married a guy who doesn't ski. Go figure. Big change, but she seems to be dealing with it well.
An interesting mix of people, which made the place a lot more interesting; I would have been gone in 30 minutes if I had not been chatting. It seems a large chunk of folks come from the South Shore, for something to do for a few hours. I didn't meet anyone who planned to stay the whole day.
A well run place, with a focus on the newbie; you'll need a lot of patience, don't be in a hurry, kind of like going to someone's backyard for a picnic. It's a good niche, I doubt the snow lasts much into March, reasonably priced.
I got my pin, got back to the car, more people waiting for my spot than at a Jersey Mall.
I really gotta get out tommorrow and stretch my legs on something a bit longer.
http://www.ski-bluehills.com/
Weighing in at a mighty 309 vertical feet, I pulled in the lot really not knowing what to expect. An explore for sure.
Parking for sure can be a challenge if you arrive much past 11am. They jam em into the diminutive DCR lots tighter than a Fitz-in lot for a Bruins game in the North End. You're definitely not out in the free range. A little mini school bus with ski carrier on the side putts up into the lot, you sit down and navigate the 1 way roads and a jug handle just for a few hundred feet shuttle :???:
First impression: The place is just chock full of beginners and a few frustrated advanced skiers who quietly would like to be somewhere else. A well run operation. They know their customers and have adjusted accordingly.
The lines got old real fast. About 10 minutes for a 30 second run.
By my third run, the liftie was visibly upset. He shut the lift and walked up and down the lanes , lecturing everyone about who the ski school lane was for in a rather unpleasant tone of voice. I've never been group lectured before. Then again, the majority of skiers seemed rather clueless (not abusive) of protocol and signs.
I never saw so many land lubbers in my life - folks with city wool coats and shoes standing around the base lodge.
I decided to warm up on the black diamonds,
I talked with a Ski Patrol doing triple duty as ticket checker and hall monitor. He advised me that this was a learning hill. Once you master the "chute" trail, you have graduated from Blue Hills and can competently move to intermediate mountains. On the radio - "yeah, the kid went into the woods off the lip and hit a tree. It's OK though, his mother was with him." His mother is a trauma nurse.
The lift lines were so agonizingly slow that by the 3rd run I was ready to leave. The ski schools had like 20 kids in each class, filled with very pleasant young women running them. Then I met Juraj from Belarus. This young fellow came with his friends last year and essentially taught himself to ski. He's quite a trooper. Out there every weekend, practicing his skid turns. I encouraged him a lot, we talked about areas he might want to graduate to. He followed my fairly quickly down through the chute, several times. Without this conversation, the lift lines would have been unbearable.
I guess this think isn't for jumping:
the patroller said the snow is about 3' deep. They put away the fan guns for the season, as the ice around the lodge began to melt in the 40 degree sun.
The chute:
This was probably the only place I can remember skiing where you could see a city outline, and an industrial complex. Convenient, for sure, 1 mile off I 93.
the lift was hugely slow and dated, probably one of the first doubles, and for the record, one of the smallest
Inside the lodge I got to chatting with a mom, with her young girl taking a lesson. This mom grew up skiing in Utah skiing nearly every day. But now she's here, aspiring to Loon in a few weeks. She told stories about her single days skiing about the west, all the guys chasing her around Vail, about how she would gauge interest in a guy depending on their skiing ability and enthusiasm. She'd ski real chutes with chest-deep powder, being scared out of her mind. Then she married a guy who doesn't ski. Go figure. Big change, but she seems to be dealing with it well.
An interesting mix of people, which made the place a lot more interesting; I would have been gone in 30 minutes if I had not been chatting. It seems a large chunk of folks come from the South Shore, for something to do for a few hours. I didn't meet anyone who planned to stay the whole day.
A well run place, with a focus on the newbie; you'll need a lot of patience, don't be in a hurry, kind of like going to someone's backyard for a picnic. It's a good niche, I doubt the snow lasts much into March, reasonably priced.
I got my pin, got back to the car, more people waiting for my spot than at a Jersey Mall.
I really gotta get out tommorrow and stretch my legs on something a bit longer.
http://www.ski-bluehills.com/