Dave L
New member
Date(s) Skied: 12/22/08
Resort or Ski Area: Ascutney, VT
Conditions: Mixed bag
Trip Report:
Well, having free passes from WME like most of the skiers and riders there that day, we decided to head up from the Albany, NY area. The ride was pleasant as most are through the Greenies, though visibility was limited of other mountains such as Stratton, Magic etc.
Our directions via map quest and the trip OD in the jeep were spot on and we beat the time by a 1/2 hour.
Upon arrival, we found the drop-off confusing as did others with poor signage and communication and a bunch of irritated attendants. We dropped our gear and hit the lot, where we should have just unloaded anyway as some others did.
The mountain seemed deceptively small for "big mountain" skiing as advertised, though with rising temps, it was a bit over cast and you could not see much of the upper profile.
My ski buddy for the day was my lovely wife, who needs a little warm up to get started before hitting the greens hard. Some how we overlooked the easy rider chairs/slope to the right and went for the triple, the only face lift running on Saturday. This lift is SLOW and has a mid drop which you need to raise the bar and bail down the drop ramp. A real pain when you have mixed company riding the same chair going opposite directions, not to mention cumbersome for newbs.
Our first run was left off the mid to East Wind. After a an up hill jaunt we started down the trail labeled as green. It quickly hits an abrupt steep drop to the left as it intersects Milky Way, a Blue which was a bit steep for my wife right off the get go. Then back to some thin greens, scraped off littered with small to moderate rocks mixed in (great for your skis), and bordered by some deep wet powder, which made for some difficult negotiations, then back down to the snow dance triple for some frustration releases by my bride. We spent a few more runs over on the novice side to the right to gain her some snow legs then another run down the same trails with slightly better results and increased confidence. This is not a good mountain for beginners unless you want to ride up and down the slow novice tripple and ski down a field all day.
After lunch, I headed up solo to try "Cloudspin" another green that was open, but carried the thin cover warning, expert only. Odd for a West facing green in the Greens. The terrain was much like that described in the other Ascutney review, springlike but highly deceptive. I burned up a lot of energy checking my speed as my edges received new conditions with each turn. I hit this run twice before leaving for the day, and was fairly satisfied as I just thought of cold spring conditions and prayed for more snow.
On the way up the lift several times, I met some very nice people (hey guys!)
This mountain needs ALOT more coverage. While some of the center blues looked nice and deep, where they had groomed was extremely thin.
I was a bit disappointed as we first learned of this mountain from the Ski Expo in Albany, at which we were told not to believe all the negative things we may have heard?? and that they were under new partnership with new philosophies on snow making and operations....
Thin snow and only one operating face lift on a day when you have so much invited exposure??
Small lines or not, the best policy for the few days these Warren Miller Appreciation passes are gifted, should be to go ALL OUT.
The appearance of "appreciation" would have went along way with the thin conditions. With morning temps in the 20's, the snow guns were silent, and the "high speed quad" asleep glistening with ice pack, the sound of sleepy x-mas songs over the PA and an apparent lack of enthusiasm by staffers made this an all around dull experience considering the long drive from NY.
I would really like to return when there is more snow, as I hate to be so full of negativity.
C'mon Ascutney! You can do better!!
Here is shot from Cloudspin:
Resort or Ski Area: Ascutney, VT
Conditions: Mixed bag
Trip Report:
Well, having free passes from WME like most of the skiers and riders there that day, we decided to head up from the Albany, NY area. The ride was pleasant as most are through the Greenies, though visibility was limited of other mountains such as Stratton, Magic etc.
Our directions via map quest and the trip OD in the jeep were spot on and we beat the time by a 1/2 hour.
Upon arrival, we found the drop-off confusing as did others with poor signage and communication and a bunch of irritated attendants. We dropped our gear and hit the lot, where we should have just unloaded anyway as some others did.
The mountain seemed deceptively small for "big mountain" skiing as advertised, though with rising temps, it was a bit over cast and you could not see much of the upper profile.
My ski buddy for the day was my lovely wife, who needs a little warm up to get started before hitting the greens hard. Some how we overlooked the easy rider chairs/slope to the right and went for the triple, the only face lift running on Saturday. This lift is SLOW and has a mid drop which you need to raise the bar and bail down the drop ramp. A real pain when you have mixed company riding the same chair going opposite directions, not to mention cumbersome for newbs.
Our first run was left off the mid to East Wind. After a an up hill jaunt we started down the trail labeled as green. It quickly hits an abrupt steep drop to the left as it intersects Milky Way, a Blue which was a bit steep for my wife right off the get go. Then back to some thin greens, scraped off littered with small to moderate rocks mixed in (great for your skis), and bordered by some deep wet powder, which made for some difficult negotiations, then back down to the snow dance triple for some frustration releases by my bride. We spent a few more runs over on the novice side to the right to gain her some snow legs then another run down the same trails with slightly better results and increased confidence. This is not a good mountain for beginners unless you want to ride up and down the slow novice tripple and ski down a field all day.
After lunch, I headed up solo to try "Cloudspin" another green that was open, but carried the thin cover warning, expert only. Odd for a West facing green in the Greens. The terrain was much like that described in the other Ascutney review, springlike but highly deceptive. I burned up a lot of energy checking my speed as my edges received new conditions with each turn. I hit this run twice before leaving for the day, and was fairly satisfied as I just thought of cold spring conditions and prayed for more snow.
On the way up the lift several times, I met some very nice people (hey guys!)
This mountain needs ALOT more coverage. While some of the center blues looked nice and deep, where they had groomed was extremely thin.
I was a bit disappointed as we first learned of this mountain from the Ski Expo in Albany, at which we were told not to believe all the negative things we may have heard?? and that they were under new partnership with new philosophies on snow making and operations....
Thin snow and only one operating face lift on a day when you have so much invited exposure??
Small lines or not, the best policy for the few days these Warren Miller Appreciation passes are gifted, should be to go ALL OUT.
The appearance of "appreciation" would have went along way with the thin conditions. With morning temps in the 20's, the snow guns were silent, and the "high speed quad" asleep glistening with ice pack, the sound of sleepy x-mas songs over the PA and an apparent lack of enthusiasm by staffers made this an all around dull experience considering the long drive from NY.
I would really like to return when there is more snow, as I hate to be so full of negativity.
C'mon Ascutney! You can do better!!
Here is shot from Cloudspin:
