urungus
Well-known member
How to pronounce Bousquet, from http://www.snowjournal.com/discussion/225/the-worst-name-for-a-ski-area/p2
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MA skiing
- Thread starter skef
- Start date
From my perspective, Wachusett isn't bad if you already have a season pass and intend to ski a minimum of 5 times there, and it provides the opportunity to ski while doing other things during the day, and still be back home given that you can really only take day trips into NH, given the hotel stay there will trigger a quarantine based on MA regulations.
Wa single day tickets are priced very high this season but they are getting the $$ as they sell out many sessions and I observed 10 minute lift lines even on nonholiday weekday day sessions, but have topped out at about 15 minutes on weekends and holidays so far in my observation. Some days/times have double sessions which can have decent pricing if you wanted a legit 6+ hours to ski. Otherwise, you'll be looking at 5-7 runs if you just go for a single session. The demand has been that high right until closing that they closed at 9:30 pm with about a 7 minute line tonight too (usually, even on busiest days, the lift lines get to nearly be ski on after 8:30 pm). They are grooming the trails well, granted the only trails with good steepness is Smith Walton, 10th, and Conifer; and then you have a few more trails that can open up during the day if natural snow is good.
Wachusett is a far better mountain than Nashoba Valley which is the only other place I've skied in MA.
Wa single day tickets are priced very high this season but they are getting the $$ as they sell out many sessions and I observed 10 minute lift lines even on nonholiday weekday day sessions, but have topped out at about 15 minutes on weekends and holidays so far in my observation. Some days/times have double sessions which can have decent pricing if you wanted a legit 6+ hours to ski. Otherwise, you'll be looking at 5-7 runs if you just go for a single session. The demand has been that high right until closing that they closed at 9:30 pm with about a 7 minute line tonight too (usually, even on busiest days, the lift lines get to nearly be ski on after 8:30 pm). They are grooming the trails well, granted the only trails with good steepness is Smith Walton, 10th, and Conifer; and then you have a few more trails that can open up during the day if natural snow is good.
Wachusett is a far better mountain than Nashoba Valley which is the only other place I've skied in MA.
urungus
Well-known member
My understanding is that Massachusetts requires quarantine even for a day trip to NH (or any other state)
COVID-19 Travel
If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume pre-pandemic activities including travel within the United States.
urungus
Well-known member
Berkshire East reports snowmaking in progress on Thunder, Bolt, Little John, Upper & Lower Flying Cloud, Upper & Lower Minnie Dole, UMass
Upper (not “Upper Upper”) Minnie Dole did not have any closed markers, so I got first tracks at 3:45 PM today, LOL
Looking down:
Looking up:
Upper (not “Upper Upper”) Minnie Dole did not have any closed markers, so I got first tracks at 3:45 PM today, LOL
Looking down:
Looking up:
NYDB
Well-known member
Looks fantastic
urungus
Well-known member
Blue chair went down yesterday at Bousquet, so with Yellow still under reconstruction, they currently have no operational chairlifts.
is the blue chair back in action? What’s the deal with the new triple?
skef
Active member
Made it to Berkshire East for the first time yesterday. It's quite a nice little mountain -- has a Burke-like vibe to it. Enjoyed the steeps, which beat WaWa hands down. The trees were mostly skied out, unfortunately, although I was able to hit a couple of those bike trails...
On the downside, the triple was down until about 1:00, making for long lines/waits on the quad. After they got it running, though, no complaints.
Also got a lot of face time with this barred owl, who was just chilling at the summit, lap after lap...
On the downside, the triple was down until about 1:00, making for long lines/waits on the quad. After they got it running, though, no complaints.
Also got a lot of face time with this barred owl, who was just chilling at the summit, lap after lap...
NYDB
Well-known member
Should be sweet at B east from tues on. $40 tickets.
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urungus
Well-known member
Awesome!
urungus
Well-known member
The blue chair is back in action. Last I heard they encountered some “engineering issues” on the replacement yellow chair and are shooting for mid-February
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urungus
Well-known member
New yellow chair at Bousquet will finally be spinning tomorrow, as per Facebook
www.facebook.com
Bousquet | Pittsfield MA
Bousquet, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. 11,537 likes · 117 talking about this · 11,909 were here. Hike our scenic trails, play disc golf, or join us for family fun. Enjoy our Summer Concert Series with...
www.facebook.com
urungus
Well-known member
Berkshire East will be closed Tuesday March 2 due to wind
Ski2LiveLive2Ski
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I have never skied MA (other than the closest - Catamount) as - when driving from NJ - it always seems worth driving a little further to S.VT (Snow, Okemo, Stratton, Magic, Bromley) and I don't have the impression any of the W.MA resorts would be more appealing than closer NY options (Hunter, Windham, Belleayre, Plattekill).
Any places in W.MA folks believe would give me cause to rethink this analysis - barring nature giving us a rare "Berkshire Only" powder day?
Not considering Covid travel rules here which will likely be gone by next season.
Any places in W.MA folks believe would give me cause to rethink this analysis - barring nature giving us a rare "Berkshire Only" powder day?
Not considering Covid travel rules here which will likely be gone by next season.
Killingtime
Active member
I've been to pretty much all the larger MA resorts over the years. My impression is that they definitely feel smaller than the Cats and lack the vertical but are still worthy of a trip if you want to break up the routine. I've had very good experiences at both Jiminy and Berkshire East with light crowds and surprisingly decent terrain. Even had a blast at Butternut which seems to get almost no publicity. Most of my ski friends didn't even know it existed. I found it to be a well run operation with some fun terrain and a low-key family vibe. But yeah, everything being the same, stick with the Cats or Southern VT IMO.
ss20
Well-known member
If you're coming from NJ the Cats are closer/better than anything in Mass, imo. Mass is great for the people in Westchester, western CT, and locals....pretty much anyone in between 87 and 91. If you're west of 87/east of 91 it doesn't make sense to ski western Massachusetts when you can just keep going north on those corridors and get to much better skiing.
Zand
Well-known member
Agreed...
Coming from the Worcester area, only Berkshire East is closer than southern VT. Going out to Jiminy is a waste. Been meaning to check out Catamount on the Indy Pass this year but it's no quicker than Loon.
And as you said, theres much better stuff in the Catskills if youre coming from NYC/NJ, so no reason for them to stop in WMA either. I guess Jiminy gets some Albany traffic, but even that doesn't make sense to me given their proximity to southern VT.
Newpylong
Well-known member
Jiminy is half the distance from Albany to the closest Southern VT area, has a dependable snowmaking system, long season, good infrastructure, and has lights. It's quite obvious why it is so busy.
It's the same reason people from Eastern MA go to Wachusett in droves over going North.
It's the same reason people from Eastern MA go to Wachusett in droves over going North.
I went to Catamount on my Indy pass this year and I will say I was pleasantly surprised. We stayed on the hill overnight and had fun. The terrain was sufficient to appeal to everyone in my family and steep enough (though short) to push it when I wanted to.
Indy has taught me to slow down and enjoy sliding on snow without the aggravation of the jackass masses at the majority of the So. VT and N.H. resorts/ski areas. I have had a great season with my family, better than a few more recent years when I've skied close to three times as many days.
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