speden
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- Joined
- Nov 18, 2008
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Conditions: packed power
The kids have been wanting to do some night skiing this year, so Friday night was it. Was thinking of either Wachusett or Pat's Peak. The wind looked worse at Wachusett and Pat's had just gotten a lot of new snow, so opted for Pat's.
We rolled in about 4pm, and the day skiers were starting to leave, but we weren't able to snag a parking spot next to the lodge. It seemed pretty crowded and I noticed a couple buses parked up there, so thought it could be jammed. But once we got out on the hill it wasn't too bad and most of the lifts were ski on all evening. After about 9pm, it really cleared out and for the last hour it felt like we owned the place.
The night skiing is pretty good there. Seems like all the trails are well lit. I noticed it was a little dark through the middle section of Squall line, which was kind of cool. There were some powder flurries as the evening wore on, giving the whole place a nice sparkling feel.
We'd just been there last weekend, and were skiing on some manmade snow, which was nice and loose. On Friday night the natural snow from the day before had been all groomed out for the most part and was lightly packed, except on the flatter runouts, where it was more hard packed and twitchy. In the steeper sections it was very easy to get a good edge, so not much to complain about.
There was some gusty wind in the early evening, making our hands get cold. The temps weren't really that low, but the wind chill must have been down there because I didn't feel comfortable until I went into the lodge and added my reserve Hot Chilly shirt. After that the cold didn't bother me a bit.
My youngest son started out the night snowboarding, but he's out of practice and had a hard face plant on his second run. Somehow his goggles pushed hard against his cheek and he got a cut under his eye, like eyeblack on a football player. He didn't even realize it until he took his goggles off later and said they were sticking to his face there... My wife took him to the first aid station to get a bandaide for it, but they said not to put a bandaide and just put neosporin on it. In the process they lost his goggles somewhere, so time for some new ones for him. He'd outgrown them anyway. After that he switched to skis and had a lot more fun, and we had a great time attacking East wind, which was deserted all night.
My wife ran out of gas about 9pm, but me and the boys closed the place, then they all slept on the drive home. Overall a good night on the slopes.
The kids have been wanting to do some night skiing this year, so Friday night was it. Was thinking of either Wachusett or Pat's Peak. The wind looked worse at Wachusett and Pat's had just gotten a lot of new snow, so opted for Pat's.
We rolled in about 4pm, and the day skiers were starting to leave, but we weren't able to snag a parking spot next to the lodge. It seemed pretty crowded and I noticed a couple buses parked up there, so thought it could be jammed. But once we got out on the hill it wasn't too bad and most of the lifts were ski on all evening. After about 9pm, it really cleared out and for the last hour it felt like we owned the place.
The night skiing is pretty good there. Seems like all the trails are well lit. I noticed it was a little dark through the middle section of Squall line, which was kind of cool. There were some powder flurries as the evening wore on, giving the whole place a nice sparkling feel.
We'd just been there last weekend, and were skiing on some manmade snow, which was nice and loose. On Friday night the natural snow from the day before had been all groomed out for the most part and was lightly packed, except on the flatter runouts, where it was more hard packed and twitchy. In the steeper sections it was very easy to get a good edge, so not much to complain about.
There was some gusty wind in the early evening, making our hands get cold. The temps weren't really that low, but the wind chill must have been down there because I didn't feel comfortable until I went into the lodge and added my reserve Hot Chilly shirt. After that the cold didn't bother me a bit.
My youngest son started out the night snowboarding, but he's out of practice and had a hard face plant on his second run. Somehow his goggles pushed hard against his cheek and he got a cut under his eye, like eyeblack on a football player. He didn't even realize it until he took his goggles off later and said they were sticking to his face there... My wife took him to the first aid station to get a bandaide for it, but they said not to put a bandaide and just put neosporin on it. In the process they lost his goggles somewhere, so time for some new ones for him. He'd outgrown them anyway. After that he switched to skis and had a lot more fun, and we had a great time attacking East wind, which was deserted all night.
My wife ran out of gas about 9pm, but me and the boys closed the place, then they all slept on the drive home. Overall a good night on the slopes.
