Angus
Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2005
- Messages
- 961
- Points
- 16
thinking about going up for Super Bowl Sunday....
1) recent conditions
2) crowds
Thanks.
1) recent conditions
2) crowds
Thanks.
-
Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!
You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!
Recent Waterville Valley Report
- Thread starter Angus
- Start date
ski_resort_observer
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2004
- Messages
- 3,423
- Points
- 38
- Location
- Waitsfield,Vt
- Website
- www.firstlightphotographics.com
Don't know if this is recent enough but I just read this report by Joshua Segal over at SnowJournal.
"Feb. 2, 2010 - Tuesday
First, I never pan a ski area where I receive "professional courtesy", but although I skied on a Comp today, it was from a contest and not a "professional courtesy" comp. For some reason, I am drawn like a moth to Waterville Valley, although in the grand scheme of things, I've never loved it.
My review would have been far worse but at the end of the day, I met an acquaintance who works for WV who said that:
1. They get a LOT of traffic
2. They have received very little natural snow with most storms passing to the north of them or the south of them. (WV doesn't post YTD snowfall, so I am taking his word on that one.)
My sense is, they like everybody, they got rained on; and like everybody, they've had a week to recover with a combination of grooming and snowmaking.
My basis for comparison is my yesterday at Mt. Snow, which was far better. But I can say that the bumps on Pluto's Plunge at Crotched Mountain are better than any bumps at WV.
As far as cover goes, the snow must have been shallow, because there were 1" to 3" pebbles all over the place. I picked up a few of the larger ones and tossed them in the woods, but I certainly would have expected managemment to have sent someone to pick these up.
The left side of High Country was more brown than white - and they didn't run the High Country chair. If it's open, I ride it once and the terrain is not that exciting; but when it's closed I feel like I was cheated of the top. (I think the feeling was similar to those who complained about the HSQ at Ascutney [which goes higher than any other lift,] not being open.)
The left side (facing downhill) of the Valley Run was ice - the way a trail gets before it melts out completely.
When I ski in November and December, I expect to be skiing through snowguns. In February - not so much. It was impossible to go from the bottom of Sunnyside (or the top of the Valley HSQ) without going through snowguns. While it is admirable that they wanted to repair damage from the rain storm, it seems like they could have found a better place to make snow without inconveniencing the guests. There was plenty of terrain that could have used it without forcing guests to ski through it.
Weather was far colder than I expected. Until the school kids got there after 2PM, it seemed like 80% of the skiers were season pass holders. (I wonder what that means in terms of vacation bookings?)
I thought the best advanced runs on the mountain were Gema and Ciao.
__________
Joshua Segal"
"Feb. 2, 2010 - Tuesday
First, I never pan a ski area where I receive "professional courtesy", but although I skied on a Comp today, it was from a contest and not a "professional courtesy" comp. For some reason, I am drawn like a moth to Waterville Valley, although in the grand scheme of things, I've never loved it.
My review would have been far worse but at the end of the day, I met an acquaintance who works for WV who said that:
1. They get a LOT of traffic
2. They have received very little natural snow with most storms passing to the north of them or the south of them. (WV doesn't post YTD snowfall, so I am taking his word on that one.)
My sense is, they like everybody, they got rained on; and like everybody, they've had a week to recover with a combination of grooming and snowmaking.
My basis for comparison is my yesterday at Mt. Snow, which was far better. But I can say that the bumps on Pluto's Plunge at Crotched Mountain are better than any bumps at WV.
As far as cover goes, the snow must have been shallow, because there were 1" to 3" pebbles all over the place. I picked up a few of the larger ones and tossed them in the woods, but I certainly would have expected managemment to have sent someone to pick these up.
The left side of High Country was more brown than white - and they didn't run the High Country chair. If it's open, I ride it once and the terrain is not that exciting; but when it's closed I feel like I was cheated of the top. (I think the feeling was similar to those who complained about the HSQ at Ascutney [which goes higher than any other lift,] not being open.)
The left side (facing downhill) of the Valley Run was ice - the way a trail gets before it melts out completely.
When I ski in November and December, I expect to be skiing through snowguns. In February - not so much. It was impossible to go from the bottom of Sunnyside (or the top of the Valley HSQ) without going through snowguns. While it is admirable that they wanted to repair damage from the rain storm, it seems like they could have found a better place to make snow without inconveniencing the guests. There was plenty of terrain that could have used it without forcing guests to ski through it.
Weather was far colder than I expected. Until the school kids got there after 2PM, it seemed like 80% of the skiers were season pass holders. (I wonder what that means in terms of vacation bookings?)
I thought the best advanced runs on the mountain were Gema and Ciao.
__________
Joshua Segal"
Similar threads
