VAIL SUCKS

[Zand]

I mostly gave up night skiing as well. I actually drove right by Wachusett on the way up and as usual the lines were totally full and there were about 40 buses in the lower lot. That place is absolute hell on weeknights when the thousands of kids are there. Meanwhile at Crotched there were maybe 4 buses, you could park right up against the snow which was cool, and the terrain was pretty similar to Wachusett and I think I would've had a good enough time for a couple hours. Lifts were all ski-on. Terrain was a lot better than Pats (sans Hurricane) and no runout. But when that summit chair goes down the rest of the place blows.

Also that lodge is a nice mix of a prison, elementary school, and one of those big southern churches that looks like a warehouse. Ugly as all hell inside and out. Not really an inviting bar space either, literally just a wall set up between the main dining area and a few high tops and small bar.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

the one scenario i could see myself doing is pushing thru the end of the day at bolton to enjoy the sunset from the mountain. beyond that, needs to be >30, no wind, dumping snow. to at least give me the novelty of nighttime powder skiing.

i can see the appeal for park rats

does the bolton indy access go thru night shift? i closed down wilderness last saturday at 4 PM but didnt try to get on vista at 4:15

 

[xlr8r]

Crotched sucks IMO, its my least favorite ski area. The trails have no character, and the intersection of Moonwalk, Milkyway and Pluto's Plunge is one of the biggest clusterf***s anywhere. I much prefer Pats Peak even though the runs are shorter, as long as Vortex is running. When Vortex is closed laps take too long riding Hurricane or Peak chairs.

 

[AdironRider]

Based on the Indy payout structure, Bolton is incentivized to give you the all hours day ticket when you redeem, so my understanding is yes, it included night skiing.

 

[Zand]

Crotched sucks IMO, its my least favorite ski area. The trails have no character, and the intersection of Moonwalk, Milkyway and Pluto's Plunge is one of the biggest clusterf***s anywhere. I much prefer Pats Peak even though the runs are shorter, as long as Vortex is running. When Vortex is closed laps take too long riding Hurricane or Peak chairs.

I don't really disagree with your assessment. But when have just a couple hours to ski after work I like having a quick express lift and steep groomers and basically doing a bunch of 5 minute laps. Vortex certainly makes Pats more bearable but other than Hurricane (and FIS if it's open) you basically ski a short pitch and then still have to slog down the runout to get back to the base.

The summit of Crotched is definitely a mess, but once you're past that dumb cross trail you get some pretty solid pitch most of the way down. That's one of the few things I can appreciate about Wachusett, almost every trail is a separate trail top to bottom and you never have to worry about people flying out in front of you on a crossover.

 

[Quietman]

Rocket is currently spinning as of 3:15(from the webcam), albeit with no one on it. The lift mechanics at Crotched are top notch!
Not sure if or when it will officially reopen, but this is a good sign!

 

[crippity]

bolton includes night skiing and think of after daylight saving in mid to late march, its light so late there, its awesome. BV rules. so even if you have used your Indy if your up there for friday, pay the 25 bucks

 

[oldfartrider]

You have to watch that valley quad at Crotched. That lift put a nice big grease stain on the back of my jacket. Unfortunately I didn’t notice it until a few days later

 

[Smellytele]

You have to watch that valley quad at Crotched. That lift put a nice big grease stain on the back of my jacket. Unfortunately I didn’t notice it until a few days later

That is why I usually have a black or dark gray jacket. Rule I always had for the kids was not white jackets or ski pants. I had boys so no real issue there. Wife follows that suggestion as well.

 

[Edd]

You have to watch that valley quad at Crotched. That lift put a nice big grease stain on the back of my jacket. Unfortunately I didn’t notice it until a few days later

That is the worst, it's happened to me also at BW. I can't imagine a ski area reimbursing for that though; at least I've never heard of it happening.

 

[thetrailboss]

More lift woes for Vail.....

Park City Mountain working to open Pioneer lift after offseason malfunction

A mechanical issue was found in Park City Mountain’s Pioneer lift during a preseason inspection, limiting its opening this winter.

www.kpcw.org

x.com

x.com

 

[Quietman]

Rocket reopened at 4pm today.

 

[thetrailboss]

CBMR lift maintenance warns of potential union strike - The Crested Butte News

“We don’t want to have to go on strike to be treated fairly, but we will do what we have to do to ge

crestedbuttenews.com

 

[eatskisleep]

Wildcat Mountain Express Ski lift Gondola | eBay

<p>This is the most modern version of Gondola used at Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire. Used condition, small graffiti and signatures with dates scattered around interior. One side window cracked but comes with spare window. Can provide proof of legal ownership to prospective buyer at pickup. </p>

www.ebay.com

 

[oldfartrider]

That is the worst, it's happened to me also at BW. I can't imagine a ski area reimbursing for that though; at least I've never heard of it happening.

A friend of mine got reimbursed at Gore for that.

 

[LuckyStrike]

Wawa is empty after 7. It’s not worth going before then. They also start closing at 8 after daylights savings which has annoyed the shit outta me for years.

 

[Zand]

Wawa is empty after 7. It’s not worth going before then. They also start closing at 8 after daylights savings which has annoyed the shit outta me for years.

I used to absolutely love early season night skiing at Wachusett. Pretty much from opening day through Christmas Eve I'd be up there multiple times per week and have the place to myself. Ski 4-10 and get an easy 40k vert every time, good for getting the legs in shape for mid season. Then Jan-Feb the school groups invade every day 3-7 so the good vibes would fade quickly. Unfortunately they also now close by 7 or 8 early season also so that nice time of year is no longer a thing. I get it from a business standpoint but I would still buy a pass there if I could ski till 10 on December evenings. From my understanding they almost never seed bumps on 10th anymore (maybe this year since it's been good snowmaking weather?) which is also a dealbreaker for me.

It empties out between 7-8 this time of year, yes, but closing is now 9:30 and it's unbearable before the school groups leave, so now you only get about 1.5 hours of it not being a zoo.

I definitely liked the lack of a crowd at Crotched the other night. Literally 10% the amount of busses that Wachusett had in the lot at the same time.

 

[AdironRider]

I mean, screw those kids getting into the sport right?

 

[Zand]

45 buses is too much at a 1000 vert hill with 3 lifts. Not a whole let of respect to go around from many of them either. I've been run over several times there.