Zand
Well-known member
Date(s) Skied: Friday Night 1/9/09
Resort or Ski Area: Wachusett, MA
Conditions: PP, Some Hardpack, Some LSGR... Mid 10s
Trip Report:
Excellent night at Wachusett tonight, probably the best overall conditions on the mountain this year and they're only gonna get better in the next week. Was pretty crowded with all the school groups but manageable, nothing out of the ordinary for a Wachusett Friday night.
Conifer: Hit it before and after grooming and both times it was nice carveable PP. Not much loose stuff and some very patchy scratchy spots here and there, but most of it was good PP. Lots of rangers keeping control.
10th: Hit it once after grooming and it wasn't overly impressive. More slick spots than I would've imagined compared to the other 2 summit trails and again, a lack of loose stuff. Lower had better PP.
Smith: Would've been the best it's been all year top to bottom, but the snowguns at the top killed it. It just wasn't the time for them. Honestly, the trail is no more than 35 feet wide in the first 1/5 of the run and that combined with the high density of inexperienced people just made it crap to get through that one spot. The headwall was just sick... PP down the left and loose stuff to the right. Only problem there was the racing fences they put in today kinda took away my line on the far right that I was ripping on Monday, but there's still plenty of goodies right up along the fence. Lower Smith was the best PP I've skied this year bar none. You could've dug and found gold before you hit the hardpack somewhere under there. The racers will have an incredible time on it when they start, it's just about perfect right now. Polar was in its "normal" speed (not as fast as last week but faster than early season) and had around a 5 minute wait most of the time.
Hitchcock: Mainly PP/Hardpack the entire way. The tunnel of birch trees on the right side of the steeper pitch near the Vickery Bowl created a cool effect. Speaking of Vickery, the snowmakers are going to town in there and should be open in the very near future.
Look Ma: Didn't hit it, but the big park is open and almost fully stocked already. New this year are a few tree logs (probably from the ice storm debris) made into rails and bonks. also back are the traditional lineups of assorted boxes, rails, a couple small jumps, and a couple big jumps. They made a big air jump where the halfpipe used to be with a hikeable rail yard temporarily set up just past the landing of that. The park pass tent is at the bottom of the final steep now instead of at the entrance to the park. The subzero temps next week should allow them to get the park in full tilt as there was still room for a few more features to be added. Looking like a real nice park this year.
Ralph's: Just good ol' Ralphs, pretty much always the same PP/hardpack and semi crowded trail. Minuteman was in full speed with lines of 5-10 minutes.
Sundowner: I think I got off the beaten path at the top because I skied a sheet of ice that looks like my backyard for the first 300 feet or so. After that, it was normal. About halfway down, there's some banked turns, a couple rollers, and a decent sized spine for a beginner park. Monadnock was painfully slow as ever and was a couple chair wait for the night.
That wraps up today... I'll be back up Sunday to hopefully enjoy some good freshies. With a couple moderate snow events followed by a big cold blast next week, the place is setting up for an incredible MLK weekend. This is the longest we've made it into January without hitting 70 in about 5 years (and it hasn't even hit 40 yet which is a real good sign).
Resort or Ski Area: Wachusett, MA
Conditions: PP, Some Hardpack, Some LSGR... Mid 10s
Trip Report:
Excellent night at Wachusett tonight, probably the best overall conditions on the mountain this year and they're only gonna get better in the next week. Was pretty crowded with all the school groups but manageable, nothing out of the ordinary for a Wachusett Friday night.
Conifer: Hit it before and after grooming and both times it was nice carveable PP. Not much loose stuff and some very patchy scratchy spots here and there, but most of it was good PP. Lots of rangers keeping control.
10th: Hit it once after grooming and it wasn't overly impressive. More slick spots than I would've imagined compared to the other 2 summit trails and again, a lack of loose stuff. Lower had better PP.
Smith: Would've been the best it's been all year top to bottom, but the snowguns at the top killed it. It just wasn't the time for them. Honestly, the trail is no more than 35 feet wide in the first 1/5 of the run and that combined with the high density of inexperienced people just made it crap to get through that one spot. The headwall was just sick... PP down the left and loose stuff to the right. Only problem there was the racing fences they put in today kinda took away my line on the far right that I was ripping on Monday, but there's still plenty of goodies right up along the fence. Lower Smith was the best PP I've skied this year bar none. You could've dug and found gold before you hit the hardpack somewhere under there. The racers will have an incredible time on it when they start, it's just about perfect right now. Polar was in its "normal" speed (not as fast as last week but faster than early season) and had around a 5 minute wait most of the time.
Hitchcock: Mainly PP/Hardpack the entire way. The tunnel of birch trees on the right side of the steeper pitch near the Vickery Bowl created a cool effect. Speaking of Vickery, the snowmakers are going to town in there and should be open in the very near future.
Look Ma: Didn't hit it, but the big park is open and almost fully stocked already. New this year are a few tree logs (probably from the ice storm debris) made into rails and bonks. also back are the traditional lineups of assorted boxes, rails, a couple small jumps, and a couple big jumps. They made a big air jump where the halfpipe used to be with a hikeable rail yard temporarily set up just past the landing of that. The park pass tent is at the bottom of the final steep now instead of at the entrance to the park. The subzero temps next week should allow them to get the park in full tilt as there was still room for a few more features to be added. Looking like a real nice park this year.
Ralph's: Just good ol' Ralphs, pretty much always the same PP/hardpack and semi crowded trail. Minuteman was in full speed with lines of 5-10 minutes.
Sundowner: I think I got off the beaten path at the top because I skied a sheet of ice that looks like my backyard for the first 300 feet or so. After that, it was normal. About halfway down, there's some banked turns, a couple rollers, and a decent sized spine for a beginner park. Monadnock was painfully slow as ever and was a couple chair wait for the night.
That wraps up today... I'll be back up Sunday to hopefully enjoy some good freshies. With a couple moderate snow events followed by a big cold blast next week, the place is setting up for an incredible MLK weekend. This is the longest we've made it into January without hitting 70 in about 5 years (and it hasn't even hit 40 yet which is a real good sign).
