Zand
Well-known member
Date(s) Skied: 12/16/05 (Night)
Resort or Ski Area: Wachusett Mountain, MA
Conditions: Frozen Granular
Trip Report:
Good night at Wawa. No crowds, good conditions, and the Rail Jam heats were cool. Got there at 6 and got last chair to the summit at 10.
Conifer: Loose snow at the top, frozen granular at the bottom. The groomers left odd bumps in some areas and one took me by suprise. I made it through skiing in "Kung Fu" stance, to quote Greg.
10th: Probably the best trail on the mountain. Upper had firm, but edgeable and fast frozen snow as did the bottom. There were many places to get air, most notibly the road and the 2 whales at the very bottom.
Smith: Upper was in pretty good shape, but lower had those interesting groomer marks frozen into the snow and made for some weird lumps and bumps. Polar Express was running at 3/4 speed, I'll explain why later.
Challenger/Look Mom: Challenger was in great shape and a lot like 10th. Look Mom was open down to one of the fireroads, where they made you merge back over to Challenger, so people don't go into the Rail Jam area. It was also in good shape.
Ralph's Run: Also in pretty good shape. They did a good job with conditions after all of today's precipitation. Minuteman was running at 1/2 speed, and I'll explain below. Snowmaking is ongoing on Hitchcock and a few various other places on the mountain.
The reason for the slow lifts today was the freezing rain and sleet. The reason it continued into the night was because the lift manager went home at 4 and no one else can touch them, so they stay at that speed. Minuteman was seriously doing the speed of a fixed-grip and Polar was in the speed it was in a few times earlier in the season.
Well, that just about raps it up. The qualifiers for the Rail Jam were awesome, but I won't make it up there tomorrow to see the finals. I'll be back up there next Monday and Thursday.
Resort or Ski Area: Wachusett Mountain, MA
Conditions: Frozen Granular
Trip Report:
Good night at Wawa. No crowds, good conditions, and the Rail Jam heats were cool. Got there at 6 and got last chair to the summit at 10.
Conifer: Loose snow at the top, frozen granular at the bottom. The groomers left odd bumps in some areas and one took me by suprise. I made it through skiing in "Kung Fu" stance, to quote Greg.
10th: Probably the best trail on the mountain. Upper had firm, but edgeable and fast frozen snow as did the bottom. There were many places to get air, most notibly the road and the 2 whales at the very bottom.
Smith: Upper was in pretty good shape, but lower had those interesting groomer marks frozen into the snow and made for some weird lumps and bumps. Polar Express was running at 3/4 speed, I'll explain why later.
Challenger/Look Mom: Challenger was in great shape and a lot like 10th. Look Mom was open down to one of the fireroads, where they made you merge back over to Challenger, so people don't go into the Rail Jam area. It was also in good shape.
Ralph's Run: Also in pretty good shape. They did a good job with conditions after all of today's precipitation. Minuteman was running at 1/2 speed, and I'll explain below. Snowmaking is ongoing on Hitchcock and a few various other places on the mountain.
The reason for the slow lifts today was the freezing rain and sleet. The reason it continued into the night was because the lift manager went home at 4 and no one else can touch them, so they stay at that speed. Minuteman was seriously doing the speed of a fixed-grip and Polar was in the speed it was in a few times earlier in the season.
Well, that just about raps it up. The qualifiers for the Rail Jam were awesome, but I won't make it up there tomorrow to see the finals. I'll be back up there next Monday and Thursday.
Word had it that there was all ice down there. We lucked out up here--all snow. Good accumulations. Excellent long term forecast. This season, so far, has kicked a$$ IMHO 
