Zand
Well-known member
Date(s) Skied: Monday Night 2/4/08
Resort or Ski Area: Wachusett Mountain, MA
Conditions: EXTREMELY dense LSGR; Low 30s, cloudy
Trip Report:
Good night over all, but the very dense snow wreaked havoc for anyone who didn't know what they were doing. There were 3 injuries in a span of 20 minutes around 6:30 on 10th and Smith. Pretty nasty stuff if you got caught in it.
Balance Rock/Conifer: Upper Balance had a few glaring ice patches at the very top, but after that it was pretty good... the usual scraped middle and nice sides. I skied Lower Balance for the first time this year and it was a little more slick and also was almost down to the dirt in a few places... I don't think Lower will make it through the rainstorm. Upper might. Conifer had very dense snow before grooming, then I hit it 3 straight times right after grooming. The dense stuff grooms out very well and the first 2 runs were great corduroy, but the 3rd already had all kinds of dense stuff built up and people all over the place.
10th/Salamander: Moguls are gone again. Skiers right on upper 10th had the dense snow so deep it was almost unskiable... I almost sank my tips a few times. Skiers left was scraped on the headwall but the middle was actually good. The short chute had some glaring ice patches on skiers left but skiers right had good snow. Salamander was like lower Balance... don't think it'll make it through the storm. Lower 10th had the usual mounds for some air. I didn't get back to 10th until way after grooming and it was already back to how it was.
Smith: The lip and drop before the headwall had GREAT air tonight... the dropoff was a lot steeper than usual. Lots of fun. The headwall was scraped on the first half in a few places and the bottom had the dense stuff in full force. Lower was full of it. Polar Express was in full speed and was ski on most of the night... a few 10-15 chair waits around 4:30.
Hitchcock/Frannies: Mini park is gone, leaving a few very small mounds. Otherwise, the trail was pretty much uninteresting.
Look Mom: Still the same as last week. It's in great shape except for a few of the mini-jumps on which the landings are too far away from the ramps and it's nearly impossible to jump all the way to the landing. Otherwise, the park had all the dense stuff just like the summit. Halfpipe was decent for the most part although the end of the left wall was a little rough. Minuteman was slow with a 20 chair wait max... also ski on some of the time.
Well, certainly a very interesting night. Many of the folks I rode the lift with agreed it was very tough stuff to ski in, certainly much harder than spring snow if you hit it where it was deep. The good news is the mountain is in great shape in the middle of this thaw, no bare spots to speak of even on the narrow trails (although Lower Balance and Salamander are getting there). I'd certainly think all of the major trails will have no problem with the thaw's last hurrah tomorrow and Wednesday. Plus, it appears arctic cold will be back around Sunday so any thin spots will be history by then. I'll be back Friday night.
Resort or Ski Area: Wachusett Mountain, MA
Conditions: EXTREMELY dense LSGR; Low 30s, cloudy
Trip Report:
Good night over all, but the very dense snow wreaked havoc for anyone who didn't know what they were doing. There were 3 injuries in a span of 20 minutes around 6:30 on 10th and Smith. Pretty nasty stuff if you got caught in it.
Balance Rock/Conifer: Upper Balance had a few glaring ice patches at the very top, but after that it was pretty good... the usual scraped middle and nice sides. I skied Lower Balance for the first time this year and it was a little more slick and also was almost down to the dirt in a few places... I don't think Lower will make it through the rainstorm. Upper might. Conifer had very dense snow before grooming, then I hit it 3 straight times right after grooming. The dense stuff grooms out very well and the first 2 runs were great corduroy, but the 3rd already had all kinds of dense stuff built up and people all over the place.
10th/Salamander: Moguls are gone again. Skiers right on upper 10th had the dense snow so deep it was almost unskiable... I almost sank my tips a few times. Skiers left was scraped on the headwall but the middle was actually good. The short chute had some glaring ice patches on skiers left but skiers right had good snow. Salamander was like lower Balance... don't think it'll make it through the storm. Lower 10th had the usual mounds for some air. I didn't get back to 10th until way after grooming and it was already back to how it was.
Smith: The lip and drop before the headwall had GREAT air tonight... the dropoff was a lot steeper than usual. Lots of fun. The headwall was scraped on the first half in a few places and the bottom had the dense stuff in full force. Lower was full of it. Polar Express was in full speed and was ski on most of the night... a few 10-15 chair waits around 4:30.
Hitchcock/Frannies: Mini park is gone, leaving a few very small mounds. Otherwise, the trail was pretty much uninteresting.
Look Mom: Still the same as last week. It's in great shape except for a few of the mini-jumps on which the landings are too far away from the ramps and it's nearly impossible to jump all the way to the landing. Otherwise, the park had all the dense stuff just like the summit. Halfpipe was decent for the most part although the end of the left wall was a little rough. Minuteman was slow with a 20 chair wait max... also ski on some of the time.
Well, certainly a very interesting night. Many of the folks I rode the lift with agreed it was very tough stuff to ski in, certainly much harder than spring snow if you hit it where it was deep. The good news is the mountain is in great shape in the middle of this thaw, no bare spots to speak of even on the narrow trails (although Lower Balance and Salamander are getting there). I'd certainly think all of the major trails will have no problem with the thaw's last hurrah tomorrow and Wednesday. Plus, it appears arctic cold will be back around Sunday so any thin spots will be history by then. I'll be back Friday night.
