Wachusett

[learn2turn]

They close Smith for the morning, I lost track of when they open it, IIRC around 11:00- noon.

I doubt they will leave one side of the trail open. If they did, They will get the occasional skier and rider who needs the width to get down. Usually by the end of the shift, you get long section on smith that has been scrape to plate. Think about it, racers trying to make high speed turns and then you get people needing to transverse the whole width to get down.... not a good combination.

They will do it when slalom training. I know I've seen it on Smith. They'll have brush gates set up on the left side with a banner on top saying racing training in progress and the general public should stay clear. The other side of the trail will be open.

I do not think that management likes to close a whole trail at all. There's too much lift capacity for the remaining trails. I doubt they'd let the race team close any trail for more than an hour or so in the early morning, except maybe Pizza Cake which gets almost no traffic. The exception is when running real races like weeknight Nastar league and the few weekend races. That brings in a couple hundred skiers a night, too much business to ignore. The weekend races are only a few days a year.

Check the calendar--
http://wawa.wachusett.com/events/Event_Listing/default.cfm
If you don't want to be there one a race day, just pick another day.

Everyone has their thing and is going to wish that more of the mountain was devoted to it. I've heard park rats say they think all of Wa should be just park features. Racers would want gates everywhere. Bumpers would be happy if every trail had bumps; freeskiers (like me) would be happy with almost no grooming anywhere ... ever, of course then the mountain would be unskiable by 90-95% of clientèle. We (well almost everyone I hang out with) would like to ski in the woods but the state park says "no" so that means "no" and we don't.

 

[wa-loaf]

Think about it, racers trying to make high speed turns and then you get people needing to transverse the whole width to get down.... not a good combination.

I've been down it (trail was open) while they have gates set up and kids training on it at night. Just slalom gates, they need the whole trail if they are doing GS.

I generally avoid WA on the weekends. I'll go up after 4 on a Sunday, but I want nothing to do with FRI/SAT night or SAT/SUN day mid season. I think because of last years conditions we might have gotten a little used the place having fewer people. Thursday started racing for the season and there was a super long line at the ski check when I got there. No waiting once I was back out and booted up by 6:30. Of course it was 3 degrees that night, so I suppose this week will be the test.

 

[gr82ski]

As someone has stated...

..Wa is a victim of its own success and location.

Look, it gets crowded when then snow is good. It gets crowded when the snow is good AND there is a race (AND/or race training). So what are to take from this?

Wa gets crowded. You have to anticipate it, and you have to live with it.

No one forces you to buy a ticket or pass.

You have to be strategic. If you can, then you know when and where to ski to avoid the crowds. If you can't, then you must have patience.

As far as racing at Wachusett, you basically have 6 categories - each with its own schedule and demands:

1 - Wachusett Mountain Race Team
2 - Adult race league
3 - NASTAR
4 - High School training/racing
5 - Buddy Werner
6 - "Other"

Now to break them down:

1 - J5's through J1's. They train Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 9:00-ish. J1's and J2's (sometimes J3's) will train on Smith. They will generally NOT close the trail and use 1/2 of the trail for SL training. They sometimes will have the J3's on lower Smith. J3's, J4's and J5's will usually train in the Vickery Bowl, sometimes lower Smith, after the Adult race league starts.

The kids also train on Saturday/Sunday mornings when they aren't racing. This is when Smith will get closed, although not always the entire trail. At some point these races will train GS and they'll need the entire width to do it safely (for themselves and the safety of the general skiing public). The younger kids will generally not train on Smith. They're usually done with exclusive use of the trail by 10:00 - 11:00.

Wachusett hosts a J1/J2 USSA race (just held this past weekend) and J3/J4/J5 USSA GS as well.

2 - Adult race league. This is what closes down Challenger on Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thu evenings. The end of season Great Race is held on Smith which is closed for the day.

3 - Nastar. Challenger. Enough said.

4 - A number of High Schools train / race at Wachusett. This is usually done after school and they wrap up before the evening crowds arrive. There is a weekly race for the High Schools, and it too is held on Challenger. Last year the races were on Fridays. This year the MA state high school championships are to be held at Wachusett, on a weekday.

5 - Buddy Werner - Last year Wachusett started "renting" Challenger to the Buddy Werner race league. There were some races held on Challenger on a weekend.

6 - OTHER - Wachusett holds some snowboarding/freestyle/other events.

As far as the school programs go, well how can you complain about offering low-cost skiing/boarding to the masses? Shouldn't we be trying to grow the sport by bringing in new participants?

The trick is again, knowing WHEN to go. Monday through Thursday nights are great - AFTER 8:00 pm. Lots of open hill space. Friday nights? Well that's a different animal. No school on Saturday, so the kids/parents stay until 10:00. Weekends? Get there early for the best turns/parking.

Look, bash the Crowley's all you want (I've had my share of criticisms in the past) but you have to give them credit for being passionate about what they do up at the mountain. They're there all the time. I've seen David in the cafeteria first thing in the morning making sandwiches for the lunch crowd. I've seen Jeff walking around cleaning tables on more then 1 occasion. Carolyn is all over the place and knows everybody.

The snow is great and the crowds are there, so people love to comlain about that. But what about last season? Where were the complaints about the crowds? There were FEW because they didn't show up. You know what? Last year was some of the BEST snow conditions I've ever seen up at Wachusett and NO ONE SHOWED UP!

 

[Greg]

Great first post!

..Wa is a victim of its own success and location.

Look, it gets crowded when then snow is good. It gets crowded when the snow is good AND there is a race (AND/or race training). So what are to take from this?

Wa gets crowded. You have to anticipate it, and you have to live with it.

No one forces you to buy a ticket or pass.

You have to be strategic. If you can, then you know when and where to ski to avoid the crowds. If you can't, then you must have patience.

As far as racing at Wachusett, you basically have 6 categories - each with its own schedule and demands:

1 - Wachusett Mountain Race Team
2 - Adult race league
3 - NASTAR
4 - High School training/racing
5 - Buddy Werner
6 - "Other"

Now to break them down:

1 - J5's through J1's. They train Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 9:00-ish. J1's and J2's (sometimes J3's) will train on Smith. They will generally NOT close the trail and use 1/2 of the trail for SL training. They sometimes will have the J3's on lower Smith. J3's, J4's and J5's will usually train in the Vickery Bowl, sometimes lower Smith, after the Adult race league starts.

The kids also train on Saturday/Sunday mornings when they aren't racing. This is when Smith will get closed, although not always the entire trail. At some point these races will train GS and they'll need the entire width to do it safely (for themselves and the safety of the general skiing public). The younger kids will generally not train on Smith. They're usually done with exclusive use of the trail by 10:00 - 11:00.

Wachusett hosts a J1/J2 USSA race (just held this past weekend) and J3/J4/J5 USSA GS as well.

2 - Adult race league. This is what closes down Challenger on Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thu evenings. The end of season Great Race is held on Smith which is closed for the day.

3 - Nastar. Challenger. Enough said.

4 - A number of High Schools train / race at Wachusett. This is usually done after school and they wrap up before the evening crowds arrive. There is a weekly race for the High Schools, and it too is held on Challenger. Last year the races were on Fridays. This year the MA state high school championships are to be held at Wachusett, on a weekday.

5 - Buddy Werner - Last year Wachusett started "renting" Challenger to the Buddy Werner race league. There were some races held on Challenger on a weekend.

6 - OTHER - Wachusett holds some snowboarding/freestyle/other events.

As far as the school programs go, well how can you complain about offering low-cost skiing/boarding to the masses? Shouldn't we be trying to grow the sport by bringing in new participants?

The trick is again, knowing WHEN to go. Monday through Thursday nights are great - AFTER 8:00 pm. Lots of open hill space. Friday nights? Well that's a different animal. No school on Saturday, so the kids/parents stay until 10:00. Weekends? Get there early for the best turns/parking.

Look, bash the Crowley's all you want (I've had my share of criticisms in the past) but you have to give them credit for being passionate about what they do up at the mountain. They're there all the time. I've seen David in the cafeteria first thing in the morning making sandwiches for the lunch crowd. I've seen Jeff walking around cleaning tables on more then 1 occasion. Carolyn is all over the place and knows everybody.

The snow is great and the crowds are there, so people love to comlain about that. But what about last season? Where were the complaints about the crowds? There were FEW because they didn't show up. You know what? Last year was some of the BEST snow conditions I've ever seen up at Wachusett and NO ONE SHOWED UP!

Wow! That's one helluva first post! Welcome to the boards, gr82ski!

I've never skied WaWa, but this post seems to have a very realistic view of the situation. Kind of refreshing...

 

[f1kartracer]

I agree with you gr82ski they run a great business. On the other hand I was there in dec 2006 when it was 60 and the trails were 20' wide and for the most part the only people there were season pass holders the same goes for 12/24 12/26 and 12/27/07. Then on 12/28 they sold out at like 9:30 in the morning no rhyme or reason because 12/26 was actually a better day than the the 28.For me because of my job I have no flexibility when I have the time I go otherwise I wont get out at all. I know that some kind of lane that gives pass holders a shorter wait is logistically impossible but it doesnt hurt to ask either. I learned to ski there and so did my daughter they have a great staff of instructors so for know we go we just ride up as singles to cut the wait time down. I miss that quality time on the lft with her but neither one of us likes to wait in line that long. I think that is the keep moving or freeze aspect.

 

[Greg]

Welcome to all the new WaWa members! Is this thread linked somewhere?

 

[learn2turn]

Welcome to all the new WaWa members! Is this thread linked somewhere?

Yeah, someone posted a link on epic. That's were I found it.

 

[Greg]

Yeah, someone posted a link on epic. That's were I found it.

Cool. Well, welcome to AZ. A lot of local (Northeast) like minded skiers here.

 

[peterk123]

Everyone has made great points here. I also agree that they are running a business and should squeeze every penny they can out of a very short season.

I have definately noticed a shift though during the past two to three years away from the passholder or day pass user, to events, racing and ski clubs.

The comments about choosing the off times to go is valid as well, except for the fact that a full season pass costs over $600 and then you have to multiply by the number of people in your family. For that type of money, SW should be open on weekend mornings for the public. The first hour on weekends are one of those rare moments when the skiing is truly great up there. Imagine being one of the people that drive an hour and half or longer from CT only to find that you can't ski one of the best trails up there. Granted it will open up in a couple of hours but by then the mobs are joining you. SW has been consistently closed, completely, until at least 9:30 AM on weekends.

We all have the ability to make choices about where to go or not go, that's a given. So if we don't like what is happening we can certainly choose another mountain. At a minimum, this has been a great discussion and maybe the folks at the mountain will read this and see that some people have noticed a change. It's tough to let go of a place after going there for 35 years.

 

[wa-loaf]

The comments about choosing the off times to go is valid as well, except for the fact that a full season pass costs over $600 and then you have to multiply by the number of people in your family.

Just curious, but does anyone actually pay full price for a pass? I always get mine early and through a GPS club. My silver cost $250 and I think the Gold was going for about $400.

 

[jack97]

Just curious, but does anyone actually pay full price for a pass? I always get mine early and through a GPS club. My silver cost $250 and I think the Gold was going for about $400.

Yup, I got my bronze in oct/sep for around 200.

 

[hiroto]

Last year was some of the BEST snow conditions I've ever seen up at Wachusett and NO ONE SHOWED UP!

I thought last season was one of the best season at Wa too. I loved it when it was only Conifer open from top of the mountain and I could make 20 runs in 2 hours. The place was always empty with plenty of spaces to relax and no hustle. Comfortably parking at low single digit row all the time. It was great for family skiing. I really appreciated their effort and ability to provide that kid of skiing last year, and I was kind of glad to be in 20 minutes wait line this Sunday seeing Wa back in its normal weekend busyness.

 

[f1kartracer]

gold pass 499 gps price

 

[learn2turn]

Weekend/Holiday was about $389 GPS.

 

[hrstrat57]

I am the evil linker

:uzi:

Yep twas me.....we have a thread running steady on wa on epic for over 2 years I think....I thought the regular readers of the epic thread(it is by far the most viewed trip report in epicski history, heck maybe in internet history!!!!) would enjoy reading this one....and might enjoy a quick visit to AZ..

so cross linking now....the other way....just keeping the information highway open....

http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=48899&referrerid=8500

:smash:

Good thread!

 

[Greg]

we have a thread running steady on wa on epic for over 2 years I think....I thought the regular readers of the epic thread(it is by far the most viewed trip report in epicski history, heck maybe in internet history!!!!)

Meh. We have a buttload of trip planning threads that received hundreds of replies and thousands of views:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/trips-events-forum/?order=desc&sort=replycount

I think AZ, more than any other forum that I know of, facilitates groups of skiers to gather together in person to ski. Probably mostly a result of it being a regional site. We are a community, not just a message board.

 

[Zand]

Another small problem for the Polar Express tonight... it shut down for about 5 minutes and after a few phone calls and an engineer trip, it was running again albeit slower.

It would break my heart to have to have it replaced... it must be the loudest lift in New England and it's like one of those things that synonmous to Wachusett. You can hear the damn bottom terminal restarting from the top of the mountain haha.

 

[hrstrat57]

Meh. We have a buttload of trip planning threads that received hundreds of replies and thousands of views:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/trips-events-forum/?order=desc&sort=replycount

I think AZ, more than any other forum that I know of, facilitates groups of skiers to gather together in person to ski. Probably mostly a result of it being a regional site. We are a community, not just a message board.

Can't disagree, which is why I linked this to epic most there don't even know AZ exists which I thought is a shame....

A good example would be Zand's regular wa reviews.....I rely on those for info a lot more than the wa website....our epic thread is just a long running(albeit fun) ramble.

Different style of doing business for sure....tho we have gotten a few folks together and hope to do more....

jong question.....what's a "meh"?

:-?

 

[Greg]

jong question.....what's a "meh"?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=meh

 

[jack97]

The place was always empty with plenty of spaces to relax and no hustle. Comfortably parking at low single digit row all the time. It was great for family skiing.

:blink: When was this? I missed a good chunk of skiing mid season last year but the only time you get any peace and quiet is the weekday morning till 2-3 and and at nite after 8:00 pm.