Wawa - 3/6/12 night session

[speden]

Headed up to Wawa to stretch the legs tonight. Surprisingly chilly for some reason, even though temps were just a little below freezing. I guess race season is over, so the after school crowd was pretty much missing and the place was uncrowded.

Trails were loose granular over smooth as glass hardpack ice. Skied really fast, sort of like a skating rink. Most places it would edge okay, but in areas where it was scraped off, my skis would not dig in, and trying to set an edge to turn was taken as only a humorous suggestion by the trails. Throwing caution to the wind, I scared myself a couple times, but luckily didn't take any falls. It would have hurt.

Bumps are still there in the usual places, but were obviously hard as rock, so I didn't try them. Should be a lot better once the hot weather hits later this week. I did try some dolphin turns, which look easy on youtube, but I found were not so easy for me. I didn't give it a full effort though, since I didn't want to fall on the hardpack.

New thing at the mountain was an air bag for practicing jumps with a soft landing. Some pics of that below.

I waited for the groomers to clear Tenth and then went down shortly after the first mad rush. Had a close call with a little kid at the chokepoint section. Not sure why a parent would let a little kid partake in that melee when the trail first opens. Tempting fate for sure.

Moonlight over Wawa

 

[reefer]

Thanks for the report. Glad to hear the bumps are still around. I'll be there Thursday 11:00 - 4:00.

 

[The Sneak]

Today would be a great day to get out there. Hoping its nice n soft this weekend AM.

 

[NotEasyBeingGreen]

Nice pics! I have to say they've really done a pretty amazing job this year considering they've had nothing natural to work with.

 

[speden]

Glad you liked the pictures. They were a little difficult to take since my camera isn't so good at night shots. I had to try really hard to hold the camera steady or else it would be all blurry.

Wachusett has done pretty well with the snowmaking this year. I just hope the base can hold up to this warm weather since I doubt they will do more snowmaking this season.

 

[dmw]

Wachusett has done pretty well with the snowmaking this year. I just hope the base can hold up to this warm weather since I doubt they will do more snowmaking this season.

Good call; today's snow report email says no more snowmaking this year. They definitely did well up to now - my first time ever getting a season pass, and they made it worthwhile even with this weather.

 

[wawawawawa]

I talked to a snowmaker about two weeks ago, and they were already pretty much done a week before that.

 

[Nick]

Is the air bag open to the public? How does that work? Looks like fun

 

[Nick]

Good call; today's snow report email says no more snowmaking this year. They definitely did well up to now - my first time ever getting a season pass, and they made it worthwhile even with this weather.

That's too bad; but it is actually pretty damn amazing what they had this winter so far considering the temps and season.

 

[speden]

I wonder if they'll start skipping the afternoon grooming now to preserve snow. Without the second grooming the night skiing can really suck.

The ten day forecast looks pretty bad for the snow pack there. I guess it won't be too long before the trail count starts to drop.

 

[speden]

Is the air bag open to the public? How does that work? Looks like fun

You have to pay a fee for it. 2 jumps for ten bucks, unlimited for a day for $25. It will be there until Sunday. It did look like fun. Mostly younger kids were hitting it while I was there.

 

[Nick]

I might puss out on it even though it's just a big air bag and nothing can really happen.

 

[speden]

I saw one kid hit it and he was trying to do a horizontal spin, but he spun so hard on the launch he twisted right out of one of his skis, which then went flying. It would be pretty hard to hurt yourself on it, but I'd probably find a way if I tried it.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Headed up to Wawa to stretch the legs tonight. Surprisingly chilly for some reason, even though temps were just a little below freezing. I guess race season is over, so the after school crowd was pretty much missing and the place was uncrowded.

Trails were loose granular over smooth as glass hardpack ice. Skied really fast, sort of like a skating rink. Most places it would edge okay, but in areas where it was scraped off, my skis would not dig in, and trying to set an edge to turn was taken as only a humorous suggestion by the trails. Throwing caution to the wind, I scared myself a couple times, but luckily didn't take any falls. It would have hurt.

Bumps are still there in the usual places, but were obviously hard as rock, so I didn't try them. Should be a lot better once the hot weather hits later this week. I did try some dolphin turns, which look easy on youtube, but I found were not so easy for me. I didn't give it a full effort though, since I didn't want to fall on the hardpack.

New thing at the mountain was an air bag for practicing jumps with a soft landing. Some pics of that below.

I waited for the groomers to clear Tenth and then went down shortly after the first mad rush. Had a close call with a little kid at the chokepoint section. Not sure why a parent would let a little kid partake in that melee when the trail first opens. Tempting fate for sure.

Moonlight over Wawa

Nice dude. Dolphin turns are hard to do. But once you get the hang of it, you will be skiing zipper lines through the bumps!