Wachusett 2023-24 Season

snowphoenix

Monday 1/15/24

https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=3365

Made a quick trip to Wachusett last night for a few hours of night skiing. The mountain received a couple inches of new snow in a brief flurry on Sunday but a good portion of that had been skied off since then, leading to loose granular, dust-on-crust conditions during the time I was there. Look Mom in particular was quite icy, while Challenger was closed for racing.

Snowmaking was in progress around the base area and the Vickery Bowl as well as Smith Walton (with quite large whales despite only starting on that trail on Sunday), as well as a few other spots around the mountain. Usually only a few-chair wait for the Polar Express and Minuteman Express, though some of the trails felt a little busy at times. The weather was clear and calm with temperatures in the 20s.

I reloaded my RFID card from last season on Wachusett’s website with a Session 4 all-lifts ticket, but it would always display “Ticket not valid at this lift” when I tried to get through the gate. Luckily the lifties would manually open the gate for me. I even stopped into Guest Services to get a new card, but even the new one had the same problem. Hopefully they can fix the issue, but I’ll still always prefer paper tickets to RFID cards.

Look Mom

Ralph's Run

Conifer Connection

10th Mountain Trail

Riding up the Polar Express

Looking uphill from the base area

snowphoenix

Wednesday 1/31/24

https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=3412

Nice conditions last night, with packed powder at the top transitioning to a heavier, slightly stickier wet packed surface lower down. A little bit of boilerplate on steeper areas but it was avoidable. Pretty much all of the night skiing trails were open and all chairlifts were running as well. The college and after-school programs were out in full force, leading to lift lines of 5 to 7 minutes at the Minuteman Express and Polar Express when I started skiing at 7:00. The Vickery Bowl Triple had no line so I took a few runs on it to get away from the crowds. The lines at the main lifts had died down to about 1 to 2 minutes by the time I left just before closing.

It was a calm night with temperatures in the upper 20s/low 30s and no precipitation. The summit was in the clouds but visibility was still adequate. Race training was in progress on Piece of Cake and it looked like there was an adult league racing on Challenger. No snowmaking tonight, but with the current base depths the main trails should be all set for the season.

Conifer Connection

Norm's Way

Smith Walton

Riding up the Vickery Bowl Triple

Frannie's Folly

Shenanigans

Smith Walton

The lodge with the mountain in the background

lotsoskiing

"A little bit of avoidable boilerplate on steeper areas but it was avoidable."

We call that "New England Packed Powder" B)

Looks like a fun night!

snowphoenix

lotsoskiing;c-63785 wrote"A little bit of avoidable boilerplate on steeper areas but it was avoidable."

We call that "New England Packed Powder" B)

Looks like a fun night!

Lol, guess I didn't notice that mistake before I made the post! Thanks for catching that.

And yes, it was an enjoyable night. Wachusett offers a good ski experience for its proximity to Worcester and the Boston metro area, which is evident by their popularity!

snowphoenix

Wednesday 2/14/24

https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=3464

A great couple of hours at Wachusett last night. All but one of the trails were open during the day, and all night skiing terrain was open. Conditions were mostly fine loose granular, but there was also some machine-made packed powder to be found on select trails thanks to snowmaking running tonight. The weather was clear with temperatures in the low to mid 20s and moderate wind, which blew the lighter snow around a bit. The mountain wasn't too busy, but all lifts were open and lines were scarcely longer than a minute, so I was able to take 16 runs in just under two-and-a-half hours!

Conifer Connection

Riding up the Vickery Bowl Triple

Hitchcock Trail

Look Mom

Challenger

Indian Summer

10th Mountain Trail

Smith Walton

snowphoenix

Wednesday 2/21/24

https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=3492

Thanks to snowmaking, conditions were decent at Wachusett last night despite there not being much natural snow recently. All night skiing trails were open, and Roper’s Road was the only trail closed during the day. The snow was machine-made packed powder or loose granular, with some patches of boilerplate on the steeps. Only a couple minutes’ wait for the main lifts, and the lines got even shorter toward the end of the night as usual. The weather was clear with no wind and temperatures starting around freezing and going down into the upper 20s.

Challenger

Ralph's Run

Lower Conifer

Salamander Cutoff

Smith Walton