Snow Business: Wachusett's Snowmaking Investment Pays Dividends

PRINCETON, MA — Wachusett has pulled off something remarkable that may have savaged its season, thanks to a major snowmaking investment that certainly paid dividends this week.

Hold that thought, while the stage is set. Monday was simply stellar, one of those March days that skiers and snowboarders just crave. Te day started off at 17 degrees, which means the snow not mush to begin the day. By late morning, it was in the low-40s and the snow right before lunch was soft and downright enjoyable.

"It's a great day out there," Wachusett president Jeff Crowley said.

When Crowley and another member of Wachusett's founding family were asked what they were saying four days earlier, they were truly at a loss for words. Carolyn Crowley Stimpson then managed to make a emoji-like frowny face that essentially summed things up.

With temperatures near 70 and rain one day, Wachusett officials were facing a disaster. The snow was running off the mountain into the reservoir across the street and, as one Wawa regular said on the lift Monday, "Things were crap."

Then, the temperatures turned cold again and Wachusett's $2 million worth of upgrades to the snowmaking system were kicked into high gear. Part of the upgrade was doubling the output capacity to more than 8,000 gallons per minute, which meant two trails could be covered with a foot of snow overnight.

Longtime Wachusett Marketing Director Tom Meyers said he could not remember seeing so much snow made the first week of March. Whatever happened produced a weekday reverie on a bed of soft snow that allowed people to toss their concerns aside and just ski.

"It's just perfect," another longtime Wachusett skier said.

She was right.

"It was a great effort on the part of our snowmaking team," Jeff Crowley said.

The bottom line is that Wachusett's snowmaking has been great over the past several years, but it took time to build a slope. With the increased capacity, Wachusett is now close to the big hills to the north in terms of how much snow can be made.

All eyes are now on a powerful storm system that could turn into a nor'easter and dump snow on the region Tuesday. If that happens, Wachusett could be back to mid-season form in Mid-March. Even if it does not dump, conditions will still be good for this time of year.

And it is a great time of year. Try Wachusett this spring. The trip, just about 90 minutes from Hartford, will be worth it.

Click here for a condition check.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

Chris Dehnel is a Patch editor and past-president of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. His Snow Business column appears regularly during the season.