Snow Business: The Wachusett Cannons Are Hard At Work

PRINCETON, MA — About a week ago, Wachusett Mountain President Jeff Crowley was sitting in one of the restaurants at the snow sports area and he flagged down a visiting journalist.

His question was, "How do I convey to the folks in Connecticut what is going on here for the MLK weekend?"

He thought for what seemed like only a split second and then the question became rhetorical.

"These snow guns aren't pea shooters," he said.

And that summed it up.

Wachusett is again defying the odds, defying the geography and defying come conventional wisdom (that's probably long-outdated by now) that the 1,000 vertical-foot mountains struggle when the weather isn't necessarily cooperating.

Wachusett is not struggling. Wachusett is prospering. A trip there last weekend was an adventure in solid cover, the trademark facilities back in full action and skiing and riding that was downright enjoyable.

But then again, what else is new, just about 90 minutes from Hartford and just north of Worcester? Wachusett has made investments in its snow making capabilities consistently over the years and tends to get some of the coldest temperatures in the area. It all adds up to the pea shooters turning into Howitzers.

Despite Mother nature not being able to make up her mind about winter so far this season, Wachusett, heading into the MLK weekend, is sporting base depths of 21 to 26 inches with 5 of 8 lifts running and 17 trails open. That's 100 of 125 acres open.

The grooming fleet, another major investment over the years, tends to keep things nice and tidy.

"We try hard, "Crowley said. "I think the product has been good, despite the weather being the way it has. We just need to get the word out that we're open and doing well."

An example was Ralph's Run, named after Jeff's dad and the Wachusett founder. The snow guns had blanketed the blue cruiser to make every turn enjoyable and enough snow had drifted into the trees so that the adventurous - albeit with care - could slide off the trail for a couple of turns.

That essentially summed up what Wachusett is doing so far in a perplexing season.

"All I can say is come up Connecticut," Crowley said. "We'll do our best to give you good skiing and riding."

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Chris Dehnel is a Patch editor who has been writing about snow sports for more than two decades. He is a past president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association and former board member of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association.