Snow Business: Wachusett — A Short Trip With Big Results

Sometimes it's good to ignore the "death cold" hype and just ski. With that in mind, two things came out of a family trip to Massachusetts on Wednesday ― Wachusett is having one of its best early season periods ever and if you know how to dress, so what if it's a little cold.

A bit about the cold. It was 7 degrees. That's not warm but it is also not "dangerous" as the 5:39 a.m. "warning" sent out by an area television station declared. With two 7-year-olds in tow, did we have to be careful? Yes. But we did not have to stay home, as the "warning" implied.

So it was a little Dermatone frosbite cream on the face, a thin balaclava underneath the helmet and a face mask.

We found a trail off the Monadnock chairlift that was in the sun and sheltered from the wind. We took a few runs, then went in. Then took some more. By 1:30, we had skied a plenty.

A fiend in the industry once said skiers and snowboarders do not suffer from the cold, just bad equipment. We were dressed well and had a good day despite the temperature.

Now about Wachusett. For a mountain so far south — It's only about an hour-and-a-half from Hartford, just north of Worcester — it's features are amazing.

A powerful snowmaking system allowed for a Nov. 12 opening with all three major chairs running. It has 1,000 vertical feet, which is plenty for both adult and kids on a day trip from Connecticut. It's huge base lodge with restaurants and a full-service shop, plenty of table space and corporate suites, makes even some large resorts jealous.

Wachusett's three high-speed lifts get skiers and riders up the mountain quickly.

The early morning runs were spent on the two trails serviced by the Monadnock chair. The feature a gentle pitch, are groomed impeccably and mellow bumps even form off to the side for a little fun.

The kids even ventured onto their first-ever blue trail — Ralph's Run, a meandering adventure named after Wachusett founder Ralph Crowley serviced by the Munuteman chair.

The bottom line was another good day at Wachusett, which never seems to disappoint. It's a gem for families that is amazingly close by.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

Chris Dehnel is a Patch Editor. His Snow Business column runs regularly during the season. He has been writing about snow sports since 1999 and is a former president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association.