Nothing beats skiing on sunshine
Ihad been eyeing the forecast for about a week, with a close look at the coming Wednesday. In the 40s, bright sun with very little wind.
In skier talk, that translates to this: “Mental Health Day.”
And so, early on a lovely Wednesday, I put up my outof-office reply, packed my ski gear and zipped off to Wachusett Mountain Resort (www.wachusett.com) for a quick escape — away from the slog that is a pandemic winter to the bright delight of a day spent outside, moving and on snow.
Takeaway? Wachusett Mountain has settled well into this pandemic year, tweaking their base area with nice options, empowering their staff to keep things moving and safe (with a smile) but most of all, not backing down one bit on the twice-daily trail and snow primping they’ve long been famed for.
I arrived just after the lifts began spinning, a super quick jaunt from my South Shore home. (I barely finished my XL Mary Lou’s; Wachusett is really just a large coffee ride from just about anywhere in the Bay State).
Booting up in the car was my plan. I drove there in my long johns (tee hee! But they look just like yoga pants, so…). This made it easy to pull my ski pants on and then boot up.
A small piece of carpet I bring along with a folding chair is my spot, and I’m not alone. A fun thing about the parking lot boot-up scene this year? You chat up your car neighbors. For some reason, the pandemic parking lot boot-up scene has made this once “sloggy” part of the day brighter and more social.
It’s also easy. Once booted up and zipped up, I slung my skis over my shoulder and began the quick walk to the base area.
The lift lines looked a bit long, but I skied in the 70s and 80s so I can show you long lift lines (and we had to ski barefoot uphill both ways?) Hopping in line, I realized the Wachusett team has pretty much mastered all of this.
Masks were up on almost everyone. It’s easy to forget if you pulled it down for a run, but the Wachusett folks are good at gentle reminders. I did see one small group push back and the way the lift line manager handled it made me wish I had her to raise my kids. It was like Super Nanny on snow. Impressive.
For me? Leaving it up all day was not a big deal. I skied 10 runs and honestly never felt bothered by it. A silver lining was I easily avoided the lip sunburns I have to guard against so carefully when skiing.
All day that busy day, the lines moved quickly. The high-speed quad is, when it comes down to it, a “high-speed double.” For the most part, the quad is loaded with two people sitting at each end. You can opt to have more if you are skiing with a group, and ask for a single chair ride if you are alone and do not want to ride with others. I found most folks were happy to ride with others.
Then there’s the hill itself. One of the great things about a lift line being a tiny bit slower (again, I barely noticed the difference. A sunny day and piped-in tunes help that, of course) is that the trails are not as crowded.
And the conditions. Is “yummy” a ski term? I never once even on this busy day saw an ice or dirt patch or even a semi skied-off area.
It would be easy – and perhaps forgivable – for Wachusett to not go as hard as they do on spreading love across that snow surface. But they’re right where they always have been with it: twice-aday full mountain grooming and all-daylong touch ups (I skied past one of the owner family members working hard digging up some things in the park. They never stop.)
Break time or lunch time has some changes, and I kind of hope some of them stay for good. One of my most favorite things to do on a Wachusett day is to meander down all of the Balance Rock run (narrow, woodsy but totally skiable for lower intermediates and higher) and then pop into the quaint Bullock Lodge for a freshly made hot cider and cider doughnut.
Red Apple Farm (https://redapplefarm. com) has been cooking up the treats onsite there for a decade now and to me, it’s one of the top treats in all of skiing.
This year, they’ve adapted as well. While you don’t get the joy of popping inside the historic lodge, they now have a ski-thru doughnut window. Glide up, order and then take it to the lift, scarf it down or sit as I did on one of their sundrenched picnic tables and just savor it all.
They’ve also added a small shed for orders at the base this season.
The base has some tweaks that work well too. You can go inside (there’s a
super low count allowed and to be honest, it felt a little strange having it be so quiet in there). This sunny day, I had no qualms sitting outside.
But even on colder days, they’ve erected clear partitions on benches that block the wind but not the sun or view. There are some heated benches that are sublime to sit on, a walk-up window for O’Brien’s Grill and a cool addition: a food truck that’s been getting rave reviews for its barbeque.
I had to reserve my ticket ahead of time, and that was easy to do. They sell in shifts, but have a super good deal if you want to stay longer than one four-hour shift. Doubling up is well worth it.
At the end of the day I realized that the car boot-up thing was actually great. All I had to do was pop out of my skis, go to my car and get ready to go home. Somehow, not having the added step of going in the base lodge, taking the boots off, packing up and then lugging it all to the car felt freeing.
Heading home, I felt lighter. The bleh feel the pandemic winter has cast on many of us was lifted. My lungs had filled with fresh air and my belly with great slope-side food. I’d see breathtaking views (Wachusett has some lovely views of lakes and other peaks). My legs felt tired, but my soul? It was refilled with all it needs.
Looking at my 10-day forecast, I see another sunny day coming next week. Don’t tell my boss but: Maybe I’ll see you in the lift line.