Snow Business: Despite Rough Weather, Wachusett Has Quality Runs

PRINCETON, MA — OK ... Wachusett Mountain is proving that, one again, no matter what Mother nature throws at us, it can present a quality venue year-in and year-out.

That was the case last weekend when two teens and a ski writer itching to get out just said the heck with it and drove north of Worcester and to Wachusett.

No one expected to be in the woods and no one expected pristine corduroy for cruising. That being said, in all honesty, it was good ... darn good considering the torrential rain that has hit the area again and again.

The mountain's two traditional go-to trails were, truly, the go-to runs of the day and were quite pleasant to ski. Ralph's Run off the Minuteman quad chair always has to be good because it is named after founding father Ralph Crowley. Conifer Connection, perhaps the most popular trail off the Polar Express lift, was equally enjoyable.

But it didn't stop there. Runs like Look Mom off the Minuteman lift, 10th Mountain off the Polar lift and Indian Summer and Sundowner off the Monadnock quad served well to spread out the traffic.

Wachusett Public Relations manager Chris Stimpson likes to point out that, despite Wachusett being in central Massachusetts, its location in Princeton tends to get a little colder at night than other spots in the region and that, combined with smart snowmaking, can keep it ahead of the curve with the smaller mountains. That's why Wachusett has survived — and persevered — the rough early season.

Some cold temperatures for snowmaking and some natural snow in between rainstorms has helped build the base to 30 to 35 inches on what is now 15 open trails.

In essence, don't hesitate to go.

There was one light-hearted moment last weekend.

"At least, with all the rain, we can put the water right back onto the mountain," Stimpson quipped.

That's a reference to the long-used marketing spin that Wachusett recycles nearly every drop that runs off the mountain. Not only is a holding pond situated adjacent to the base lodge, but a reservoir that Wachusett taps into is located right across the street.

Stimpson said the weather eventually has to turn cold and Wachusett will add trails as quickly as it can.

But, for now, just go. Seriously, it's fine up there.

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Chris Dehnel is a Patch field editor who has been writing about snow sports since 1999. He is a former past-president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association and former board member of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. His Snow Business column runs periodically during the season.