PRINCETON — The combination of a cold couple of weeks and a recent snowfall has been spurring people to head to the slopes of Wachusett Mountain where conditions have not disappointed, according to local skiers.
“It was nice,” said Willow Williams, who was skiing Wachusett Mountain on Sunday with brother, Harrison, and father Mike of Bolton.
Willow noted the family has a season pass, and Mike said it was their first time using the new lift, which they all liked.
Harrison Williams liked the Oxbox Chute trail the best, “there’s a steep part at the end and I like that part,” he said.
But for Willow, it was the Connifer Connection that stood out. “It’s not too hard, not too easy … and I just like it because all the trees all have snow on them. I was thinking this is like a winter wonderland.”
Mike said with relatives in town, hitting the slopes made for a great way to spend time together. Plus, “we had a lot of snow so snow conditions were good.”
Talha Qamr made the trip up from Cumberland, R.I., on Sunday with his brother and uncle.
“I’ve been coming here since sixth grade, and I’m a senior in college now,” said Qamr. “I love this mountain, it’s close by, it’s always fun. I love it. The conditions are great today, the new lift is awesome.”
He and his family were making a half day of it he said, adding, “You don’t have to travel a whole lot to have a lot of fun.”
“We’ve had a really good start” to the season said Chris Stimpson, public relations manager of Wachusett Mountain. “We’ve had amazing low temperatures, so we’re able to make snow.”
He said 90% of the terrain at Wachusett Mountain is open for skiing, and he also touted the new six-seat chairlift.
“People are really excited,” about the new lift. “It’s a really good upgrade.”
“It’s a busy day,” he said, noting it was school vacation week, saying a lot of people were getting lessons. Plus, the great conditions from all the snowmaking done during the recent cold snap, and the recent snowfall from a few days ago all contributed to people heading out to the slopes and having a good time.
And ever the salesman, Stimpson pointed out that the free s’mores on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are a big hit, and he encouraged people to come out on New Year’s Eve night where the fireworks display at 9:40 p.m. is expected to be a blast.
Nashoba Valley
Over at Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford, everyone was also talking about the great conditions on Sunday.
“We’re just trying to get in some skiing on a nice day during school vacation,” said Antigone Grasso, of Westwood, about the outing she took with her children Sophia and Patrick.
“I love it,” said Patrick … and what does he love about it? “The speed.” How fast did he get up to … maybe 30 mph. He recently converted from snowboarding, saying the switch to skiing has been good. “It’s awesome.”
“The conditions were good,” said Antigone. “This was our first time out this year.”
Sophia was keeping track of which trails were powdery and which were a bit icy, making for a more-challenging descent.
As for something to do on vacation week, “It’s different,” said Sophia, in a good way.
Youngster Derrick Coyle liked, “going down the mountain.”
His father, Adam Coyle, of Nashua, N.H., said, “It’s great. We got family up from New York, hit a little skiing before we go home. Keep it entertaining, active and get the kids off the screens for a bit.”
For Luke Zhu, of Philadelphia, visiting for the holidays with friends, it was good to hit the slopes with a few of the younger people in the group.
“It’s been fun, great weather,” Zhu said, as the sun shone down at Nashoba Valley on Sunday, warming up what started out as a 20-degree day and pushing it up into the balmy 30s. “It’s good snow, it’s not icy, it’s not freezing out.”
He said the lack of a crowd early Sunday morning worked well for him, saying he was enjoying himself. “Going really fast on some of these black diamonds (trails) is really nice. And being able to just hop on these lifts (without a wait), I must have done like a dozen.”
“It’s sometimes better than the larger slopes because then you have to wait like 20 minutes for a lift, but this is just nonstop,” Zhu said.
Accompanying him from Philadelphia were Peter Perrault, a Methuen native who had also lived in Dracut, and Laura Nikkel-Dumyahn, originally from Arlington but now living in Philadelphia, but visiting old haunts for the holidays.
“It’s been fun up here, nice ski conditions,” said Perrault.
“I’m surprised there’s not more people here today. It was just go up, come down, get back on the lift immediately,” he said with a smile. “I’d say the Black Diamonds are the best, just picking up some speed and cruising down.”
Nikkel-Dumyahn said, “haven’t been here for years, but this is where I learned to ski when I was 5 or 6 years old, so there’s a lot of nostalgia. When I first started, I was with a group of kids … they were all eager to get going and get out there but I took it slow and steady. Still, I take the slow way but you can take your time and make it worth it.”
She also said the price was cheaper than anything they could have gotten in the Philadelphia area. “And beautiful weather. You couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.”
Nashoba Valley Ski Area owner Al Fletcher also was upbeat about the conditions and the skiing environment on Sunday.
“A lot of people out and having a lot of fun today, both with the skiing and the snow tubing,” Fletcher said.
The resort has a separate Snow Tubing Park, in Littleton, near the ski area in Westford, which he noted has a wide-ranging ski program with local schools, teaching kids to ski.
“Mother nature has been very cooperative,” Fletcher said, noting the cold conditions to make snow with and the fresh snow from earlier in the week. He noted Nashoba Valley is known for it’s lessons from age 3 to adult, and there were many youngsters out trying out their skis for the first time on Sunday. And he said with 1,500 sets of ski and snowboard sets to rent out, people can be assured of getting on the mountain with no problems.
“A lot of people are enjoying it, a lot of smiles, people taking lessons, skiing around. … Right now, it’s excellent conditions.”
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