Local Ski Areas, ‘Powder Hounds’ Rejoice Over Ski Conditions
How are local ski areas feeling the day after the Blizzard of 2015?
“Jackpot, man,’’ said Pam Fletcher, an ‘88 Olympic skier and director of marketing and sales at Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford. “We got the jackpot! These are epic ski conditions for Nashoba.’’
“I would say this is the answer to our prayers,’’ said Tom Meyers, director of marketing at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton. “As well as to all the skiers’ prayers!’’
Mother Nature dumped more than 30 inches of fresh powder on Nashoba, Wachusett, and Ski Bradford during the Blizzard of 2015. Attendance was way up at the Massachusetts’ ski areas Wednesday, they reported. The snow was long overdue.
“We got 31 inches,’’ said Meyers. “And that’s on top of 8 inches on Saturday night, which, up until Monday, was the best snow we’ve had all year.’’
“It helps get people out,’’ said Neil Sawyer, owner of Ski Bradford. “It does increase business a lot.’’
Many folks had the day off from work and school Wednesday to hit the slopes. But that was only part of the reason for the post-blizzard excitement on the mountains. Skiers and riders were ecstatic over the type of snow Mother Nature dumped here — the rare and wonderful “champagne powder.’’
A skier enjoyed a champagne powder run at Wachusett Wednesday.
“When you live in the east, you don’t get that champagne powder they have in Colorado,’’ said Fletcher, whose resort received more than 3 feet of it and has 17 trails, 17 tubing lanes, and 11 lifts open.
What’s so great about champagne powder?
“It’s light and fluffy,’’ said Fletcher. “If you took a handful of it in the palm of your hand and took one little blow…it’s like blowing a dandelion, it just flies apart. You feel like you’re floating when you ski down through it,’’ said Fletcher.
“It is more commonly found out west,’’ said Meyers, who reports 31 inches of new powder and 24 trails, and five lifts open at Wachusett. “People love skiing down with the snow over their feet and, in some cases, over their ankles. People love to experience that.’’
The resorts purposely left some trails ungroomed, so skiers and riders could experience the pristine powder.
“It’s that rush of just going through all that deep snow and it’s blowing by you up to your head and over your shoulders,’’ said Sawyer, who has 15 trails and seven lifts open at Bradford.
Meyers noticed that the advanced lift was way more crowded than the beginner lift Wednesday at Wachusett.
“That tells me that the people coming out today are the more experienced skiers, what we’d call the ‘powder hounds.’’’
Champagne powder aside, Sawyer said this blizzard will finally put skiing on peoples’ minds this winter. Without snow on the ground, people forget to go skiing, opting instead to jog and bike. This snow will force snow sports to the forefront of peoples’ minds, said Sawyer. And, after a winter full of mostly man-made snow, the resorts are grateful for it.
“It’s a gift,’’ Fletcher said. “And it’s so close to home. You don’t have to go up north and stay overnight.’’
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