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Wachusett delayed opening, ski resorts putting lifts on wind hold
"The chairs are swinging too much for comfort right now."
As a powerful nor’easter swept across the region on Monday, Wachusett Mountain in Princeton delayed opening and ski areas across the region placed chairlifts on wind hold.
Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts on Sunday, ahead of a blizzard that brought wind gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour and 18 to 24 inches of snow to the region on Monday, according to NWS Boston. Thousands of New Englanders experienced power outages.
Lifts at Wachusett began running at 11 a.m. on Monday. The ski area typically opens on Mondays at 9 a.m. and 8 a.m. during school break weeks. The Polar Express, the ski area’s new summit lift that debuted in December, was placed on wind hold, and officials said they were monitoring the wind and would open the lift at 4 p.m. if possible.
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“We have 20 trails open serviced by 6 lifts,” wrote mountain officials in the morning snow report. “We will possibly be able to open the Summit by 4:00pm if the winds die down. The chairs are swinging too much for comfort right now.”
Wachusett reports picking up 8 to 10 inches of fresh snow and officials say the ski area could get more than a foot of snow by 4 p.m.
Wind impacted other ski resorts across the region as well.
Mount Snow in West Dover, Vermont put lifts on wind hold, and Gunstock in Gilford, N.H. reported that its Panorama lift would operate at a slower speed than usual due to wind.
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“Winds will be the big story of the day as we are expecting to see increasing breeziness throughout the day, and there is a strong likelihood that winds will impact lift operations today,” wrote Wildcat Mountain officials in Jackson, N.H. “Bear with us as we work through some challenging weather today as we are really gearing up to have a great rest of February in the days ahead.”
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