February 1, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Southern exposure: Mass., Conn. and R.I. stand (and ski) tall

by Brion O'Connor/

Nashoba Valley shines in helping skiers first learn their turns. (photo: Nashoba Valley)

Nashoba Valley shines in helping skiers first learn their turns. (photo: Nashoba Valley)

MORE IMAGES     previous   next    start over

In skiing parlance, New England’s three southern states are the Rodney Dangerfield of the Northeast. They rarely get the respect they deserve. But, like Dangerfield, they can be wildly entertaining, and you pass them up at your own peril.

Given their location, most ski areas in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island have invested heavily in their grooming and snowmaking operations, and they feature smooth beginner and intermediate trails and superb terrain parks. Some, such as Berkshire East and Mount Greylock Ski Club, have branched into glade skiing. Many, recognizing that they’re servicing single-day visitors, offer night skiing for a longer ski day.

It all adds up to a top-flight ski experience. Here are 14 reasons why southern New England hosts a handful of favorite skiing destinations.

Mountain features

BEST BOWL

Berkshire East

Berkshire East, in western Massachusetts, boasts a 1,200-foot vertical from its 1,840-foot peak, but that doesn’t begin to tell the whole story of this hill. First opened a half-century ago as Thunder Mountain, Berkshire East can certainly bring the noise. Simply put, it’s all about the pitch. The Summit Triple Express services the best of Berkshire East, a series of steep double black (Tomahawk and Beast) and black diamond runs (Flying Cloud, Lift Line, Jug and Upper Competition) that will energize your fast-twitch muscles. Each has a long run-out back to the base of the lift (think a junior Jay Peak), giving those same muscles a chance to work out the lactic acid before the next run.

BEST VERTICAL

Wachusett

Though Wachusett stands 2,006 feet high, it has a 1,000-foot vertical drop from top to bottom, giving skiers and snowboarders a chance to test those quads and calves on a diverse choice of terrain. Ride the Polar Express high-speed quad to get the most vertical. The longest run at the Princeton, Mass., mountain is the 1½-mile long Balance Rock Trail from the summit, a true old-fashioned narrow and winding route originally cut by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The black diamond 10th Mountain Trail is a challenge off the top while Ralph’s Run, named after the area’s founder, Ralph Crowley Sr., is a nice way for the family to cruise together from the Minuteman high-speed quad.

BEST LIFT CAPACITY

Jiminy Peak

Whether you’re at the bank, the supermarket or your local ski hill, you don’t want to have to wait in line. Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Mass., understands and does a commendable job moving skiers up the hill, thanks to a lift system that includes a six-person detachable chair (which makes the summit climb in a scant five minutes). In addition to the Berkshire Express, Jiminy also boasts two quads, three triples, one double and two surface lifts to get you uphill in a hurry. With a network of 40 beautifully maintained trails — 18 lighted for night skiing — to sample, you’ll need that extra time to explore every nook and cranny.

BEST DAY TRIP FROM BOSTON

Wachusett

Wachusett is an Algonquin Indian word meaning “The Great Hill.” The mountain, about 50 miles from Boston in woodsy Princeton, is aptly named. The highest mountain in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River is home to 22 well-maintained trails, including its bread and butter runs off the summit: sweet Conifer and cruising Smith Walton, which starts out black and ends up blue. Sure, Wachusett can get busy on the weekends, but spread out and try Vickery Bowl. Plus, there’s night skiing, which offers a little more elbow room. The 38,000-square-foot Wachusett Mountain Base Lodge is warm inside with a terrific deck outside. The Boston views from the summit are sublime.

BEST SKI SCHOOL

Nashoba Valley

Most Greater Boston ski areas take great pride in their reputations as learning hills, providing a quality experience to help transform neophytes into lifetime ski hounds. Nashoba Valley in Westford, Mass., takes that approach to extremes, with a corps of ski and snowboard instructors. In all, there are more than 250 knowledgeable and dedicated pros on hand, which means you can pretty much sign up for any type of lesson you want or need. Add a terrific hill with plenty of diverse terrain, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a great learning environment.

BEST TRADITION, SKIING

Mohawk

While Wachusett has a compelling argument, tracing its roots to the trails created by the famed Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, we’re giving the nod to Mohawk Mountain in northwest Connecticut. Why? In a word, snowmaking. Skiing Hall of Fame member Walt Schoenknecht traveled to Cornwall to open Mohawk in 1947. The following winter, Schoenknecht invented snowmaking, which essentially saved the sport. Can you imagine skiing anywhere in New England (outside of Tuckerman’s Ravine) without the man-made stuff? This season, Mohawk celebrates 60 years of snowmaking, and most of it covers the area’s 24 trails and 107 skiable acres.

BEST TRADITION, SNOWBOARDING

Woodbury Ski Area

Long before most ski areas woke up to the huge cash infusion that snowboarders represented, they balked at allowing the shred set to invade their slopes. Connecticut’s Woodbury went against the grain, rolling out the red carpet for the progeny of Jake Burton Carpenter with open arms. Today, this stylish area, just 90 minutes from New York City (45 minutes from New Haven and Hartford), is still a terrific outlet for snowboarders looking for a freestyle outlet or a few quick cruisers. And while the terrain park today may not be the biggest or baddest in the region, it serves as a nice reminder of how forward-thinking the folks at Woodbury were.

BEST ‘BACK TO THE FUTURE’ AREA

Mount Greylock Ski Club

With an elevation approaching 3,500 feet (3,491 to be exact), Mount Greylock is the Bay State’s highest peak, laying claim to the best views in southern New England. But Greylock also is home to two of the Northeast’s most venerable skiing institutions. The first is the infamous Thunderbolt Ski Trail. The second is a wonderful time capsule known as the Mount Greylock Ski Club. Ski club members, back in the 1930s, actually helped design the ’Bolt, a hair-raising 2,000-foot vertical run that is still accessible to intrepid backcountry skiers. Meanwhile, the Mount Greylock Ski Club, situated on Greylock’s western base, is a more genteel experience, with 17 trails and glades found on its 350 feet of vertical. Bring heavy-duty gloves, as the only lift service is provided by rope tows.

BEST SHORT SEASON

Yawgoo Valley

No one knows the vagaries of New England weather and the warming coastal effect more than the good folks at Yawgoo Valley in Rhode Island, the region’s southernmost ski area and the only one still operating in the union’s smallest state. In a good year, Yawgoo and its 245 feet of vertical stays open for roughly 90 days. But what the area might lack in quantity it makes up for with a quality ski atmosphere, as more than 45,000 annual visitors can attest. You’ll find short lines and ample snowmaking, which typically translates to an entertaining day on the hill.

BEST ‘GREEN’ DEVELOPMENT

Jiminy Peak

Winning big points for ingenuity, thriftiness, and “going green,” Jiminy Peak is the only resort in North America generating its own renewable wind energy, thanks to a 235-foot, 1.5-megawatt wind turbine that creates enough power to provide up to half of the 161-acre resort’s energy needs. Excess electricity goes back into the power grid. It’s good to be green.

Bargains

BEST BARGAIN

Nashoba Valley

In this economy, ski areas are being squeezed between escalating energy costs and increasingly frugal skiers. As a result, many — notably Massachusetts resorts Blue Hills (Canton), Ski Ward (Shrewsbury), Jiminy Peak (Hancock) and Ski Butternut (South Egremont) — are offering a number of discount programs to help you and your wallet get to the slopes. My favorite, though, given my proximity to the Greater Boston area, remains Nashoba Valley’s $30 adult ticket from 5-10 p.m., in part because I save on the gas tab, and in part because I get to sleep late.

Family

BEST FAMILY TERRAIN

Butternut Basin

Last season, Butternut Basin more than doubled its snowmaking capabilities, making sure that all of its 22 user-friendly trails (covering 110 acres of terrain) got ample coverage. This season, by adding three new Magic Carpets, this family-friendly area in Great Barrington, Mass., guarantees that youngsters and first-timers will spend more time learning to make turns and less time standing around waiting. That same principle holds for the Progression Park, a snowboarding park specifically designed to help shredders learn the tricks of the snowboard trade gradually.

Après ski

BEST NIGHTLIFE

Wachusett

It’s rare to find hard-core skiers who want to relinquish the boards once the sun drops. At Wachusett, for an extra $10, they can keep taking turns on their day pass from 4-10 p.m. Wachusett has some of the best terrain in all of southern New England, with 22 eclectic trails covering 110 acres. Night skiing is available on 18 of those trails, and even if you admire the twinkling lights of Boston from Conifer Connection, odds are you’ll be happy to be in Princeton. Plus, Wachusett’s long-running, prime-time race series events are always followed by raucous parties, ensuring that the competitive juices keep flowing well into the evening. Back at the lodge, the Coppertop Lounge offers live music five nights a week.

BEST VILLAGE

Jiminy Peak

No southern New England area has done more to create an inviting, one-stop ski experience than this feisty, little/big hill in Hancock, Mass. Jiminy’s convenient Village Center is an all-inclusive getaway, offering a variety of slopeside eateries for every taste (from casual coffee shops and taverns to fine dining, such as John Harvard’s Restaurant & Brewery), well-appointed accommodations (from the Country Inn to condos), a welcome center, and best of all, a 6,500-square-foot children’s center. Forgot your gloves or need an extra base layer? The Village also boasts a well-stocked ski, snowboard and outdoor gear retail store.

Brion O’Connor begins his skiing road trips from Hamilton, Mass.
 

E-MAIL PRINT