NE Ski Area #42.
Drove over to Nashoba Valley for a nice day of skiing today. Arrived at 10:30 and picked up my $55 four-hour ticket. Would have gone with the 2 hour $40 option if it was available, but you can only get those late afternoon on most days. Lucky I bought it online because I overheard someone saying they sold out, though I can't confirm that was general skiing. The ski area was busy, but definitely not crowded...just right I would say.
Skiing was nice and quick, oftentimes on corduroy. Wasn't really any wind, and the cold wasn't really that bad being bundled up. Being on Cape Cod for my first winter, it was actually a nice respite to have a nice cold day in the upper teens to low 20's.
It was a nice variety of lifts from four different manufacturers (unless you count CTEC and Thiokol as one). Excellent clear skies for good Remontees-Mecaniques photos. The most noteworthy lift I'd say is the Snowdance double which is a Carlevaro & Savio. Seems like only the chairs have been replaced.
The snow was great and only a couple of trails were closed.
At one point I went over to the beginner area to check out their rope tow contraption Pow Wow. It's one long rope that goes through two sides so both sides stop and go at the same time if there is a problem. It might take 15 seconds to get to the top under ideal conditions, but not when it stops 4-5 times on the way up, as happened!
Overall, the ski area seems well run. Tons of staff everywhere. If they did hit the cap on visitors it seemed like a good level. Lots of people out enjoying themselves. Lots of new people learning to ski, too. The ski area itself is very comparable to Ski Bradford in size and terrain. But so far, I think I would chose Blue Hills to go in the Boston area if the snow is good.
After skiing, I went for a little hike. First I stopped at Walden Pond and the site where Henry David Thoreau lived simply in a one room cabin in the woods for two years. However, I quickly balked after finding out that there is a $30 parking fee for out-of-state plates. I diverted to another nearby conservation land and I apparently wasn't the only one to see the irony, as I met a couple people who were asking for directions to hike all the way over to Walden Pond, several miles away. Too late in the day for me so I found two geocaches and called it a day.
