<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 1/24/00. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>The last time I skied Ascutney I had Strep throat with a a fever well into the triple digits. The memories are kinda hazy but I remember there being little snow, some steep stuff, and lots of groomed hardpack. I also remember being really cold. <BR> <BR>Not much has changed. Well, I wasn't sick this time. Manmade hardpack, some ice, occasional fun whales, some bumps at the top. Very limited <BR>overall... what can I say. <BR> <BR>Don't get me wrong. I think this mountain is really cool and has tons of potential. They've added some new glades off the summit and down towards the ravine to skiers left. There are dips, knolls, cliffs, steeps, nooks, and crannies of all kinds. There's even a new chute in there called Cabin Chute that goes to an old abandoned cabin. Cool. <BR> <BR>What there isn't is snow. And in order for a lot of their terrain to be fun there has to be lots of natural snow. It's really sad actually -- the place has less than Boston does now. They are in the unfortunate position of being a freestanding mountain (monadnock) that is shielded form incoming clippers by the greens, and are too far from the coast to get significant snowfall from coastal systems. <BR> <BR>To their credit the mountain has kept a lot of the more interesting terrain as is, and the addition of snowmaking seems to have been done with minimal intrusion. Pipes are set off in the woods a bit instead of as a barrier right at the edge of the trail. There are some really <BR>beautiful softwoods that have been left in place where other resorts would have cut them down in favor of wide boulevards. Huge towering pines that make those cool whispering noises when the wind blows. With a little thinning they'd make really beautiful glades. Some of the trails way to skiers right of the main lift wind through these and give a sense that you are somewhere else, that false feeling of remoteness you get on Antelope on Mad River. If I were to pick tastefully made snowmaking trails, these would rank high on my list. <BR> <BR>If the new high speed quad liftline is any indication though, this policy may change. It's wide, blasted in places, and just doesn't fit in with the rest of the mountain. Unfortunately Ascutney's target audience may not be the type of people who appreciate varied and natural terrain. Most of their marketing seems aimed at vacationing families -- hopefully they'll go for the Smuggs family ski resort model rather than the Okemo one. With such a lack of snow that will be difficult. <BR> <BR>More than 90% of the cars in the parking lot had VT and NH plates. Very local compared to what I saw in the Okemo access circle that morning. It would be nice to see Ascutney stay afloat by just pandering to the local ski cheap & close crowd. There certainly isn't enough of them to support a large operation (which seems to be the way they want to go with snowmaking and high-speed quad expansions) but maybe it would be enough to keep a small operation going. And on the occasional big snow day the place would rock. It's a small ski area on a huge mountain and from what I could see there is some great hikable terrain that would eventually land you on one of the cross-country trails. Hopefully I'll be able to tear myself away from one of my usual snow-day haunts to fully investigate it someday.
Ascutney, VT 1/23/00
- Thread starter Jerm
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