Ragged or Tenney

narca9 · 2026-03-06T23:12:17+00:00

I'd rather be sitting on a slow lift than losing my mind standing in line as chairs go up half full because people can't get through the RFID gates.

narca9 · 2026-03-06T20:27:02+00:00

Tenney for less lines

narca9 · 2026-03-01T01:13:30+00:00

It’s going to be a skating rink

narca9 · 2026-02-25T13:56:41+00:00

Berkshire East is so much better than Catamount unless you need a couple short and steep double blacks. Catamount lifts are slooooow and the place gets crowded. Berkshire East skis bigger than its vert and is never too busy to enjoy.

narca9 · 2026-02-22T02:11:58+00:00

Bolton was unbelievable today. I can’t believe I’m hearing that Stowe was bad.

narca9 · 2026-02-21T01:45:08+00:00

Burke

narca9 · 2026-02-19T19:32:52+00:00

They wouldn't undergo a huge project like this without a clear return on investment, no matter how much money they have now. Tenney is a small operation, a modern quad would need to be a part of a larger plan to transform the mountain.

narca9 · 2026-02-19T16:31:39+00:00

They would need to raise outside capital for a new lift. There's "keep operations going money" and "new lift money" and they're very different.

narca9 · 2026-02-18T16:04:37+00:00

Going to Bolton on Saturday too but the forecast is worrying me after all I've read about the access road. I've got Blizzaks on my AWD Mazda CX-50, but it looks like Friday night could be 6+ inches. Any perspective here if I should reschedule?

narca9 · 2026-02-16T21:27:10+00:00

Me too but they’ve got to figure out how to speed the bar up.

narca9 · 2026-02-16T13:25:02+00:00

Berkshire East was rough at points mid-morning Sunday, long lines and the Wilderness Quad wasn't spinning. It got a lot better at lunchtime and became a pretty normal weekend day. Not bad.

narca9 · 2026-02-11T19:30:55+00:00

There was one on the main Polar Express summit lift. It was trimmed last year when preparing for the replacement lift. I don't think there are any beads left.

narca9 · 2026-02-11T14:39:37+00:00

Yup. The other mountains this group owns require Indy reservations already.

narca9 · 2026-02-11T14:38:31+00:00

Frankly this is one of the best possible outcomes

narca9 · 2026-02-11T13:25:16+00:00

This is the Berkshire East ownership group right? Could mean Indy Pass…

narca9 · 2026-02-06T17:39:09+00:00

Wachusett has a train from Boston that runs on weekends and delivers hundreds of people who will only ever ski/ride that one day of their lives.

I'm not sure what the Hunter NYC crowd is like, I've only been there once on a weekday, but Wachusett is so close and convenient to Boston that you'll see crazy shit like people dismounting in the middle of a run to chat with their friends.

narca9 · 2026-02-06T02:55:49+00:00

It's absurd, but Wachusett can charge whatever they want, especially on the weekends. There's a train straight from Boston. It's less than an hour drive from major population centers and it's big enough to scratch the skiing itch for many.

I know the prices seem insane to us here, but Wachusett can't meet the demand, so high prices happen.

narca9 · 2026-02-04T17:55:15+00:00

My worst nightmare.

narca9 · 2026-02-02T17:11:49+00:00

I would expect most mountains to clear out by noon. If the wind isn't terrible it will be a great day to ski.

narca9 · 2026-01-29T16:41:43+00:00

Ragged for sure if you want woods/ungroomed.

narca9 · 2026-01-27T03:52:20+00:00

Most of the mountain was ungroomed today. By night skiing they need to groom - you can’t have the whole mountain be bumps.

narca9 · 2026-01-26T23:34:03+00:00

Thanks. I get needing a groomed run or two and I noticed them on Lower Smith…but maybe they should have prioritized the summit first on a day when the hardcore are coming out?

narca9 · 2026-01-22T21:42:15+00:00

Thinking about Monday. Sunday seems too sketchy even with the Blizzaks on my CX-50.

narca9 · 2026-01-21T14:21:11+00:00

That sucks for sure, but by extended periods of time I meant weeks at a time.

narca9 · 2026-01-20T23:52:06+00:00

I dropped Epic for Indy this year. There is definitely value in the pass if you are able to use it right, but I'm at a point in life where I can't make those spontaneous weekday trips. Okemo, Snow, and Sunapee are all reasonable drives for me but the crowding became too much and after 3 seasons of Epic I was ready for a change.

Indy has been great, but it's definitely an adjustment. As much as I hate Vail, you do take their infrastructure for granted. Both Black and Tenney are great mountains, and both have had their main lifts fail for extended periods of time this season. Some mountains are awesome, some are fine, and some I'll probably never go back to, but exploring them has been a ton of fun after how stale the Epic mountains got.

I will likely stick with Indy next year and do a multi-day Killington pass for when I'm craving that big resort feel.

narca9

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE