Wachusett Mountain is an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

in the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, located on

Mount Wachusett Mount Wachusett is a mountain in Massachusetts. It straddles towns of Princeton and Westminster, in Worcester County. It is the highest point in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River. The mountain is named after a Native American term m ...

, in the towns of

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, Worcester County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. The mountain has 25 trails served by eight lifts, including three high-speed chairlifts and four magic-carpet lifts, and a triple chairlift. There is a bus shuttle service to and from nearby

Wachusett station Wachusett station is a commuter rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line. It is northwest of the intersection of Massachusetts Massachusetts Route 2, Route 2 and Massachusetts Route 31, Route 31 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It ser ...

. Wachusett Mountain has 100% snow-making capacity, and also has night skiing on most of its trails. The mountain is located in the central part of Massachusetts, with the closest major city being Worcester.

History

The first ski trails were cut into Mount Wachusett by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

in 1934 and 1937. Those trails were called Pine Hill Trail and Balance Rock. Today, skiers can still ski down the upper and lower half of Balance rock. The middle section closed in the 1980s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...

trained at Wachusett. There is now a plaque at the summit commemorating this. The first lifts installed were a

T-bar T-bar may refer to: * T with bar (Ŧ, ŧ) * T-bar lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once pre ...

in 1960 (the Oxbow T-Bar) and in 1962 (the West T-Bar). . The Massachusetts State Downhill ski championships were run on the Pine Hill Trail until 1966. The race was called off that year after 3 racers were injured and moved in the years following to the Balance Rock Trail until ski area expansion cut that trail in 1983. In 1969, Ralph Crowley was granted a lease for a parcel of land on Mount Wachusett by the state to operate the ski area. In 1982, a major expansion was completed, which included the construction of the base lodge. Stands of old growth hardwood forest on Mount Wachusett became the object of a court ruling in favor of the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in a joint contract with the ski area regarding plans for a ski slope expansion into an environmental buffer zone around the old growth stand. The

old-growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

contains trees over 350 years old; the buffer zone contained mature trees about half that age. The

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

and other conservation organizations criticized the ruling, and two members of

Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmentalism, radical Environmental movement, environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron K ...

staged a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

protest by climbing into the crowns of several of the trees in the area slated to be clear cut. As of 2007 wording on the website of the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area included strong language prohibiting skiers and snowboarders from entering the old growth area: "Anyone found entering old growth areas will have their lift ticket revoked. Subsequent offenses will be subject to fines."

Mountain information

The resort features 27 trails, ranging in difficulty from easiest (green circle) to most difficult (black diamond). Amidst these trails is a

terrain park A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. From th ...

and a racing venue. Two

high-speed chairlift A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope (called a ''haul rope'') that is strung between two (o ...

s (''Minuteman'' and ''Polar Express'') service the two main peaks, as well as a newer high-speed lift for the beginner area (''Monadnock Express''). One additional 3-person

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

(''Vickery Bowl'') services the mid-mountain area. Three magic carpets service the mountain's training slopes, with a third open only during weekends and holiday periods for ski school lessons for young children. In 2006, the

National Ski Patrol The nonprofit National Ski Patrol (NSP) is the largest winter education organization in the world. The NSP provides education, outreach, and credentialing related to outdoor recreation and safety. It is currently composed of more than 31,000 memb ...

named Wachusett Mountain Ski Patrol as the best ''Large Alpine Patrol'' in the country. The base lodge has recently been expanded, and is now nearly . It contains public areas, a cafeteria, The Black Diamond restaurant, and private suites, that are available for daily rental. The resort used to include the nearby ''Wachusett Village Inn,'' which provided overnight accommodations. The Inn was sold in 2016 and is now a rehabilitation center owned and operated by Recovery Centers Of America.

Trails

Lifts

*Wachusett has 4

s and 4

surface lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher ...

References

External links