Wachusett is a great mountain but gets crowded with the huge Boston crowds...they offer 1000 foot vertical with day/night skiing and riding served by 2 high speed quads, 2 triple chairs and some magic carpets for novices and children. They are also known for night skiing. The mountain is very accessible from RTE. 2 or RTE 140 and has an Inn maybe a mile off site. Also offers many events including Big Air competitions and the annual pond skimming contest in the spring. This is a great family mountain but it does get crowded on weekends and powder days...call ahead though...they will "sell out" tickets to control crowds

I have a love-hate relationship with Wachusett. It is where I learned to board and has been my most visited place in the last 5 years. Until this year I have only gone weekdays during non-peak periods such as college winter break (after new years) and college spring break. The crowds have never been bad (although at night they seem to be much worse while I am leaving). This year, however, I went twice during the week after Christmas. One day was crowded but manageable, the second day was too crowded for my liking--around 10 minute waits for lifts, trails closed for ski school or made very difficult to navigate because of ski school, and lots of people on the trails. As long as you stay away from peak time it is a great location and value, but around peak time it could test your patience. Prices are more reasonable off-peak, but you can also get a free passport ($8 off you lift tickets for the season) free from AAA. The Mountainside ski shop is well stocked but expensive.

Conditions are usually good at Wachusett, they make a lot of snow and also seem to get a lot of real snow even. Weather is usually good as well and I have never seen it rain there.

I like the variety of trails--I am an intermediate level boarder but I use the black diamond trails and have done every run at this mountain. They do a good job of building bumps and other interesting features as well as keeping the trails groomed. The lower mountain area (on the left of the trail map) has two fun trails for which beginners can buy a less expensive ticket, but they can have some really fun jumps and terrain to play on. Besides the lower mountain lift (triple, slow) and the two express lifts (quads), there is another slow triple lift on the mid mountain servicing two short trails. I think they mostly use this for ski school and competitions but it is a nice place to hide from the crowds during peak season when it is open if you don't mind doing the same two runs repeatedly.

Ski resort reviews can be helpful only if you know the skill level and skiing perspective of the person authoring the review. My perspective is focused on the actual skiing experience (terrain, crowd, and snow factors), and not so much on the ancillary aspects surrounding skiing. I am a middle-age advanced skier with no interest in jumping off cornices or cliffs. I will often at high speeds hit a small lip in the terrain and get a little air, but that is about the extent of it. I venture in and out of moderate mogul fields in an attempt to become a better all-around skier, but I tend not to spend a majority of my ski day dealing with the bumps. If I had to describe the type of skier with which I most closely identify, it would be a high speed cruiser who enjoys medium to giant slalom turns. On the way home from a Presidents Week ski vacation in southern New Hampshire, my granddaughter wanted to try snowboarding (that rotten little traitor). We therefore stopped off at Wachusett Mountain in eastern Massachusetts to introduce her to the world of snowboarding. While my granddaughter took lessons, I took the opportunity to see how well Wachusett skis.

Terrain: Rated 2.0:
There are many east coast ski hills that do quite a bit with a 1,000 foot vertical drop or less. But Wachusett (Kazunheit!) is certainly not one of them. There are only five words I can use to sum up the terrain at Wachusett (Kazunheit!): Boring! Super Boring! Super-duper Boring! There are only three so-called diamonded trails on the entire mountain. Two of them begin at the summit, and the other begins half-way down. They aren’t steep, and the only thing that makes the one black diamond trail called “Smith Walton” somewhat tough, is the blue ice moguls that are allowed to develop (Did you hear me? Not snow covered, but complete bulletproof, titanium, granite hard frozen water). They should lend you ice skates after you get off the chairlift. The intermediate trails are truly namby-pamby, and have no character to them whatsoever. Two of their trails, “Ralph’s Run” and “Conifer Connection/Lower Conifer are labeled “Family Trails”. With labels like that, you can imagine how well they ski. My granddaughter’s lesson was only one hour and a half, and in that time I skied the entire mountain, quit skiing, and took out the camera to take pictures of my granddaughter. The terrain at Wachusett (Kazunheit!) will satisfy rank beginners, families who are introducing their children or relatives to the skiing and riding experience, or others who may not have any past experiences with other ski hills.

Service: Rated 4.0:
Every entity has its specialty and for Wachusett (Kazunheit!) it appears to be the service. It was approximately 11:00 am when I pulled into the parking and just missed a ski shuttle headed for the main lodge. By the time I unloaded my car, another one was waiting to be boarded. When we registered for the snowboarding, they handled us with the courtesy and efficiency of a Switzerland railroad. I was impressed with the separate rental facilities for snowboarding versus skiing. There were lockers within 10 feet of the rental and fitting stations where you could lock up your apré ski boots/shoes until you return the board. My granddaughter, who usually hates instructive classes, did well and adored her instructor (to my chagrin I was hoping the board would beat her up some, never again to return to snowboarding). The main lodge was humongous, modern, and quite impressive, and despite the crowded conditions, the food service was quick and efficient. I ordered my signature bowl of chili, which was pretty decent and loaded with shredded cheese. Wachusett (Kazunheit!), like many ski hills are offering free checking of your skis and boards when you enter the main lodge. The facility is very convenient to the main lodge, and again Wachusett (Kazunheit!), is extremely efficient in providing this service.

Crowds: Rated 1.0:
Only one word is necessary. Abominable!! In order to walk through the main lodge between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm, it is as if you have to act the part of Moses and attempt to part the Red Sea. Almost every square foot of the lodge was occupied by a body. Although it was the Friday after Presidents’ Day, it was still a week day and lift lines were terrible. You would think that it was the actual holiday. You have to understand that Wachusett (Kazunheit!) is only 40 miles west of Boston, Massachusetts, and is most likely the closest ski hill to this major metropolis.

Activities: Rated 4.0:
Wachusett (Kazunheit!) has what looks like two modest terrain parks. There is no tubing, but there were a host of things going on at the base of the mountain. Rock music was being piped in and they were conducting contests and games for the kids. Being so close to Boston potentially gives skiers and riders a great deal of ancillary things to do.

Value: Rated 2.0:
I was charged over $50 for an all day lift ticket, and I don’t believe that the ski experience offered here is worth that amount. Since I was going to ski when my granddaughter was going to take her snowboard lesson, you might have asked, “Well why didn’t you wait and just buy a half day ticket?” I couldn’t! Do you wanna know why? That’s because Wachusett (Kazunheit!) doesn’t sell half day tickets!

In summary, in the world of skiing/riding there is a place for all types of resorts. For me, Wachusett (Kazunheit!) is just not the place where I wish to be. If I have any say in it, there is an excellent chance that I will never voluntarily visit Wachusett (Kazunheit!) again. But if it can serve others as a teaching and introductory mountain, as well as a feeder resort to some of the better ski hills, then there is a definite reason to justify its existence. I just wish they would change the name of this “freakin” place so that I could get rid of this sneeze.

Wankster Central....Do not go here unless you have no other option...Crowded...Boring...Flat...Jerky Ski Patrol that seem to think anything over a snow plow is excessive speed...My least favorite ski area that I have been to in Mass....