Wachusett 22/23

[diymom]

Since a few Divas are starting the Wachusett season off tonight by going to an event there, I thought it was time to start this season's thread up. I've added a tab to my computer to start tracking the weather at the hill, and after this weekend the temps are finally dipping below freezing at night so hopefully they'll be able to fire the guns up soon.

I wrote a few weeks ago asking about the women's clinic, but am still waiting for a response. I'm assuming they will be doing it again, especially since they sold out last year. And for anyone who is thinking about a pass but hasn't gotten one yet, the Gold and Steel passes are sold out, but silver and bronze are still available. (And if you buy using my GPS group name ski divas it will save you about $10) Last year all passes were technically sold out by the time the women's clinic info was released, but they had a bronze pass add on for anyone doing the clinic.

I only got the Steel pass this year since I'll be traveling a fair amount and will only be able to ski Wachusett early and late season.

Anybody I should be looking for out on the slopes?

@MissySki and @lisamamot I'm hoping you will give a "trip report" on the wine and cheese event tonight. Maybe next year will be the year I go ;)

 

[MissySki]

The event at Wachusett last night was a great time! They cap the event at around 100 women. We started out with cheese/crackers/fruit/veggies in the bar area when we arrived and then moved over into the main lodge area where tables were set up for dinner. There were raffles you could enter as well. Once we found seats and had done our raffle entries we mingled with the other ladies at our table and had some wine. We then had a buffet dinner. Nordica sent a female marketing representative for this event all the way from Utah, which I found amazing. Katie Van Riper is originally from the Carrabasset Valley, and gave a great talk about the initiatives Nordica has to include women’s needs in all areas of their brand. Some of the standout messages for me were:

1) Women skiers essentially are about 50:50 with men now, our market share does matter!
2) They want to have a female rep at demo days so it’s not always a man introducing their equipment to us. And they want to teach male reps and shop guys how to better serve women in our interactions.
3) Nordica plans to do full size runs from 22.5 to the largest size for all of their boots so women with smaller feet have all of the options whether a beginner or expert skier.
4) Female specific double core technology from their Wild Belles line is now going to be used in some of their male skis. This might mark the first time where female technology has led the way into the male side of the business!
5) They try to incorporate shorter to longer ski lengths in all of their skis so taller women have options as well.
6) When we buy male products we are telling the ski industry that what’s out there is good enough for meeting our needs. We need to buy female specific products to keep driving the messages home that we want technology development and focus on our products! I had never thought about it that way, but it does make perfect sense.
7) Nordica has a women’s focus group that includes all sorts of women from the industry as well as adult learners to understand women’s needs, feedback, and experience in the sport and how brands can better serve them in all aspects of learning and skiing. They also bring decision makers to the table so it’s not just talk and change does actually happen.
8) An overview of the current Nordica women’s ski lineup.. which I personally want to demo more of.

@lisamamot chime in if I left anything out.

After the Nordica talk we had an opportunity to mingle again and go up to chat with Katie. We were sure to mention the Ski Diva site as a great place for female skier perspectives. Then raffles were drawn, we played bingo for the grand prize of a pair of skis, and the shop was opened up for shopping with coupons we were given that are good through sometime in December. We also received a ticket for a free ski day before Christmas Eve.

It was a fun night, and I think worth much more than the $20 paid. The proceeds go to a charity. There were lots of Wachusett skiers, but also many people who ski elsewhere or a combination of Wachusett and elsewhere. This event had been going on for 25 years, and many are repeat attendees who have been going for a long time. It was a good time and I would definitely do it again!

 

[jmfd84]

Great "trip report," @MissySki! I'd love to attend this event next year.

I have a Gold pass for Wachusett this season and plan on registering for the women's clinic. I got so much out of the clinic last season. My group from last year reached out to our instructor, who didn't have any inside info to share with us - so we're all waiting for the info to come out.

 

[Dtrick924]

I'm excited to ski Wachusett this season. I learned to ski there back in the mid-90s. It's been more than 15 years since I skied there last. I just moved back to Western, MA from Southern, VT in September. It will be amazing to see the changes.

 

[diymom]

Glad to have another Wachusett diva! I’ll only be skiing there early and late season due to travel plans, but hopefully we can meet up.

 

[Divegirl]

@Dtrick924 - I'm a weekday Wachusett skier. I shoot for 2x/wk and mainly ski 9 - noon/1 pm as I have a long drive home. I probably won't start til after Jan 1st as I sadly have go to FL in December.

 

[diymom]

I saw on the news last night that they were firing up the guns. As usual they are a bit slow on updating the website. They still don't have 22/23 ticket prices up yet.

 

[Dtrick924]

@Dtrick924 - I'm a weekday Wachusett skier. I shoot for 2x/wk and mainly ski 9 - noon/1 pm as I have a long drive home. I probably won't start til after Jan 1st as I sadly have go to FL in December.

Perfect. I will probably ski that same time slot once a week. Most likely days are M/T/TH.

 

[MissySki]

@diymom not sure if you are on social media, but they posted a snowmaking video on their page yesterday morning too. I think they update there more promptly than their website.

Mother Nature has turned a new leaf, or a new snowflake that is, and blessed us with cold temps to allow our snowmakers to make snow! Opening date TBD | By Wachusett Mountain | Facebook

Mother Nature has turned a new leaf, or a new snowflake that is, and blessed us with cold temps to allow our snowmakers to make snow! Opening date TBD

fb.watch

 

[Dtrick924]

@diymom not sure if you are on social media, but they posted a snowmaking video on their page yesterday morning too. I think they update there more promptly than their website.

Mother Nature has turned a new leaf, or a new snowflake that is, and blessed us with cold temps to allow our snowmakers to make snow! Opening date TBD | By Wachusett Mountain | Facebook

Mother Nature has turned a new leaf, or a new snowflake that is, and blessed us with cold temps to allow our snowmakers to make snow! Opening date TBD

fb.watch

Thanks for posting the FB link. Off to follow their page.

 

[marzNC]

I saw on the news last night that they were firing up the guns. As usual they are a bit slow on updating the website. They still don't have 22/23 ticket prices up yet.

Presumably the prices should be available at Snowbound.

 

[jmfd84]

Wachusett has announced that opening day will be Friday, Nov. 25. I hiked there today and it’s hard to imagine! Pics are the summit lift and looking up and down Ralph’s Run from where the road crosses the ski trail.

 

[MissySki]

Just saw on Wachusett's Facebook page that they've had such productive snowmaking that they will now open Wednesday November 23rd!

 

[jmfd84]

That video is WOW! The amount of snow they've made is incredible!

 

[MissySki]

That video is WOW! The amount of snow they've made is incredible!

Totally! They can really pump it out when mother nature cooperates.

 

[jmfd84]

I'm going to try to make it on Wednesday. So excited!

 

[diymom]

Arrrgghhh, I have both dogs booked into the groomer that day. Sigh. A few more days...

 

[diymom]

And of course midweek this week is not looking too promising. I'm keeping an eye on both day and night temps and hoping that there will be one day that looks not toooooo bad.

I just checked the events calendar, no demo day posted yet, but there is a Toko wax clinic this Monday (Nov 28) from 6-9.

 

[diymom]

Tuesday could be a possibility. Anyone else considering braving early season conditions?

 

[BlueSkies]

Considering Monday or Tuesday