Ski resorts struggling after heavy rain, warm weather
PRINCETON - You might have had to step over some mud and puddles to get there, but once you hit the white part, it's like stepping into winter at Wachusett Mountain. "I mean it's as best as you can get after a big rainstorm, right?" said Cooper Hicks, who was just happy the mountain was open. "I definitely was surprised, big time. It was a lot of rain yesterday. Pretty impressive!"
It was a pleasant surprise Tuesday for those able to hit the eight trails that were open at Wachusett Tuesday. "It's definitely not ideal for our business," said spokesperson Chris Stimpson. "The groomers did a great job last night filling in some of the holes, but we were happy to be back up and running today after a pretty wild Monday," he said.
Courtney Binaco flew in from Florida during the storm, which caused her flight to be delayed. "I was a little unsure if we were going to be able to ski during our trip," she said. "So, we were happily surprised."
But in New Hampshire, live web camera shots showed some resorts forced to shut down to recover, like Attitash, Wildcat, Cranmore, and Loon Mountain.
"We're giving team members in the neighboring community time to tend to their personal needs," said Loon spokesperson Taylor Siewierski. "This extra time will also allow the mountain to drain which is essential," she said.
Crews planned to fire up snowmaking machines with temperatures expected to drop Tuesday night. "We'll be back on the hill snowmaking definitely tonight and all the way through Sunday if we're lucky, so we'll be pumping that snow right back up on the hill to recover," said Stimpson.
Just like for Santa, the holiday break represents an all-important deadline for the ski industry. "It's going to be a white Christmas at Wachusett," promised Stimpson.
That's what would give New England ski resorts the lift they'll need to glide through the season.
