By Alicia Cleveland
With January weather acting like it is the beginning of spring, skiers and snowboarders are getting frustrated with the lack of “real” snow covering the mountains.
Junior Chris Reid, an avid snowboarder, was disappointed that he didn’t get to start snowboarding until after Christmas. “I was waiting and waiting, constantly checking the Mount Wachusett website for them to announce they will be open,” Reid said. “The lack of snow is really ruining the season.”
After nights and nights of snowmaking, there was finally enough snow on Dec. 12 to open the lifts and continue snowmaking at night. Wachusett Mountain Ski Area is now open for their regularly scheduled days and currently has 17 trails and 6 lifts running, with a reported base depth of 18 to 40 inches – but the manmade snow just isn’t ideal for newcomers or advanced riders.
Reid says he tried teaching his sister, but the rising and falling temperatures resulted in harder, icy falls rather than the cushioning of fresh powder. The good thing about Wachusett is that if conditions aren’t ideal for you, you can be refunded your lift ticket and go back when they are.
 “We are going to wait to teach her again when there is fresh snowfall,” Reid said.
Although no one knows when temperatures will stay low for a long enough period of time to create fresh powder, skiers and boarders are trying to make the best of the season before spring really comes.