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Yesterday I took the commuter rail out to Wachusett Mountain. This turned out to be reasonably functional. Wachusett gives credit for a one-way commuter rail trip off the lift ticket, which makes it somewhat more attractive.
The big downsides are the time overhead and, well, being at Wachusett. The outbound train is the one that leaves North Station at 8:35 and gets to Fitchburg at 10:06; in between the bus out to Wachusett, getting tickets, finding the ski rental, and actually getting skis it was after 11 when I got on the first lift. Similarly, I squeezed in my last trip up at 4, got back down around 4:15, and was ready to leave at 4:30; the train left Fitchburg on schedule at 5:35 and I got home around 7:00. So, five hours of transit and overhead for about five hours of skiing.
That having been said, yesterday was a beautiful day for skiing: it was not-frigid but not uncomfortably warm, the snow was pretty good up until late afternoon, there were enough people around that you didn't feel alone but not so many that you were waiting forever in the lift lines. And Wachusett isn't a bad mountain if you're starting the day with "what am I doing on this mountain, what are these things on my feet, and why do I keep going down the mountain?" (With the flip side, of course, being that I was able to start on the bunny slope yesterday and do both of the "black" "diamonds" twice by the end of the day.)
The big downsides are the time overhead and, well, being at Wachusett. The outbound train is the one that leaves North Station at 8:35 and gets to Fitchburg at 10:06; in between the bus out to Wachusett, getting tickets, finding the ski rental, and actually getting skis it was after 11 when I got on the first lift. Similarly, I squeezed in my last trip up at 4, got back down around 4:15, and was ready to leave at 4:30; the train left Fitchburg on schedule at 5:35 and I got home around 7:00. So, five hours of transit and overhead for about five hours of skiing.
That having been said, yesterday was a beautiful day for skiing: it was not-frigid but not uncomfortably warm, the snow was pretty good up until late afternoon, there were enough people around that you didn't feel alone but not so many that you were waiting forever in the lift lines. And Wachusett isn't a bad mountain if you're starting the day with "what am I doing on this mountain, what are these things on my feet, and why do I keep going down the mountain?" (With the flip side, of course, being that I was able to start on the bunny slope yesterday and do both of the "black" "diamonds" twice by the end of the day.)
