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``I really want to like this mountain," says Kelton Burkbank of Sterling, Mass. Comments such as this are heard over and over again from Ascutney's customers. This small ski resort, located about 25 miles south of the White River Junction (1-89 and I-91), definitely has a nice cachet about it. Ascutney is intimate. Even though some of the furniture might be falling apart in one of  the condos, the guests seem forgiving because of the warmth and friendliness of the staff.

Ascutney  is the kind of place where they don't have stiff rules in place yet. For example, you can even park right outside the Windsor Hotel at the very bottom of the mountain, go in and put your boots on and the staff will offer to take care of your bag. You don't even have to be a guest! Think how much nicer this is than walking half a mile through a muddy parking lot and changing in the main cafeteria! When you are ready, walk out of the hotel and take the Easy Rider chair to the mountain.

Ascutney's new lift

The North Peak Express...a high speed detachable quad takes you almost to the summit of Mount Ascutney. But, there is no novice terrain off this lift and newcomers maybe somewhat daunted. It serves difficult trails and terrain such as the Neverglades - a double diamond glade. You'll also find that the intermediate Gateway trail is the only way down to the major trail intersections. Gateway can become ``rather scratchy, rather quickly" because of skier traffic. (Scratchy is a polite term for icy).

Scratchy or icy surfaces are Ascutney's main drawback which its snowmaking tries hard to overcome. Since the mountain is not well geographically located for snowfall, hardly a day goes by without snowmaking going on somewhere and at terrific cost. The coverage is very thorough but if you ski in December and January on cold days, don't be surprised if you skid a lot on boilerplate. This is particularly true of the upper mountain above the midpoint of the Lower Exhibition Triple Chair. Locals often take this chair despite its slowness because surfaces are often softer on the lower part of the mountain.

Still, if you can ski Ascutney's trails in a confident manner, then you are probably at the upper intermediate to expert level. You'll find that Ascutney's blue intermediate trails would be called black diamonds at other resorts and the blacks would be double blacks. Whenever I go there, I am reminded that my skiing abilities are somewhat lacking...something that I don't feel at a place like Okemo.

Eating at Ascutney

Salad ``du Jour"
for $4.50 in the
cafeteria

Which would you prefer?

Lemon Chicken salad for $6.95 in Brown's Tavern. 

Brown's Tavern, located inside the Windsor Hotel, continues to be the place for lunch. Food at the Base lodge further up  the mountain continues to be a disastrous experience. Why many skiers continue to pay premium prices for greasy, coronary unfriendly food, is beyond me. Deep fried pop corn chicken for $4.50 is a case in point.

Recommendation and Tips

As I remarked in an earlier review, the best time to visit Ascutney is in late February and March, and not in December and January. I should have listened to my own advice. The day I was there it was indeed very scratchy, but I did not leave Ascutney feeling that I never wanted to come back...just to come back on a better day. So pick your day or week carefully and you will derive the maximum enjoyment from this resort. It has a small ski area atmosphere to it and seems to attract young families.

Weekend ticket price is $47.00 A complete family weekend package in the Resort Hotel will likely cost $800.00 -$1,200

Timothy Palmer-Benson
Editor - Publisher
nobullski-vermont.com
January 7th, 2000
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