Wachusett Mountain Beginner Ski Trip

Activity Type: Social | Local Socials
Difficulty: 2 - Relaxed
Trip Leader(s): Lauren Buchholz, Tyler Stahl
Registration Type: Application
Register By: 12/19/2025
Audience: 20’s & 30’s

**** Sign up for this event on the Appalachian Mountain Club site: https://activities.outdoors.org/a5UUN000001xji5. We will not consider you registered for the event unless you sign up there. Registration is free, and you do not need to be an AMC club member to register ********

Description: Don't know how to ski but have always wanted to learn? Taken a few lessons but still need some pointers? Join the Appalachian Mountain Club 20s and 30s at Wachusett Mountain for a fun group learning experience!

Event
We'll meet at Wachusett at 8:30 AM to allow for participation in the 10:00 am group lesson offered by Wachusett. Wachusett asks for students to arrive at least one hour early for their lesson, and we're adding some buffer time to purchase lift tickets, rent your gear, and head over to the meeting spot for the lessons. Saturdays can be pretty busy, and sometimes parking can take longer than expected.

After the group lesson, everyone will gather for lunch. After lunch, participants usually stay and practice what they've learned, though this is optional and not formally part of the event. Most but not all beginners' lesson packages technically include an 8-hour lift ticket for the beginner chair lifts/carpets (as opposed to the chair lifts that give you access to the full mountain), so in most cases you shouldn't have to purchase additional lift tickets unless you want to try more advanced trails. Double check the specific package that you will be getting. You can see lift prices here: https://www.wachusett.com/2024-2025-rates-sessions/.

Note: The AMC leaders will not be participating in the lessons, as they are experienced skiers. They'll be there to guide people to the lessons, answer any initial skiing questions, and lead the group lunch. At least one leader will be skiing until 4:00 PM.

Cost

• Skiing: Cost varies, starting at $90 per person. The cost will depend on the number of participants, as we'll be trying to take advantage of both of Wachusett's excellent friend passes. The first kind of pass provides an experienced skier with a full-day lift ticket and provides their beginner friend a partial lift ticket, rentals, and a lesson. The second kind of ticket provides two beginners with a partial lift ticket, rentals, and a lesson. So, if we don't have an even number of people and are therefore unable to take advantage of the friend passes, you'll have to pay for a separate beginner bundle for about $150. You can find more details about the passes at https://www.wachusett.com/lessons-rentals/lessons/bring-a-friend/ and https://www.wachusett.com/lessons-rentals/lessons/beginner-packages/.
• Food: There is a cafeteria on the mountain that serves burgers, fries, chicken fingers, etc. Expect amusement park prices.
• Locker: You can choose to store gear or food in a locker. Lockers cost up to $15 per day. Note: Some people may be tempted to store their food and extra layers in their car, but parking can be tricky. If you arrive early, you'll be able to park right by the base of the slopes, but if you arrive late and the base parking lot is full, you'll have to take a shuttle bus to an overflow lot (buses depart every 10-15 min and take 5-10 min to reach the lodge). Getting off the mountain, unbuckling from all of your gear, walking to the bus, waiting for the bus, riding the bus, and then repeating all of these steps for the trip back will take an absolute minimum of 30 minutes. Please take this into account when deciding whether you'd like to get a locker. You can also wear a small backpack on the slopes, but we don't recommend putting anything hard in it in case you fall on it.

So How Do I Know How Much I'm Paying For Skiing?
Sign up, and we'll try to pair you with another participant so that you can use a Beginner Buddies package or the Bring A Friend package. If you sign up and there is no one to pair you with, we'll let you know. We'll keep registration open until 19 December, so it's possible that someone signs up later. In these cases, we'll pair people on a first come, first served basis.

Note that all buddy/friend tickets must be purchased the day of, so if you're paired with someone who doesn't show up, you'll have to pay the $150 for the full beginner lesson package and possibly lift tickets. Check the beginner bundle for details: https://www.wachusett.com/lessons-rentals/lessons/beginner-packages/.

What to Bring/Rent

• Waterproof snow pants and winter coat. Both are available for rent: https://www.wachusett.com/gore-tex-clothing-rentals/
• Waterproof gloves or mittens. If you don't bring waterproof gloves, your hands will inevitably get wet from things like putting your skis on, and it will make the day much less fun.
• Synthetic/polyester shirt base layer (cotton will hold sweat and make you cold)
• A hat that will fit under a helmet (optional)
• Sunscreen for your face (if sunny)
• Ski goggles. The slopes will be very bright, especially on sunny days
• Ski socks
• Tissues
• Skis/ski boots/ski poles are all mandatory and come with the lesson cost
• Helmets are also mandatory and can be rented separately
• Energy snack (bars, gels, nuts, etc.)

Can I bring a friend who knows how to ski?
Of course! They're more than welcome to join us for lunch and on the slopes after the AMC event has formally ended after lunch.

Reminder: You must register using the AMC link at the top of the description