With border crossings not impossible but certainly a bit of a challenge, Bay State skiers are carefully plotting out trips north with quarantine times built in and looking across their own state for great day trips.
But they may very well be doing something else from the Greater Boston area this winter: Heading west.
No, we’re not suggesting they’ll flee for the Rockies. Rather, Boston-area skiers and riders are teed up to discover a little secret that New Yorkers and folks from Connecticut have long known: Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort is one heck of a ski and ride vacation spot.
Located just two and a half hours west of Boston (an easy drive, really), Jiminy (www.jiminypeak.com) has been around forever, and even under the same family ownership (The Fairbank Group, who also now own and operate Cranmore in New Hampshire and Bromley in Vermont) for more than 40 years.
For some reason, though, eastern Massachusetts ski and ride folks didn’t tend to head that way. North to New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine was the norm.
“It’s true,” said Jiminy spokesman Katie Fogel. “Boston comes to the Berkshires in the summer for sure, but not necessarily in the winter.”
This is the year to load the car with your gear and head west to check out Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort.
Jiminy really is a true resort. With plenty of slope-side lodging (in their country inn suites or in condos), just about every accommodation you choose puts you on the slopes or just a few steps from them, a perfect set-up in this pandemic year.
Stress about your car “being your base lodge” is replaced instead with the total bliss of “your lodging being your base lodge.” You can pop your gear on there and get out, zip back for a cocoa or lunch break, and just plain have access to your own space at all times.
The mountain itself has all the bells and whistles as well, and with some COVID-19 related tweaks, are offering all you’d need for a winter escape.
Jiminy Peak peaks at 2,300 with a vertical drop of just under 1,200, not wildly huge, but long enough to allow for some thigh-burner runs and true challenge, as well as lovely cruisers and learning trails.
With 45 trails (21 lit for night skiing) served by top-notch lifts including a six-pack that zips you to the top in just five minutes, you can crank out a ton of vertical and not get bored.
For cruising fast on a classically narrower New England trail, you cannot beat Wild Turkey. For wider steeps where you arc turns, head to Jericho. And to truly show everyone your stuff, there’s the double black diamond Exhibition which is, of course, under the chairlift.
But Jiminy is a forgiving mountain for all levels. Even the earliest-in-their-career skier and rider can find a nice way to head to the top and cruise down. The learning areas are separate enough that those new to the sport won’t get nervous if someone speeds by.
And best of all for families (or just for never getting lost): every trail leads back to the same base area.
Jiminy is strong on dining in non-COVID years, and this year has made some tweaks to stay strong within the guidelines.
Outside at Crane’s Lodge and JJ’s Patio, folks will be able to choose grab-and-go meals and then enjoy them in seating with lots of portable heaters around. Two of their restaurants, Christiansen’s Tavern and John Harvard’s, will be open with limited seating capacity.
And to amp up the fun in a challenging year, this year they’re adding a food truck at the base. “Biggin’s Diggins” will serve up classic food truck meals with a twist all winter long.
There’s also a country store on-site so you can stock up for any meals you want to enjoy in your lodging.
Jiminy’s ski and ride school will be operating with some tweaks this season. They will be offering their popular first-time lesson for anyone 6 and up. First-timers use special equipment as well as a terrain-based learning program to get folks up and gliding quickly.
Other lessons can be booked in privates or semi-private and “family lessons” in which family or bubble members group as one for a lesson. Children 3-5 can take a private lesson.
There is no day care offered on site this season, something families will want to plan for.
And then there’s the ski and ride schedule. With 21 lit trails, Jiminy’s night skiing is formidable. It’s not just green cruisers lit up; even the resort’s popular Lower and Upper Whitetail are lit top to bottom.
And if you’re there on a ski and stay package (which is the best deal), you can ski or ride any time you want day or night on that ticket. If the lifts are spinning, you can get out there. With your nearby lodging, that means you can pick and choose your skiing and riding times day and night.
It’s not the usual way Bostonians head to ski. But what’s usual about 2020? The good news with this new experience in this pandemic is this: This is one that will add to your joy.
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December 16, 2020 at 05:46PM
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Ski Wednesday: Go west … to experience Jiminy Peak - Boston Herald
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