Despite these drawbacks, I like Ascutney. It is small enough for parents not to worry about their kids. Under a clear sky and decent surfaces, the mountain offers some great skiing and some bunny slopes for those just starting out. I was there on a day when surfaces were scratchy. It had thawed, and then frozen again, giving the groomers plenty of work to break up a hard, frozen surface. They had done a good job.  Even at 2 PM, surfaces had not reached the skied-off boilerplate condition one finds elsewhere.   Nevertheless, skiing at Ascutney can be unnerving for the first time visitor with lower intermediate ability. Unless one has read the  warning contained in the trail map, there is little to tell the unwary that they may be getting into something over their head by taking the Summit Triple chair. ``There is no novice trail from the top of the Summit Triple Chair,"  states a paragraph in the trail map.

Cloudspin, a trail designated as a Green at the top of the mountain would be a blue at any other mountain and could be quite challenging under icy conditions.  So why is not marked as a blue? Well, the trail map also states that trail ratings should not be compared with those at other areas.  Translated, from this obfuscation, I think this means; Blues are really blacks. Blacks are really double blacks and so on. But, perhaps surprisingly, once I had found my way around the mountain, I began to like some of Ascutney's steep and relatively narrow slopes and even its double fall lines. If you are a good skier, you will enjoy Ascutney trails when conditions are good.

As I remarked at the beginning, Ascutney reminds one  of a luxurious country club. The design of the Resort Hotel,  and landscaping at the foot of the mountain, gives one the impression of what an artist might have dreamed up. Everything seems perfectly placed and in proportion, yet at the same time there is a strange feeling of omission. It's hard to pinpoint. It's as if one expects to see a busy mall under the hotel! Perhaps that's what was meant to happen before the mountain lurched into bankruptcy several years ago. The new owner appears to be sinking the money in again, but as we all know, ski resorts can be a bottomless pit for investors. No matter, things are looking up at Ascutney.

Ascutney's Resort Hotel complex

 Brown's Tavern, located inside the Resort Hotel, is the place for lunch. I had an excellent chicken Caesar salad, clam chowder and soda for $10.00. I had been driven to  look elsewhere after a disastrous experience in the Base lodge further up the mountain. Here I had paid $6.00 for a potato and mushroom soup, a soda and french fries. Except for the drink, I had been forced to dump it all in the nearest trash can after a mouthfull of each. With acidity building in my stomach from the few french fries, I had taken to the slopes again and received an excellent group ski lesson ($26.00 for an hour) from a level one instructor. Feeling tired afterwards, I had headed to Brown's, which adjoins the hotel's dining area.

 If you ever visit the tavern at the end of the day, and you have parked up by the base lodge, be warned. The village chair that runs from the hotel to an area above the base lodge, closes at 4:30 PM, leaving you unable to get to your car. After narrowly avoiding this situation, I left Ascutney feeling as if I had a good day. Do I recommend Ascutney?  Well, yes I do, but chose your day carefully,
 particularly in December and early January when conditions may be icy.

Timothy Palmer-Benson       

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