billyb3
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2021
We were visiting family about 20 minutes away, so we decided to head over to Willard Mountain for a few hours. It is about 40 minutes north of Albany and has 505 ft of vertical. We had a great time! Nice warm temps, soft snow, friendly staff, solid terrain, and no lines.
They have two side-by-side double chairs that serve the summit. The lift on looker's right is the older but "faster" lift. Per the sign at the bottom, it does not have a "slow" mode, it is either running full speed or stopped. They appear to only run this during busier times. It stopped around 3PM as people started to leave. The lift on looker's left is their newer double (I believe this replaced a T-bar a few (many?) years ago?). It runs a bit slower and noticeably easier to load. It drops off very slightly higher on the summit and makes it easier to reach the green "Bunny Hop" trail. It is a little hard to tell from the pictures, the main face (Upper/Lower Colonel) has a nice pitch, especially if you stay on the side closer to the lifts. The race team had gates setup for a bit and was cool with us taking a few laps.
We did not visit the "small" learning center next to the lodge, but took a run on the handle tow in the "large" learning center that is next to the tubing park. The boy was thrilled to try it out and picked it up without any issues.
There are two glades on the trail map. "Bear Path" (left) is below the blue trails coming from the summit. It is very flat, trees are spaced far apart...perfect for getting people comfortable with the idea. East Glade (right) is on the "black" side of the mountain and is pretty solid. Not too steep, but a lot of fun. Reminded me of Big T or Belleayre Glade at Belleayre. Although, it is getting a bit thin in spots...
I'm extremely jealous of their mini chairlift inside the lodge!
Overall, we had a great day!
p.s. For reference, they have a nice little (VistaMap) trail map here: http://www.willardmountain.com/trail-map
They have two side-by-side double chairs that serve the summit. The lift on looker's right is the older but "faster" lift. Per the sign at the bottom, it does not have a "slow" mode, it is either running full speed or stopped. They appear to only run this during busier times. It stopped around 3PM as people started to leave. The lift on looker's left is their newer double (I believe this replaced a T-bar a few (many?) years ago?). It runs a bit slower and noticeably easier to load. It drops off very slightly higher on the summit and makes it easier to reach the green "Bunny Hop" trail. It is a little hard to tell from the pictures, the main face (Upper/Lower Colonel) has a nice pitch, especially if you stay on the side closer to the lifts. The race team had gates setup for a bit and was cool with us taking a few laps.
We did not visit the "small" learning center next to the lodge, but took a run on the handle tow in the "large" learning center that is next to the tubing park. The boy was thrilled to try it out and picked it up without any issues.
There are two glades on the trail map. "Bear Path" (left) is below the blue trails coming from the summit. It is very flat, trees are spaced far apart...perfect for getting people comfortable with the idea. East Glade (right) is on the "black" side of the mountain and is pretty solid. Not too steep, but a lot of fun. Reminded me of Big T or Belleayre Glade at Belleayre. Although, it is getting a bit thin in spots...
I'm extremely jealous of their mini chairlift inside the lodge!
Overall, we had a great day!
p.s. For reference, they have a nice little (VistaMap) trail map here: http://www.willardmountain.com/trail-map
