Mount Southington: Close to Home and A Lot of Snow

Was it 24 inches?

How about 28?

Did we get 30?

It seems as if everyone lost count when it came to that big old storm last week. But one thing was certain in terms of where to go last weekend: the closest snow sports area.

That would be local snow sports resort .

There are three schools of thought. One is to head north and get the vertical, the grooming and the tree skiing and riding and the big halfpipe with all that snow. The drawback is the drive time and the inevitable fight for space in the lodge around lunchtime.

The second school of thought is to stay in Connecticut and take advantage of a record 24-hour snowfall with a short drive.

The third school of thought is to stay close to home because most skiers and riders tend to head for the big hills on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the season.

The choice was part plan B and part plan C.

It was the right choice.

First thing to know about Mount Southington is the short drive. Look at the mileage counts from several towns to Plantsville:

Manchester: 29.
Vernon: 33.
Ellington: 39.
Somers: 44.
Suffield: 38
East Windsor: 35.
Mansfield: 45.
Storrs: 47.
Windsor: 28.
Windsor Locks: 33.
Enfield: 37.

Then, look at the conditions. Mount Southington is sporting a 45-inch base. It was 43 after the storm, but snowmaking crews put another layer on top of the natural stuff to take advantage of the cold temperatures.

Yes, its 14 trails and 425 vertical feet are dwarfed by the big mountains up north, but all the snow locally more than makes up for it. The conditions were so pristine that it felt like a silky smooth carpet under bare feet. The skis glided through the snow after the machine-made and natural surfaces were diligently groomed into a soft corduroy.

For a smaller mountain, Mount Southington is no slouch. It has 14 trails and its longest - Dom's Way, is nearly a mile long. Every trail is lighted and every trail has snowmaking.

Its terrain park features a variety of jibs, rails, boxes and there are even a few kickers strategically placed throughout the area.

One major note for the new-schoolers: A park pass costs $10 for the season and no one rides the park without a pass. 

Unlike smaller ski areas in the region that shut down, like Powder Ridge and Mt. Tom, Mount Southington successfully invested in its infrastructure. The addition of the Thunderbolt triple, installed a couple of seasons ago at Mount Southington, has alleviated most congestion on the uphill right side of the mountain.

It is not a high speed lift (who needs one at a smaller mountain?), but from a capacity standpoint, it does the job if getting people out of line and up the trails.

Southington is a major hit with area schools, both in attracting race team members and serving the recreational clubs. It has a convenient drop-off area for buses.   

There is also a new surface lift the the self-contained beginner area. 

The lodge at Mount Southington is spartan by many industry standards, but it is spacious. It even has free locker space.

Oh, guess what … the food is relatively cheap. A hot dog is less than three bucks.

It all adds up to one thing. A trip to Mount Southington is worth it.