Sugarbush - 3/4/2008

**Greg** · Mar 4, 2008, 12:27 PM

Date(s) Skied: Tuesday, 3/4/2008, 9:10 am - 12:10 pm

Resort or Ski Area: Sugarbush Vermont

Conditions: Wet partially frozen snow, heavy crud, mashed potatoes down low

Trip Report: We wanted to check out Mount Ellen today. I was hoping for some soft bumps. It was raining hard in the early morning hours, but the rain stopped before sunrise. Took the Mad Bus over and got on the GMX at 9:10. First run on Cruiser was rough. Wet packed, groomed snow with almost a thin layer of crust. Almost all of Ellen was on windhold yesterday so the cruisers were set up since they were last groomed Sunday night. My freshly tuned bump skis were the wrong choice today. Wiped out on Cruiser. Tough to get the edges to release.

We then hit Bravo. Almost unskiable with saturated heavy crud in the troughs. We then made out way over to Semi Tough. Being a lower elevation trail, it was much better with more edgeable snow. Took one more run off the GMX and hit The Cliffs. Better than Bravo, but still rough.

We weren't feeling Mount Ellen and decided to head back to Lincoln Peak hoping the snow was chopped up a bit by more skier traffic. We took Gatehouse to North Lynx. Morning Star was frozen coral bumps.

Sleeper Chutes was better with softer broken up snow. We took another run over there and then took Bravo to hit Birdland. The bumps on Lower were decent.

Overall, kind of a rough one today. The lower elevation runs were the place to be. Tomorrow may be even rougher with the freezing rain.

We pick the crap week among some really good ones... Oh well.

2knees · Mar 4, 2008, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

Overall, kind of a rough one today. The lower elevation runs were the place to be. Tomorrow may be even rougher with the freezing rain.

We pick the crap week among some really good ones... Oh well.

sorry to hear it aint the best but maybe thursday will be a surprise for you.

Trust me, i would still rather be where you are skiing then where i am reading about your skiing.

**Greg** · Mar 4, 2008, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2knees

Trust me, i would still rather be where you are skiing then where i am reading about your skiing.

As I was hitting some decent soft lines on Lower Birdland, I was saying the same thing. Better than working. Plus my wife's getting in some decent ski time with her dad which I'm psyched about. Gonna head back out later this afternoon with Abby.

kickstand · Mar 4, 2008, 12:53 PM

I was booked for a bus trip up to Sugarbush tomorrow, but canceled when I heard the forecasts. After reading this, I'm glad I did.

madskier6 · Mar 4, 2008, 12:54 PM

Were you able to try Tumbler or Hammerhead at Ellen? I thought you said you'd be looking for bump runs. Those are 2 of the best bump runs at Ellen IMHO. Maybe it was just too icy to enjoy bump runs today.

o3jeff · Mar 4, 2008, 1:08 PM

That sucks that the skiing has been marginal for you this week. I hope it gets better there as I will be heading up there Sunday afternoon to get a few days in next week.

Are you planning on doing some time at MRG? Be interested to know if the conditions are much different there.

Zand · Mar 4, 2008, 1:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

As I was hitting some decent soft lines on Lower Birdland, I was saying the same thing. Better than working. Plus my wife's getting in some decent ski time with her dad which I'm psyched about. Gonna head back out later this afternoon with Abby.

Plus you'll be back up there in 2 weeks!

gladerider · Mar 4, 2008, 3:35 PM

keep my fingers crossed. i'll be up there next friday. hope the conditions improve.....

**Greg** · Mar 4, 2008, 3:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madskier6

Were you able to try Tumbler or Hammerhead at Ellen? I thought you said you'd be looking for bump runs. Those are 2 of the best bump runs at Ellen IMHO. Maybe it was just too icy to enjoy bump runs today.

Nope. It wasn't any icyness that was the problem. It was the heavy saturated snow coated with a crust in the troughs that made turning almost impossible. With little to no skier traffic, the bumps just wouldn't have improved.

Quote:

Originally Posted by o3jeff

Are you planning on doing some time at MRG? Be interested to know if the conditions are much different there.

Not planning on it based on how the natural trails were skiing. Still had fun today. Got back out with Abby for 3 runs off the magic carpet and 2 off the Village Double. Then hooked up with pops-in-law and did Jester to Lower Organgrinder which was pretty decent. I was on the freshly tuned Legends at this point which were far better than the bumpers. Finished the day on Stein's. Funky spaced out bumps. Manky snow on top with hard pack, yet edgeable troughs. Actually a lot of fun.

Praying for a miracle tomorrow. Looks like a groomer day, but you never know. Every day ended up far better than we thought it would.

Paul · Mar 4, 2008, 5:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

Nope. It wasn't any icyness that was the problem. It was the heavy saturated snow coated with a crust in the troughs that made turning almost impossible. With little to no skier traffic, the bumps just wouldn't have improved.

Not planning on it based on how the natural trails were skiing. Still had fun today. Got back out with Abby for 3 runs off the magic carpet and 2 off the Village Double. Then hooked up with pops-in-law and did Jester to Lower Organgrinder which was pretty decent. I was on the freshly tuned Legends at this point which were far better than the bumpers. Finished the day on Stein's. Funky spaced out bumps. Manky snow on top with hard pack, yet edgeable troughs. Actually a lot of fun.

Praying for a miracle tomorrow. Looks like a groomer day, but you never know. Every day ended up far better than we thought it would.

Well this sounds pretty positive at least...

Life...lemons...all that crap....

Mar 4, 2008, 12:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
Greg Nassahegan, CT: 9/20 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Thomaston, CT Posts: 20,989	Sugarbush - 3/4/2008 Date(s) Skied: Tuesday, 3/4/2008, 9:10 am - 12:10 pm Resort or Ski Area: Sugarbush Vermont Conditions: Wet partially frozen snow, heavy crud, mashed potatoes down low Trip Report: We wanted to check out Mount Ellen today. I was hoping for some soft bumps. It was raining hard in the early morning hours, but the rain stopped before sunrise. Took the Mad Bus over and got on the GMX at 9:10. First run on Cruiser was rough. Wet packed, groomed snow with almost a thin layer of crust. Almost all of Ellen was on windhold yesterday so the cruisers were set up since they were last groomed Sunday night. My freshly tuned bump skis were the wrong choice today. Wiped out on Cruiser. Tough to get the edges to release. We then hit Bravo. Almost unskiable with saturated heavy crud in the troughs. We then made out way over to Semi Tough. Being a lower elevation trail, it was much better with more edgeable snow. Took one more run off the GMX and hit The Cliffs. Better than Bravo, but still rough. We weren't feeling Mount Ellen and decided to head back to Lincoln Peak hoping the snow was chopped up a bit by more skier traffic. We took Gatehouse to North Lynx. Morning Star was frozen coral bumps. Sleeper Chutes was better with softer broken up snow. We took another run over there and then took Bravo to hit Birdland. The bumps on Lower were decent. Overall, kind of a rough one today. The lower elevation runs were the place to be. Tomorrow may be even rougher with the freezing rain. We pick the crap week among some really good ones... Oh well. __________________ Greg 2007-08, 2006-07, 2005-06, 2004-05 Life's too short for warm up runs.

Mar 4, 2008, 12:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
madskier6 Having fun in the Northern Greens Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Western Mass Posts: 612	Were you able to try Tumbler or Hammerhead at Ellen? I thought you said you'd be looking for bump runs. Those are 2 of the best bump runs at Ellen IMHO. Maybe it was just too icy to enjoy bump runs today. __________________ Jeff

Mar 4, 2008, 3:35 PM	#8 (permalink)
gladerider Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: NJ Posts: 221	keep my fingers crossed. i'll be up there next friday. hope the conditions improve..... __________________ Gladerider

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Mar 4, 2008, 12:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
kickstand Join Date: May 2005 Location: Wakefield, MA Posts: 529	I was booked for a bus trip up to Sugarbush tomorrow, but canceled when I heard the forecasts. After reading this, I'm glad I did.

Mar 4, 2008, 1:08 PM	#6 (permalink)
o3jeff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Southington, CT Posts: 1,214	That sucks that the skiing has been marginal for you this week. I hope it gets better there as I will be heading up there Sunday afternoon to get a few days in next week. Are you planning on doing some time at MRG? Be interested to know if the conditions are much different there.

Mar 4, 2008, 12:27 PM
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