Sugarloaf, 4/19-20/08

[shwilly]

Date(s) Skied: April 19 & 20, 2008

Resort or Ski Area: Sugarloaf

Conditions: Spring slush and bumps, sunny and mild.

Trip Report: We went to the Loaf for perhaps the last time this season and had a weekend of great spring skiing. Everything was open and we did many of our favorite runs a last few times. Apparently Saturday was the last day for the backside this year. We had two long days, going from 9 until almost 5 on Saturday and 9:30 to 4 on Sunday with a total of two midday breaks.

Conditions were soft slush everywhere with lots of bumps, but going fast. Some of the best runs were the backside, Pipecleaner, and Gondola Line from the top.

In terms of pure enjoyment, this was one of our best weekends of the season. If that's it for the season, it was a good sendoff.

[shwilly]

[snowmonster]

Thanks for the pics. I was up there this weekend too and the backsides were really sweet. Sugarloaf is indeed the king of spring!

[polski]

If the stars align I'll be making my first trip to Sugarloaf on Friday. In today's trail report I see White Nitro and Powderkeg are still open -- anyone have any thoughts on whether that's likely to still be the case Friday? Sounds like this week it'll be warm though trending a little cooler by Thurs with highs only in the 50s that day and maybe it'll get below freezing that night (I'm hoping for a good setup).

[loafer89]

Originally Posted by polski

If the stars align I'll be making my first trip to Sugarloaf on Friday. In today's trail report I see White Nitro and Powderkeg are still open -- anyone have any thoughts on whether that's likely to still be the case Friday? Sounds like this week it'll be warm though trending a little cooler by Thurs with highs only in the 50s that day and maybe it'll get below freezing that night (I'm hoping for a good setup).

White Nitro has a deep snowmaking base of solid ice/hardpacked snow, so you should be able to ski it this weekend. Powder Keg is also deep, but was getting a bit thin near the top junction with White Nitro.

Snow was very thin and melting fast to access the two runs from the top of the
Timberline Chair as you skied around the Gondi Summit Building.

I wish you great skiing if you go, last week was epic.

[polski]

Thanks. I'm very slightly bummed that the freeze-thaw cycle that took so long to start this spring wound up going to 24-hour thaw so quickly ... but now that it's been almost two weeks since I've been on skis, I don't care, I just want to go!

[bigbog]

Nice pics shwilly....the air this past weekend was nice.

*Polski,
You should make it....weather people are talking somewhat cloudy days for the week with just moderate high_40s-low_60s temps.

[shwilly]

Originally Posted by polski

In today's trail report I see White Nitro and Powderkeg are still open -- anyone have any thoughts on whether that's likely to still be the case Friday?

As Loafer suggested, the worry isn't the trails themselves, but the Timberline lift unload area and the short traverse to the top of those trails. If they could groom the area a few times, that would help.

That said, at worst you should be able to get to the Spillway crosscut, and you could easily do a day of fun laps from that chair.

[SLyardsale]

Originally Posted by shwilly

As Loafer suggested, the worry isn't the trails themselves, but the Timberline lift unload area and the short traverse to the top of those trails. If they could groom the area a few times, that would help.

That said, at worst you should be able to get to the Spillway crosscut, and you could easily do a day of fun laps from that chair.

I'm here now - still over 100 trails open under blue skies and 70(f) temps. Calling for temps up to 77(f) tomorrow. There is still plenty of snow off the Superquad and Spillway lifts. The upper MT is going faster, but timberline will run tomorrow... Skied in shorts today. I've taken photo's, but am skiing again tomorrow so will post those later.