Sugarbush - 2/11 & 2/12/2005

[Greg]

Date(s) Skied: Friday/Saturday, February 11-12, 2005

Resort or Ski Area: Sugarbush, Warren, Vermont

FRIDAY - 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Conditions: Powder! Packed powder, moguls; sunny and windy, around 20 degrees.

Trip Report: After a powder day at Mad River Glen, and watching the snow fall throughout the night, we were excited to hit Sugarbush on Friday. The area picked up a solid 18", but the winds were also up. Unfortunately, we learned much of the mountain was on windhold. Around 9 AM they opened the Gatehouse lift so we boarded at 9:30 to start our day.

A lot of windblown where Gatehouse lets out, but our first run down Hotshot, Waterfall and Lower Hotshot was great with some nice packed powder. Skier's right on Waterfall was ungroomed. We took our next run off Gatehouse down Sleeper Chutes which was a cool run in and around some trees. We noticed a line forming at the North Lynx triple and decided to wait until it started running before waiting in line. We hit some of the cruisers skier's right off of Gatehouse.

Soon the North Lynx triple was opened and we loaded. We noticed a lot of people having fun in the powder right under the lift on Morning Star. It was mostly tracked out by the time I got on it, but this was fine as it loosened up some of the somewhat heavy powder that had settled with the help of the wind overnight. Great run.

The blue run off the North Lynx Peak (Birch Run) was in good shape with packed powder and some bumps most of the day. Some hardpack poked through in the afternoon. Sunrise off North Lynx had a ton of manmade with 18" of powder resulting in some fantastic hero bumps. For the bottom section of North Lynx, we mostly did Sleeper Chutes. Somewhat of a disappointment that most of Sugarbush South was closed, but we would get the opportunity to sample some of the conditions the next day and we certainly got in a full day even though it was just on North Lynx.

Click HERE for Friday pics.

SATURDAY - 8:10 AM - 1:40 PM
Conditions: Powder! Packed powder, moguls; moderate snow falling.

Trip Report: For Saturday, we headed over to Mount Ellen and got started early on the Green Mountain Express just after 8 AM. We rode some nice arc on the cruisers off this lift and all the remaining lifts at Sugarbush opened at 9 AM. We also rode the Summit Quad at Ellen and North Ridge Express. The cruisers were in great shape with perfect packed powder covered in ~1-2" of fresh powder. The Cliffs had some great bumps. I encountered a large patch of windblown ice on F.I.S from the skier's right entry point. I went immediately down and sped diagonally across the slope on my side, digging my edges in to keep me from being turned around. This rattled me enough to escape out the lower skier's left entry. It looked like the conditions improved beyond the ice, but I decided to bail down Rim Run. I don't think I would've skied F.I.S. well after my fall anyway.

We then hopped on the Slide Brook Express to check out Lincoln. What a fun experience the SBE is! It was like an amusement park ride! Pretty impressive lift. Once at South, we rode the Super Bravo Express and skied a cruiser down to Heaven's Gate. Off the summit I hit Organgrinder, which looks deceptively steep from the top, but was actually pretty mellow, but had a double falline with some great powder and bumps. I then made it over to Castlerock while my in-laws skied back down to Super Bravo. A huge lift line wrapped around for the Castlerock Double, but Middle Earth was worth the wait. What a great natural run with bumps, great powder, and twists and turns. Certainly one of the weekend's top runs. I'm really glad I got to experience the 'Rock, even if it was only for one run.

Met up with guys at Gatehouse and we took the SBE back to Ellen where we hit a bunch of cruisers off North Ridge. I also did two runs down Encore which was a great bump run. We wanted to get on the road by 2 PM so we finished up at 1:40 just when the snow falling throughout the day was really beginning to smooth out an already excellent surface. We made it home from Waitsfield in under 4 hours. It was the perfect timing to first experence the Mad River Valley! MRG is just awesome and I was surprised how expansive Sugarbush actually is. Their lift layout is great.

Click HERE for Saturday pics.

[Buckeye Skier 1330]

Nice report and pics, Greg. We'll be in the Mad River Valley 2 weeks from tonight, after our free day at Butternut. Those pics of the Slide Brook lift are something else. I wish they would run it everyday, but we'll have to wait for that Friday I guess. Glad you had a good trip!

[bvibert]

Nice, looks like you got lucky with the snow! I wish the Slide Brook Express was running when we were there last year...

[awf170]

ya slide brook is so awsome. That kinda stinks you only got one run at castlerock, but it still sounded like a great day. Next time you gotta try rumble at castlerock its awsome. I love how the chairs on castlerock are so spread apart, even though the lines are long once you get up their its awsome.

[awf170]

cool pictures or rumble, one of my favorate runs anywhere

[Bumpsis]

The pics of Middle Earth really bring back some sweet memories.
That is one of the best runs in NE when the conditions are right, i.e. good powder, or spring corn. Looks like you really got lucky on conditions.
It's rare pleasure unless you're local.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by awf170

Next time you gotta try rumble at castlerock its awsome. I love how the chairs on castlerock are so spread apart, even though the lines are long once you get up their its awsome.

How tight is Rumble? It looks only about one turn's width where it leaves Liftline.

Yeah, the wide spacing on the Castlerock Chair is incredible. I think it's cool that SB has made an effort to keep skier traffic in that area to a minimum. I still had a fair amount of company going down Middle Earth though....

[skijay]

How long is the Slide Brook Express? The only time I have been on a transfer lift was at Haystack from the old lodge to where the lifts are, and that was short.

[thetrailboss]

Originally Posted by skijay

How long is the Slide Brook Express? The only time I have been on a transfer lift was at Haystack from the old lodge to where the lifts are, and that was short.

Over two miles long (great ride). It is a nine minute ride assuming she doesn't stop.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by thetrailboss

Over two miles long (great ride). It is a nine minute ride assuming she doesn't stop.

Yup. 11,000 some-odd feet. It really is a cool ride and it moves pretty quick. It seems like any old HSQ when you board from either Ellen or South, but the real fun begins when you go over the crest of the first hill and start to go down...