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Date(s) Skied: Friday, December 17, 2004 - 12:45 PM - 3:45 PM
Resort or Ski Area: Ski Sundown, New Hartford, CT
Conditions: Machine groomed packed powder; Mostly sunny; Light winds
Trip Report: I decided to take some turns for a few hours up at Ski Sundown for opening day this afternoon. I had the pleasure of meeting Sundown's Marketing Director, Dotty Craig soon after I arrived. After a brief chat, I got dressed and was on the lift at 12:45 PM. I would guess there were about 30 people skiing the mountain at that time.
It occurred to me that it's been ten seasons since I last skied Sundown and the area was much like I remembered it. The lodge was very clean and the ski area is a very scenic one with numerous hemlocks and white pines along the liftlines. The only lift to the summit was the "A" Triple.
There were three runs open off the summit; Canyon Run (blue), Nor-easter (blue) and Stinger (black). All three feed into the wide open Exhibition trail down towards the base. My first run was Canyon Run, then Nor-easter, and finally Stinger. I spent much of the afternoon skiing Stinger as it has the most continuous top-to-bottom pitch.
The conditions on all trails was the same; firm, yet edgeable machine-groomed, packed powder. The trail coverage was very good with no thin spots, rocks, or anything poking through. The 20"-36" base on the snow report is accurate and every open run was fully covered from side to side. The mountain had 60 hours of continuous snowmaking and it shows. The mountain ops crew did a fine job of laying down a great base and Sundown was able to kick off their ski season in a very respectable fashion.
The weather was beautiful this afternoon; sunny skies early in the afternoon with some high clouds rolling in later. There was a nice breeze and temps in the mid-30's reminded you that winter is almost here. Crowds were light, but more teenagers started showing up later in the afternoon. I noticed about half of this afternoon's crowd consisted of riders; many of them very skilled ones. The quietness of the mountain this afternoon resulted in very relaxing lift rides.
All in all, a great second day out this season. From my visits 10 years ago, I remember the leftmost run (skier's left), Gunbarrel, being a great steep run with nice evenly spaced moguls. There was no snow on that one yet, but I'm looking forward to that run being open. Also, the "A" liftline looks like it could be skiable given enough natural (yeah, right; this is CT...). The liftline was well cleared so it will be interesting to see if any attempts it this season. At 30 miles and only 40 minutes away from home, it's a mountain I intend to visit often this season. I just wish it had another 200' of vertical. At 625', you just about get into your run when it ends...
Pics HERE.
Resort or Ski Area: Ski Sundown, New Hartford, CT
Conditions: Machine groomed packed powder; Mostly sunny; Light winds
Trip Report: I decided to take some turns for a few hours up at Ski Sundown for opening day this afternoon. I had the pleasure of meeting Sundown's Marketing Director, Dotty Craig soon after I arrived. After a brief chat, I got dressed and was on the lift at 12:45 PM. I would guess there were about 30 people skiing the mountain at that time.
It occurred to me that it's been ten seasons since I last skied Sundown and the area was much like I remembered it. The lodge was very clean and the ski area is a very scenic one with numerous hemlocks and white pines along the liftlines. The only lift to the summit was the "A" Triple.
There were three runs open off the summit; Canyon Run (blue), Nor-easter (blue) and Stinger (black). All three feed into the wide open Exhibition trail down towards the base. My first run was Canyon Run, then Nor-easter, and finally Stinger. I spent much of the afternoon skiing Stinger as it has the most continuous top-to-bottom pitch.
The conditions on all trails was the same; firm, yet edgeable machine-groomed, packed powder. The trail coverage was very good with no thin spots, rocks, or anything poking through. The 20"-36" base on the snow report is accurate and every open run was fully covered from side to side. The mountain had 60 hours of continuous snowmaking and it shows. The mountain ops crew did a fine job of laying down a great base and Sundown was able to kick off their ski season in a very respectable fashion.
The weather was beautiful this afternoon; sunny skies early in the afternoon with some high clouds rolling in later. There was a nice breeze and temps in the mid-30's reminded you that winter is almost here. Crowds were light, but more teenagers started showing up later in the afternoon. I noticed about half of this afternoon's crowd consisted of riders; many of them very skilled ones. The quietness of the mountain this afternoon resulted in very relaxing lift rides.
All in all, a great second day out this season. From my visits 10 years ago, I remember the leftmost run (skier's left), Gunbarrel, being a great steep run with nice evenly spaced moguls. There was no snow on that one yet, but I'm looking forward to that run being open. Also, the "A" liftline looks like it could be skiable given enough natural (yeah, right; this is CT...). The liftline was well cleared so it will be interesting to see if any attempts it this season. At 30 miles and only 40 minutes away from home, it's a mountain I intend to visit often this season. I just wish it had another 200' of vertical. At 625', you just about get into your run when it ends...
Pics HERE.
