Hi, looking for route advice from NY'ers. We just moved from MA to Saratoga Springs and would love to know your winter routes to Sugarbush. We tried a couple this summer but they didn't seem ideal. I would like to avoid ending with going over the mountain on 117 to MRG if possible. Thanks!
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The "Sugarbush Thread"
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
Hawk
Well-known member
Well there are 3 gaps and you have to make your way to one of them to get to rt 100. Since you do not like Appellation gap.(rt 17) try Middlebury gap (Rt 125) or Brandon Gap (Rt 73) I would say Middlebury is what you want and then head north on 100.
Hawk
Well-known member
Actually rt 4 to Killington and then north on 100 might be faster.
Thank you!
ducky
Active member
I dropped in from the Glen Ellen Lodge (off the LT roughly 3/4 of the way to MRG from Exterminator) one sunny afternoon and it was a big mistake. This is right in the area we are talking about and it is so dense with low conifers, it is not worth the bushwhacking. If I recall, it was about 45 minutes to hike in and over an hour to get back to the base.
There would have to be some tree clearing for sure but the terrain is good. Having an expert pod above inverness is ideal. This is obviously years down the road, but I suspect they would start by thinning the woods and clearing a lift line. Maybe start with skiining access only before installing a lift.
I wonder if they would put the new lift running from the top of inverness or from the base all the way to the top. personally, I think I'd prefer two lifts but I think the current inverness quad probably will need to be replaced anyway in the next decade or so and two new lifts might be prohibitively expensive.
This is the best route and least likely to be treacherous. While the hill on route 4 in killington can be scary, it is an interstate highway, well traveled and gets plowed frequently. Can't say the same for 125 or 73. I think in normal conditions, navigation (waze or google maps) will tell you the fastest route is 73 brandon gap, but I've tried it multiple times and never found the time saving to be significant.
Congrats! I love Saratoga. We've spent a bunch of time there over the years and it's our customary rest stop on our way to Burlington or Sugarbush coming from NJ. I'm sure you already know, but the coffee at Uncommon Grounds is fantastic and the sandwiches at Mrs. London's are excellent.
Although I'm a ways away, I've told my wife, that Saratoga would be a great place to retire. There's a ton of cultural things. It's in the ADK's so tons of outdoor activities. The track in the summer brings in a lot of excitement. And it's a college town which helps to maintain a youthful feeling. Gore is exactly one hour away and it's a little over 2 hours to Burlington and Sugarbush.
Congrats on the move.
Personally I use the Brandon Gap 95% of the time. I find it is faster than going through Rutland/Killington (even with the hospital bypass shortcut a lot of people use). Only time I'll use the Rt 4 to 100 through Rutland option is if I'm concerned about the weather on the gap. At least with the Mendon Pass area there are VTrans webcams you can use to see road conditions before you get there.
kbroderick
Active member
Wasn't there a trail pod proposed up there many years ago, and some stuff cut? I seem to recall seeing it on old orthoimagery and then trying to follow it. In hindsight, it would have been a better idea to avoid the old cut, because it had grown in thicker than the surrounding (and more mature) forest.
slatham
Well-known member
Correct. Cut and on a trail map for a year or two. Never opened obviously.
Powder Whore
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if you do a little research on Glen Ellen there Is a decent amount of
info there.
Hawk
Well-known member
Yes the new growth is really thick spruce, hemlock and birches. Also being south facing it gets a ton of sun so the trees grew fast and heathy.
SkiTheEast
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I listened to the podcast and John referenced the '95 master plan is that what's incorporated in the '08 vegetation plan?
https://skimap.org/data/205/3535/1590556476.pdf
Only reason I ask is I see there's an area noted as expansion potential (with some sort of new lift) just north of the North Lynx and Summit condo complexes around the end of Shady Lane. I know that would be a long ways off (and prob not the priority) since I haven't heard anything recently but you guys think that would ever happen or completely off the table? I know the mtn was doing a bunch of work in there building out the flow mtb terrain.
https://skimap.org/data/205/3535/1590556476.pdf
Only reason I ask is I see there's an area noted as expansion potential (with some sort of new lift) just north of the North Lynx and Summit condo complexes around the end of Shady Lane. I know that would be a long ways off (and prob not the priority) since I haven't heard anything recently but you guys think that would ever happen or completely off the table? I know the mtn was doing a bunch of work in there building out the flow mtb terrain.
I'd say that area is off the table. I think it at least partially falls within the Slide Brook area that they agreed to never develop (although exactly where the boundary is of the area they agreed to never develop I'm not entirely sure). That terrain would also be relatively low elevation especially on the lower portions which makes it less than ideal.
Hawk
Well-known member
I was told by several people at Sugarbush that Les Otten and ASC made a deal with the state and Warren VT. in order to get the slidebrook lift approved, Les made a deal to never develop that area. It is full of beech trees and prime bear habitat. So the state made the deal. Not sure how true that is but I heard that from more than one person.
SkiTheEast
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Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. I have heard about the SB deal...just curious since that doc was from '08 so I just didn't know if they were still eligible to do it or where the boundaries of the agreement are...
Full disclosure - that's around where my condo is so wishfully thinking about whether lift serviced ski-in/ski-off would ever be realistic wayyyy down the line :smile:
Hawk
Well-known member
I am near there also. I will say one thing. If it goes in property values go way up! ;-)
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