• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

The "Sugarbush Thread"

ericfromMA/NH/VT

Active member
Joined
Nov 26, 2019
Messages
149
Points
28
Just received an e-mail today saying Quad Packs are back. I believe the prices seem higher than I remember, although it has been a while since I bought one (and honestly I thought they were a bit TOO cheap for a while).

Purchase by October 14th and it is $399 for a transferable unrestricted quad pack. There's also a new mid-week Quad pack that is $299 through October 14th.

yep, saw that this weekend. disapointed but not surprised.

The old Quadpacks were $259 in 2019. that year I could get a day pass for 70-80 bucks max if I bought it ahead of time. They were a good deal.

Last year I saw the jump in ticket prices, thought "well, thats OK its just this year".

Shame on me.

The midweek one isnt that bad a deal but the blackout dates in february kills it for me because I used the quad passes to get my kids up there midweek. I've never skied Sugarbush on a weekend and don't want to start this year. In the past I would get a couple quad packs, pull my kids out of elementary school and we would go spend a couple days up there midweek once or twice a year. Thats place really helped them develop into great skiers.

Now my son is in seventh grade and missing a day of school really makes him work hard to catch up on homework etc., So pulling him out midweek is no longer an option, his mid week ski days will be on school vacation days....so that mid week pass dosent help me.

If me and friends want to buy it for mid week trips i may get one, but the days of me skiing there with my kids are over, which sucks. I will not pay $100 a day to ski. I'm sorry, thats just my limit. I havent seen the per day pricing yet, but I'm sure it'll be $100+ no matter how far in advance you buy them.

I'm assuming $30 Thursdays at ME are a thing of the past as well.

We got the epic pass this year so I will take the $400 I'd spend on that quad pass and spend it on a cheap hotel near Stowe (it will buy me 2 nights at a dive hotel, I've checked) and we will ski Stow 3 days midweek in school vacation week instead of Sugarbush this year. New Hampshire and Vermont's school vacation weeks in February is the week after New York and Massachusetts so the crowds shouldn't be that bad. They've never been that bad in New Hampshire that week anyway. And yes I bought the epic pass that lets me ski stowe with no blackout dates. We may spend some time around Christmas up there as well depending on conditions.

I know there's a lot of hatred for Vail on this site and who knows after this year maybe I'll hate them too, but until they give me a reason to I'm excited for the epic pass but I will miss Sugarbush.

Enjoy fellas I hope you have a kick ass season up there this year.
 

thetrailboss

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
32,338
Points
113
Location
NEK by Birth
yep, saw that this weekend. disapointed but not surprised.

The old Quadpacks were $259 in 2019. that year I could get a day pass for 70-80 bucks max if I bought it ahead of time. They were a good deal.

Last year I saw the jump in ticket prices, thought "well, thats OK its just this year".

Shame on me.

The midweek one isnt that bad a deal but the blackout dates in february kills it for me because I used the quad passes to get my kids up there midweek. I've never skied Sugarbush on a weekend and don't want to start this year. In the past I would get a couple quad packs, pull my kids out of elementary school and we would go spend a couple days up there midweek once or twice a year. Thats place really helped them develop into great skiers.

Now my son is in seventh grade and missing a day of school really makes him work hard to catch up on homework etc., So pulling him out midweek is no longer an option, his mid week ski days will be on school vacation days....so that mid week pass dosent help me.

If me and friends want to buy it for mid week trips i may get one, but the days of me skiing there with my kids are over, which sucks. I will not pay $100 a day to ski. I'm sorry, thats just my limit. I havent seen the per day pricing yet, but I'm sure it'll be $100+ no matter how far in advance you buy them.

I'm assuming $30 Thursdays at ME are a thing of the past as well.

We got the epic pass this year so I will take the $400 I'd spend on that quad pass and spend it on a cheap hotel near Stowe (it will buy me 2 nights at a dive hotel, I've checked) and we will ski Stow 3 days midweek in school vacation week instead of Sugarbush this year. New Hampshire and Vermont's school vacation weeks in February is the week after New York and Massachusetts so the crowds shouldn't be that bad. They've never been that bad in New Hampshire that week anyway. And yes I bought the epic pass that lets me ski stowe with no blackout dates. We may spend some time around Christmas up there as well depending on conditions.

I know there's a lot of hatred for Vail on this site and who knows after this year maybe I'll hate them too, but until they give me a reason to I'm excited for the epic pass but I will miss Sugarbush.

Enjoy fellas I hope you have a kick ass season up there this year.
Yeah, I think it is fair to say that local deals are now history at Sugarbush. The model that Vail and Alterra follow means that those programs are cut in favor of the big pass product and forcing people to that product.
 

WWF-VT

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 23, 2005
Messages
2,598
Points
48
Location
MA & Fayston, VT
We got the epic pass this year so I will take the $400 I'd spend on that quad pass and spend it on a cheap hotel near Stowe (it will buy me 2 nights at a dive hotel, I've checked) and we will ski Stow 3 days midweek in school vacation week instead of Sugarbush this year. New Hampshire and Vermont's school vacation weeks in February is the week after New York and Massachusetts so the crowds shouldn't be that bad. They've never been that bad in New Hampshire that week anyway. And yes I bought the epic pass that lets me ski stowe with no blackout dates. We may spend some time around Christmas up there as well depending on conditions.
You bought an Epic Pass and bitching that Sugarbush has raised the price for Quad Packs.

Welcome to the world where an unrestricted day ticket for $100 is considered a deal.
 

kingslug

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
Messages
6,990
Points
113
Location
Stamford Ct and Stowe
Don't know if this year will be the same as last..but SB was not crowded at all on weekend..even when it was dumping. They were all at Stowe.
 

ducky

Active member
Joined
Nov 18, 2017
Messages
301
Points
28
Location
Waitsfield, VT
Stowe has a proof of vaccine requirement for all dining facilities, as well as all employees.

Stowe's pass prices (Epic) came down this year. The Epic Local was 539, now 599, and the full Epic pass is still just 799. SB seems to have a similar pricing structure if a tad higher. I am always shocked that anyone buys day tickets considering the season pass platforms available and the unlimited access options they provide.
 

thetrailboss

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
32,338
Points
113
Location
NEK by Birth
We will see but as I stated above, I think the wave is coming like we have never seen before.
Yeah, I don't wish what we have experienced out here in SLC with IKON on you. But I think that there are major differences--namely that Sugarbush is 4 hours away from a metro area (BOS) and is the northernmost IKON resort in Vermont. We, in the SLC metro area, have over 1 mill people within an hour from the areas (and growing). I would expect that LP would have some busy days but ME would still be relatively quiet. Pretty good for a 2,000+ vertical area.
 

Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,430
Points
113
Location
Mad River Valley / MA
The lines we have seen over the last 10 years have been very consitent. Standing in line for 10 minutes or less is not that bad. I do not call that crowded. Last year the numbers were less but we had no singles or grouping up. Still it was not that bad. it moved along. I think that this year we will see bunches on new full time skiers. I gess we will see and have something to talk about.
 

nhskier1969

Active member
Joined
Feb 1, 2016
Messages
390
Points
28
Don't know if this year will be the same as last..but SB was not crowded at all on weekend..even when it was dumping. They were all at Stowe.
If this is any indication, I normally book New Years at SB in October. I was bored and started looking for lodging a few weeks ago. There is nothing, I mean nothing for lodging around SB. Years past this wouldn't be a problem. I then went to other Ikon properties and it was the same thing, no lodging. It seems that if you want to ski Ikon you will have issues with lodging this year. If you go to an indenpent resort like Smuggs thier won't be as much as an issue.
 

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,415
Points
113
Location
NJ
If this is any indication, I normally book New Years at SB in October. I was bored and started looking for lodging a few weeks ago. There is nothing, I mean nothing for lodging around SB. Years past this wouldn't be a problem. I then went to other Ikon properties and it was the same thing, no lodging. It seems that if you want to ski Ikon you will have issues with lodging this year. If you go to an indenpent resort like Smuggs thier won't be as much as an issue.

What kind of lodging are you looking for? I just looked at 5 different lodges/inns in the area as well as AirBnB and see quite a bit of availability around New Years weekend.
 

kingslug

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
Messages
6,990
Points
113
Location
Stamford Ct and Stowe
I was there when it snowed 3 days straight 2/8, 2/9, 2/10..never stood on a line..it was empty..I was shocked..yes it was a mon, tues, wed..but at Stowe they come out of the woodworks no matter what day it is if its snowing...all I kept asking was..where are the people??
 

KustyTheKlown

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,365
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
If this is any indication, I normally book New Years at SB in October. I was bored and started looking for lodging a few weeks ago. There is nothing, I mean nothing for lodging around SB. Years past this wouldn't be a problem. I then went to other Ikon properties and it was the same thing, no lodging. It seems that if you want to ski Ikon you will have issues with lodging this year. If you go to an indenpent resort like Smuggs thier won't be as much as an issue.

i mean, that's just simply not true.

these are the first 4 results for Thursday December 30 to Sunday January 2. if i were to expand the search out to Waterbury there would be even more.

this is the result of about 15 seconds of low effort.

1632242337445.png
 

jimmywilson69

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
3,179
Points
113
Location
Dillsburg, PA
I really think the Al natural state that SB is left in keeps people away. While most on a ski forum like it this way, the masses want nice groomed terrain.
 

tumbler

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
1,404
Points
83
I'm cautiously optimistic that the crowds will not be awful because there are other options for people to do, like go to warmth and the kids extracurricular activities will be happening where last winter not many were. Regardless, we are on the hill early and know how to move around with the crowd.
 

KustyTheKlown

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,365
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
place is def pretty rowdy for gen-pop. there is also a serious lack of true beginner terrain. a modestly icey push-over scared the crap out of my girlfriend and she was limited to easy rider and the village quad. she's a true spaz of a beginner but I reckon many other true spaz beginners have the same experience off of gatehouse.
 

cdskier

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
6,415
Points
113
Location
NJ
i mean, that's just simply not true.

these are the first 4 results for Thursday December 30 to Sunday January 2. if i were to expand the search out to Waterbury there would be even more.

this is the result of about 15 seconds of low effort.
Yea...nearly all lodges I looked at right in the Mad River Valley had more rooms available than booked in the New Years time-frame. Only website I went to that came up with nearly nothing was Sugarbush's own site (but you can't really see many details on why they show nothing...is it because the haven't made stuff available? Or are they really sold out? Or are they only accepting longer stays, etc. When you go to many of the individual lodges, they show you room by room what is available vs booked).
 

kingslug

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
Messages
6,990
Points
113
Location
Stamford Ct and Stowe
SB is a very different place than Stowe..Now that I've been there more I prefer it. The terrain for the most part is pretty hairy..not that Stowe isn't ..but they tend to close runs when SB keeps them open no matter what. And CR..is like no other..
 
Top