since you guys seem to talk about it all the time, I was curious about the place....it's in western Conn? to be honest, living in RI I'll never go there...not worth the drive I don't think....I understand it's close to a bunch of you though...Is it like a Wachussett? Just looking for a feel of the place.
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Sundown
- Thread starter BLESS
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yeah sorry, i know we babble incessantly about the place.
Its in New Hartford about 20 miles west/northwest of hartford. small hill 625 vert. HUGE terrain park with hits i wouldnt even consider trying. One bump run, one racing run and the rest lazy groomers.
The thing about the place is they gave us a bump run so its worth it for those of us close by. They absolutely bury the place with snow so conditions are usually good, considering it is Ct we're talking about. And it provides alot of us a chance to get together on a regular basis which is totally cool. I consider alot of the sundown crew personal friends.
Its in New Hartford about 20 miles west/northwest of hartford. small hill 625 vert. HUGE terrain park with hits i wouldnt even consider trying. One bump run, one racing run and the rest lazy groomers.
The thing about the place is they gave us a bump run so its worth it for those of us close by. They absolutely bury the place with snow so conditions are usually good, considering it is Ct we're talking about. And it provides alot of us a chance to get together on a regular basis which is totally cool. I consider alot of the sundown crew personal friends.
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Small vert (625'). Not a ton of runs. A small learning area serviced by a double and triple chair - about 200 vertical feet. A steepish down the fall line trail called Gunbarrel. Pretty legit pitch. Often used for racing, but skier's right is being left ungroomed for the rest of the season I believe. Stinger is their terrain park. It's pretty impressive and is a very popular trail for the kids. Temptor is the current bump run and will be the site of the bump comp this Sunday. Nor'easter and Canyon Runs are blue cruisers currently (some bumps skier's left in the middle of N'E). Before Temptor was seeded, Nor'easter has been the normal bump run. All the upper mountain trails empty into a very wide trail called Exhibition. Sort of a high traffic area. Very low angle learning bumps can often be found on skier's right (not currently). A long green trail also comes off the top with a few different variations at mid-mountain. They pack just about everything a mountain needs in a limited number of runs.
Two triple chairs to the top. When they are both running, lines are manageable on most days. Nights are usually dead after 7:30 pm. They do an evening groom around 7 pm on a few select trails. The place makes an insane amount of snow. The base is several feet in most place right now. Some areas are probably 6+ feet. Very clean and comfortable base lodge. Scenic area with a nice view of Somerset Reservoir.
I ski there a lot. I like it for the bumps and usually there is someone from AZ skiing there. It's only a 25 minute drive so it's a great night option or when we score a local dump which does happen from time to time. There are a few off map tree areas, but they only see adequate cover a few days a year. As my kids and fellow AZ's kids grow up I anticipate all of us skiing there together quite a bit.
Beetlenut made the drive from RI a few times this season to join us at night. He seemed to think it was worth the drive.
If you think about it, Sundown probably is the best ski area so close to a 'major' city in New England. Well, maybe Crotched with it's proximity to Manchester, but you guys are quite lucky. I'd love to have a nice bump run within a half hour of where I live even if it was short on vert.
severine
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It's like Cheers.
Where everybody knows your name....
Alright, maybe not that small. But it's a nice family area, IMHO.
Where everybody knows your name....
Alright, maybe not that small. But it's a nice family area, IMHO.
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We are and I never take it for granted. The bumps on Temptor and a part of Nor'easter actually results in probably close to 400 vertical feet of bumps so it's enough to keep me entertained for a 3 or 4 hour session. The steep part of Temptor is a stretch of probably 20 good bumps. Certainly fun. I have 18 days in there so far this season and the bumps are the primary reason for it.
Yesterday with 2knees and Brian:
High Res: Sundown: 3/11
YouTubage:
hiroto
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It is great that they can commit such a long stretch of wall to wall moguls on such a small mountain. Moguls on Wawa is pretty lame in comparison.
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I hear that the Wa bumps are pretty short in comparison. Outside of some lucky stretches of bumps at Jiminy on the sides, or perhaps Flying Cloud at the BEast, I would argue that little Sundown has some of the best bumps in SNE. It is commendable that they do dedicate so much terrain to them. I'm sure they get a lot of complaints (far less than they do praise) which is perhaps why the AZ Sundown crew is so vocal about them. Interestingly enough, I see a lot of novices/intermediates trying the bumps at Sundown which makes it a game of pinball at times. Sort of a catch-22. It can screw up a run, but we need folks to ski them in order for the mountain to want to keep them so we deal...
loafer89
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We skied at Wachusett twice this year and did so because of how close I live to I-84 and also because we get 1,000' vertical and 2 HSQ's, which makes it a better value for the money if you are interested in skiing mileage. That said, Sundown has more interesting terrain IMO especially with the huge hits on Stinger, consistent pitch on Gunbarrel and the man made bumps on Temptor (although personally I liked them better on Nor'Easter)
The only other area that I can think of with moguls that comes even remotely close would be Mohawk when Wildwood has top to bottom bumps.
The only drawback IMO are the lifts which are old and REALLY SLOW.
Anyone have any idea as to the number of skier visits this place pulls in each year?
The only other area that I can think of with moguls that comes even remotely close would be Mohawk when Wildwood has top to bottom bumps.
The only drawback IMO are the lifts which are old and REALLY SLOW.
Anyone have any idea as to the number of skier visits this place pulls in each year?
I DON'T think the lifts are REALLY SLOW, not considering that they're fixed grips. We could actually run them faster, but if we do then it doesn't give enough time for less experienced people to load and then we have problems where we have to stop the chair more often... The lifts are certainly getting up there in age, but they are kept in great condition by our maintenance staff. I've been on much older and slower lifts around the NE.
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Agreed. I never thought the lifts felt that slow. Certainly not any slower than your typical FG triple. Great point about running them faster would result in more lift stoppages which on all but the busiest days rarely happens. A couple yesterday, but I bet at least one was done to let the cats pass from Gunny to Tom's at the summit.
loafer89
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To me the lift's seem to be moving slower than your typical fixed grip at other mountains we have skied at lately, but we also mixed it up with rides on HSQ's so maybe that is why they seem slow.
They are old lifts to be sure, I remember them when I first skied there nearly 20 years ago.
A HSQ would be a nice fit for the mountain IMO, but I guess it would be way to expensive.
They are old lifts to be sure, I remember them when I first skied there nearly 20 years ago.
A HSQ would be a nice fit for the mountain IMO, but I guess it would be way to expensive.
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I would love a two minute lift ride on quiet days to lap the bumps, but it would definitely put too many people on the hill at once when it's busy. Are there any sub-1K hills with HS lifts?
I actually think a HSQ with fewer chairs would be a good replacement for one of the main lifts.
If you skied there 20 years ago lift 2 must have been brand new, or it was still the original double. That's right around when it was installed. I don't consider 20-30 year old lifts to be especially old.
I think you've just been too spoiled by the speed of HSQs...
severine
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I'm willing to trade speed to have less people on the hill at the same time. Though I'll admit that when I usually ski, it's at night when the crowds tend to be lighter anyway. But on a busy day, it makes a difference.
loafer89
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Camelback, Mountain Creek (south) are two that I have skied with less than 1,000' of vertical. I am not a big believer in HSQ's but they do not seem to overcrowd mountains very much IMO.
loafer89
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That could be though I have fallen in love with the Kennebago T-bar at Saddleback and really miss the Giant Killer Poma at Pico.
hiroto
Member
Two minutes ride may be too short to get your breath back :wink: When me and my son first skied Pats Peak, we found out that we get enough break on the chair that we never took any break except for lunch and skied whole day. At Wawa, if it is not crowded you get much more verticals quicker and then you need to take break. If it is crowded, you get tired quicker standing in line.
loafer89
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The one thing that I distinctly remember about my first visit to Sundown was a Gunbarrel packed with moguls from top to bottom and that I had alot of fun in them at a younger age and without lower back pain.
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