Sunday River spending $5.7 million this summer

[Conrad]

Announced today:
Sunday River Resort Announces 2013/14 Capital Enhancement Plan


The money won't really affect how I experience Sunday River, but it is still nice to see them investing in the mountain. Looking at there Facebook post, a lot of people were disappointed that the money wasn't spent elsewhere, though (i.e. new Spruce Peak chair, etc.). I wonder if this means they will be running North Peak Express seven days a week now. Also, I wonder if the new terrain park will be lit for night skiing.

 

[thetrailboss]

And how much is being spent at Sugarloaf?

 

[Conrad]

And how much is being spent at Sugarloaf?

No announcements yet.

 

[Puck it]

Can Cannon have their old guns that they are taking out for an upgrade?

 

[thetrailboss]

No announcements yet.

I would not plan on there being one, which is unfortunate since I know that many loafers really would like to see some improvements.

 

[Vortex]

Beat me to the post. The park will help other areas as well. I think this will help clear up traffic going into Southridge some. I expect we would see more use out of the North Peak Lift. Great lift.

 

[kickstand]

Maybe I'm looking at the map wrong, but are they putting the park in on 3D???? Isn't that supposed to be the beginner bump trail, or has that changed in recent years?

 

[deadheadskier]

All should be great improvements, especially the terrain park trail. I always thought Rocking Chair was underutilized because skiers/riders needed to ride a lift to the summit and ski down 2/3rds of the mountain to access the park.

....still think replacing the Tempest Chair with a HSQ should be a priority. More so than Spruce. I'm fine with Spruce lift as is.

 

[Watatic Skier]

Maybe I'm looking at the map wrong, but are they putting the park in on 3D???? Isn't that supposed to be the beginner bump trail, or has that changed in recent years?

They are cutting a new trail between 3D and Dreammaker, not that there wasn't skiing in there already...

 

[Conrad]

I would not plan on there being one, which is unfortunate since I know that many loafers really would like to see some improvements.

I'm not planning on one, although usually they'll spend at least a little money on new upgrades and little stuff, and they will continue expanding Brackett Basin.

....still think replacing the Tempest Chair with a HSQ should be a priority. More so than Spruce. I'm fine with Spruce lift as is.

Can you or someone explain to me why the Tempest Chair (White Cap Quad) should be replaced with a detachable quad? I have heard other people say this and I don't understand why. All it has is two trails, somewhat steep at first and then flat the rest of the way. Seems kind of boring. Even though I don't ski Spruce much, I would at least understand why they would replace it with a detachable chairlift.

 

[Watatic Skier]

Can you or someone explain to me why the Tempest Chair (White Cap Quad) should be replaced with a detachable quad? I have heard other people say this and I don't understand why. All it has is two trails, somewhat steep at first and then flat the rest of the way. Seems kind of boring. Even though I don't ski Spruce much, I would at least understand why they would replace it with a detachable chairlift.

The lift has been painfully slow, and serves as a main connect between Whitecap (which is almost dead now) and the rest of the Resort. The area in General needs a revamp, and replacing tempest would be a good start.

 

[Conrad]

The lift has been painfully slow, and serves as a main connect between Whitecap (which is almost dead now) and the rest of the Resort. The area in General needs a revamp, and replacing tempest would be a good start.

Still not buying it. I think a detachable quad would be much more worthwhile at Aurora or Spruce. Those lifts travel at the same speed (Spruce might be even slower), and they cover much better quality trails. It's not like the White Cap area should be given a revamp just to give it a revamp. If Sunday River's goal was to replace all their chairlifts with detachable quads, then tickets would be way more expensive.
(I'm not trying to go on a rant even though it might seem like it. I'm just passionate about it.)

 

[deadheadskier]

The lift has been painfully slow, and serves as a main connect between Whitecap (which is almost dead now) and the rest of the Resort. The area in General needs a revamp, and replacing tempest would be a good start.

Yup. I think replacing it would greatly increase usage of that base area and help take pressure off Barker and South Ridge. It's a great base area for day skiers to start their day out of, but I think it's often avoided because there's no quick way out of there to the main mountain or a good way to up to the White Heat lift. I think adding a HSQ there would improve usage quite a bit on White Cap in general, which will take traffic off super busy Locke and Barker. That's a good thing.

Spruce lift on the other hand doesn't "feel" super slow and supplies plenty of lift capacity for that terrain pod. I think a high speed lift there would be really popular, but Risky, Amex and Conclusion would get beat to hell in a hurry with a HSQ.

 

[drjeff]

Still not buying it. I think a detachable quad would be much more worthwhile at Aurora or Spruce. Those lifts travel at the same speed (Spruce might be even slower), and they cover much better quality trails. It's not like the White Cap area should be given a revamp just to give it a revamp. If Sunday River's goal was to replace all their chairlifts with detachable quads, then tickets would be way more expensive.
(I'm not trying to go on a rant even though it might seem like it. I'm just passionate about it.)

Might Boyne have some development plans for the general White Cap area in the future?? I know that I have a professional colleague of mine who owns at SR that keeps insinuating that Boyne is looking into doing something in that general area real estate wise. Then a high speed at White Cap makes more sense, and not just for quicker "lateral" access for Grand Summit owners

 

[Conrad]

I think adding a HSQ there would improve usage quite a bit on White Cap in general, which will take traffic off super busy Locke and Barker. That's a good thing.

I like that idea.

 

[thetrailboss]

Can you or someone explain to me why the Tempest Chair (White Cap Quad) should be replaced with a detachable quad? I have heard other people say this and I don't understand why. All it has is two trails, somewhat steep at first and then flat the rest of the way. Seems kind of boring. Even though I don't ski Spruce much, I would at least understand why they would replace it with a detachable chairlift.

Someone has already probably explained, but the point being to get folks from White Cap base lodge to the Barker area fast. It would mean the ability to ski this side of the resort and get back easier. Tempest is a long lift ride...relatively speaking.

 

[mlkrgr]

Aurora is the best candidate for a HSQ because it is quite a wide area. $85 for the full retail price of lift tix is quite pricey when you put into perspective the amount of terrain serviced by HSQs. You get 100% of the mountain serviced by HSQ for $92 at Stowe, or $79 or $86 using bypass (which is an easy discount anyway). Spruce, Aurora, and Whitecap is not accessible by HSQ by any stretch of the imagination. I wouldn't be concerned about distribution. Even at K, bear got more crowded when they installed SPE, but that was at the expense of the Needles area. Seeing the new terrain park is good but I think there's other priorities. Though, anything taking off volume from Barker is good.

I would go for the Tempest chair as well as White cap needs a face lift. I think they can get two birds killed with one stone by running a lift from the current Tempest load station to the summit of Locke and put a midstation for early season skiing. Sure, the Locke chair is great, but SR needs a reliable early season lift to make sure their marketing message of having one of the longest seasons (which is somewhat extended by SL) stays relevant.

 

[bobbutts]

5.7 mil, looks like a good % of that is non-skiing improvements
announcement image made to look like there a new hsq even though it's old
that rocking chair park was in a bad spot, so the new park trail should be an improvement