The "Sugarbush Thread"

[SkiTheEast]

They've been pushing the "The Bush" merch for at least the last 3 yrs in all the shops, think it started over at the golf course with the hats. And now that I think about it has anyone heard of any plans for the rebuild of hogans?

 

[drjeff]

Electrical failure may close a Sugarbush chairlift for the season

The resort is trying to get a needed part from Europe, but it may not arrive before the end of the season.

www.wcax.com

 

[thetrailboss]

Electrical failure may close a Sugarbush chairlift for the season

The resort is trying to get a needed part from Europe, but it may not arrive before the end of the season.

www.wcax.com

Meanwhile brand new express chairs are sitting a second year unused at Deer Valley due to record warmth. Local management, lobby harder for needed improvements and lift reliability. Alterra, get your priorities straight!

 

[VTSkiBike]

I didn't think the lifts at Ellen could possibly be worse than they were last year but here we are.

 

[Blurski]

Sure would be nice to see the mountain put in some long hours and get everything groomed out, including Steins & OG, groom baby groom!

 

[cdskier]

Sure would be nice to see the mountain put in some long hours and get everything groomed out, including Steins & OG, groom baby groom!

I’m curious if the report today is even accurate. Why would they not groom spring fling and lower jester for example? After this thaw/freeze, I’d think you should be grooming as much as possible. Unless they were really taking their time on the other trails, but I somehow doubt that…

 

[Boxtop Willie]

They groomed a lot last night. Many PSIA events going on. Big Level 1 exam (6 groups I'm told), Freestyle event, Eastern Team tryout practice. Perhaps the normal order of grooming was changed to accommodate the events? I know the Level 1 stuff was a challenge yesterday due to trail conditions due to the heavy thaw on Monday.
BTW, Spring Fling is groomed.

 

[cdskier]

BTW, Spring Fling is groomed.

Which largely goes back to our communication problems. It shouldn’t be difficult to provide an accurate report. My gut says other trails are groomed as well despite the report currently showing they are not…

 

[NewEnglander77]

Conditions were good today. Better than expected. Ripcord, Birch, Jester and Spring Fling were in great shape with decent cover and no real ice underneath.

 

[NewEnglander77]

this is 100% delusion....

Actually, it is my lived experience. I shy away from any very firm or icy days, but had a guest coming up that wanted to ski. I had extremely low expectations and was very comfortable at speed on the trails mentioned. Good, not great. I have skied alot worse and wouldn't have stayed past one run to day if I did't feel comfortable out there.

 

[NewEnglander77]

WCAX article about GMX. If I had a locals pass or skied from 8 to 9 every morning before work, I'd be pissed. They should have pivoted to opening a chair at Lincoln at 8 AM daily once this was know to be an extended issue. Not delivering on their part of the contract. It's the "you paid me already, so too bad" attitude. Zero pivot or flexibility = we don't aim to please. Growing tired of this.

https://www.wcax.com/2026/03/17/ele...wyS8SFGns-PjV7Zb7O_aem_HghUqCRHb2pBQqBtztEF4w

 

[cdskier]

WCAX article about GMX. If I had a locals pass or skied from 8 to 9 every morning before work, I'd be pissed. They should have pivoted to opening a chair at Lincoln at 8 AM daily once this was know to be an extended issue. Not delivering on their part of the contract. It's the "you paid me already, so too bad" attitude. Zero pivot or flexibility = we don't aim to please. Growing tired of this.

https://www.wcax.com/2026/03/17/ele...wyS8SFGns-PjV7Zb7O_aem_HghUqCRHb2pBQqBtztEF4w

That article is terrible. Gives less information than SB themselves did...

Locals pass...not sure what exactly they are missing out on to say they didn't honor the contract. They still have lifts open at ME early for the 8-9 people mid-week (granted I think NRX should be opening at 8:10, not 8:30, but still...). And you can still ski at LP any day other than Saturday if you want. And on Saturday you can still access all terrain at ME. One lift being down (as long as the backups are running) is not justification for saying they didn't deliver on their contract.

 

[NewEnglander77]

That article is terrible. Gives less information than SB themselves did...

Locals pass...not sure what exactly they are missing out on to say they didn't honor the contract. They still have lifts open at ME early for the 8-9 people mid-week (granted I think NRX should be opening at 8:10, not 8:30, but still...). And you can still ski at LP any day other than Saturday if you want. And on Saturday you can still access all terrain at ME. One lift being down (as long as the backups are running) is not justification for saying they didn't deliver on their contract.

The 8AM lift opening is more of the issue than Saturdays.

 

[teleo]

They groomed a lot last night. Many PSIA events going on. Big Level 1 exam (6 groups I'm told), Freestyle event, Eastern Team tryout practice. Perhaps the normal order of grooming was changed to accommodate the events? I know the Level 1 stuff was a challenge yesterday due to trail conditions due to the heavy thaw on Monday.
BTW, Spring Fling is groomed.

Yesterday was really bad but I can't fault the mtn after a late freeze and power outages. I went out in the morning at LP, which totally questions my sanity. GH side, which was reasonably all they groomed due to late freeze, was down due to power outage. They closed snowball fling side and sent a cat up late morning which may explain todays grooming report. Which day did it get groomed
Saw a friend in PSIAA level 1 crew on the carpet. Not ideal. Maybe pivot to what do you do with a lesson on a day like this? Or the ultimate difficult conditions challenge?

 

[cdskier]

And Spring Fling still shows not groomed on the report...looked at the web cam and can clearly see them grooming it last night. Not being able to get simple details like this right drives me nuts. And it raises the question of what else is inaccurate.

 

[thetrailboss]

And Spring Fling still shows not groomed on the report...looked at the web cam and can clearly see them grooming it last night. Not being able to get simple details like this right drives me nuts. And it raises the question of what else is inaccurate.

Consider it like Christmas morning. It's all a surprise!

 

[VTSkiBike]

At this point I'm convinced that Sugarbush's management is room full of cigarette smoking monkeys in front of computers.

 

[thetrailboss]

And Spring Fling still shows not groomed on the report...looked at the web cam and can clearly see them grooming it last night. Not being able to get simple details like this right drives me nuts. And it raises the question of what else is inaccurate.

In all seriousness, I know we've all discussed it before, but snow reporting (and grooming/snowmaking) is extremely important, especially in the NE. On my last two trips back east this winter I was constantly looking at the snow reports from the places I would be visiting and some nearby ones. Up in ME at my in-laws I considered doing a few hours at Mount Hermon outside of Bangor. The conditions information was extremely confusing and often contradictory. While my wife vetoed the adventure (with a threat of divorce), the lack of clarity as to basic information (opening hours, what terrain was open, and the price to ski) deterred me from really pursuing it. Big caveat--Hermon was on a shoestring budget and the owners were exhausted (they are selling the place). But for a small hill it should have been easy to detail the status of the place.

Burke, much to my surprise, updates their reports sometimes two times a day. The additional web cams are nice. Hell, Middlebury Snowbowl has a decent snow report, although last week there was some information that I had to hunt for.

Out here, Alta and Snowbird do a pretty decent job overall. Brighton rarely updates their report or leaves very old information on its site. It is just a whole different game out here--the biggest thing is if there is new snow.

For some odd reason, the snow reporting has been a major issue at Sugarbush for decades now. I don't know if it is because they just don't pay well for that position, rely on unpaid interns, or just can't be bothered. With the competition of Killington and Stowe, I would think that they would be motivated to compete and get that information out. As said by others, MRG has always been honest, even if it is brutal. I relied on the Single Chair Weather Blog a lot this season.

 

[jimmywilson69]

At this point I'm convinced that Sugarbush's management is room full of cigarette smoking monkeys in front of computers.

maybe they are just an AI algorithm

 

[solar]

Live stream from HQ...