Thanks again for setting up the trip! I brought a couple of newcomers this year who were, to say the least, incredibly impressed by the parties put on and the accommodations, and most importantly, the fantastic deal that Sugarloaf affords us on this message board. I hope we'll be seeing them post more often.
We arrived around 7:30pm Friday night and settled into the Gondola Village Condo. It was a small 1 bedroom, but was literally 16 steps away from the lift and 50 from the Widowmaker. Couldn't have asked for better!
We caught up with some of the folks at the welcome party and grabbed a couple of beers at the Shipyard. My apologies again for being so bad at putting names to faces!! Apps were fantastic, beers were strong, and an all around great start to the weekend!
Friends of Cannon
Saturday morning, we woke up to some sub zero temps, but a clear sky.
After putting some bacon and eggs in our bellies, we stepped outside and hit the mountain. The grooming was fresh on Gondola Line, so that was the first order of business. It did not disappoint. Lots of whooping and hollarin'. We skied down to King Pine and enjoyed the freshly groomed surface and soft bumps on skiers left of the main run under the lift and then lapped Misery Whip and Widowmaker until the crowd showed up.
After that, we headed over to Bracket Basin. Some of the early chutes looked a little trampled out, so we decided to go for gold and hiked out as far as we could. 15-20 minutes later, we saw less and less footprints and finally arrive at Slasher Glade where we saw the only other folks who bothered to hike out there Saturday morning.
New friends & some of Sugarloaf's finest prying the frozen rescue toboggan from the tree.
My attempt at an artsy photo
We skied slightly further on Sleeper 2 and found Slasher Glade. The view was outstanding.
A really nice steep-ish pitch with plenty of fresh lines to choose from. We enjoyed the snow but on the exit, my goggles had iced up from making the rookie mistake and removing them while hiking. So, on the little ravine drop, I hit the rock/ramp on the opposite side at full throttle and caught some awesome (accidental) air. I landed fine and the guy standing to the left of the top of the pitch yelled "DAAAAAYUM!" I felt pretty cool, if only for a moment.
We skied over to the Timberline area, got some fresh stuff under the chair, and skied that little tiny chute that borderlines the chair. After warming up in the lodge and going down to the Super Quad, we decided to try our luck in the Skidder Woods. Go figure that it was fantastic! Lots of fresh stuff to go around and a number of lines to choose from. So many folks must go into Bracket that they leave the on mountain stuff alone a little bit.
We did 4-5 runs in there and were still finding great lines.
We caught up at the after party, grabbed some early tracks, apps, and hydration. Such a fantastic atmosphere. The band can be heard upstairs, but isn't intrusive and we could still carry on conversation.
Sunday morning was frigid! However, that didn't stop us from bombing Spill Way, Hayburner, & Kings Landing at full tilt without the crowds. However, the biggest surprise came in the form of a freshly groomed and not-yet-tracked Double Bitter. Holy hell, what a run without anyone in the way!! We did that once more, shot over to the Skyline lift and got onto the Gondola Line- which was outstanding. We kept up the fresh lines by moving over to King Pine and eventually having to warm up in the condo at 10:30am. Still, it was an outstanding 3 hours of skiing.
We moved our cars and crap according to the checkout rules and made a few laps around the mountain, mainly Timberline and the woods off Binder.
The drive home to MA was a bitch and took about 6 hours due to the snow, but the trip was worth it all around.
Thanks again for setting up a fantastic weekend! Can't wait until next year!
We arrived around 7:30pm Friday night and settled into the Gondola Village Condo. It was a small 1 bedroom, but was literally 16 steps away from the lift and 50 from the Widowmaker. Couldn't have asked for better!
We caught up with some of the folks at the welcome party and grabbed a couple of beers at the Shipyard. My apologies again for being so bad at putting names to faces!! Apps were fantastic, beers were strong, and an all around great start to the weekend!
Friends of Cannon
Saturday morning, we woke up to some sub zero temps, but a clear sky.
After putting some bacon and eggs in our bellies, we stepped outside and hit the mountain. The grooming was fresh on Gondola Line, so that was the first order of business. It did not disappoint. Lots of whooping and hollarin'. We skied down to King Pine and enjoyed the freshly groomed surface and soft bumps on skiers left of the main run under the lift and then lapped Misery Whip and Widowmaker until the crowd showed up.
After that, we headed over to Bracket Basin. Some of the early chutes looked a little trampled out, so we decided to go for gold and hiked out as far as we could. 15-20 minutes later, we saw less and less footprints and finally arrive at Slasher Glade where we saw the only other folks who bothered to hike out there Saturday morning.
New friends & some of Sugarloaf's finest prying the frozen rescue toboggan from the tree.
My attempt at an artsy photo
We skied slightly further on Sleeper 2 and found Slasher Glade. The view was outstanding.
A really nice steep-ish pitch with plenty of fresh lines to choose from. We enjoyed the snow but on the exit, my goggles had iced up from making the rookie mistake and removing them while hiking. So, on the little ravine drop, I hit the rock/ramp on the opposite side at full throttle and caught some awesome (accidental) air. I landed fine and the guy standing to the left of the top of the pitch yelled "DAAAAAYUM!" I felt pretty cool, if only for a moment.
We skied over to the Timberline area, got some fresh stuff under the chair, and skied that little tiny chute that borderlines the chair. After warming up in the lodge and going down to the Super Quad, we decided to try our luck in the Skidder Woods. Go figure that it was fantastic! Lots of fresh stuff to go around and a number of lines to choose from. So many folks must go into Bracket that they leave the on mountain stuff alone a little bit.
We did 4-5 runs in there and were still finding great lines.
We caught up at the after party, grabbed some early tracks, apps, and hydration. Such a fantastic atmosphere. The band can be heard upstairs, but isn't intrusive and we could still carry on conversation.
Sunday morning was frigid! However, that didn't stop us from bombing Spill Way, Hayburner, & Kings Landing at full tilt without the crowds. However, the biggest surprise came in the form of a freshly groomed and not-yet-tracked Double Bitter. Holy hell, what a run without anyone in the way!! We did that once more, shot over to the Skyline lift and got onto the Gondola Line- which was outstanding. We kept up the fresh lines by moving over to King Pine and eventually having to warm up in the condo at 10:30am. Still, it was an outstanding 3 hours of skiing.
We moved our cars and crap according to the checkout rules and made a few laps around the mountain, mainly Timberline and the woods off Binder.
The drive home to MA was a bitch and took about 6 hours due to the snow, but the trip was worth it all around.
Thanks again for setting up a fantastic weekend! Can't wait until next year!
