Sugarbush Lift Replacements?

deadheadskier said:

Super Bravo is a HSQ. They are far more susceptible to wind holds than fixed grip chairs. List me New England chairlifts that run above 3500 feet elevation on wider trails than Ripcord.

You just mentioned you've only been skiing Sugarbush for 2 years. Do you realize you are conversing with people here that have been skiing Sugarbush for decades at 40-50 plus days a season? You keep mentioning ASC having the better operational plan for Slidebrook. You didn't even start skiing Sugarbush until 15 years after ASC. How do you know they ran Slidebrook that much more often than currently? I had a pass to Sugarbush back during the height of ASC. Can't say it seemed that the lift ran more frequently back then.

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Because I research this. I am a history buff when it comes to New England skiing. I understand that you ski more than me. Not everyone gets that opportunity. I’m just stating what I’ve observed. I’m very enthusiastic about skiing history so I was happy to join this forum to discuss it. I wasn’t expecting backlash with every single comment I post though... You guys just need to stop being so aggressive to everyone. I just want to learn and share information.

deadheadskier said:

I thought the same thing. It's a friend. Two different IPs. Two different sign up emails.

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You do realize that I’m not the only person that likes Slide Brook and finds it useful right? It is very close minded of you to automatically assume that it’s a friend when they agree with my opinion. Last time I checked, I didn’t have to share the same opinion with you. Calm down and stop assuming please. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving evening.

Sorry to pile on but you are a noob to SB and do not understand the mountain yet. Several more years of paying attention to storm tracks, precip direction and subsequent winds and direction will you understand the system and where the snow is. Also learn the skiing traffic pattern and you will see HG does not need to be a HSQ. There are other places to get uphill when it is crowded.

However, Slide Brook can run without snow cover. All the roads can be accessed with 4 wheelers. From being around in the ASC days the lift ran more. I don’t have a problem with the current schedule especially according to Win that the shuttle will be better this year.

I think that North Lynx has too much capacity for the trails. Either cut another trail or two or take off every other chair. HG has wider chair spacing

Slidebrook87 said:

You do realize that I’m not the only person that likes Slide Brook and finds it useful right? It is very close minded of you to automatically assume that it’s a friend when they agree with my opinion. Last time I checked, I didn’t have to share the same opinion with you. Calm down and stop assuming please. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving evening.

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Look

We don't allow aliases on this forum. One person, one user account. So, it's a little suspect when you've spent the day making it your job arguing the virtues of Slidebrook and then another user with the same passion for the lift signs up literally on the same day to back you up.

That doesn't happen on this forum. Maybe it is some random lurker, but I highly doubt it. You seem to be a college aged kid. I'm guessing you reached out to a friend.

We have had some odd members before who have created aliases. They are asked to pick which account they want to keep and the other is deleted.

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deadheadskier said:

Look

We don't allow aliases on this forum. One person, one user account. So, it's a little suspect when you've spent the day making it your job arguing the virtues of Slidebrook and then another user with the same passion for the lift signs up literally on the same day to back you up.

That doesn't happen on this forum. Maybe it is some random lurker, but I highly doubt it. You seem to be a college aged kid. I'm guessing you reached out to a friend.

We have had some odd members before who have created aliases. They are asked to pick which account they want to keep and the other is deleted.

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Easy to create both another ip and email address.


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Wow with all the fighting here it feels like Killingtonzone and not the crowd that I'd associate with Sugarbush!

I've been around this forum for a decent amount of time now. Let me just chime in and say that I actually like Slidebrook. Sure it's kinda gimmicky (since it doesn't run that often), but sure does a better job than the bus at moving people. I can never time the bus connection right. And unlike most of you, I'm not just some country-folk who doesn't want to ride a bus service. I grew up in Boston and rode a transit bus to school/work every day---when I'm skiing I try to avoid buses.

Sildebrook is definitely more convenient for coming back from Mount Ellen, since the lift is near the base of the advanced terrain you actually want to ski. At Lincoln Peak, if you are coming from Castlerock, you're forced into the runout valley anyway and would have to ride gatehouse to be able to access it. So since you are at the the bottom, from the Lincoln to Ellen direction I find myself taking the bus more often.

Conclusion: Slidebrook might be a little gimmicky but I find it very useful, more-so in the Mt. Ellen-->Lincoln return direction.

I am a fan of slidebrook. Most useful is the busy day where due to family/friends you’re base is Lincoln but you hate crowds. Being able to randomly jump on slidebrook to head to Mt Ellen once the crowds materialize is very very convenient. I also hate buses. Especially in ski gear. And especially waiting for one during a good ski day. But that’s just me.

Wow, wish I would have chimed in before the pissing contest likely drove off win but I have always been curious if expansion above Inverness is a possibility. I understand it is not a priority and very unlikely but just curious if it is a possibility or if the land is was put in conservation similar to slidebrook.

Finally some people that find the lift useful!


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I never said I didn't find it useful. I just don't find the operating schedule I've seen under Wins ownership to be all that problematic. The few times I've been over the years where it hasn't been running I mostly just stuck to North or South for the day. I recall taking the bus one time when it was particularly crowded at South and really didn't find it that big of a deal.

End of the day, I'd place whether or not Slidebrook is running WAY down on my list of priorities for having an enjoyable day at Sugarbush.

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deadheadskier said:

I never said I didn't find it useful. I just don't find the operating schedule I've seen under Wins ownership to be all that problematic. The few times I've been over the years where it hasn't been running I mostly just stuck to North or South for the day. I recall taking the bus one time when it was particularly crowded at South and really didn't find it that big of a deal.

End of the day, I'd place whether or not Slidebrook is running WAY down on my list of priorities for having an enjoyable day at Sugarbush.

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Exactly. There has been a grand total of ONE person in this thread that said they didn't like the Slide Brook lift. I never said I didn't find it useful either. I said I don't ride it often and don't think it is a huge priority, but I still like having it as an option if I want to use it.

My issue is the continued perpetuation of the inaccurate misconception that the lift "doesn't run that much" and that some people hope new owners change the philosophy with the lift. In a normal season, Slide Brook runs almost daily from essentially mid-January often until closing day at ME (in a good early season snow year it can open even earlier). The exceptions are some random wind hold or very cold days or maybe if we have a big thaw and lose a lot of snowpack. So many years it probably runs close to 70-75% of the days that ME is open. I don't consider that "not being open much". That is my argument.

thebigo said:

Wow, wish I would have chimed in before the pissing contest likely drove off win but I have always been curious if expansion above Inverness is a possibility. I understand it is not a priority and very unlikely but just curious if it is a possibility or if the land is was put in conservation similar to slidebrook.

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I swear at some point it was stated that area was still a possibility for future expansion. But like you said, not a priority.

cdskier said:

I swear at some point it was stated that area was still a possibility for future expansion. But like you said, not a priority.

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I don’t think there will be any terrain expansion at Sugarbush for a long time. Maybe some stuff near Lower FIS but Ellen doesn’t seem to be a priority.


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Slidebrook87 said:

View attachment 25689 This is the Slide Brook panel.

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You and I need to have a conversation in person when you are next here. I know that you do a lot of research and are passionate, but you are putting out quite a bit of misinfomration. These pictures are representative of it. A lot of the people who read this blog know the facts but many may not. Bravo, for instance, has a new Drive. Slidebrook is the original and that is fine given the huge difference in operating hours.

I thought I had responded about the operating hours but that may have been on another conversation. SB is scheduled to run every day that ME is open. It it is very exposed to the wind from various directions. The work roads need to have sufficient snow and safe conditions to allow lift mechanics to get in fast to all 40 lift towers. With numerous water bars this does require quite a bit of depth and safe snow conditions. And we do not run it when the temperature is below 5 degrees for safety reasons. By the way, lift operating decisions like windhold and when the roads are safe to operate are made by the lift mechanics and not by me and certainly will not be by Alterra Mountain Company.


Hawk made a good observation Les installed the lift in the 90's at a great expense both in terms of what the lift itself cost and the restrictions it placed on development and recreation in the Slidebrook basin. Would we have done this? Frankly, I am not sure. It does tie the mountains together. It does move people over to ME on busy days and we have seen very large ridership when the weather is good and the skier visits are large. From an operation point of view it allows our staff to get between the mountains a bit faster then needed.

My observation is that the Slide Brook lift is often not running either due to wind, cold, or lack of snow cover. If the chairs and towers could be repurposed into two separate lifts (with the addition of new set of terminals), I'd call that a good trade.

Imagine these two new lifts:
1. From skiers right of the lower part of Lower FIS to the summit of Mount Ellen, opening up skiing to the other side of the creek bed
2. From just north of the lower HG terminal to the ridge line approximately halfway between the tops of HG and CR lifts.

Then imagine that no new trails are cut for these areas. Just thinning of trees. No new snowmaking, no grooming; low maintenance costs. Call it the new eco skiing model. It would be massive amount of new all-woods terrain unlike any other place in the east. It would become the signature attraction of the Sugarbush -- even more so than Castlerock. And if you don't think enough people would ski that terrain, then you haven't been in the woods to see the massive increase in little kids competently skiing the Slide Brook basin and all other woods, often with their Sugarbush instructors. That demographic is the future of skiing, and it will want more "side country" terrain.

WinS said:

You and I need to have a conversation in person when you are next here. I know that you do a lot of research and are passionate, but you are putting out quite a bit of misinfomration. ...

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People size up patter like Slidebrook87's and quickly learn to ignore. His posts are mostly self-invalidating.

Orca said:

People size up patter like Slidebrook87's and quickly learn to ignore. His posts are mostly self-invalidating.

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SB87 has an agenda and it's not even well-argued. I'm not sure why anyone is responding to it at this point.

Orca said:

My observation is that the Slide Brook lift is often not running either due to wind, cold, or lack of snow cover. If the chairs and towers could be repurposed into two separate lifts (with the addition of new set of terminals), I'd call that a good trade.

Imagine these two new lifts:
1. From skiers right of the lower part of Lower FIS to the summit of Mount Ellen, opening up skiing to the other side of the creek bed
2. From just north of the lower HG terminal to the ridge line approximately halfway between the tops of HG and CR lifts.

Then imagine that no new trails are cut for these areas. Just thinning of trees. No new snowmaking, no grooming; low maintenance costs. Call it the new eco skiing model. It would be massive amount of new all-woods terrain unlike any other place in the east. It would become the signature attraction of the Sugarbush -- even more so than Castlerock. And if you don't think enough people would ski that terrain, then you haven't been in the woods to see the massive increase in little kids competently skiing the Slide Brook basin and all other woods, often with their Sugarbush instructors. That demographic is the future of skiing, and it will want more "side country" terrain.

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2 High Speed quads for side country... I can't think of a worse expenditure. Sorry... If there is a desire (more important permit) for lift served side country then a T-Bar is the correct lift for that application - like Bretton Woods.

Slidebrook87 said:

Also, you may want to invest your time into a thing called punctuation and capitalization...

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Don't be an effing azzhat and come on here to be the Grammar Police for Fuqs Sakes! Newbie.

Newpylong said:

2 High Speed quads for side country... I can't think of a worse expenditure. Sorry... If there is a desire (more important permit) for lift served side country then a T-Bar is the correct lift for that application - like Bretton Woods.

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Very good point. Fixed grip would be much better, at least for the Lincoln side lift. HSQ might be good for the Lower FIS to top lift since it would be a long ride and serves existing trails as well as a lot of potential terrain.

Pretty sure a t-bar would not work over that terrain -- stream beds, cliffs, etc.