My impression is, the lift needs to be inspected, which is not something they can conjure up at the snap of a finger in the best of times. Given the covid situation, there very well might be a delay of unknown duration to get the inspection. Hence why the barrels have been sitting there. I dont think they would have put in the effort to move the barrels there if they knew the lift wasn't going to be operational. And they can't really say when the inspection is going to get done because they don't know.
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The "Sugarbush Thread"
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
really liked skinny pancake. family loves the miso hungry hut at Mellon.
Trail count coming up....still thin I am sure on some, but fun to see! ME now just needs the snowmaking love on FIS, Cliffs, and Brambles...I imagine the days of Exterm getting guns going are over, but anyway.
Maybe Stein's lights up soon at LP? Don't know if pipes fixed on REdge.
Maybe Stein's lights up soon at LP? Don't know if pipes fixed on REdge.
Hawk
Well-known member
Below zero and not a single gun running on Lincoln Peak. I am sure there is another excuse. Too cold. LOL
That is disappointing...
hovercraft
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I wouldn’t want to speculate on their intentions. I would say if you know that a crucial lift might not be working for an indefinite period of time you might want to mention it. Just Saying
I'm in complete agreement there...I wouldn’t want to speculate on their intentions. I would say if you know that a crucial lift might not be working for an indefinite period of time you might want to mention it. Just Saying
I think they removed snowmaking from Exterminator.
The pipes/hydrants are still there. Whether they are connected to the rest of the system I couldn't say though...
Probably been at least 10+ years now since they last made snow there. I'm fine with no snow-making on Exterminator.
Top 30 yards nice to have cover over the rubble; the rest gets filled in pretty well. Lower Exterm (below the cut back to midstation) is one of the nicest cruisers that no one skis, when there is snow on it.
Well now the report says "Snowmaking will be back in the game tonight to help prepare new terrain that we will hopefully have our skis and boards on soon." Not sure what trails they're firing up though as there are no snowmaking symbols in the trail report at LP. I don't know how far they got on the ones they were working on before they stopped last night.
Kingslug20
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Finaly will be there thursday..
It's been a wildly disappointing season for me so far...Mother Nature has been trampling all over my fun. The lack of snow. The freezing rain on Christmas Day. The past two weekends I haven't been able to get up to VT and even if so, there isn't much snow. Was planning to take an extra day and make the MLK weekend a four day ski-fest. Now with the insane temps forecasted, it looks like I'm not even making the trip. Praying something changes soon.
They made snow on Cruiser last night which was using all towers. With the brutal temps last night the judgment was not to continue with the land guns on Waterfall and Hot Shot. IMHO that was the right safety call. And the crew needed a rest. Spoke to one Snowmaker who had done 7 days in a row. Shady can tell you what that if like. I did not stay around long enough today to hear if they will finish WF and HD or move on, but I suspect they will (Guns are still set up there) and then maybe move over to Birdland. Racer’s Edge needs Tatro to get up to repair the broken pipe before they can go to Lower SB and RE. If that’s the case they could run on Birdland and Stein’s, but it warming up a bit on Thursday before another cold wave comes in Friday afternoon so will have to see what makes the most sense.
I looked at Ski Vermont conditions and we are comparing very favorably with the other VT areas.
Take a look at the Sugarbush snowmaking video submitted to Ski Area Management and vote for it if you like it:
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https://www.saminfo.com/i-am-a-snowmaker&data=04|01|wsmith@sugarbush.com|d26747a36ce84cf86d6f08d9d5172b35|bb43b24f11394bd9821c6cebb99a16cf|0|0|637775117888441217|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0=|3000&sdata=9vV+81SrzxEl7Sc6BO/LZQ/2AO6KUdw/zfEO+oSs2VA=&reserved=0
Point about NR. VT Tram Authority does need to inspect it. There are only three inspectors for the State, so it can take time to get on their schedule. Also since a load test is required this has to be done after operating hours in case a barrel fell off as the lift crosses trails.
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Yes.
jaybird
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Exterminating Exterminator..
Kinda Oxymoronic
How'd Birch ski today ?
Kinda Oxymoronic
How'd Birch ski today ?
I saw the post on Facebook about the SAM snow-maker contest entry as I was about to eat dinner. Just watched the video (and voted). Do they really have 40 people on the team this year? That's impressive (particularly when you hear some of the horror stories from other resorts about how few people they have in the snow-making department this year).
Also the new pipe on North Star at ME is pretty impressive. I noticed this weekend when I was there that it has all new HKD towers with the HKD Kilk manual hydrants. (Since this contest is sponsored by HKD...they should have had some shots of using those new towers/hydrants at ME in the video!) I knew SB was putting in new pipe on that trail, but didn't realize they were also putting in all new towers with the Klik hydrants as well.
I thought they actually started with 50+ and half were returnees which is best in a few years. Attrition after work begins always happens. The Kliks are great. Much faster and easier to get going and requires a smaller crew. We were going to do in this directions, so I presume it will still be the plan.
Oh I definitely have had some 7 days+ of snowmaking. Its rough, especially in these temps. A trail like HS is even worse, since its 100% land gear and needs constant attention with the liftline. Most of the hydrants on Waterfall are double hydrants, so you have one gun stretched out ~ 50' on the headwall and the next one is 50' further out. Then there are the hoses to deal with, and you hope with your positioning that you're not burying the adjacent gun, the hoses, or (worse) the lift. Nothing is worse than going into lift maintenance in the am and telling them you got a chair. [[[In fact, I just read a line in a book about 1-1 adjusting a gun that was hitting a chair.... hmmm.....]]]. Its probably the second most challenging trail at LP to make snow on.... Lower Downspout would probably be the worst, with Birch being #3.
In a typical snow year, Mt Ellen would be done with snowmaking by now and the crews consolidated at Lincoln Peak. Some years, we were essentially done at LP by Christmas week (with the exception of Stein's and spring-depth increases for SB->Fling) and it was back to lift ops. I feel for the crew this year, dealing with the ever- changing weather and poor temps, then the push to get it made while the gettin's good.
[And if you're looking for snowmaking icons on the web site, you're not alone. I was surprised to read that HS->Waterfall was opening, not realizing they were making snow on it. There has been no snow icons on any trail at LP recently except Birch and Pushover].
In a typical snow year, Mt Ellen would be done with snowmaking by now and the crews consolidated at Lincoln Peak. Some years, we were essentially done at LP by Christmas week (with the exception of Stein's and spring-depth increases for SB->Fling) and it was back to lift ops. I feel for the crew this year, dealing with the ever- changing weather and poor temps, then the push to get it made while the gettin's good.
[And if you're looking for snowmaking icons on the web site, you're not alone. I was surprised to read that HS->Waterfall was opening, not realizing they were making snow on it. There has been no snow icons on any trail at LP recently except Birch and Pushover].
IceEidolon
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Your snowmakers get days off when it isn't above freezing? Is that just a function of staffing enough people to give actual days off - how do you manage full coverage especially of highly experienced positions like shift/team lead and pumphose controllers? My experience has been "If it's snowing or it's below freezing or there's setup/maintenance, you're working." And we'd run clear through mid March that way.
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