The "Sugarbush Thread"

KustyTheKlown · Feb 21, 2023

Wpa

HowieT2 said:
if you're not familiar with the protocols, I can see how the dining situation can be frustrating. You have to get your reservations or orders in to flatbread and mad taco early.
second the sandwich's from mehurons.
warren store isnt what it used to be.
Canteen creemee is awesome. best dang fried chicken this side of the green mountains

Woah. Creemee has food!?! I’ve never gone in bc I figure it’s just soft serve!

KustyTheKlown · Feb 21, 2023

HowieT2 said:
I've heard similar things about revy. Are you there now? getting snow?
go to nelson. more dining options than u can imagine.

Revelstoke is a railroad town in the middle of nowhere. The ski area is so new that town has not caught up at all. It’s pretty desolate at night

cdskier · Feb 21, 2023

KustyTheKlown said:
Comment limited to access road. I often approach from the south on 100 and just want a latte with like 8 shots in it

Fair enough...but the access road is very tough for business as there's very little traffic outside of winter. The valley itself can support businesses across multiple seasons. Access Rd not so much...

KustyTheKlown said:
Wpa

Woah. Creemee has food!?! I’ve never gone in bc I figure it’s just soft serve!

It sure does (took me forever to realize that as well lol). And Howie is 100% right. Their fried chicken is excellent. They have several different fried chicken sandwiches, burgers, and a few other various things you'd really never expect (like a Tuna Poke Bowl).

PSUWX · Feb 21, 2023

Anyone know what’s up with GMX? Was down most of last week, briefly back Saturday, and now down again.

KustyTheKlown · Feb 21, 2023

cdskier said:
Fair enough...but the access road is very tough for business as there's very little traffic outside of winter. The valley itself can support businesses across multiple seasons. Access Rd not so much...

It sure does (took me forever to realize that as well lol). And Howie is 100% right. Their fried chicken is excellent. They have several different fried chicken sandwiches, burgers, and a few other various things you'd really never expect (like a Tuna Poke Bowl).

Honestly comment mostly only aimed at paradise. Get a f’ing espresso machine it will pay for itself

jaybird · Feb 21, 2023

HowieT2 said:
I've heard similar things about revy. Are you there now? getting snow?
go to nelson. more dining options than u can imagine.

Skied there a week ago. Revi got 35cm new. It was just fine, though the locals were bummed that their snowfall was half it's normal. Didn't matter to us.
Fresh snow each day and soo much terrain to explore. Sunshine Village good.

As stated, Revi needs more lifts. The stoke chair is their feature lift and it is not enuf to service terrain that expansive.

My Bruins knit hat caused a ruckus

cdskier · Feb 21, 2023

KustyTheKlown said:
Honestly comment mostly only aimed at paradise. Get a f’ing espresso machine it will pay for itself

Heh...I've been unimpressed by Paradise for years. So much potential there and I feel like every time I try to go there for something, I walk out empty-handed.

SteezyRob · Feb 21, 2023

PSUWX said:
Anyone know what’s up with GMX? Was down most of last week, briefly back Saturday, and now down again.

Pretty sure they're missing a part for their diesel backup system (I wish I knew more about chairlifts). Basically it can run on electricity but if it goes out then they have no way to unload.

flakeydog · Feb 21, 2023

SteezyYeeter said:
Pretty sure they're missing a part for their diesel backup system (I wish I knew more about chairlifts). Basically it can run on electricity but if it goes out then they have no way to unload.

I thought this lift had 2 diesel motors, one as backup (req'd) and another for alternative power source that they actually used for a couple of months as primary a few seasons ago. Unless for some reason they cannot use one of the primary systems as backup... whatever it is hope they can get up and running soon

flakeydog · Feb 21, 2023

on restaurants, yes, the staffing issue is real up here. It goes beyond the Mad River Valley and has taken down more than a few places in Chittenden County as well.

On Flatbread, it's great. A long time ago we used to go there once a week but then it got popular. I have enough fingers on both hands to count how many times I have been there in the last 20 years. Not a knock on the venue, it's just I am not cool enough to love waiting 2-3 hours for a table like the rest of their following now.

Canteen is an option, just outside of the box for most and Lawson's has some good options. I really miss Bongiorno's and Local Folk

cdskier · Feb 21, 2023

flakeydog said:
on restaurants, yes, the staffing issue is real up here. It goes beyond the Mad River Valley and has taken down more than a few places in Chittenden County as well.

On Flatbread, it's great. A long time ago we used to go there once a week but then it got popular. I have enough fingers on both hands to count how many times I have been there in the last 20 years. Not a knock on the venue, it's just I am not cool enough to love waiting 2-3 hours for a table like the rest of their following now.

Canteen is an option, just outside of the box for most and Lawson's has some good options. I really miss Bongiorno's and Local Folk

FWIW, I've never waited 2-3 hours at Flatbread for a table. Used to go at 4PM or whatever it was that they opened up the list for that night and put my name on the list for one of the later seatings. Then come back around that seating time, check-in, grab a glass of wine, and go hang out by the fire pit until the table was ready. Usually waited no more than 20 minutes.

I do miss Local Folk a lot. That was one of my go-tos on a Friday night after driving up here.

As far as I can recall, I only had Bongiorno's once. The very first time I came up here it was me and my brother. We drove up on a Sunday right after a snow-storm (I think the storm stayed mostly south of SB as they only had a few inches from it, but further south it was more substantial). Still the roads in VT were not fully cleared yet even though we waited as long as we could to avoid driving too much in the dark. 4 from the NY/VT border to Killington was down to 1 plowed lane (the roads had been perfectly fine all through NY up to the VT border). 100 from K to SB was plowed but still somewhat snowy (and this was my first time ever going north of K and it was dark by this point). By the time we got to the MRV I had no interest in going back out to find something to eat. Bongiorno's delivered, so we ordered chicken parm sandwiches from them. That subsequent week of skiing was the start of me falling in love with SB and the MRV though... Not really sure why I never had Bongiorno's after that.

Kingslug20 · Feb 22, 2023

Web cam shows its snowing..I'm going

Kingslug20 · Feb 22, 2023

They got...1...big...inch...
Sun's out..should be a good day.

Kingslug20 · Feb 22, 2023

Going to have to check out the Bundy when you open

gladerider · Feb 22, 2023

cdskier said:
Peasant is closing for good (unless someone else buys it...it is for sale and has been for a while but there's been no interest). Awesome restaurant and my personal favorite...so that's a big loss and disappointment for me. They've been there 10 years and the owner is just ready to move on.

that's unfortunate.

HowieT2 · Feb 22, 2023

ducky said:
I'll agree Waterbury or Bristol is a drive if you have a condo at the mountain; for me in the valley it's 10-15 less drive. However, everything in VT is a long drive away, like an hour. You don't realize until you live here. For example, Home Depot, Costco, Walmart; all about an hour. Driving to Waterbury becomes easy when you're used to this kind of mileage.

Chris at Peasant is of retirement age - his intention. He had a seat on the NYSE years ago and I think Peasant was more of a hobby.

There's still options, but as others have said, the economy and the labor market do not support enough restaurants running year round.

There will be a new bar/restaurant coming at the old Egan's on Rte 100 by the dip before Rolston Rd. We own the Bundy Gallery next door and (I believe) "Madbush Falls Lodge" will be the name. It is owned by Jonny Adler who owns Skinny Pancake and sure to be a hip spot. The customer focus will be primarily the mountain bike crowd and OGX will have a bike shop there. Should be open by summer.

If you haven't tried 1824 it is worth a visit. Order at the bar and plates delivered to the table. On our visit, it was full, maybe 15 tables, and we knew literally every table, all locals. Sean and Pharrell are the owners. Tell them my wife, June, sent you. She owns the MRV 4-Season Guide magazine in which all these spots advertise.

Tomorrow should be good and the sun is shining today!

awesome. family is long time big fan of skinny pancake.
there's going to be a bridge and trail from back of the old smokehouse to the trails in the howe block. I think this spring/summer if im not mistaken.

mikec142 · Feb 22, 2023

cdskier said:
Peasant is only an option for a few more weeks. March 12th is their last service. And for me personally I don't consider Waterbury an option in the winter. I have no desire to drive that far this time of year for dinner.

Completely agree on Waterbury being geographically undesirably in the winter. It's ~20 miles.

Kingslug20 · Feb 22, 2023

Best snow today was on Birch...
They groomed organ...pretty good.
The snow on gate house side is definitely softer then bravo...but we get what we get...
Now we wait for the storm..

dustyroads · Feb 22, 2023

Anyone know why Castlerock Lift is closed? Is it because of maintenance or conditions?

VTSkiBike · Feb 22, 2023

dustyroads said:
Anyone know why Castlerock Lift is closed? Is it because of maintenance or conditions?

Probably a combo of lack of crowds and the fact that the natural terrain is still quite icy from the constant freeze/thaw cycles lately.

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