The "Sugarbush Thread"

Shredmonkey254 · Nov 29, 2023

Hawk said:
They just opened Paradise. Knowing from many early season visits, rock skis are definetly required. Personally, I think they should wait on that trail until the snow level is deaper or we get another wet event to solidify the base. There are too many rocks and ledges. The snow get wiped out and then nothing sticks later unless we get wet snow and it freezes.

I think I would find another route down from going over there...

thetrailboss · Nov 29, 2023

Hawk said:
They just opened Paradise. Knowing from many early season visits, rock skis are definetly required. Personally, I think they should wait on that trail until the snow level is deaper or we get another wet event to solidify the base. There are too many rocks and ledges. The snow get wiped out and then nothing sticks later unless we get wet snow and it freezes.

It’s called technical skiing.

machski · Nov 29, 2023

Just saw their SM posts. Well, to hell with Sunapee opening day tomorrow on a run or two. Double my drive time but SB here I come!

Tin Woodsman · Nov 29, 2023

slatham said:
This starts to make more sense when you think of what’s next - Snowall to Spring Fling. That way you can run SB and/or VH and have summit access, a full TTB run, plus one of the marque runs on the mountain open. Then you hit OG and DS, and start filling in downhill from there without the need to immediately do the dreaded, long, time consuming run out which has very little ‘skiing” value. Hell by then maybe Mother Nature has done it.

And if temps don’t allow SB-SF you reverse and start with OG-DS.

Super helpful context.

Ultimately, this saves them 1/4 of a mile in distance. That's the difference between the length of the DS runout to the base and the length from SB>VH Traverse>Snowball. That said, Snowball is a lot wider than the DS runout, so I'm not sure how much water/time/$ you actually save going this way.

ducky · Nov 29, 2023

A few spots were up to my knees today. That said, I did find a waterbar that could not be seen from above, ..cartwheel ensued. Ropes are dropping and my wife did Steins.

No issues getting across the new traverse, even at Domino where it was regraded slightly. All lifts were walk on today.

Hawk · Nov 29, 2023

HowieT2 said:
huh? what rocks? ( I kid) there must be close to, if not over, 2 feet up there and I assume its fairly dense. thanks ullr for running the great snow guns in the sky. forecast is promising for friday-saturday too. I'm giddy even though im grounded for the next few weekends.

I am sure it is great today but I am talking about the bigger picture. In years past they would have the ski patrol and volenteers ski pack the trail and leave it until the next storm. That garrantied a good base for the rest of the season with very few rocks. The new policy just pounds the base down to rocks and dirt and it never seems to recover. I am sure most people on here wouldn't understand. It was just better. and I am only saying this about paradise.

machski · Nov 29, 2023

Hawk said:
I am sure it is great today but I am talking about the bigger picture. In years past they would have the ski patrol and volenteers ski pack the trail and leave it until the next storm. That garrantied a good base for the rest of the season with very few rocks. The new policy just pounds the base down to rocks and dirt and it never seems to recover. I am sure most people on here wouldn't understand. It was just better. and I am only saying this about paradise.

Totally get it. Even SR patrol has gotten into the side stepping skier compacting on certain trail/glade sections. Does make a huge difference (assuming that compaction sticks around for more on top of course

)

kingslug · Nov 29, 2023

Best November skiing I can remember...paradise was knee deep.
Everything was really good....called it at 1...totaly kerplooped..

WinS · Nov 29, 2023

I skied at Stowe today. It was really good. Just like what I experienced at SB yesterday. One big difference though was that much terrain that could have been opened was not. Riding the Four Runner up all the terrain beneath looked fabulous, and it had clearly been poached by quite a few but remained closed. Sugarbush’s Patrol has and continues to open more aggressively yet responsibly than most.

Responding to Hawk’s comment about patrol foot packing. The density of this snow and the cold temps actually are allowing it to settle in well with the trails open. A bit of a temp rise on Friday, but hopefully it stays cool enough the mountain to mai rain the quality we have been experiencing the past few days.

kingslug · Nov 29, 2023

Last year Stowe did not open liftline until Jan 31...but...you can't open it even with the snow that has fallen..it's not deep enough..It would be down to rocks in no time. Thos are patrol tracks mostly.
Should they blow on it now..damn right.
But they want to open all the blue runs..then the race course at spruce which is huge.
SB has a much more lenient policy on trail opening...which is great. All you need is an epic and an ikon and your good to go.

scharny · Nov 29, 2023

Stowe's website currently shows Liftline, National, Upper National, and Haychute all listed as being open.

kingslug said:
Last year Stowe did not open liftline until Jan 31...but...you can't open it even with the snow that has fallen..it's not deep enough..It would be down to rocks in no time. Thos are patrol tracks mostly.
Should they blow on it now..damn right.
But they want to open all the blue runs..then the race course at spruce which is huge.
SB has a much more lenient policy on trail opening...which is great. All you need is an epic and an ikon and your good to go.

kingslug · Nov 29, 2023

Holy...canoli...your right. Wow.I was at SB...they must have picked up at least another 6 inches to do that.....nice..

tumbler · Nov 29, 2023

Bummed to not be there but happy for all that are getting the fresh with an empty hill!!

cdskier · Nov 29, 2023

And now I see they're opening Castlerock for hiking tomorrow. Seems they're being even more aggressive with opening terrain than in years past...

WinS · Nov 29, 2023

scharny said:
Stowe's website currently shows Liftline, National, Upper National, and Haychute all listed as being open.

If those were Patrol tracks a lot of Patrollers had a great day

kingslug · Nov 29, 2023

They've been hitting it all week

Xcreamus · Nov 29, 2023

My day: No pix of Stein's because you have to stop to take pix, or I do, anyway.

Work tomorrow, but that is ok. I need a rest!

ss20 · Nov 30, 2023

Wow. That looks amazing mid-season, let alone end of November.

ThatGuy · Nov 30, 2023

Looks better there than here…after this weekend hopefully that changes. We have a dumping on the way

kingslug · Nov 30, 2023

Our dumping are in inches...yours...in feet.
Hopefully utah gets buried again...maybe not as insane as last season..

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