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The "Sugarbush Thread"

teleo

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With the weather this weekend, was thinking they should shut those lifts this weekend and see if there is snow next weekend.

Figured the rare cat on CR might have pushed some snow to the run out. Patrol can only do so much. But I thank them for thier effort every time I seem em making a ribbon.
 

Hawk

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From this afternoon's snow report (4/12):

"The Gate House, North Lynx and Castlerock areas will be closing Sunday afternoon for the season, so get your fun runs in these spots soon."

CR runout is experiencing snow shortage with some walking required. The connection curve right by the lift was very narrow and thin yesterday, when I got up there to sample a flattened CR Run.
If the castlerock runout has no snow and requires taking your skis off then I am going to just take my skis off at the bottom of the lift and walk up to lower downspout. Thanks for the intel.
 

mikec142

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Hawk,

I could be wrong, but I read ShadyJay's post to say that the end of the castlerock connection (from north lynx to castlerock) is pretty bare. That section was already kinda thin when I was last there on 4/2. He could be talking about castlerock runout, but a lot of that area sits in the shade. Who knows. Either way, have fun.
 

cdskier

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Fwiw, Castlerock was excellent today. Instead of taking the runout though I used bailout on my last run. Patrol was shoveling snow onto the end of the runout earlier today. The last turn before the lift is single track hand shoveled by patrol as well (big thanks to them for keeping a path open!)

Very unlikely cr would make it to next weekend though even if they tried to keep it closed to preserve it this weekend. Bottom is going fast.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone
 

Hawk

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Hawk,

I could be wrong, but I read ShadyJay's post to say that the end of the castlerock connection (from north lynx to castlerock) is pretty bare. That section was already kinda thin when I was last there on 4/2. He could be talking about castlerock runout, but a lot of that area sits in the shade. Who knows. Either way, have fun.
Actually I think your right. But I still hate the long run out to Gondolier.
 

WinS

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Was up yesterday.

My first time skiing Lincoln Peak (I had skied Mt. Ellen once about 6/7 years ago)... Had a really good time, even though I was only able to get a few hours in.

Looking forward to putting some extended time in up there next year.

The day sold me on doing the Ikon Base pass for next year.

-w
Great to hear that. Looking forward to seeing you next year.
 

WinS

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The weather channel has upgraded their snow forecast for the next couple of days. They are much more optimistic than our forecaster so we will see. Really nice and creamy today.
 

CoolMike

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The weather channel has upgraded their snow forecast for the next couple of days. They are much more optimistic than our forecaster so we will see. Really nice and creamy today.

Do you guys have a meteorologist on staff for that or do you use someone who has other jobs but also aggregates and compiles forecasts from other sources?

Just curious and thanks!
 

WinS

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Do you guys have a meteorologist on staff for that or do you use someone who has other jobs but also aggregates and compiles forecasts from other sources?

Just curious and thanks!

No. We and a number of other ski areas use a service out of NH. Each day at 6:45am we get a very detailed forecast about wind, temperature ranges, humidity by base, mid mountain and summit. It is a multi-day forecast but we focus on that day to help us determine our grooming and snowmaking plan for that evening. We often call for an update around noon. Precipitation forecasts are also given. Today is was calling for rain, mixed possibly some freezing rain and then 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow.
 

cdskier

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Today was surprisingly nice. That 1" of sleet/wintry mix actually skied really well. It was very smooth and effortless to carve in. Felt like skiing on sugar (or what I would imagine it would be to ski like on sugar).

Friday was still the best day of the weekend though. Glad I took off from work and made it up for that day.
 

cdskier

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Anything was better than Saturday

Agreed...I did 6 runs and not even sure why I did that many. Even "fresh tracks" on Jester after it was re-groomed and HG just opened Saturday morning was teeth-chattering.
 

Hawk

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No spring for us I guess. 2 maybe 3 weeks left so time is getting short. I hope the weather turns but it is looking in the 30's for next weekend. Maybe we can squeeze out a few more degrees and make it at least decent.
 

WinS

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Today was surprisingly nice. That 1" of sleet/wintry mix actually skied really well. It was very smooth and effortless to carve in. Felt like skiing on sugar (or what I would imagine it would be to ski like on sugar).

Friday was still the best day of the weekend though. Glad I took off from work and made it up for that day.

Glad you had a "book end" experience. I too thought Friday was terrific. Saturday was one of the worst days of the year and got worse as the day progressed. That quick drop in temperatures in the early morning set everything up really hard. We debated what the grooming plan should be Saturday night because of the variety of forecasts we were receiving but went with our guy who said it was likely we would get a couple of inches of sleet and snow. Thus, we groomed just about everything including Stein's, Ripcord and Organgrinder, and they came out great. It was a pleasant surprise to see how nice the skiing was on Sunday, and I personally lapped Stein's several times. Monday is a different story with winds forecasted to be 75 mph at the summit with rain coming in. We will likely only have Bravo turning and not sure how long that will last. The week is looking wintery but there is hope for this weekend. Stayed tuned. We are all ready for some spring skiing and riding and a plaza party.
 

CoolMike

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No. We and a number of other ski areas use a service out of NH. Each day at 6:45am we get a very detailed forecast about wind, temperature ranges, humidity by base, mid mountain and summit. It is a multi-day forecast but we focus on that day to help us determine our grooming and snowmaking plan for that evening. We often call for an update around noon. Precipitation forecasts are also given. Today is was calling for rain, mixed possibly some freezing rain and then 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow.

Interesting and thanks for the info.

Hopefully get some true spring skiing conditions soon. Kitchen sink storms are a pain.
 

KustyTheKlown

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so glad I didn't bet on snow and go to vt this weekend. Saturday in the catskills was absolutely gorgeous.
 

cdskier

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The week is looking wintery but there is hope for this weekend. Stayed tuned. We are all ready for some spring skiing and riding and a plaza party.

I'm officially ready for spring skiing now. Friday was a nice preview and would love some warmer sunny spring days these last 3 weekends of the season. Hoping for some T-Shirt skiing weather at some point! (and when that happens I hope I remember to take my pass out of my jacket and put it somewhere else lol)
 

cdskier

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General question since I know some people here are from MA. Next week I may have a need to go to MA for work (Westborough/Framingham area). Instead of driving 5 hours back to NJ Sunday night only to drive up from NJ to MA Monday morning, I'm thinking it would be more efficient to just stay in VT Sunday night and drive directly to MA Monday morning.

Any suggestions on a route from the MRV to the Framingham/Westborough area?
 
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