The "Sugarbush Thread"

WWF-VT · Nov 23, 2018

Bluebird skies and great skiing up on Heaven's Gate today. Ripcord, Spillsville and Paradise merited multiple laps.

djd66 · Nov 27, 2018

Win -

With all the new snow - will you be opening any other lifts/terrain this week or weekend? Castlerock lift? Gatehouse and North Lynx?

nhskier1969 · Nov 27, 2018

djd66 said:
Win -

With all the new snow - will you be opening any other lifts/terrain this week or weekend? Castlerock lift? Gatehouse and North Lynx?

Good question. Would be a great marketing message for Sugarbush if they had Castlerock chair open on Friday. Probably 1st time ever than ran the chair in November.

MorningWoods · Nov 27, 2018

nhskier1969 said:
Good question. Would be a great marketing message for Sugarbush if they had Castlerock chair open on Friday. Probably 1st time ever than ran the chair in November.

+1. Not sure why they didn’t have valley house running this past weekend. I assume that will happen for this coming weekend. Bravo lines were getting long. Will be worse this weekend without the additional lifts running.

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tumbler · Nov 27, 2018

Budget and staffing. This is not a usual November

tumbler · Nov 27, 2018

My question would be with all the new snow, what natural trails will be groomed? Amount and consistency of the snow would seem to be right to pack it with a cat.

MorningWoods · Nov 27, 2018

tumbler said:
Budget and staffing. This is not a usual November

I know staffing is an issue across all of the resorts, but budget.... not something I care to hear about. They must be ahead in that regard and it wouldn’t exactly turn the place into the Hermitage Club to run an extra lift.

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djd66 · Nov 27, 2018

MorningWoods said:
I know staffing is an issue across all of the resorts, but budget.... not something I care to hear about. They must be ahead in that regard and it wouldn’t exactly turn the place into the Hermitage Club to run an extra lift.

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+1 Morningwoods!

I get budgets and staffing - but come on,... We have had so many shit days with ice and what not - If they have the coverage to open with ZERO snow making I say do it. I have to believe the staffing cost is not that much of an additional expense. The trails will have to be groomed at some point anyway - so that's not an extra cost. The only additional cost I can see is a few more lifties, ski patrol + the power to turn the lifts.

slatham · Nov 27, 2018

nhskier1969 said:
Good question. Would be a great marketing message for Sugarbush if they had Castlerock chair open on Friday. Probably 1st time ever than ran the chair in November.

Its definitely run in November, just not in recent memory......

ducky · Nov 27, 2018

djd66 said:
+1 Morningwoods!

I get budgets and staffing - but come on,... We have had so many shit days with ice and what not - If they have the coverage to open with ZERO snow making I say do it. I have to believe the staffing cost is not that much of an additional expense. The trails will have to be groomed at some point anyway - so that's not an extra cost. The only additional cost I can see is a few more lifties, ski patrol + the power to turn the lifts.

It's not the staffing cost, it is the availability of staff. There is a severe shortage of staff in the MRV, not just at Sugarbush. Stowe is feeling it too. The foreign visa college employees do not arrive for a while yet.

deadheadskier · Nov 27, 2018

ducky said:
It's not the staffing cost, it is the availability of staff. There is a severe shortage of staff in the MRV, not just at Sugarbush. Stowe is feeling it too. The foreign visa college employees do not arrive for a while yet.

When I managed F&B at Snowshoe in WV, the foreign seasonal staff arrived on 12/20. I oversaw 4 outlets. I went from a staff of 15 to 100 overnight and had 5 days to train them up for the busiest week of the season.

Most ski resort guests are completely clueless as to how difficult it is to staff a resort and do so profitably throughout a season.

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Quietman · Nov 27, 2018

And lifties are one of the hardest positions on the mountain to fill. Snowmakers make more $, and lifties are the only other staff that have to be outside in the cold all day/night. And being a liftie on a H.S. lift is really boring.

machski · Nov 27, 2018

With lifties as well, you are going to staff according to a "normal" year. You ramp up that particular group as you head into December hoping that all lifts will turn for Christmas. You don't plan to have all lifts staffed for Thanksgiving.

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Quietman · Nov 27, 2018

WinS said:
At Sugarbush we are still looking for Snowmakers, lift operators, experienced line chefs and housekeepers so pass the word to anyone looking to work and enjoy a winter of skiing or snowboarding.

When the GM of a very large ski area is posting help wanteds on a forum for skiers in Nov, getting help must be tough!! Got to give him credit for trying!

WinS · Nov 28, 2018

djd66 said:
Win -

With all the new snow - will you be opening any other lifts/terrain this week or weekend? Castlerock lift? Gatehouse and North Lynx?

We wil be looking at the best options for the weekend. We are still building the lift operations team. Some of the veterans are starting to return but the J-1s do not arrive for another couple of weeks.

WinS · Nov 28, 2018

nhskier1969 said:
Good question. Would be a great marketing message for Sugarbush if they had Castlerock chair open on Friday. Probably 1st time ever than ran the chair in November.

A 57” storm in November 1997 opened everything. Then I am today everything closed a few days later. The snow we have been letting has a lot more water content and will build a much better base.

WinS · Nov 28, 2018

Quietman said:
When the GM of a very large ski area is posting help wanteds on a forum for skiers in Nov, getting help must be tough!! Got to give him credit for trying!

Almost every area in the country and most other hospitality businesses are experiencing the same thing. That is why the J-1 visa program is so important for us and others.

WinS · Nov 28, 2018

djd66 said:
+1 Morningwoods!

I get budgets and staffing - but come on,... We have had so many shit days with ice and what not - If they have the coverage to open with ZERO snow making I say do it. I have to believe the staffing cost is not that much of an additional expense. The trails will have to be groomed at some point anyway - so that's not an extra cost. The only additional cost I can see is a few more lifties, ski patrol + the power to turn the lifts.

This is not a budget issue. As was said it was a staffing issue. Many veterans return when their summer jobs are completed. We are having to hire more and more J-1s because we can not find enough local employees. And the J-1s do not arrive for a couple of weeks have a limit on the number of days they can work. Last weekend we had three lifts and did not have the staff to open a fourth. A. Number of veterans are returning this week, the new staff is getting trained and some more new hires were made, so we should be able to open at least one more lift this week. Almost all ski areas and most hospitality businesses are experiencing the same thing.

Affordable housing is another big issue to get employees. We have some housing of our own and are leasing several properties in the Valley and have just contracted to buy another place to house 25. This closes early December. The Tenant for Turns program has also provided some good lodging options.

We will groom a natural trail when it is best for snow preservation. And we will resume snowmaking once temps are again favorable.

Zermatt · Nov 28, 2018

I'm watching the Mad River Glen live cam right now and the down mountain bound single chairs have at least 20" of snow on them.

MorningWoods · Nov 28, 2018

WinS said:
This is not a budget issue. As was said it was a staffing issue. Many veterans return when their summer jobs are completed. We are having to hire more and more J-1s because we can not find enough local employees. And the J-1s do not arrive for a couple of weeks have a limit on the number of days they can work. Last weekend we had three lifts and did not have the staff to open a fourth. A. Number of veterans are returning this week, the new staff is getting trained and some more new hires were made, so we should be able to open at least one more lift this week. Almost all ski areas and most hospitality businesses are experiencing the same thing.

Affordable housing is another big issue to get employees. We have some housing of our own and are leasing several properties in the Valley and have just contracted to buy another place to house 25. This closes early December. The Tenant for Turns program has also provided some good lodging options.

We will groom a natural trail when it is best for snow preservation. And we will resume snowmaking once temps are again favorable.

Thx for the transparency Win, hoping we get that extra lift for the weekend. It’s no secret that there is a labor issue and it isn’t just hospitality, that’s for sure. We are struggling in manufacturing. Much larger business, but we have several hundred open positions.

What 3 lifts though? I only saw bravo and HG running this weekend? Welcome mat or is Inverness running for GMVS?

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