The "Sugarbush Thread"

Slidebrook87 · Mar 11, 2020

So what exactly is wrong with North Ridge now?

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WinS · Mar 11, 2020

snoloco said:
I've seen SB87 taking so much heat for simply thinking Slide Brook is important. I'm here to say that he's not alone. I came to Sugarbush for the first time ever this year and have 3 visits. One time early with just Lincoln open and twice with everything open and connected. The full Sugarbush experience of getting to ski everything on both sides was so good that it shot Sugarbush straight into my top 5 eastern ski areas list.

Both sides have great terrain, but they are stronger together, not apart. Slide Brook makes a seamless connection between the two sides where you don't even need to take your skis off to go everywhere on the mountain. No need to worry about shuttle schedules, or driving over and losing your close parking spot if you got there early. Once both sides are open, I only go when Slide Brook is open.

I like to start at Lincoln on weekends at 8am. I'll ski Bravo and Heaven's Gate until 9, then Castlerock, Gate House, or North Lynx till 10 and take Slide Brook over right when it opens. On the Ellen side, I mostly focus on lapping North Ridge which serves the best terrain. I will also ski every open trail on Inverness, and make one trip to the summit. I usually get done with everything I want to ski on Ellen by 1:30-2 including a lunch break while I'm there. After I'm done at Ellen, I take Slide Brook back to Lincoln and ski everything I wasn't able to ski in the morning. I'll never be convinced that any other way is better.

And to those who don't want Slide Brook to run because it brings "riff raff" to Ellen, you should just shut the hell up. Seriously, every non-local hates people like that. Sugarbush is not your mountain. It's everyone's mountain who pays to ski there. If someone bought a lift ticket or pass, they have equal access to all parts of the resort. It's inefficient for Ellen to be underutilized because people don't have easy access to it through Slide Brook. Most people don't know about the bus or don't want to take it. They go up Gate House, see Slide Brook closed, and then go back to ski somewhere else on Lincoln. Slide Brook needs to be restored to full time, daily operations like in the Otten-era, and anything less is unacceptable.

As I have said numerous times SB is scheduled to run every day that Mount Ellen is open. It needs sufficient snow to allow lift mechanics to get in quickly and safely to all 40 towers. It does not run if temps are below 5 degrees for safety reasons, and it is one of the most vulnerable to windholds.

WinS · Mar 11, 2020

Slidebrook87 said:
Is North Ridge broken down again or is it delayed due to icing?

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There was a drive zone fault yesterday. Today we think we are having some icing issues on GMX and NR and CR lift that are impacting connections.

Slidebrook87 · Mar 11, 2020

WinS said:
There was a drive zone fault yesterday. Today we think we are having some icing issues on GMX and NR and CR lift that are impacting connections.

Ah. Thanks for the response.

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Domeskier · Mar 11, 2020

Hawk said:
And I think that Ellen has become the place that just regular people flock to. People that brown bag and buy discounted tickets or just are plain frugal and don't need the polished look.

Are these skiers really the kind of customers a major resort wants to cater to? I have no objection to frugal ski bum culture or derelict lodges, but I wouldn't expect a major resort to subsidize them by avoiding improvements that have the potential to attract and bring in much greater revenue from less parsimonious skiers.

mikec142 · Mar 11, 2020

ducky said:
As a member of both Stowe and MRV’s chambers of commerce I can tell you that Stowe’s economy is close to tenfold that of the MRV. Would I want to live there? Not really.

Ducky,

This is interesting to me and a key point IMHO. Having skied and stayed in both places many times, I prefer the MRV and SB/MRG.

Being on the Chamber of Commerce, I'm sure that you can attest that retail businesses need a certain amount of foot traffic to remain viable. We've seen businesses in the MRV struggle because of that lack of foot traffic, especially in the off season. I like to eat in a restaurant with people in it. Not so crowded that I can't get a table, but enough people for the place to feel vibrant. Same goes for the movies. It's weird to me when my wife and I are in a theater that is mostly empty.

There is a delicate balance that can be met where both camps are happy, but it isn't easy to achieve.

machski · Mar 11, 2020

deadheadskier said:
It is a monstrosity that's totally out of place. F that lodge, club and village. Stowe was a hard core skiers mountain with little fluff pre-Spruce. It's now Disney Vermont.

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Funny, Sugarbush South was once known as Mascara Mountain. My how times have changed. Sorry DHS, been skiing Stowe since 1990, even then I always felt like the terrain was great but the area was already gravitating to catering to the high end clientel. Spruce Village in my mind was inevitable.

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smac75 · Mar 11, 2020

What do we think the chances are of CR challenge happening on lift line this weekend?

machski · Mar 11, 2020

Look, from a visiting/destination skier, Sugarbush is obviously better when lift connected with Slidebrook. It makes the resort ski and feel that much bigger. And if they are staying in Lincoln Village, all the more so. I like both sides, can enjoy both sides separately but being that I am a day skier from SoNH, I always park at South. If Slidebrook isn't running for whatever reason, its a bit of a bummer for me as I have some favorites on North I like to hit, but South for the day has more than enough terrain published and not to keep me happy for the day.

As to Ellen's baselodge, could it be dressed up? Sure, but its OK as is for now as I believe the typical destnation skier to SB is normally using Lincoln as a gateway entrance given the ammenities it offers. I like the proposed expansion of Ellen Lodge, especially the slopeside deck part. May not be perfect for all tastes, but should help make it more comfortable to carry the typical Ellen crowd.

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nhskier1969 · Mar 11, 2020

Question for Win. Win is Sugarbush planning on keeping their mobile App or will Sugarbush be lumped in together with the other resorts on the ikon app?
BTW, I feel Sugarbush by far has the best resort app.

MEtoVTSkier · Mar 11, 2020

snoloco said:
I've seen SB87 taking so much heat for simply thinking Slide Brook is important. I'm here to say that he's not alone. I came to Sugarbush for the first time ever this year and have 3 visits. One time early with just Lincoln open and twice with everything open and connected. The full Sugarbush experience of getting to ski everything on both sides was so good that it shot Sugarbush straight into my top 5 eastern ski areas list.

Both sides have great terrain, but they are stronger together, not apart. Slide Brook makes a seamless connection between the two sides where you don't even need to take your skis off to go everywhere on the mountain. No need to worry about shuttle schedules, or driving over and losing your close parking spot if you got there early. Once both sides are open, I only go when Slide Brook is open.

I like to start at Lincoln on weekends at 8am. I'll ski Bravo and Heaven's Gate until 9, then Castlerock, Gate House, or North Lynx till 10 and take Slide Brook over right when it opens. On the Ellen side, I mostly focus on lapping North Ridge which serves the best terrain. I will also ski every open trail on Inverness, and make one trip to the summit. I usually get done with everything I want to ski on Ellen by 1:30-2 including a lunch break while I'm there. After I'm done at Ellen, I take Slide Brook back to Lincoln and ski everything I wasn't able to ski in the morning. I'll never be convinced that any other way is better.

And to those who don't want Slide Brook to run because it brings "riff raff" to Ellen, you should just shut the hell up. Seriously, every non-local hates people like that. Sugarbush is not your mountain. It's everyone's mountain who pays to ski there. If someone bought a lift ticket or pass, they have equal access to all parts of the resort. It's inefficient for Ellen to be underutilized because people don't have easy access to it through Slide Brook. Most people don't know about the bus or don't want to take it. They go up Gate House, see Slide Brook closed, and then go back to ski somewhere else on Lincoln. Slide Brook needs to be restored to full time, daily operations like in the Otten-era, and anything less is unacceptable.

Oh look! K-Zone's version of Slidebrook87 has showed up!

:lol:

mikec142 · Mar 11, 2020

machski said:
Look, from a visiting/destination skier, Sugarbush is obviously better when lift connected with Slidebrook. It makes the resort ski and feel that much bigger. And if they are staying in Lincoln Village, all the more so. I like both sides, can enjoy both sides separately but being that I am a day skier from SoNH, I always park at South. If Slidebrook isn't running for whatever reason, its a bit of a bummer for me as I have some favorites on North I like to hit, but South for the day has more than enough terrain published and not to keep me happy for the day.

As to Ellen's baselodge, could it be dressed up? Sure, but its OK as is for now as I believe the typical destnation skier to SB is normally using Lincoln as a gateway entrance given the ammenities it offers. I like the proposed expansion of Ellen Lodge, especially the slopeside deck part. May not be perfect for all tastes, but should help make it more comfortable to carry the typical Ellen crowd.

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This is pretty much where I fall too. Almost always (unless buying a ME only day pass) parking at South and starting my day there. Plenty of terrain for me to have a full day. I'm happy to take SB or the shuttle over to ME for a bit to mix it up, but I'm equally cool with staying at South for the day.

MEtoVTSkier · Mar 11, 2020

Slidebrook87 said:
Ah. Thanks for the response.

Because it really matters that Win responds to EVERY SINGLE lift situation to some 14 year old twerp who likes to complain constantly.

:roll::roll::roll:

mikec142 · Mar 11, 2020

MEtoVTSkier said:
Because it really matters that Win responds to EVERY SINGLE lift situation to some 14 year old twerp who likes to complain constantly.

:roll::roll::roll:

I actually think it would be interesting for SB87 to get some sort of internship in the business department at Sugarbush. Might actually get a better understanding of how things actually run.

Slidebrook87 · Mar 11, 2020

mikec142 said:
I actually think it would be interesting for SB87 to get some sort of internship in the business department at Sugarbush. Might actually get a better understanding of how things actually run.

I would actually like to do something like this when I get older.

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MEtoVTSkier · Mar 11, 2020

mikec142 said:
I actually think it would be interesting for SB87 to get some sort of internship in the business department at Sugarbush. Might actually get a better understanding of how things actually run.

...And then poor Win's staff will all walk off the job by the end of the week!

:lol:

deadheadskier · Mar 11, 2020

machski said:
Funny, Sugarbush South was once known as Mascara Mountain. My how times have changed. Sorry DHS, been skiing Stowe since 1990, even then I always felt like the terrain was great but the area was already gravitating to catering to the high end clientel. Spruce Village in my mind was inevitable.

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I don't disagree with that, especially having lived there from the majority of 95 to 05 and knowing the culture of the town / mountain. I disagree with the scale. I would have been fine with something on the scale of Claybrook. The monstrosity built at Spruce could've been denied along with blowing up the side of the mountain to put in a golf course. Much of this required swapping land with the state park system.

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jimmywilson69 · Mar 11, 2020

Newpylong said:
Please stop pestering him with every little operational question.

listen SB87 I get it you are super interested in the ski area and industry, but your tone is pretty harsh at times. Without stifling your interest sit back and take it all in and maybe you'll learn even more.

your enthusiasm is pretty cool, but its become a bit over the top with the direct questions and seemingly no it all attitude. You can still be a valuable member to this forum, but think a little before you fire off every little question or opinion. This will help you not only here but in life in general.

snoloco · Mar 11, 2020

I'm 21, so I'm a bit older than Slidebrook 87. I was just like him when I was his age. It's a phase we all go through, so please stop the hate.

rocks860 · Mar 11, 2020

You asked the owner of a mountain every single day exactly why a particular lift isn’t running?

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