Joshua B
Member
December 18, 2003
Sugarbush, Warren, VT
A windy disappointment
As you might have seen in the "Solo or group skier?" topic, I was planning on skiing Mad River Glen today. I got up and was on my way with plenty of time to arrive and buy my half-day ticket, but MRG was not in the cards for the J-Dog. I've been shopping around for a new set of tires because the tread on my current set is wearing down and I don't have much traction. More on that later. The drive up was not easy. I drive 495 to 93 to 89. It wasn't until just before King Ridge that there was any sign of new snow on the ground. That's when things started to get tricky. At that point on, usually only one of 89's lane was clear. As I started getting into Central Vermont, the light rain changed to light snow. After getting off at exit 10, the driving was very difficult, but I'm impressed with Vermont drivers. They handled the 10-12 inches that fell in the Mad River Valley very well, taking it slow all the way. It was a winter wonderland. But my car wasn't sticking that well to the road because of my old tires. As I was driving up one of the steeper hills on Rt. 17 toward Mad River Glen, I realized I wasn't going to make it. Sadly, I didn't even make it as far as the left turn to Mt. Ellen. Feeling defeated and frustrated, my body temperature rose as I made a U-turn and headed back down 17 toward 100. I decided to go to Sugarbush (Lincoln Peak) because I knew there were no steep roads to embarass me and I had checked out their trail report yesterday and was impressed with the percentage of open terrain, including the Castlerock Chair. I knew I'd still enjoy myself and get a little taste of MRG-like terrain on that chair.
Birdland (my biggest challenge of the day...besides trying to drive up the MRG access road) underneath the Super Bravo Express Quad
I bought my 1/2 day ticket for $38 and got onto the Gate House Express Quad (normal speed) which would let me off at the Castlerock Connection trail. At the top of the lift I was a bit disoriented because the sign to the trail didn't seem to point in the direction of any tracked trail. I walked on my skies toward where the sign was pointing, but a ski patroller ran out of her hut and told me it was closed. "The Castlerock chair is closed?" I asked. Not good. A powder day and the Castlerock area is closed. The rest of the report will be abriviated because I found out later that the Heaven's Gate Triple was also closed, meaning only the lower mountain was available. I like Mount Ellen better anyway, so I decided to head to the Slide Brook Express and get the hell away from 1/2 Lincoln Peak. Closed. It was a very windy day. There was some incredibly deep snow and just soft moguls in their beginning stages. The few groomed slopes were a welcome treat to rest my burning legs. It was snowing hard all afternoon. My jacket and pants got very wet. I enjoyed Murphy's Glade and Jester the most. Nice skiing, but right now I wish to blaze a fire on Sugarbush. :angry:
Can't see the summit? Don't worry because it was closed anyway. Actual wind hold or just not enough employees? Hmmm.
Sugarbush, Warren, VT
A windy disappointment
As you might have seen in the "Solo or group skier?" topic, I was planning on skiing Mad River Glen today. I got up and was on my way with plenty of time to arrive and buy my half-day ticket, but MRG was not in the cards for the J-Dog. I've been shopping around for a new set of tires because the tread on my current set is wearing down and I don't have much traction. More on that later. The drive up was not easy. I drive 495 to 93 to 89. It wasn't until just before King Ridge that there was any sign of new snow on the ground. That's when things started to get tricky. At that point on, usually only one of 89's lane was clear. As I started getting into Central Vermont, the light rain changed to light snow. After getting off at exit 10, the driving was very difficult, but I'm impressed with Vermont drivers. They handled the 10-12 inches that fell in the Mad River Valley very well, taking it slow all the way. It was a winter wonderland. But my car wasn't sticking that well to the road because of my old tires. As I was driving up one of the steeper hills on Rt. 17 toward Mad River Glen, I realized I wasn't going to make it. Sadly, I didn't even make it as far as the left turn to Mt. Ellen. Feeling defeated and frustrated, my body temperature rose as I made a U-turn and headed back down 17 toward 100. I decided to go to Sugarbush (Lincoln Peak) because I knew there were no steep roads to embarass me and I had checked out their trail report yesterday and was impressed with the percentage of open terrain, including the Castlerock Chair. I knew I'd still enjoy myself and get a little taste of MRG-like terrain on that chair.
Birdland (my biggest challenge of the day...besides trying to drive up the MRG access road) underneath the Super Bravo Express Quad
I bought my 1/2 day ticket for $38 and got onto the Gate House Express Quad (normal speed) which would let me off at the Castlerock Connection trail. At the top of the lift I was a bit disoriented because the sign to the trail didn't seem to point in the direction of any tracked trail. I walked on my skies toward where the sign was pointing, but a ski patroller ran out of her hut and told me it was closed. "The Castlerock chair is closed?" I asked. Not good. A powder day and the Castlerock area is closed. The rest of the report will be abriviated because I found out later that the Heaven's Gate Triple was also closed, meaning only the lower mountain was available. I like Mount Ellen better anyway, so I decided to head to the Slide Brook Express and get the hell away from 1/2 Lincoln Peak. Closed. It was a very windy day. There was some incredibly deep snow and just soft moguls in their beginning stages. The few groomed slopes were a welcome treat to rest my burning legs. It was snowing hard all afternoon. My jacket and pants got very wet. I enjoyed Murphy's Glade and Jester the most. Nice skiing, but right now I wish to blaze a fire on Sugarbush. :angry:
Can't see the summit? Don't worry because it was closed anyway. Actual wind hold or just not enough employees? Hmmm.