2020-21 Sunday River

[uphillklimber]

I skipped opening day due to rain, but made it for 2nd day. The River has some terrain open, enough that you can realistically spread out. From the Barker lift, you can ski Jungle road to Punch or T-2 which brings you back to Punch. Ecstasy is open as is Right Stuff. All these trails were in pretty decent shape, given all the rain and cold temps from last night. They softened up as the day wore on, with the occasional ice patch here and there getting scraped off. You can also take Lazy River, which is in similar shape, as is Tourist Trap. But, on Risky Business, between these trails, they are blowing snow, which made for some fun times over the whales and minor bumps starting to form. Off the Locke Triple, you can access the top of T-2 and Punch, which has a few rails set up.

What you may need to know is some of the new stuff going on with the RFID as well as COVID protocols. If you have picked up your pass since this past weekend, it is very likely activated. If it was mailed to you earlier in the year, you will likely need to get it activated at South Ridge or in the upstairs Barker Bar. They have a computer set up there. For restrooms, you need to access them from the downstairs entrance, and exit there as well. The single bathroom on the main level is employees only. It seems they are serving food, but the counters with condiments and napkins have been removed and there is no inside sitting. You enter the first door on the concrete patio, and exit the second door. My guess is that they are trying to establish and maintain a flow of traffic thru the building. To access the Barker Bar, where you can get your pass activated or re-activated, you need to go up the outside stairs to the Barker bar, there is a sign leading you there. Once activated, you go down the inside stairs and exit the second door.

RFID Pass. I put my pass in my jacket pocket, high on the left side of my chest, nothing else in the pocket. Phone was in a pocket low on my right side. 10 trips thru the RFID readers, it failed twice. The liftie with a tablet let me thru and directed me to the Barker bar when I got back down. He acknowledged some teething issues. I tried same gate, different gate, no rhyme or reason. At the end of the day, I realized, inside my jacket pocket, I had a couple Halloween sized Three Musketeers bars, which have a silvery foil like wrapper..... Yeah, I'm moving them away from the pass. I did notice the lifties pointing to some orange colored pads on the side of the RFID gates, signaling to get the pass close to those. If you have an arm sleeve pocket, that will work well for you. I'll have to chest bump it, I guess, if there is an issue. When it works, you literally ski right thru.

My intention was to do 4 runs, maybe 6, get my legs under me. My first run, I am wondering, did I completely forget how to ski over the Summer??? I skied everything open, getting better with each run, saving the Lazy river run for my 6th and last run, so what if the snow guns soak me, I'll be going home. I liked the run so much I did it again, and ran into Dan. So of course, we did a couple more runs down Lazy River. I managed 10 runs and my legs were feeling it, so I called it a day, happy and smiling!

 

[mbedle]

Nice to hear, glad you got out.

 

[Smellytele]

I skipped opening day due to rain, but made it for 2nd day. The River has some terrain open, enough that you can realistically spread out. From the Barker lift, you can ski Jungle road to Punch or T-2 which brings you back to Punch. Ecstasy is open as is Right Stuff. All these trails were in pretty decent shape, given all the rain and cold temps from last night. They softened up as the day wore on, with the occasional ice patch here and there getting scraped off. You can also take Lazy River, which is in similar shape, as is Tourist Trap. But, on Risky Business, between these trails, they are blowing snow, which made for some fun times over the whales and minor bumps starting to form. Off the Locke Triple, you can access the top of T-2 and Punch, which has a few rails set up.

What you may need to know is some of the new stuff going on with the RFID as well as COVID protocols. If you have picked up your pass since this past weekend, it is very likely activated. If it was mailed to you earlier in the year, you will likely need to get it activated at South Ridge or in the upstairs Barker Bar. They have a computer set up there. For restrooms, you need to access them from the downstairs entrance, and exit there as well. The single bathroom on the main level is employees only. It seems they are serving food, but the counters with condiments and napkins have been removed and there is no inside sitting. You enter the first door on the concrete patio, and exit the second door. My guess is that they are trying to establish and maintain a flow of traffic thru the building. To access the Barker Bar, where you can get your pass activated or re-activated, you need to go up the outside stairs to the Barker bar, there is a sign leading you there. Once activated, you go down the inside stairs and exit the second door.

RFID Pass. I put my pass in my jacket pocket, high on the left side of my chest, nothing else in the pocket. Phone was in a pocket low on my right side. 10 trips thru the RFID readers, it failed twice. The liftie with a tablet let me thru and directed me to the Barker bar when I got back down. He acknowledged some teething issues. I tried same gate, different gate, no rhyme or reason. At the end of the day, I realized, inside my jacket pocket, I had a couple Halloween sized Three Musketeers bars, which have a silvery foil like wrapper..... Yeah, I'm moving them away from the pass. I did notice the lifties pointing to some orange colored pads on the side of the RFID gates, signaling to get the pass close to those. If you have an arm sleeve pocket, that will work well for you. I'll have to chest bump it, I guess, if there is an issue. When it works, you literally ski right thru.

My intention was to do 4 runs, maybe 6, get my legs under me. My first run, I am wondering, did I completely forget how to ski over the Summer??? I skied everything open, getting better with each run, saving the Lazy river run for my 6th and last run, so what of the snow guns soak me, I'll be going home. I liked the run so much I did it again, and ran into Dan. So of course, we did a couple more runs down Lazy River. I managed 10 runs and my legs were feeling it, so I called it a day, happy and smiling!

Did you ride the lift with Dan?

 

[uphillklimber]

Riding the lift is also different this year. Dan and I shared the lift, 4 passenger, both at opposite ends, and no one else trying to join us. It was uncrowded enough that folks would probably wait until the next chair anyways. I suspect we'll see plenty of this thru the season, even when crowded.

 

[downdraft]

Thanks for the update Uphillclimber. Did 5 runs at SR in the rain yesterday on my mid-day work break. Great coverage. Always appreciate your posts.

 

[machski]

I skipped opening day due to rain, but made it for 2nd day. The River has some terrain open, enough that you can realistically spread out. From the Barker lift, you can ski Jungle road to Punch or T-2 which brings you back to Punch. Ecstasy is open as is Right Stuff. All these trails were in pretty decent shape, given all the rain and cold temps from last night. They softened up as the day wore on, with the occasional ice patch here and there getting scraped off. You can also take Lazy River, which is in similar shape, as is Tourist Trap. But, on Risky Business, between these trails, they are blowing snow, which made for some fun times over the whales and minor bumps starting to form. Off the Locke Triple, you can access the top of T-2 and Punch, which has a few rails set up.

What you may need to know is some of the new stuff going on with the RFID as well as COVID protocols. If you have picked up your pass since this past weekend, it is very likely activated. If it was mailed to you earlier in the year, you will likely need to get it activated at South Ridge or in the upstairs Barker Bar. They have a computer set up there. For restrooms, you need to access them from the downstairs entrance, and exit there as well. The single bathroom on the main level is employees only. It seems they are serving food, but the counters with condiments and napkins have been removed and there is no inside sitting. You enter the first door on the concrete patio, and exit the second door. My guess is that they are trying to establish and maintain a flow of traffic thru the building. To access the Barker Bar, where you can get your pass activated or re-activated, you need to go up the outside stairs to the Barker bar, there is a sign leading you there. Once activated, you go down the inside stairs and exit the second door.

RFID Pass. I put my pass in my jacket pocket, high on the left side of my chest, nothing else in the pocket. Phone was in a pocket low on my right side. 10 trips thru the RFID readers, it failed twice. The liftie with a tablet let me thru and directed me to the Barker bar when I got back down. He acknowledged some teething issues. I tried same gate, different gate, no rhyme or reason. At the end of the day, I realized, inside my jacket pocket, I had a couple Halloween sized Three Musketeers bars, which have a silvery foil like wrapper..... Yeah, I'm moving them away from the pass. I did notice the lifties pointing to some orange colored pads on the side of the RFID gates, signaling to get the pass close to those. If you have an arm sleeve pocket, that will work well for you. I'll have to chest bump it, I guess, if there is an issue. When it works, you literally ski right thru.

My intention was to do 4 runs, maybe 6, get my legs under me. My first run, I am wondering, did I completely forget how to ski over the Summer??? I skied everything open, getting better with each run, saving the Lazy river run for my 6th and last run, so what if the snow guns soak me, I'll be going home. I liked the run so much I did it again, and ran into Dan. So of course, we did a couple more runs down Lazy River. I managed 10 runs and my legs were feeling it, so I called it a day, happy and smiling!

Welcome back! I got opening day as it was my last day off work in the month. Been a while since I skied in the rain but it was definitely fun! I used these gates at Loon last season and learned there that plastic orange piece is the sweet spot on these gates. While it should pickup anywhere in the target zone, the closer to the orange patch, the better. I have found the Boyne gates are more sensitive to the sweet spot than others I have used. Have only tried with Boyne issued cards, anyone skiing with an Ikon pass post how it works for you. The Boyne cards and Ikon are on different radio frequencies so it could differ. My GorTex shell doesn't have an arm pocket for the pass, so I had mine in an arm band under my jacket and it worked great every one of the 15 passes at both lifts. Locke will be interesting to see how they work that once we have terrain feeding in from both sides.

 

[uphillklimber]

And a Howdy to you as well!

I had a couple issues with the pass today, and the liftie motioned for me to back up just a bit. Apparently, I came thru too fast, and the sensor is aimed sorta back away from the gate a bit??? When I backed up, it opened up for me. Today was a bit of a rewind from yesterday, but we had freshies most all day. There were more skiers and Punch got scraped and icy below the mid station. (Three trails converging onto Punch, the only way down.) They were still blowing on Risky early, and it was wet, I was a little more cautious there. They turned them off, maybe enough snow there? Monday Morning is getting plastered right now.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but on mountain, it could be snow. I'll give it a shot.

 

[uphillklimber]

I skipped skiing yesterday in the rain and today, with the warm temps, was a lot like spring skiing. They had opened up Cascades, Monday morning, Risky and Broadway. Cascades and Monday were left with the whales and that was fun skiing over them, despite them being a little crisp early on. Upper risky was ungroomed and some whales, but there were some bare spots before you cross under the lift. As my time there wore on, more bare spots were being exposed. I suspect the groomers will fix that tonight if they can get on the snow.

Come about 10:30, I had 10 runs in, it took about 15 minutes per lap. I wasn't bombing them, but rather working on technique, so I took it a little slower. The lifts lines were constantly backed up to the end of the corrals, but they moved along. Some of the length of those lines had to do with distancing. But it certainly was more crowded than before turkey day. Fortunately, they have some more terrain open now. The weather is not going to help that for a little bit. Not til the middle of next week.

I had some legs left on me when I left, it was just looking more like a weekend than a weekday. The trails were crowding up, and I saw more than a few backseaters doing all they could to not hit anyone as they bombed down the hill. (Hey, we've all been there, at least, yours truly has). Saw a few who were in over their heads, etc... I had a good day working on technique, not to mention all the fun I've had, so I called it after 2 1/2 hours. As I am driving out, there are bunches of cars driving in. Yeah, I think I made my choice.

 

[Jully]

Arrived just an hour or so before you left at 9:30 and crowds were there until 12ish and then everyone left. At their worst, Barker had a 7ish minute wait (maybe 10 groups in front of you in the corral). Lifts were ski on after 2.

Trails were soft and soaked, skied like May IMO. Had a great time. Some half decent bump lines formed on upper risky. Really impressed the River got this much open with pretty short snowmaking windows over the last week. Looking forward to continued improvements in their system.

 

[uphillklimber]

I just read a troubling report from a friend who skied Saturday. Apparently, many folks are not wearing their masks in the que and crowding up too much. This is not up to the skiers or Sunday River. If an inspector comes here and sees non compliance, they have the emergency power to shut it all down. It doesn't matter if we agree with it or not. If it gets shut down, that means no more snowmaking, no more grooming, no more lifts running, and as we saw last year, no more uphill skinning.

I hate having to wear a mask, or bending the knee to authority and all that as much as the next guy, But let's get real here. I want to ski, and I suspect ALL of you also want to ski.

I have also heard other reports of skiers who plan to complain to management about this situation. Maybe management can step up their game. But they have also said that they will notify Augusta. That could lead to getting it shut down.

Folks, I know we all hate this COVID thing and want it to just go away. But dems da rules. If we want to play this year, we are gonna have play by the rules a little bit. Would it kill ya to pull your facemask up over your nose and mouth and maintain a little more distance in the lift line?

Look, I can almost understand if they drop the masks on the chair, you are fairly well isolated from others. But I also know that when people smoke on the chairs in front of me, I get a good dose of tobacco and weed. I "know" I am "bulletproof" and won't get sick, but I also don't want to be stupid, because I know it could happen to me.

Okay, I've said enough, can someone help me get down off this wooden crate with the three "X"s on the side.

 

[downdraft]

I was out there Fri., Sat., and today. They have ski patrol and lifts attendants walking up and down the "ghost" lanes reminding skiers to make sure their masks are up and over their nose. From what I've heard, senior management is acutely aware of the consequences of lax compliance or worse. From what I observed, skiers in the lines were masked properly. The lines do bunch up a bit, but the ski lengths help maintain spacing. The only lodge I went into was Barker. Signage could be better, but the overall set up seemed well thought out. The one thing I saw that did concern me was the number of people on the Barker deck when I left at 1 today. Let's see what happens when they start selling day tickets.

 

[uphillklimber]

I only ski weekdays (bronze pass). What I saw last time I was there, most were using masks, and the skis helped maintain distance. But there are some people.....

I was skiing alone, so it was always just me on the chair. Once in line, they motioned me to the gate, so I did just that, then they motioned a pair to follow up on me. next thing you know, this guy is trying to jump in front of me, while his buddy stays behind me. We both have masks on, and I just keep moving up, and he and I are in the red gates right at the chair. I'm wondering if I need to sit at the far left or in the middle. he does not proceed to the chair with me, but waits for his buddy.

I mean, really, getting that close to me, did it really help him get on the lift any faster??? Some male testosterone and competitiveness going on...

 

[uphillklimber]

Some nice skiing today, no crowds, shucks, often times there was actually another person on our trail!!! LOL! No additional terrain, obviously, they did have a buried air pipe bust open yesterday, and they were repairing it today, at the bottom of Monday morning, to the skier's right of the Locke triple chair. So, of course, Cascades and Monday morning were closed. They had welding leads and water hoses stretched across that area.

Upper Risky was getting a bit thin on coverage, and Tourist trap is a mess, but otherwise the skiing was the same old same old stuff the River is known for. With the rain that started just after noon time, I heard between 1 and 2 inches, not so sure what it will look like Wednesday. (Edit, I just looked it up, they are now forecasting 2-3 inches!!!) We'll be needing cold temps for blowing snow and some real snow.

Ski on!!!

 

[uphillklimber]

Folks, just so you are aware of what the River is doing with the ski reports, here is a look at their map right now:


The entire time I was there today, Cascades was closed. Who knows, maybe they finished the air pipe repair, but if that is the case, why is Monday Morning not also opened. I know, claim as many trails as you can for the deceptive, I mean, best looking trail report. I also am wondering how they got snow blown on Ski Back, on the right side of the picture. Makes it look like more is open than there really is for someone considering if the drive is worth it today. Seems that trail was open most of last year as well. And there is no official way to get to that trail, that's a work road it connects with, not a trail, and some of it is flat or uphill.

 

[mbedle]

Folks, just so you are aware of what the River is doing with the ski reports, here is a look at their map right now:
View attachment 42670

The entire time I was there today, Cascades was closed. Who knows, maybe they finished the air pipe repair, but if that is the case, why is Monday Morning not also opened. I know, claim as many trails as you can for the deceptive, I mean, best looking trail report. I also am wondering how they got snow blown on Ski Back, on the right side of the picture. Makes it look like more is open than there really is for someone considering if the drive is worth it today. Seems that trail was open most of last year as well. And there is no official way to get to that trail, that's a work road it connects with, not a trail, and some of it is flat or uphill.

Ski Back is not listed as one of their trails. It's also not highlighted to indicate that it is open.

 

[uphillklimber]

Ski Back is not listed as one of their trails. It's also not highlighted to indicate that it is open.

Take another look at it. It looks just like Broadway, Easy Street and Thataway, which are all open. This is with the filters showing open trails.

 

[Smellytele]

Take another look at it. It looks just like Broadway, Easy Street and Thataway, which are all open. This is with the filters showing open trails.

Look again no light green around the darker green line

 

[uphillklimber]

Look again no light green around the darker green line

Ummmm... yup, that is correct. But why even highlight it all with a line? So many other trails that are not open and they are left blank. Are they just trying to highlight that they made a new trail for last season???

 

[downdraft]

Maybe it is a technical glitch with the site/map that leaves the single green line there. Lol, Boyne is good with bad tech. I want my Boyne rewards points back.

 

[Vortex]

I skipped opening day due to rain, but made it for 2nd day. The River has some terrain open, enough that you can realistically spread out. From the Barker lift, you can ski Jungle road to Punch or T-2 which brings you back to Punch. Ecstasy is open as is Right Stuff. All these trails were in pretty decent shape, given all the rain and cold temps from last night. They softened up as the day wore on, with the occasional ice patch here and there getting scraped off. You can also take Lazy River, which is in similar shape, as is Tourist Trap. But, on Risky Business, between these trails, they are blowing snow, which made for some fun times over the whales and minor bumps starting to form. Off the Locke Triple, you can access the top of T-2 and Punch, which has a few rails set up.

What you may need to know is some of the new stuff going on with the RFID as well as COVID protocols. If you have picked up your pass since this past weekend, it is very likely activated. If it was mailed to you earlier in the year, you will likely need to get it activated at South Ridge or in the upstairs Barker Bar. They have a computer set up there. For restrooms, you need to access them from the downstairs entrance, and exit there as well. The single bathroom on the main level is employees only. It seems they are serving food, but the counters with condiments and napkins have been removed and there is no inside sitting. You enter the first door on the concrete patio, and exit the second door. My guess is that they are trying to establish and maintain a flow of traffic thru the building. To access the Barker Bar, where you can get your pass activated or re-activated, you need to go up the outside stairs to the Barker bar, there is a sign leading you there. Once activated, you go down the inside stairs and exit the second door.

RFID Pass. I put my pass in my jacket pocket, high on the left side of my chest, nothing else in the pocket. Phone was in a pocket low on my right side. 10 trips thru the RFID readers, it failed twice. The liftie with a tablet let me thru and directed me to the Barker bar when I got back down. He acknowledged some teething issues. I tried same gate, different gate, no rhyme or reason. At the end of the day, I realized, inside my jacket pocket, I had a couple Halloween sized Three Musketeers bars, which have a silvery foil like wrapper..... Yeah, I'm moving them away from the pass. I did notice the lifties pointing to some orange colored pads on the side of the RFID gates, signaling to get the pass close to those. If you have an arm sleeve pocket, that will work well for you. I'll have to chest bump it, I guess, if there is an issue. When it works, you literally ski right thru.

My intention was to do 4 runs, maybe 6, get my legs under me. My first run, I am wondering, did I completely forget how to ski over the Summer??? I skied everything open, getting better with each run, saving the Lazy river run for my 6th and last run, so what if the snow guns soak me, I'll be going home. I liked the run so much I did it again, and ran into Dan. So of course, we did a couple more runs down Lazy River. I managed 10 runs and my legs were feeling it, so I called it a day, happy and smiling!

I will be up there full time this Winter. Hope we can grab a run or Two. I am going to an arm band for the pass. My pass worked about 70% of the time. Been a rough start but SR has done well IMO. Lines look longer than they appear due to Spreading out. Patrol was making sure you had a facemask on. it is what it is, and we need to comply or no lift service e. The River did a nice job and I give them props.