AZ Challenge 2011: Chris Sullivan, Ski Sundown

[Nick]

Chris Sullivan, Operations Manager at Ski Sundown, has agreed to participate in the 2011 AlpineZone Ski Area Challenge!

The AlpineZone Challenge is your chance to offer up questions, suggestions or praise to the people who run the mountains in the northeast. For more information on the challenge itself, please see the stickied post at the top of the forum.

We will pick ten of the questions asked here and submit them for review and response, and post them in the Challenge area when complete!

Caveats: we may edit/change your question for grammar, tone, or something similar. Questions may be merged. If we don't get to all the questions, we will encourage followup from the representatives, but no promises.

Please be respectful as well to those answering questions - please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. as these may be confidential to the mountain.

Ski Sundown Profile

2007 AZ Challenge Results
2006 AZ Challenge Results
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[powhunter]

Whats up Chris?? Hope your having a nice summer??

Anything new with the expansion?

Steveo

 

[deadheadskier]

Would you be willing to send one of your snow grooming staff up to Gunstock to teach them how to seed bumps this season? Gunstock will be my home mountain. It would be killer if they delivered seeded goodness like you all have at Sundown.

 

[Black Phantom]

Where do you store the bumps in the summer?

 

[wa-loaf]

Can you have a chat with Wachusett about their moguls?

 

[powhunter]

Whats the mogul plan for 2011-2012

Steveo

 

[jack97]

Can you have a chat with Wachusett about their moguls?

Maybe you can outsource your cat operator to wachusett.... I'll throw in a case of beer.

 

[Grassi21]

As is powhunter, I am interested in the expansion and mogul plan for this season.

Are the dates set for this year's bump comps? Trying to line up any new sponsors or exploring new ways to improve the events?

 

[bvibert]

I would also like to hear about expansion updates.

Has there been any more improvements to the (already impressive) snowmaking system this year?

How about allowing one bump line to form down gunny, right along the edge of the trail, for the whole season?

Looks like the lodge is receiving a bit of a refresh, anything more significant than paint going on?

Are we going to have NorEaster bumped up all season again this year?

Any new pass, programs, direct-to-lift, etc.. options in the works for this season?

Is the Hooker beer trailer going to be at this year's spring bump comp?

Are there going to be t-shirts at this years bump comps?

Any significant trail, or lift work going on this summer?

I hear that there's going to be a big shiny new red piece of equipment added to the grooming fleet this season. Can you confirm this? Will it allow for quicker, more efficient, grooming? Meaning more time for other things like resetting the park or seeding bumps?

 

[Nick]

I wish I had some more questions. I haven't been to Sundown since I was in the Manchester High School ski club in 1995-1999, and we used to go every Wednesday for night skiing. I just remember my friend and I bombing down the mountain as fast as we could over and over again. Probably not the safest kids at the time :roll:

 

[powhunter]

Is it true that a rope tow will be installed in area 51?

Steveo

 

[deadheadskier]

Any future plans for making Sundown a year round destination?

Lift serviced Mountain Biking
Mountain Coaster
Ropes Course

 

[Black Phantom]

Will there be any new programs/initiatives this season that will address responsible park skiing/riding as well as out of control skiing/riding?