Best $6.50 I've ever spent. Mt. Ellen 1/9

[Tin]

The girlfriend said we would be stupid for not going to the Mt. Ellen Anniversary Day at Sugarbush and take advantage of the $6.50 tickets. She was correct. Got there from Jay at about 11am and skied until 3pm. Guns were blasting on The Cliffs which we hit 3/4 times. It had 3-4" of awesome man made on it that turned into amazing bumps but was skied off and slick by 1pm. Went to the upper mountain and skied F.I.S. which looked soft but was super hard packed. Ended up browsing the woods and found some great stuff. Bravo was closed to some uphill travel was needed to ski Way Back Woods and Bravo Woods. Well worth it, a great base with a few inches of untracked snow on it. Great day. Mt. Ellen has a TON more snow than Jay or Smuggs and fresh stuff can be found in lots of areas. It is like it never rained there or something.

The Cliffs before the crowd destroyed it. Nice yard sale on the left side.



The Badass GF tackling F.I.S.


Looking back up F.I.S.


Woods...

 

[Tin]

One last pic....Entrance to Way Back after a short hike up.

 

[WoodCore]

Woods...

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Nice!! Still looks thin but congrats on getting some tree turns!! Love Glen Ellen!

 

[Tin]

Never heard anything under my boot so it's good enough for me.

 

[pcampbell]

When you get going on some of those trails where its all scraped off down to ice, can you get an edge? I went down "which way" this afternoon and was questioning whether I'd be able to stop. There was spot right in front of the entry to the line for north ridge express too where I almost wiped out ... go to turn and the skis just want to slip out from under me. Also parts up top going down Rim Run coming off the lift.

Dunno if I am just a bad skier or need sharper edges, or both how do you tackle this stuff?

 

[Tin]

I usually stick to the sides where all the snow has been thrown by.other riders. Even if it.is a 2' wide area and make tight stomps like I'm in moguls.

 

[skifree]

Dude your gf rocks! 1 year in and she is skiing FIS/woods/jay. Wtf!
Who taught her?

 

[Tin]

Just got her a cheap pair last Christmas. Went to Sundown New Years Day. She has probably been a couple dozen times total. Just got it I guess. Never had a lesson.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Looks very crusty but the coverage is better than I thought. Hopefully the base can hold up through this weekend so we can put this weather behind us. Dusting on my way into work today.....what a tease

 

[thetrailboss]

Nice stoke! Boy, FIS looks thin for January.

 

[Tin]

Looks very crusty but the coverage is better than I thought. Hopefully the base can hold up through this weekend so we can put this weather behind us. Dusting on my way into work today.....what a tease

All the trails were by lunch time. The woods were anything but.

Bravo, Double Diamond, and Exterminator were all closed. There were scattered moguls from when they were open but aside from those piles of snow they had a thin coating. A few people attempted poaching Bravo and every turn they made showed dirt and rock.

 

[thetrailboss]

FWIW they used to blow snow on Exterminator....doesn't sound like they did this year.

 

[Tin]

They had guns and hoses on FIS. They were focusing on lower mountain stuff. Scratchy on the main trails that lead from the North Ridge Express down. The area around the North Ridge Express was super hard.packed and people.couldn't stop and were crashing all around it. Only spent about an hour on main trails.

 

[thetrailboss]

They had guns and hoses on FIS. They were focusing on lower mountain stuff. Scratchy on the main trails that lead from the North Ridge Express down. The area around the North Ridge Express was super hard.packed and people.couldn't stop and were crashing all around it. Only spent about an hour on main trails.

Where is Bushmogulmaster and his grooming skills when you need him?

 

[WWF-VT]

I skied last weekend with Bravo, Black Diamond, Exterminator, Encore, Cliffs , Hammerhead and Tumbler all open on natural snow. By Sunday afternoon upper Bravo and Exterminator were the only trails worth skiing. Sugarbush has not blown snow on Exterminator in years and I much prefer it with natural snow cover. There was decent snow in Way Back Woods but still a lot less than what I like to risk at this point of the season.

 

[thetrailboss]

I skied last weekend with Bravo, Black Diamond, Exterminator, Encore, Cliffs , Hammerhead and Tumbler all open on natural snow. By Sunday afternoon upper Bravo and Exterminator were the only trails worth skiing. Sugarbush has not blown snow on Exterminator in years and I much prefer it with natural snow cover. There was decent snow in Way Back Woods but still a lot less than what I like to risk at this point of the season.

Seems so sad to see that infrastructure sit unused.....

 

[pcampbell]

I would think tomorrow will be great with the warm up. Soften that up a bit. I am glad I was not the only one who was having a hard time stopping at times

 

[bdfreetuna]

Mt Ellen has great woods! I got my first good wood skiing in there last year. That mountain can hold a lot of snow in the trees

Glad you made the anniversary!

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Where is Bushmogulmaster and his grooming skills when you need him?

He's using his grooming skills out here where it snows and doesn't rain!!!

I do miss Glen Ellen, though. What an epic mountain. Someday she'll get all the love she deserves. :beer:

 

[steamboat1]

Great day at Mt. Ellen for their anniversary. To bad you didn't arrive until 11:am. 2-3 inches of fresh overnight made the morning turns pretty damn good.

Lunch & beer cost more than the lift ticket, lol.

Oh & sharpen your edges if you had trouble edging, I thought they did a pretty good job grooming & the snow held up well all day. Surprised there weren't more people. The lifts were walk on all day.