Loon South Peak Expansion

[Smellytele]

I can figure out most of these, but what are BBTS and PROC?

Proc proctor academy?

 

[2Planker]

I can figure out most of these, but what are BBTS and PROC?

Waterville’s Black and Blue Trail Smashers is the stupidest name ever.
Im thinkin PROC is Proctor Academy in Andover which has a tiny hill but a good race team

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

Might not be more of an "avoid on weekends" ski area in New England than Loon. But on weekdays, I like it if natural snow is bad elsewhere. They have some of the better snowmaking in NH

That was my impression too. I’m planning a Loon/Sunday River trip with a few people Super Bowl weekend. Probably/hopefully my only weekend skiing this winter.

So glad I ski weekdays now.

 

[thebigo]

Correct: BBTS = waterville. Excellent club with serious legacy and a stupid name.

Proctor had negligible or no youth program only a few years ago. Vail BS caused the Sunapee families to explore options and the answer was proctor. Bunch of sunapee coaches and kids now at proctor, also some ragged coaches and kids. Proctor trains SL weeknights at blackwater, GS weekends at ragged. Cardigan also trains at ragged.

As for loon training at BW, every club ocassionally trains at other mountains. Off the top of my head ragged kids trained at attitash, dartmouth, gunstock, loon, wildcat, pats, sunapee last year.

 

[2Planker]

That was my impression too. I’m planning a Loon/Sunday River trip with a few people Super Bowl weekend. Probably/hopefully my only weekend skiing this winter.

So glad I ski weekdays now.

Can’t wait till i retire in a year

 

[thebigo]

That was my impression too. I’m planning a Loon/Sunday River trip with a few people Super Bowl weekend. Probably/hopefully my only weekend skiing this winter.

So glad I ski weekdays now.

Get there early but yes, loon early season snowmaking is positively impressive.

 

[deadheadskier]

Correct: BBTS = waterville. Excellent club with serious legacy and a stupid name.

Proctor had negligible or no youth program only a few years ago. Vail BS caused the Sunapee families to explore options and the answer was proctor. Bunch of sunapee coaches and kids now at proctor, also some ragged coaches and kids. Proctor trains SL weeknights at blackwater, GS weekends at ragged. Cardigan also trains at ragged.

As for loon training at BW, every club ocassionally trains at other mountains. Off the top of my head ragged kids trained at attitash, dartmouth, gunstock, loon, wildcat, pats, sunapee last year.

I wouldn't put a private high school program in the same conversation as the race clubs. It's a bit different because you're paying $60k a year to send your kid to a private boarding school to get on that team.

Proctor should be compared to Tilton, Kimball Union, Brewster, Holderness, Gould, New Hampton etc.

Or does the Proctor Academy ski area offer other programs for kids who don't go to school there?

 

[thebigo]

I wouldn't put a private high school program in the same conversation as the race clubs. It's a bit different because you're paying $60k a year to send your kid to a private boarding school to get on that team.

Proctor should be compared to Tilton, Kimball Union, Brewster, Holderness, Gould, New Hampton etc.

Or does the Proctor Academy ski area offer other programs for kids who don't go to school there?

Correct - proctor and cardigan run western division NHARA youth programs for kids 8 - 15 competing against sunapee, ragged, whaleback and ford sayre (dartmouth). Proctor is new, cardigan has been running their youth programs for a while. Both cardigan and proctor rent training space from ragged, typically newfound not yankee, apparently fees for the mountain are significant.

 

[machski]

First day at Loon this year, not bad. Did t ski there much last year but noticed they abandoned their ability to make snow on Picaroon. They used to drag guns and hose from 7Bros to make Pic but they redid the lines for Klik hydrants on 7Bros And abandoned the old pipes and standard hydrants. Hmmm, odd for a low elevation resort to abandon snowmaking on a low elevation run.

Also, they added RFID gates to North Peak Express but only the "normal" entrance side to the maze. Guess they are just trying catch any lift poachers midweek as they said East Basin isn't getting any.

 

[thebigo]

First day at Loon this year, not bad. Did t ski there much last year but noticed they abandoned their ability to make snow on Picaroon. They used to drag guns and hose from 7Bros to make Pic but they redid the lines for Klik hydrants on 7Bros And abandoned the old pipes and standard hydrants. Hmmm, odd for a low elevation resort to abandon snowmaking on a low elevation run.

Also, they added RFID gates to North Peak Express but only the "normal" entrance side to the maze. Guess they are just trying catch any lift poachers midweek as they said East Basin isn't getting any.

Also at loon today, probably best day of the week. The new scanners at north suck, always appreciated skiing directly on without stopping, for some reason my pass never scans the first time.

 

[Edd]

The new scanners at north suck, always appreciated skiing directly on without stopping, for some reason my pass never scans the first time.

Weird how some RFID cards are like that, with an apparently mandatory first-swipe-failure, and the second swipe is always fine.

 

[Newpylong]

Also at loon today, probably best day of the week. The new scanners at north suck, always appreciated skiing directly on without stopping, for some reason my pass never scans the first time.

Funny, I think last year was the first year that my entire family wasn't denied on their first scans at Ragged repeatedly.

 

[thebigo]

Our ragged passes are bulletproof, always scan the first time. Had a several year old boyne pass that also always scanned, one random day last year it started generating an error message. Loon gave me a new pass that has never scanned on the first try. Same at SR and Loon, I enter the scanner, nothing happens, back out, reenter and it scans. No idea why?

 

[machski]

Also at loon today, probably best day of the week. The new scanners at north suck, always appreciated skiing directly on without stopping, for some reason my pass never scans the first time.

Hmmm, odd. Mine has picked up quickly 1st time at North all day. Looks like upslope snow machine in full effect in VT so pivoting tomorrow. Bush it is!

 

[Smellytele]

When I was at Loon last Friday it seemed that season pass/Ikon pass holders had the issue but not the day ticket RFID cards at first then I started having the issue as well. Luckily no lines, hopefully they work out the bugs sooner rather than later before the loon crowds start showing up.

 

[doublediamond]

Lot of issues with cards not reading at SR on J8 this weekend as well. So not a Loon-only issue but perhaps a Boyne issue.

 

[Smellytele]

No issue with the gondola RFID though.

 

[machski]

I was a bit shocked at the lack of snowmaking Loon was doing today. Pretty much just Brookway and Sarsaparilla. They had Little Sister on for a bit but shut that down around 1030a. Shocking considering it's only Lower Bearclaw and 7Bros all the way down right now. 7 Bros Express looks ready to load, if they add that it will be an absolute S-show this weekend.

 

[thebigo]

Brookway takes a shit ton of snow, it is a lousy trail to ski but necessary for operations. North went down Tuesday and a bunch of people were stuck, they were all giving patrol shit after hiking out.

Less than optimal temperatures at the base for the next week. Best guess, they gave brookway and the beginner terrain every cubic foot of air they had today while temps cooperated. May be able to blow upper flume and walking boss next week when there is no chance to blow down low.

Edit - they were also blowing snubber.

 

[machski]

Brookway takes a shit ton of snow, it is a lousy trail to ski but necessary for operations. North went down Tuesday and a bunch of people were stuck, they were all giving patrol shit after hiking out.

Less than optimal temperatures at the base for the next week. Best guess, they gave brookway and the beginner terrain every cubic foot of air they had today while temps cooperated. May be able to blow upper flume and walking boss next week when there is no chance to blow down low.

Edit - they were also blowing snubber.

Even if they were using their old air hogs (which they are not), they would have air to spare while making those low runs. Not sure their gameplay but I'd they really don't get low level temps for a while, gonna be rough as customer interest picks up.