March 13th (Don't Crucify me!)

[billski]

Given all the issues Sugarbush has had with their lifts this year it would be quite the gamble for Thursday and Friday. Especially with 30+ mph winds and windchill values between -30 and -35 at mid mountain. Bush and Smuggs were our original choices but these factors (and a friend out of town) made us rethink it.

I'll bet MRG will be wicked awesome. Fixed grip, slow single, place to yourself. Oooooh....

 

[j law]

So who has the most "reliable" lifts in the wind? thoughts?

Gore has a fixed grip up top... and lower down as well if it's too windy.

Magic is always a crapshoot with lifts... Jay too.

 

[from_the_NEK]

Burke is usually pretty reliable. If it is too windy to run the Mid Burke HSQ, hopefully they can run the Willoughby (FGQ) instead. And then there is the Poma (surface lift), but it only goes 3/4's of the way up.

 

[St. Bear]

I'll bet MRG will be wicked awesome. Fixed grip, slow single, place to yourself. Oooooh....

Yeah, not like there's a strong local presence there. Strong enough to support a co-op, for instance.

 

[jrmagic]

If the lifts at the bush aren't running I can go to MRG, Stowe, Middlebury hell even killington is only an hour south. There are plenty of options....but one thing you can almost guarantee is that Magic will be running their lift. Although, if the red is down, i'm not sure how well the black handles wind. The red could run in a hurricane...

Black does pretty well also though definitely more exposes than red. Red is running fine though so it should be no problem other than nasty and cold

 

[2knees]

Black does pretty well also though definitely more exposes than red. Red is running fine though so it should be no problem other than nasty and cold

I can't remember the last time i rode the black. maybe in high school. For some reason i thought the red was down for the year but i'm very happy to be mistaken. Might be the choice for thursday if I can muster the balls to go out in that weather. Higher summit forecast for vermont has highs on thursday in the negative single digits with wind chills of more than 30 below.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Are you making reference to the wind?

Yes. As modeled, it could be dicey.

Gusts maps.

GFS

NAM

Canuck

 

[BenedictGomez]

18Z NAM Snowfall map

Keep in mind the NAM often overdoes the snowfall totals. It has a max here of 29".

 

[jrmagic]

Yes. As modeled, it could be dicey.

Gusts maps.

GFS

NAM

Canuck

Holy offshore gusts batman! That's km/h I assume so gusts in the 50s would equate to mid 30s in mph. While not fun that shouldn't pose a problem for red. For people on the other hand Brrrrrr!

 

[MadMadWorld]

Burke is usually pretty reliable. If it is too windy to run the Mid Burke HSQ, hopefully they can run the Willoughby (FGQ) instead. And then there is the Poma (surface lift), but it only goes 3/4's of the way up.

Now a Poma....that's the safest bet!

 

[billski]

Yeah, not like there's a strong local presence there. Strong enough to support a co-op, for instance.

actually, most of the shareholders are "from away"

 

[JDMRoma]

So who has the most "reliable" lifts in the wind? thoughts?

Im skiing Cannon on Friday…..if there is any Wind issues I can be at BrettonWoods in 20 minutes and have plenty of fun in the glades all day !

 

[j law]

Anyone have thoughts about which aspects of ski areas will get the most snow given the direction of this storm? I just read on Opensnow.com to avoid resorts with lifts that are exposed to the NW.

This is a really good way to spend my day... looking at different ski areas on googlemaps.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I'll bet MRG will be wicked awesome. Fixed grip, slow single, place to yourself. Oooooh....

MRG on a powder day? Ha! It's much busier than you think especially first thing in the AM. The single goes on wind hold more than most people would think. Some mountains like MRG and Smuggs will always have wind holds regardless of lift.

 

[billski]

MRG on a powder day? Ha! It's much busier than you think

Sorry, been there done that. Not so bad IMO.

 

[billski]

Anyone have thoughts about which aspects of ski areas will get the most snow given the direction of this storm? I just read on Opensnow.com to avoid resorts with lifts that are exposed to the NW.

This is a really good way to spend my day... looking at different ski areas on googlemaps.

That's easy for a westerner to say. Most of the NE areas were build N-NW to preserve the snow. What's more important is what direction the lift faces.

 

[from_the_NEK]

Actually lifts that run parallel with the NW winds can stay open more consistently (e.g. Burke's summit quads, Wildcat's HSQ). Lifts that run at an angle to the NW wind (Jay Peak's Green Mtn Flyer) are more susceptible to closure due to the chairs swinging sideways.

 

[MadMadWorld]

Actually lifts that run parallel with the NW winds can stay open more consistently (e.g. Burke's summit quads, Wildcat's HSQ). Lifts that run at an angle to the NW wind (Jay Peak's Green Mtn Flyer) are more susceptible to closure due to the chairs swinging sideways.

Good points. The wind is brutal at Wildcat but it blows straight up the mountain for the most part. The GM Freezer definitely swings a lot!

 

[BenedictGomez]

Anyone see the Euro snowfall map? Those Euro maps are getting harder to find post that dumbazz WeatherBoy Weather fraud.

 

[lstone84]

Actually lifts that run parallel with the NW winds can stay open more consistently (e.g. Burke's summit quads, Wildcat's HSQ). Lifts that run at an angle to the NW wind (Jay Peak's Green Mtn Flyer) are more susceptible to closure due to the chairs swinging sideways.

'Wind speeds will be strong but out of the north and northwest Thursday, a friendly direction for the MRG lifts.'

This is from the Single Chair Weather Blog, and MRG's single runs NE to SW, which is perpendicular...

What's the correct answer...