Moe Ghoul
New member
Dates: 12/17-12/20
Resorts: Sugarbush, Mt. Ellen, MRG
Conditons: Somewhere between very good to superb
We pulled into Warren around 7:30PM on Tuesday as snow was beginning to fall, checked into the Sugar Lodge and headed out for dinner. Ended up eating at the Jon Egan Pub and then walked over to the Localfolk Smokehouse for beers, shots and pool.
Wed: Up at 5AM to about 4-6" of new snow, low teen weather, no wind, snow persisted throughout the day with good visiblility. We did the continental bfast at the Lodge (Sugar lodge is reasonable, clean, friendly staff, 1/4 mile from the base lodge) and were at Sugarbush's Lincoln Peak Village at 8AM to check out the facilities and get our lift tix. Lifts started at 9AM. The only lifts spinning were Valley House and Heaven's Gate Triple, so we headed up on Valley House, 7th chair, and traversed over to Heavensgate triple. We did runs on Jester, Organgrinder, Ripchord, and Paradise. Paradise was fairly beat up conditionswise, lotsa exposure, rock and stumps, scrape offs, thin cover. The slopes in MRV took a beating the previous Sun/Mon due to rain and icing, so some damage was getting reapired by the new snow falling. Jester was smooth and fluffed with fresh snow, Organgrinder and Ripchord had plenty of fresh snow dunes and drift with a fair amount of icy whales and mild bumps that were windblown and exposed. Basically you skied the tree lines on either side or picked a line in the middle that took you from one pile of fresh to another. We never bothered studying trailmaps for the 4 days we skied, so trail naming is kinda sketchy. We basically skied up to a slope, if it looked good, we skied it. We headed down to the lodge for a coffee and slice of pizza around 11:30 and headed over the Superbravo Lift which had opened up. We spent the PM session skiing Murphy's glade, Birdland, Stein's Run? which was nicely bumped and Murphy's glade was getting bumped. The snow persisted and refreshed. adding accumulation so that by day's end the total snowfall was 6-8" with higher levels from the drift. We finished the day with 2 more runs off Heaven's gate on Organgrinder and Ripchord, with a decent line of bumps developing along the sides, especially skier's left. We called it a day around 3:30, hit the bar for some Longtrail IPA and Hibernators. Back to the room, more beer, a hot tub, then dinner at the Hydeaway Inn, sat at the bar with Mitch the B/T, cheddar stuffed meatloaf platter and a few rounds of pool before we sacked out for the nite.
Thurs: Snowfall ebbed and flowed thru the nite with a 2-4" accumualtion overnite, a little more at the higher elevations. We skipped the lodge bfast and hit the Paradise deli for egg,.sausage and cheese muffins and got a turkey sub to go for lunch. Sugarbush food prices were a little steep. Got to Lincoln Peak Village by 8:"45AM and were skiing by 9:15. Temp was in low teens, no wind again, overcast. Pretty much skied the same program as Wednesday, but spent about 2 hours skiing over at Castlerock which had opened up. Trails we skied were Castlerock run, Rumble and the Liftline. Additional snow overnite had added to the new coverage and this terrain is a bit more challenging in many respects. Somewhat similar to Paradise. Control was the name of the game as we worked our way down a variety of conditions including ice, scrape off, bumps, small drops and plenty of fresh snow as well. We headed back to base lodge for lunch and finished off the day skiing off the Superbravo and Heavensgate lift. Fred was toast by 2 and I skied 4 more runs before calling it quits by 3:30PM. By that time the clouds were breaking and we saw our first sun in the valley. All in all, the new snow for 2 days really turned things around since Monday, so we were thankful that we went up on Tuesday and not earlier. Stormchasing is a blast! Overall, there was plenty of fresh snow, and they were running the blowers on numerous slopes to gear up for the weekend and holiday crowd. More Longtrails and a coupla #9's, hottub and back to the Hydeaway where Bob the B/T set us up with a NY strip platter and lotsa booze. We ended up getting smashed, shooting pool, meeting some locals, making snow angels on the deck, cigars next to the gas heater on the deck, and more drinks. I think our total tab was over 200 for the nite and the ride back to the room was an epic struggle since snow had resumed falling around dinnertime and continued off and on throughout the nite. At one point, Ihad to come to a complete stop on German Flats Rd. cuz I couldn't figure out what side of the road we were on. Fred ended up sleep walking at 3AM and ended up sleeping on a sofa in the Lodge lobby is his underwear cuz he locked himself out and breaking down the room door wouldn't wake me up.
Friday: Later start, up around 7:45 and we were both moving like the Slowski's. We decided to head over to Mt. Ellen after hitting the Paradise Deli for provisions. By the time we got our act together, we didn't get on the slopes until about 10:30AM. Mt. Ellen Lodge has a 60's feel to it, it's smaller but everyone is superfriendly and we ended up taking the Green Mtn Express to the Summit Quad, lapping Rim Run, Elbow, and looking good. Snow was still falling moderately, so conditions had become fantastic with lotsa untracked snow. It was noticeably colder, with temps in the single digits to low teens all day. Snow quality overnite was drier and more powdery than the earlier dumps. I think folks use the term "powder" a little too loosely, calling any fresh snow that isn't thumbnail size and sticky, powder. We did one run down Upper FIS which was pretty much a mistake considering that I was still legally drunk and my brain was pretty much disconnected for the whole day. We ended up skiing big long pillowy runs with nice soft bumps and lines all day off the Summit and Nothridge lifts, stopping for our hoagie lunch and calling it a day around 3:30PM. Snow was ankle to midcalf deep all day.Snow continued to fall throughout the day and temps remained in the teens maybe low 20's by late afternoon. We called it quits, did the tub, took a power snooze and headed out to the Slidebrook Tavern on German Flats Rd. We had already called home Thurs. and extended our trip into Saturday, so MRG was on deck for Sat. Slidebrook Tavern ended up being a really good time, we got there around 6:30PM, road conditions were getting worse so we went there cuz it was very close to our lodge. It ended up being a very laid back stoner bar, the B/T was pie eyed and couldn't stop talking once he got started. I opted to not drink all day and stuck to the safety program. We ended up sharing a burger, quesadilla and a chimichanga, all came with fries. I stuck to ginger ales and safety sessions outside as the snow came down more densely and it was some of the most beautiful snow I've ever seen. Perfect transluscent crystals, sparkling like glass and diamonds. We stuck around until about 10:30, 2 guys from Trey Anastasio's band (not Phish) a side project, I guess, were doing instrumental sets in the bar. The one guy's name was Russ. Folks started coming in, I played 2 games of Foosball and kicked some hotshot boarder's butt.
We dragged our butts outta there it was lights out by 11.
Sat: Feeling good after a good nite's sleep, we had packed up the nite before, checked outta Sugar Lodge by 7:30AM, hit the Paradise Deli one last time for the usual, and made our way over to MRG. This was my first time there, so I saw it through the eyes of a child going to Disneyland. It was bitter cold, 6 Degees, no wind, still some steady snowfall coming down. The unconfirmed snow total was 15-18", but who's gonna quibble about a few inches more or less. For those that haven't been there, you have to go at least once for the experience. It's like a time capsule for the ski purist, crunchy granola, eco greeny, a hold out against complicated technology, a truly great ski experience, visually, facilitywise and terrain wise. We booted up in the lodge, I opted for 4 layers and we headed for the double chair, I had a "Dead set" tailored for MRG on my Nano and we were calf deep in fresh snow for 4 hours. We alternated between the double and the iconic single chair lifts, we never looked at a trailmap, we never bothered looking at trail names. Everything was powdery and pillowy, with snow avalanches coming off the trees as we zipped between trails thru the woods, stopping frequently to take in the scenery, bumps galore, tons of untracked to play in. It really was magical and quasi supernatural. It's a "must" on any skier's list and we will hit it again before this season ends. As we reluctantly called it a day, the sun burst thru the sky, the clouds cleared and blu skies emerged. That was our window to hit the road before the next storm moved in. We made a generous "donation" at the General Stark Ski Store, picking up the classic stickers, I got a nice Black Daimond soft shell and MRG cap, a VT bear with a MRG shirt for the wife. We came REAAAAAAAALLLLLY close to calling our wives and extending the trip for another day, but holidays and good judgement prevailed. Since I couldn't stay, I filled my 24 oz foam coffee cup with MRG crystal snow and it rode in the skybox all the way home. It's in my freezer. I have no idea why, but it felt right. Maybe I'll bring it to the Poconos and spread it like ashes on one of the Poke hills, lol. The drive from Warren to Rutland was like driving on a hardpacked groomer, and the roads didn't clear until we got to the NY thruway. 9 hours later, exhausted, tired, but feeling reborn, we got memories to last a lifetime. Can't wait to go back there again.
A few pix from MRG.
Resorts: Sugarbush, Mt. Ellen, MRG
Conditons: Somewhere between very good to superb
We pulled into Warren around 7:30PM on Tuesday as snow was beginning to fall, checked into the Sugar Lodge and headed out for dinner. Ended up eating at the Jon Egan Pub and then walked over to the Localfolk Smokehouse for beers, shots and pool.
Wed: Up at 5AM to about 4-6" of new snow, low teen weather, no wind, snow persisted throughout the day with good visiblility. We did the continental bfast at the Lodge (Sugar lodge is reasonable, clean, friendly staff, 1/4 mile from the base lodge) and were at Sugarbush's Lincoln Peak Village at 8AM to check out the facilities and get our lift tix. Lifts started at 9AM. The only lifts spinning were Valley House and Heaven's Gate Triple, so we headed up on Valley House, 7th chair, and traversed over to Heavensgate triple. We did runs on Jester, Organgrinder, Ripchord, and Paradise. Paradise was fairly beat up conditionswise, lotsa exposure, rock and stumps, scrape offs, thin cover. The slopes in MRV took a beating the previous Sun/Mon due to rain and icing, so some damage was getting reapired by the new snow falling. Jester was smooth and fluffed with fresh snow, Organgrinder and Ripchord had plenty of fresh snow dunes and drift with a fair amount of icy whales and mild bumps that were windblown and exposed. Basically you skied the tree lines on either side or picked a line in the middle that took you from one pile of fresh to another. We never bothered studying trailmaps for the 4 days we skied, so trail naming is kinda sketchy. We basically skied up to a slope, if it looked good, we skied it. We headed down to the lodge for a coffee and slice of pizza around 11:30 and headed over the Superbravo Lift which had opened up. We spent the PM session skiing Murphy's glade, Birdland, Stein's Run? which was nicely bumped and Murphy's glade was getting bumped. The snow persisted and refreshed. adding accumulation so that by day's end the total snowfall was 6-8" with higher levels from the drift. We finished the day with 2 more runs off Heaven's gate on Organgrinder and Ripchord, with a decent line of bumps developing along the sides, especially skier's left. We called it a day around 3:30, hit the bar for some Longtrail IPA and Hibernators. Back to the room, more beer, a hot tub, then dinner at the Hydeaway Inn, sat at the bar with Mitch the B/T, cheddar stuffed meatloaf platter and a few rounds of pool before we sacked out for the nite.
Thurs: Snowfall ebbed and flowed thru the nite with a 2-4" accumualtion overnite, a little more at the higher elevations. We skipped the lodge bfast and hit the Paradise deli for egg,.sausage and cheese muffins and got a turkey sub to go for lunch. Sugarbush food prices were a little steep. Got to Lincoln Peak Village by 8:"45AM and were skiing by 9:15. Temp was in low teens, no wind again, overcast. Pretty much skied the same program as Wednesday, but spent about 2 hours skiing over at Castlerock which had opened up. Trails we skied were Castlerock run, Rumble and the Liftline. Additional snow overnite had added to the new coverage and this terrain is a bit more challenging in many respects. Somewhat similar to Paradise. Control was the name of the game as we worked our way down a variety of conditions including ice, scrape off, bumps, small drops and plenty of fresh snow as well. We headed back to base lodge for lunch and finished off the day skiing off the Superbravo and Heavensgate lift. Fred was toast by 2 and I skied 4 more runs before calling it quits by 3:30PM. By that time the clouds were breaking and we saw our first sun in the valley. All in all, the new snow for 2 days really turned things around since Monday, so we were thankful that we went up on Tuesday and not earlier. Stormchasing is a blast! Overall, there was plenty of fresh snow, and they were running the blowers on numerous slopes to gear up for the weekend and holiday crowd. More Longtrails and a coupla #9's, hottub and back to the Hydeaway where Bob the B/T set us up with a NY strip platter and lotsa booze. We ended up getting smashed, shooting pool, meeting some locals, making snow angels on the deck, cigars next to the gas heater on the deck, and more drinks. I think our total tab was over 200 for the nite and the ride back to the room was an epic struggle since snow had resumed falling around dinnertime and continued off and on throughout the nite. At one point, Ihad to come to a complete stop on German Flats Rd. cuz I couldn't figure out what side of the road we were on. Fred ended up sleep walking at 3AM and ended up sleeping on a sofa in the Lodge lobby is his underwear cuz he locked himself out and breaking down the room door wouldn't wake me up.
Friday: Later start, up around 7:45 and we were both moving like the Slowski's. We decided to head over to Mt. Ellen after hitting the Paradise Deli for provisions. By the time we got our act together, we didn't get on the slopes until about 10:30AM. Mt. Ellen Lodge has a 60's feel to it, it's smaller but everyone is superfriendly and we ended up taking the Green Mtn Express to the Summit Quad, lapping Rim Run, Elbow, and looking good. Snow was still falling moderately, so conditions had become fantastic with lotsa untracked snow. It was noticeably colder, with temps in the single digits to low teens all day. Snow quality overnite was drier and more powdery than the earlier dumps. I think folks use the term "powder" a little too loosely, calling any fresh snow that isn't thumbnail size and sticky, powder. We did one run down Upper FIS which was pretty much a mistake considering that I was still legally drunk and my brain was pretty much disconnected for the whole day. We ended up skiing big long pillowy runs with nice soft bumps and lines all day off the Summit and Nothridge lifts, stopping for our hoagie lunch and calling it a day around 3:30PM. Snow was ankle to midcalf deep all day.Snow continued to fall throughout the day and temps remained in the teens maybe low 20's by late afternoon. We called it quits, did the tub, took a power snooze and headed out to the Slidebrook Tavern on German Flats Rd. We had already called home Thurs. and extended our trip into Saturday, so MRG was on deck for Sat. Slidebrook Tavern ended up being a really good time, we got there around 6:30PM, road conditions were getting worse so we went there cuz it was very close to our lodge. It ended up being a very laid back stoner bar, the B/T was pie eyed and couldn't stop talking once he got started. I opted to not drink all day and stuck to the safety program. We ended up sharing a burger, quesadilla and a chimichanga, all came with fries. I stuck to ginger ales and safety sessions outside as the snow came down more densely and it was some of the most beautiful snow I've ever seen. Perfect transluscent crystals, sparkling like glass and diamonds. We stuck around until about 10:30, 2 guys from Trey Anastasio's band (not Phish) a side project, I guess, were doing instrumental sets in the bar. The one guy's name was Russ. Folks started coming in, I played 2 games of Foosball and kicked some hotshot boarder's butt.
We dragged our butts outta there it was lights out by 11.Sat: Feeling good after a good nite's sleep, we had packed up the nite before, checked outta Sugar Lodge by 7:30AM, hit the Paradise Deli one last time for the usual, and made our way over to MRG. This was my first time there, so I saw it through the eyes of a child going to Disneyland. It was bitter cold, 6 Degees, no wind, still some steady snowfall coming down. The unconfirmed snow total was 15-18", but who's gonna quibble about a few inches more or less. For those that haven't been there, you have to go at least once for the experience. It's like a time capsule for the ski purist, crunchy granola, eco greeny, a hold out against complicated technology, a truly great ski experience, visually, facilitywise and terrain wise. We booted up in the lodge, I opted for 4 layers and we headed for the double chair, I had a "Dead set" tailored for MRG on my Nano and we were calf deep in fresh snow for 4 hours. We alternated between the double and the iconic single chair lifts, we never looked at a trailmap, we never bothered looking at trail names. Everything was powdery and pillowy, with snow avalanches coming off the trees as we zipped between trails thru the woods, stopping frequently to take in the scenery, bumps galore, tons of untracked to play in. It really was magical and quasi supernatural. It's a "must" on any skier's list and we will hit it again before this season ends. As we reluctantly called it a day, the sun burst thru the sky, the clouds cleared and blu skies emerged. That was our window to hit the road before the next storm moved in. We made a generous "donation" at the General Stark Ski Store, picking up the classic stickers, I got a nice Black Daimond soft shell and MRG cap, a VT bear with a MRG shirt for the wife. We came REAAAAAAAALLLLLY close to calling our wives and extending the trip for another day, but holidays and good judgement prevailed. Since I couldn't stay, I filled my 24 oz foam coffee cup with MRG crystal snow and it rode in the skybox all the way home. It's in my freezer. I have no idea why, but it felt right. Maybe I'll bring it to the Poconos and spread it like ashes on one of the Poke hills, lol. The drive from Warren to Rutland was like driving on a hardpacked groomer, and the roads didn't clear until we got to the NY thruway. 9 hours later, exhausted, tired, but feeling reborn, we got memories to last a lifetime. Can't wait to go back there again.
A few pix from MRG.
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