Power out a Sugarloaf ... No Problem!

[wa-loaf]

[h=5]Diesel back-up to the rescue:

Power outage across the resort right now due to heavy snow. SuperQuad and Skyline will be running on diesel, all other lifts will be on hold until power returns. (via Facebook)[/h]

 

[WJenness]

This appears to be the reason for the power failure:
https://twitter.com/iamryanlilly/status/281409743262732290

 

[wa-loaf]

Snowy tree on fire? Maybe there was transformer on or near it the blew?

 

[Nick]

That one tree takes down all the lifts??!!!

Did anyone read the sugarloaf article in Ski magazine this week?

 

[wa-loaf]

That one tree takes down all the lifts??!!!

Did anyone read the sugarloaf article in Ski magazine this week?

I've got 2 Ski magazines sitting on the table that I haven't even opened. I guess now I have a reason to look.

 

[4aprice]

Congrats to you Boston Area skiers. Maine made out very well. Go get it.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[speden]

Looks like the power wasn't out too long. And the trail count up there has exploded... 102 trails (465 acres) open. That must have been some storm up there.

 

[Conrad]

I was there that day! A few weeks ago I wrote up the following report on the Snow Journal:

Sugarloaf Trail Map:
http://skimap.org/data/448/7/1321452334.pdf

With a reported amount of 26" to 32" of snow over the past few days (including the day I went skiing), I took advantage of an opportunity to head up to Sugarloaf. I was on the lift 15 minutes after it opened so no first tracks. When I said hello to the liftie, he was surprised and said "everyone was pretty intense and not talking." However, on the first run, one of my skis got stuck in the powder leading me to a forced wipeout and the second run I did a jump and landed in powder and continued forward without my skis doing a complete somersault.

Later, as I waited for a friend at the Super Quad, the lift suddenly stopped and it became apparent that it wasn't a routine stoppage. What I soon realized was that the entire place had lost power. However, within 5 minutes, the backup diesel engine was running. At first they ran it slow, but I was surprised when they really cranked it up, running the entire detachable quad at normal speed! The nice thing was that they continued to let people on the lift along with Skyline. The 3 other lifts scheduled to operate were put on hold until the power outage ended about 2 hours later. About ten minutes after the power came back, I observed the switch between diesel to electricity on the Super Quad which actually took longer than the original switch (7-10 minutes) even though it was planned.

By the 2nd half of the day, it became hard to find trails that were closed. Even some glades were opened up. The trail count currently stands at 102. While the King Pine Quad was closed, I cut over all the way to Ripsaw and had a couple good runs there. While I had to leave around 2 pm to get back to UMF with plenty of time to spare before a 6pm final, it felt like a long day.

Photos of the day:
http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=galimg32456
http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=galimg32458
http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=galimg32457
http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=galimg32459