Snowcover/Base Depths: Killington Vs. Sugarbush (pics)

[BushMogulMaster]

You be the judge:

Killington mid-day 3/23:

Mt. Ellen at Sugarbush late-day 3/23

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Just pointing out where the best spring skiing is!

 

[Newpylong]

Of course it is, it was last year : )_ !

 

[MrMagic]

skied that big bare wide trail at k-mart only two days ago- so so sad . sugar bush here i come i guess !!!!!

 

[millerm277]

That's a bit of an unfair pic...Ovation hasn't had any snow blown on it this year, why didn't you take a pic of Superstar, which is actually prepped for Spring Skiing? The Natural snow on Ovation/Old Superstar there doesn't last long. I'm not denying that Sugarbush has a better snowpack, but you took a picture of a trail that was open less than 10 days this year anyway.

 

[snoseek]

do you own stock in sugarbush? maybe this year sugarbush is better, maybe.


yeah o.k. your right, but superstar and trails off k1 have very deep snow depths.

p.s. i'll take the loaf on perfect corn over any of them.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Ovation was crap even in the climax of the season, I'm not surprised. How are the other trails holding up?

 

[2knees]

lol, you should post this over at kzone. the killington cult will go nuts over it.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Ovation was crap even in the climax of the season, I'm not surprised. How are the other trails holding up?

Not great. They don't all have significant bare spots (though many of them do), but the base depth is WAY lower than I expected.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

That's a bit of an unfair pic...Ovation hasn't had any snow blown on it this year, why didn't you take a pic of Superstar, which is actually prepped for Spring Skiing? The Natural snow on Ovation/Old Superstar there doesn't last long. I'm not denying that Sugarbush has a better snowpack, but you took a picture of a trail that was open less than 10 days this year anyway.

Well, the fact that Ovation hasn't had any snow blown on it is irrelevant, since the picture of Mt. Ellen shows five trails that haven't had any snow blown on them and have complete coverage, and pretty good depth (Tumbler, Hammerhead, Encore, Bravo, Black Diamond).

Here are a couple more K pics for your viewing pleasure:

These are all other random trails that had little to no cover (none of them are Ovation or the Fiddle).

Don't misinterpret... I'm not just knocking Killington. I've had a lot of fun there before, and if there were actually bumps there yesterday, I would have loved it. I was just completely surprised by the lack of cover and depth compared to my home mountain. Killington is often reputed for snow quality and depth for spring skiing, and they just don't have it. Even Superstar is thin. No bare spots, but way thin. I give it about two weeks before some nasty bare spots take over unless we get some decent amount of snow.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

lol, you should post this over at kzone. the killington cult will go nuts over it.

I wouldn't dare! ;-)

 

[Skier75]

WOW! That's pretty sad looking, now that really has me wondering how Attitash is doing....

 

[snoseek]

attitash cover was very good yesterday.

 

[dropKickMurphy]

I was at Killington on Sunday, 3/18 and Sugarbush on Wednesday, 3/21. Two very different, but spectacular days of skiing. Both days had some of the very best ski conditions I've ever encountered. Never once heard the sound of metal on ice either day.

Fluffy dry snow floating down on Killington all day Sunday. Champagne powder covering everything from first chair to final run.

I have to say I'm shocked to see those pictures taken only 5 days later. Weren't Monday and Tuesday fairly cold days as well? How could lose that much snow in so
short a time?

To be honest, I found the conditions at SB on Wednesday to be somewhat....perfect. No sign of a cloud or a lift line the entire day. Superb snow conditions on the groomed as well as the non groomed trails.

Groomers were smooth as silk and fast. Real packed powder, as opposed to groomed frozen slush. You could easily make a snowball with it; but if you threw it as hard as you could at the face of someone standing 8 feet away, they'd barely feel it. Organ Grinder, Elbow, Cruiser, Hot Shot/Waterfall all were great for carving effortless high speed turns in the sunshine.

Temps seemed to be just above freezing at the base, just below freezing on the slopes. Very comfortable in the sun, and the trail conditions were just as good at 4:30 as the were at 9:00.

 

[millerm277]

On the additional pics you've posted, they appear to all be natural snow trails...

Not sure what #1 is, Great Bear?
#2. Thimble/Upper Needles, that one part has no snowmaking, and lots of rocks...it usually looks like that.
#3. No idea either

Also Killington loses snow quickly because of a couple reasons, Royal Flush, Bear, Sunrise and South Ridge all are in full sun all day, Ovation doesn't hold snow well, so when it doesn't get man-made, it will all blow off in a day.

With that said, ASC hasn't really made much effort at Killington this year (well, even less than their usual), probably due to the sale, hopefully we'll see better things there soon. I think that given the snow depths I've seen, they may not make their May 7th date.

 

[MrMagic]

[QUOTE.

With that said, ASC hasn't really made much effort at Killington this year (well, even less than their usual), probably due to the sale, hopefully we'll see better things there soon. I think that given the snow depths I've seen, they may not make their May 7th date.[/QUOTE]


i noticed this true, esp on superstar. there was no giant pile of snow on top like there usally is, while some of those pictures might be unfair, it is true that killington is in rough shape, as i skied it monday through thursday, the rain and the 45 deg. temps dont help. as for may 7th we shall see.

 

[AdironRider]

This is just a bit biased IMO ......

 

[PowderDeprived]

The pics dont lie, Sugarbush really does have better cover then the Great Almighty Killington, and the only really burnt out parts are the bottom of Lower FIS. Even the woods are still skiing nicly, as well as most of the natural terrain, and everything else. The cover at South is a bit thin here and there in spots where the wind usualy works its toll, but the cover at Mt Ellen is Flawless except for the botom of lower FIS.

 

[AdironRider]

Im not saying the Bush doesnt have better cover, I agree that they more than likely do, but all the pics of Killington, minus the overall shot of Ovation (which is a pretty bad comparo if it was only open ten days this year), were zoomed up shots on individual bare spots. Do the same on bare spots at the bush and it would look just as bad. Itd be like taking shots of Empire at Whiteface (natural snow only, rarely open) and saying theyre screwed for cover just because that trail doesnt have much snow.

 

[MrMagic]

if I remember right didnt sugar bush go head to head with killington years back to see who could stay open the longest? Killington won............. that time