Zand
Well-known member
Date(s) Skied: 3/26/06-3/27/06
Resort or Ski Area: Sugarbush, VT
Conditions: Extremely Variable
Trip Report:
Sunday
Finally, after a 2 year absence, I made the return to my favorite resort. I decided to take off from MRG at 1:00 just to take last runs on Castlerock of the year. Unless you want to hike over from Lincoln Peak, it's over.
First run was up the Gatehouse Express (what's a high speed quad? oh yeah... this! I haven't ridden one in 3 weeks. And while we're at it, that's what a snowboard looks like, OK) and down Castlerock Connection. Pretty much bare the whole way.
Up the Double, I took Middle Earth. Upper was perfect spring bumps with a few bare spots to go along with them. Lower was horrible. Bare spots spanning the trail about every 50 feet as well as the bare final runout. It was like being back at MRG.
Took another ride up the double and went down Castlerock run. Great first half of the trail, just like Middle Earth. At the Troll Road crossing, I looked down and it was pretty bad looking, so I went down Troll Road. I peeled off onto Cotillion which was good at the beginning, but got pretty bad. Jumped back on Troll Road which was bad itself by that point. Decided that was it for Castlerock and took the Runout, which was a lot like the Connection from Gatehouse.
I needed a nice easy run, so I went to the summit (the run down Downspout was extremely icy) and took Jester top to bottom. Fun trail with tons of turns and switchbacks. Long and winding, it took me almost 10 minutes at a pretty good speed.
Went back to the summit and tried Sigi's Ripcord. Steep, bumpy, and troughs that were icy as hell. Went down lower Paradise which had softer bumps. Took Lower Downspout to the bottom which was pretty fun.
Had time for one last lower mountain run, so I took Super Bravo up and went down Spring Fling (almost did Stein's, but decided not to after the freak show on Ripcord). Fling was pretty bumped up and full of Mashed Potatoes. A good way to finish off the day, as well as my legs.
Monday
Got off to a late start because the hotel forgot to send a wake up call. Didn't matter. Pulled into the Ellen parking lot at 9:30to find out GMX was down for mechanical. Waited around there for a few minutes, then decided to take the oppurtunity for an easy warmup. Took Sunny D Double up to Crackerjack. Fast groomed run.
GMX finally opened around 10:20 and I got first chair. Went all the way to the summit, and being the 100% bluebird day that it was, took a run down Panorama. What a friggen view. Better than Skyway Ledges at Sunapee. Kept going down Rim Run all the way back down to the bottom of the Summit Quad.
Took another run, this time Rim Run to Elbow. I had about 5th tracks on Elbow, so it was still awesome. Went to the bottom on Cruiser (nice original name there) to find out GMX was down for the day and decided that was it for Mt. Ellen as the bump runs were still frozen over and south would be better in the sun.
Pulled into the south parking lot at 11:30 and went to the top of North Lynx. Skiied an excellent run down Birch Run. Nice soft snow the entire way with a few bumps lines popping up every so often. Went down Sleeper as well which was full of bare spots as well as extremely firm snow due to the shade.
Took another ride up Gatehouse and took a run down Hot Shot and Waterfall. they were excellent soft potatoes with a few bare spots on the Waterfall headwall. Took that to the bottom and over to Super Bravo.
Went to the summit next run and skiied Upper Jester to Lower Organgrinder. Jester was extremely fast. Organgrinder had soft snow and potatoes (that's lower, I'll give you the night-and-day comparison to upper later on).
Had lunch around 12:30 and got back out for a nice run down Spring Fling. Those potaotes were rockin today. Probably the best spring run I've ever taken.
Next run was Murphy's (not-a-) Glade to Lower Birdland. Murphy's was firm and pretty icy. Lower Birdland just had this narrow ribbon down skiier's left that was barely skiable (not even skiable in a few areas). Being the adventurous type, I took it anyway. Tough run.
Next, I attempted Stein's. As soon as I dropped into the first trough, the ice sent me shooting across the trail and into the woods on skier's right. I decided right then to hike back up and forget about it. Took Lixi's Twist which was pretty much a less steep Stein's, another horror show. Found a bailout to Spring Fling.
Next was a run down Snowball to Racer's Edge. It was pretty similar to Fling besides the greater amount of shade which made it a little more firm to the right.
Next up was another run down Birch Run. The potatoes were so thick, it was a workout just trying to keep your ski tips from sinking. Took Waterfall to the bottom which was still nice.
Next run was Organgrinder top-to-bottom. Upper Organgrinder, besides about a 5 foot strip down skier's left, was a skating rink. Made it down trying to stay as far to the left as I could and then took a nice run down Lower Organgrinder. Still the nice potatoes.
Went back to the summit and went down Jester. Still smooth, fast, and firm. Didn't ski it to the bottom, but went back up Heaven's Gate and then did Jester top-to-bottom.
By then, it was 3:45, so I took one last rip down Spring Fling. Still the nice potatoes top-to-bottom. Glad it was last run, I was fried after it was over.
So, a great spring weekend in the MRV. I definitely hope I make it back next year in midwinter. I'll be at Killington next weekend (Sunday and Monday) to close out my season. I might go to Wawa Saturday night to say goodbye to them for the season as I'll miss closing day Sunday.
Resort or Ski Area: Sugarbush, VT
Conditions: Extremely Variable
Trip Report:
Sunday
Finally, after a 2 year absence, I made the return to my favorite resort. I decided to take off from MRG at 1:00 just to take last runs on Castlerock of the year. Unless you want to hike over from Lincoln Peak, it's over.
First run was up the Gatehouse Express (what's a high speed quad? oh yeah... this! I haven't ridden one in 3 weeks. And while we're at it, that's what a snowboard looks like, OK) and down Castlerock Connection. Pretty much bare the whole way.
Up the Double, I took Middle Earth. Upper was perfect spring bumps with a few bare spots to go along with them. Lower was horrible. Bare spots spanning the trail about every 50 feet as well as the bare final runout. It was like being back at MRG.
Took another ride up the double and went down Castlerock run. Great first half of the trail, just like Middle Earth. At the Troll Road crossing, I looked down and it was pretty bad looking, so I went down Troll Road. I peeled off onto Cotillion which was good at the beginning, but got pretty bad. Jumped back on Troll Road which was bad itself by that point. Decided that was it for Castlerock and took the Runout, which was a lot like the Connection from Gatehouse.
I needed a nice easy run, so I went to the summit (the run down Downspout was extremely icy) and took Jester top to bottom. Fun trail with tons of turns and switchbacks. Long and winding, it took me almost 10 minutes at a pretty good speed.
Went back to the summit and tried Sigi's Ripcord. Steep, bumpy, and troughs that were icy as hell. Went down lower Paradise which had softer bumps. Took Lower Downspout to the bottom which was pretty fun.
Had time for one last lower mountain run, so I took Super Bravo up and went down Spring Fling (almost did Stein's, but decided not to after the freak show on Ripcord). Fling was pretty bumped up and full of Mashed Potatoes. A good way to finish off the day, as well as my legs.
Monday
Got off to a late start because the hotel forgot to send a wake up call. Didn't matter. Pulled into the Ellen parking lot at 9:30to find out GMX was down for mechanical. Waited around there for a few minutes, then decided to take the oppurtunity for an easy warmup. Took Sunny D Double up to Crackerjack. Fast groomed run.
GMX finally opened around 10:20 and I got first chair. Went all the way to the summit, and being the 100% bluebird day that it was, took a run down Panorama. What a friggen view. Better than Skyway Ledges at Sunapee. Kept going down Rim Run all the way back down to the bottom of the Summit Quad.
Took another run, this time Rim Run to Elbow. I had about 5th tracks on Elbow, so it was still awesome. Went to the bottom on Cruiser (nice original name there) to find out GMX was down for the day and decided that was it for Mt. Ellen as the bump runs were still frozen over and south would be better in the sun.
Pulled into the south parking lot at 11:30 and went to the top of North Lynx. Skiied an excellent run down Birch Run. Nice soft snow the entire way with a few bumps lines popping up every so often. Went down Sleeper as well which was full of bare spots as well as extremely firm snow due to the shade.
Took another ride up Gatehouse and took a run down Hot Shot and Waterfall. they were excellent soft potatoes with a few bare spots on the Waterfall headwall. Took that to the bottom and over to Super Bravo.
Went to the summit next run and skiied Upper Jester to Lower Organgrinder. Jester was extremely fast. Organgrinder had soft snow and potatoes (that's lower, I'll give you the night-and-day comparison to upper later on).
Had lunch around 12:30 and got back out for a nice run down Spring Fling. Those potaotes were rockin today. Probably the best spring run I've ever taken.
Next run was Murphy's (not-a-) Glade to Lower Birdland. Murphy's was firm and pretty icy. Lower Birdland just had this narrow ribbon down skiier's left that was barely skiable (not even skiable in a few areas). Being the adventurous type, I took it anyway. Tough run.
Next, I attempted Stein's. As soon as I dropped into the first trough, the ice sent me shooting across the trail and into the woods on skier's right. I decided right then to hike back up and forget about it. Took Lixi's Twist which was pretty much a less steep Stein's, another horror show. Found a bailout to Spring Fling.
Next was a run down Snowball to Racer's Edge. It was pretty similar to Fling besides the greater amount of shade which made it a little more firm to the right.
Next up was another run down Birch Run. The potatoes were so thick, it was a workout just trying to keep your ski tips from sinking. Took Waterfall to the bottom which was still nice.
Next run was Organgrinder top-to-bottom. Upper Organgrinder, besides about a 5 foot strip down skier's left, was a skating rink. Made it down trying to stay as far to the left as I could and then took a nice run down Lower Organgrinder. Still the nice potatoes.
Went back to the summit and went down Jester. Still smooth, fast, and firm. Didn't ski it to the bottom, but went back up Heaven's Gate and then did Jester top-to-bottom.
By then, it was 3:45, so I took one last rip down Spring Fling. Still the nice potatoes top-to-bottom. Glad it was last run, I was fried after it was over.
So, a great spring weekend in the MRV. I definitely hope I make it back next year in midwinter. I'll be at Killington next weekend (Sunday and Monday) to close out my season. I might go to Wawa Saturday night to say goodbye to them for the season as I'll miss closing day Sunday.
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What is going on with the lifts? Other than that, sounds like typical SB Spring Skiing. Good report.
