Sugarbush 4/15

[kcyanks1]

When: Sunday, April 15, 8:40AM-3:05PM
Where: Sugarbush, VT
Conditions: Loose snow, some powder
Weather: Snow all day, very windy at very top of Heaven's Gate and Castlerock, guestimate of temperature in the 20s.

Detailed trip report to follow when I'm not tired and it isn't past my ideal weeknight bedtime But it was a great day and lots of fun meeting Jeff (madskier6) and two of his sons (not sure if he would want me to name them, so I won't) and a two of their friends, and skiing with Jeff and for 1 run one of his sons and that son's friend. Thanks for responding to my post, Jeff! Also got to stay at Michael (KingM)'s bed and breakfast which was very nice and the blueberry pancakes were delicious. Thanks! The ride home in the "storm of the century" (or whatever they are calling it) was as adventurous as the day skiing, but not nearly as fun to say the least. Let's say I'm happy I'm home and alive and accident free

 

[kcyanks1]

Here's the more detailed report. I did take 4-6 pictures but have not yet looked at my camera. If I have anything decent I'll add it later.

I got onto the Super Bravo at 8:40 am. First run was a warm-up run down Murphy's and Lower Birdland. Murphy's had been groomed and was soft and nice. Birdland was pretty cruddy -- thankfully my only run of the day for which I can say that! Next I went back up the Bravo, and over on Deathspout (actually in fine shape) and down onto Castlerock. Did the top part of Rumble and some woods, and then some of Middle Earth and some woods. The snow, especially in the woods, was pretty nice. On the wet/heavy side, but plenty soft - I'd be happy in the middle of winter. The trails were bumped, of course. The lines I took in the woods were pretty obvious and had tracks, but it was not overly tracked up. Then I did the first half of Castlerock Run and took Bailout so I could meet Jeff (madskier6) at the bottom of Heaven's Gate. Turned out I was about 18 minutes early, so I skied down, went up Super Bravo, and went back down to Heaven's Gate and met Jeff. We then met up with his youngest son and his son's friend.

I figure Jeff can correct any mistakes for the time I was with him. We skied Paradise (proper), Paradise woods, and then headed to Castlerock for Lift Line. About half the time in the woods we were on pretty well-tracked lines, but we did find some nice chutes and lines in there that were fairly fresh, and in some cases the snow even felt pretty light.

After an early lunch, we headed back to Heaven's Gate via Domino woods and took a run on Spillsville (very nice), and then headed to Castlerock for Rumble, which was great - one of the best of the day. It was around 2:15pm, I believe, and Jeff and I split up for the rest of the day. I went back up Castlerock and did the top of Castlerock Run to Bailout to Heaven's Gate and took another run on Paradise Woods. I then skied down and took a run on Mall. Mall was in pretty good shape, but I was starting to get tired so didn't really put together many turns.. I was at the bottom at 3:05, and decided that since I was starting to get tired and had a long ride ahead of me and a 1am deadline for returning my rental car in NYC, I better get moving. I would sign up for a day like this mid-season immediately, so getting it April 15th was fantastic!

My ride home totally sucked, but since I am alive, unhurt, and the car was unharmed as well, I'd say it was worth it. The 6 hour ride (including short stops) became 8 hours 40 minutes (including short stops). It was a pretty scary ride, with snow until about 10-15 miles north of Albany, and rain, heavy at times, the rest of the way. Throughout the ride I saw cars off the road. At one point along route 100 I picked someone up and drove him a mile or two to his house because he had gone off the road. I'd be willing to do all the driving for one day of skiing again, but likely the next time a huge nor'easter is in the forecast, I'll save the trip for another day. But since I survived it, I'm very happy I went. A great day of skiing, and hopefully not my last this season!

 

[kcyanks1]

Pictures

Here are a couple pics from the trip:

Rumble woods:

Rumble: