Sugarbush Suggestions

[Greg]

thetrailboss seemed to get some great info from his SR thread, so I figured I'd start one for Sugarbush as I'm going to be in the MRV for the first time this month. Next Thursday, my father- and brother-in-law and I are heading up. The plan is to hit MRG in the PM and Sugarbush Friday and Saturday AM. My ski companions like to ski anywhere but bumps whereas I prefer bumps. Where are the best areas at SB where there is a good mix of groomers and bumps which will allow for us to stay somewhat together? I'm definitely going to hit Castlerock at least for a little while.

We're staying at the SB Inn. We've been known to throw back a few so where are the hotspots in the area for a little apres ski fun? Low-key is better than a loud rowdy younger crowd. Maybe some cool places to shoot some stick? How about eats? What are the best breakfast places and best steak places?

Heading back at the end of the month with just my wife and daughter so I'll have more of an opportunity to explore Castlerock and maybe hit MRG again. Any good suggestions for non-ski related activities for them? My wife's be known to like to shop...

Thanks! Can't wait!

 

[thetrailboss]

Let me get back to you on this one...real busy here today :wink:

 

[ALLSKIING]

thetrailboss seemed to get some great info from his SR thread, so I figured I'd start one for Sugarbush as I'm going to be in the MRV for the first time this month. Next Thursday, my father- and brother-in-law and I are heading up. The plan is to hit MRG in the PM and Sugarbush Friday and Saturday AM. My ski companions like to ski anywhere but bumps whereas I prefer bumps. Where are the best areas at SB where there is a good mix of groomers and bumps which will allow for us to stay somewhat together? I'm definitely going to hit Castlerock at least for a little while.

We're staying at the SB Inn. We've been known to throw back a few so where are the hotspots in the area for a little apres ski fun? Low-key is better than a loud rowdy younger crowd. Maybe some cool places to shoot some stick? How about eats? What are the best breakfast places and best steak places?

Heading back at the end of the month with just my wife and daughter so I'll have more of an opportunity to explore Castlerock and maybe hit MRG again. Any good suggestions for non-ski related activities for them? My wife's be known to like to shop...

Thanks! Can't wait!

The only thing I can give you suggestions on is John Egans rest. is nice place to eat and drink No pool table from what I remember. The SB inn Is nice but when I was there it was quiet, in fact from the mountain to the shops the whole place was quiet. Great mountain though.

 

[thetrailboss]

OK, here goes.

Mt Ellen is dead on any day...including weekends. It has the highest vertical drop and a great variety of terrain. IMHO the views and skiing is better here, but Lincoln Peak has all of the lodging and other junk (as well as Castlerock). The lodge is nice inside at Mt Ellen and the lifts are fast. On most days, you can ride the express quads here without waiting in line. GMVS has the Inverness Area pretty much to themselves, but on the weekends you might be able to try Brambles, which was a pretty cool trail. Definitely ski here and definitely visit Upper and Lower FIS, Exterminator (both bump runs) as well as the many great cruisers such as Elbow, which your fam will like. For the most part, Mt Ellen is cruisers. Rim Run and Panorama are must skis thanks to some of the most incredible views you can imagine! In all, Mt Ellen would be a good choice for you and your fam because of the terrain variety, fast lifts, no crowds, and big mtn feel.

But be sure to try Lincoln Peak and ski it early since it does take the brunt of the crowds. In the early morning, the sun warms the southern slopes of the North Lynx Triple with some nice runs such as Morning Star and Birch Run. The Gatehouse "Family Zone" is OK, but it gets boring after a while. (yawn).

The Bravo Express serves up a good variety of terrain ranging from the Steep bumps of Stein's Run to the cool Murphy's Glade trail and the meandering Lower Jester. You can go from here to Castlerock or take The Heavens Gate Triple to the summit and some original classics such as Paradise (a must in good snow), Jester (good fam cruiser/adventure trail), and Organgrinder (old gondi line which is steep and straight) . I personally enjoy the bumps on Ripcord :wink: .

People love South and it gets skied of real quick, but if the Slide Brook Express is open, you are only 9 mins away from Mt Ellen's slopes. Do give this lift at least one roundtrip...it is like nothing else you've done before. :wink:

I've never been a fan of the trees here...they get skied out fast, but I've heard good things about the new gladed runs at Mt Ellen.

Hopefully this gets things started...PM me for more, Greg!

 

[pepperdawg]

Be sure to check out the Warren Store - a great classic country store + deli, with lots of yummy (serious) treats. ALso catcha pie at American Flatbread CO. in Waitsfield. It gets busy, so maybe shoot for Thursday or Friday night.

Lots of quaint shopping in waitsfield....

Have fun.

 

[Buckeye Skier 1330]

Thanks for getting this thread started Greg. We're heading up the first week of March and this info will be helpful.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Castlerock closed

Unfortunately we had to close Castlerock today and probably won't spin until we get some more snow.

Also, a couple of corrections from info above....American Flatbread is only open of Fri and Sat, expect at least an hour wait unless you go right at 5:30 but it is worth the wait.

Egans Big World has moved to the intersection of Rt 17 and Rt 100, was always my fav, after all they are my neighbors, but have heard not as good since their move.

The Warren Store is great, as mentioned, for their deli....the breakfast burrito is fantastic. When skiing, stop at Chez Henri's, you can ski right to it, in Sugarbush Village, been here forever, great for lunch.

Boss.....you know this place pretty good...better than some employees....lol
Gatehouse has a fun trail, good for a quick warm-up, called Sleeper and ignore the Sleeper Chute sign. Lower FIS has a long flat runout...not recommended unless your looking for a good workout. It also goes under the Slide Brook Express and more than a few things have been thrown from the chair onto passing skiers. If I ever find those kids you threw a firecracker at us...I will kill them..... :lol: Paradise and Birch are two of my favs.

Regarding Mt Ellen...things have changed abit. We hired a former Bush manager from Copper Mt, to be GM of Mt Ellen...a new position. We put all the terrain park/superpipe stuff there, this yeay offered both Season Passes and lift tix for Mt Ellen Ellen only, wich has been very successful, so it is dead no more. Having said that it is still not as nearly as busy as South, Boss's main point still holds true.

When your at the Bush, my office is in the Sugarbush Inn, if you have any questions just have the front desk call my extension 6177 and I will be glad to help you in any way possible.

Almost forgot...there is a pool table in the Sugarbush Inn.

We need a snow dance!
Phil

 

[riverc0il]

too bad about castlerock being closed. MRG just closed five trails themselves after being 100% for a long stretch despite the lack of snow. greg, i hope more snow falls between now and thursday so you can best enjoy both mountains. i've been to the bush twice and still haven't been able to sample castlerock.

 

[beswift]

Re: Castlerock closed

When skiing, stop at Chez Henri's, you can ski right to it, in Sugarbush Village, been here forever, great for lunch.

I worked for a short time as a dishwasher there. I know Henri and his daughter. Is he still alive and well?

When your at the Bush, my office is in the Sugarbush Inn, if you have any questions just have the front desk call my extension 6177 and I will be glad to help you in any way possible.
Phil

You prabably don't go back this far, but I was Mike Busk's assistant at the G.C. when the Inn owned it and was independant of the ski resort. Do you know if Mike Foster is still the super at the G.C.? From the Slide Brook transfer chair, it looked to me like they had done some real estate construction on the back nine of the course since I worked there. Is that true? Do you still run a touring area out of the Inn's fitness center? Finally, have you ever run into a guy named Peter Luthey?

 

[thetrailboss]

Re: Castlerock closed

When skiing, stop at Chez Henri's, you can ski right to it, in Sugarbush Village, been here forever, great for lunch.

I worked for a short time as a dishwasher there. I know Henri and his daughter. Is he still alive and well?

When your at the Bush, my office is in the Sugarbush Inn, if you have any questions just have the front desk call my extension 6177 and I will be glad to help you in any way possible.
Phil

You prabably don't go back this far, but I was Mike Busk's assistant at the G.C. when the Inn owned it and was independant of the ski resort. Do you know if Mike Foster is still the super at the G.C.? From the Slide Brook transfer chair, it looked to me like they had done some real estate construction on the back nine of the course since I worked there. Is that true? Do you still run a touring area out of the Inn's fitness center? Finally, have you ever run into a guy named Peter Luthey?

This might be better conversation for a PM. :wink:

 

[djspookman]

Re: Castlerock closed

Regarding Mt Ellen...things have changed abit. We hired a former Bush manager from Copper Mt, to be GM of Mt Ellen...a new position. We put all the terrain park/superpipe stuff there, this yeay offered both Season Passes and lift tix for Mt Ellen Ellen only, wich has been very successful, so it is dead no more. Having said that it is still not as nearly as busy as South, Boss's main point still holds true.
Phil

Hardy is the new GM at Mt. Ellen and he IS THE MAN. He works harder than any of us do, and his dedication to the mountian is UNREAL. Needless to say, Mt. Ellen has been great all year long, and the crowds have bene minimal.

I'll have to agree with 'boss on his reccomendations. They're excellant! The woods at North are sweet as long as you stay in the upper elevation woods. There's not quite enough cover on the lower elevation woods yet. Tumbler is great for bumps as well (skiiers right of the GMX).

As for nightspots, The Local Folk Smokehouse is a great scene, usually a mixed crowd of visitors to the Valley and Sugarbush/MRG employees. Its a mellow crowd and a great place to hang out, tip a few back and chat with folks. The Den is a great little joint to eat at and hang out, with relatively cheap fare. The Mad Mexican is also a great place to eat, then make a killer Chimichanga, adn their house margarita's will whet your appetite and knock your socks off! They have a pretty relaxed bar there too.

Enjoy your visit to the Valley!!

 

[thetrailboss]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. :wink: Just trying to help Greg out.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Local Folk Smokehouse

Nice to hear from someone in the valley who has been there. The place is so new the paint on the sign is barely dry.

Some of you might know the place by it's former name, The Mad Mountain Tavern. The owners are new as well. :beer:

 

[djspookman]

Re: Local Folk Smokehouse

Nice to hear from someone in the valley who has been there. The place is so new the paint on the sign is barely dry.

Some of you might know the place by it's former name, The Mad Mountain Tavern. The owners are new as well. :beer:

I've been there with a few buddies a couple of weeks ago.. was a GREAT time! I was living in Jeffersonville when it was the Mad Mtn Tavern, and never got a chance to make it in there unfortunately. I'm glad to hear all the "problems" are gone!

 

[beswift]

Re: Castlerock closed

This might be better conversation for a PM. :wink:

Perhaps, but why would real estate development and a related inquiry about the ski touring center not be of general interest? Here's an excerpt from a PM I received.

The touring center was closed in 96", the sportscenter that you know has been replaced by a new facility at least 15 years ago..it's become a maintainence storage facility.

I find that rather indicative of how the priorities of the Inn changed once it was bought by the Ski area. There's excellent ski touring track adjacent to the Inn which now prabably is only used by a few. In addition if a reader might know these people or particulars, it would be better for me to put it out on the thread if I want to get the data. Peter Luthey is a guy who has been married to a Waitesfield woman for 30 years or more. The last I saw of him, he was interested in buying MRG, but didn't.

 

[beswift]

Be sure to check out the Warren Store - a great classic country store + deli, with lots of yummy (serious) treats.

When I lived in Warren I stayed out of the Warren store. I didn't find it impressive at all. It's kind of a tourist trap in that hick Vt. hillbilly sort of way.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Regarding my taking the time and effort to answer your questions by PM..............your welcome. You don't have to thank me. :roll:

Regarding the X-C center, there is a wonderful local long time established XC center about 5 min from the Bush. We have a partnership with them....we don't compete with a local business, we send them customers and our customers get to XC ski if they so choose. It's a good change.

I am taking the day off but had a short meeting awhile ago at the Gatehouse base area. If I had a penny for every smile I saw I would be a rich man. That's what it is all about.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Warren Store

Regarding the Warren Store your both right. It is not a "classsic counrty store" and the owners9both original and current) and managers know that...that's why they purposely named it the Warren Store, not the Warren General Store et al.

As far as the deli is concerned and the bakery...ooh la la. My neighbor has worked there for 14 years and she brought me over a loaf of their Olive Bread. Their breakfast burritos are local culinary icons. Definately yummy food there.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

North is the spot for great cruising with lighter crowds, though as others have pointed out, the crowds aren't as light as in previous years due to the renewed emphasis on North from the mgmt team this year. North has good glades on top and down below, but it's simply a smaller area than South, so you don't have the variety of the Lincoln Peak base area. Lincoln Peak, IMHO, has more variety both an and off-trail. Not a great crusing mtn, due to crowds on the runs that are good for that sort of thing. Runs like Birch, Spring Fling, and Snowball are fantastic cruisers, but usually swamped with people. If there is decent snow, the Valley House trail pod of Moonshine, Twist, Mall, and Stein's Run is fantastic and usually pretty empty.

My general sense is that in a bad snow year like this one, you'll be better off at North than South. The reason South is so special in a typical year is b/c of Castlerock, Spillsville, Paradise, and the Valley House area. Only Stein's Run has snowmaking among those trails/areas, so they lose their appeal in a year like this one, if they're open at all.

One run you absolutely cannot miss if there's enough snow is Semi-Tough. Just an absolute gem over at North that rolls this way and that, gets a little steep with bumps, then eases off the gas and flattens out to allow you to catch your breath before plunging down again. My favorite trail perhaps in the world, let alone Sugarbush.

 

[Greg]

My favorite trail perhaps in the world, let alone Sugarbush.

Wow! I'll be sure to hit that one based on this comment. Thanks for your others as well.