The Sugarbush cloud...

[BushMogulMaster]

I think we hit the jackpot last night. Website reported 9". Wrong. I spent the day in a cat pulling a roller at Ellen to pack in the natural on lower mountain. Top of Sunny D had about 12" (at 9:30am) of fresh from last night. Total depth, pre-packing, was probably at least 20". After packing, probably about 9"-12". Then it snowed another 3-4" today!

Check out the snow wall on the side of my first pass:

 

[jaywbigred]

Well that made me lol. Great shot too...talk about truth in snow reporting!

Now you just need to get around to pushing it into little mounds, here, here, here, etc....

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Now you just need to get around to pushing it into little mounds, here, here, here, etc....

I only do that with my skis :wink:

 

[jaywbigred]

Fair enough. Whatever you guys did to Mt. Ellen last year...just do it again! What an awesome product you guys put out. Biodiesel derived or not, those were some fun bumps.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Fair enough. Whatever you guys did to Mt. Ellen last year...just do it again! What an awesome product you guys put out. Biodiesel derived or not, those were some fun bumps.

Totally natural. That's the best way! Saves on fuel costs, too! Natural moguls are very easy on the bottom line :lol: It just takes a few good skiers. And I know where to find those :wink:

The half/half trails were a huge hit last year. We'll have them again for sure this season. And plenty of bumps on the typical bump runs (Tumbler, Cliffs, Hammerhead, Encore, Bravo, Exterm, FIS, Black Diamond, Semi-Tough, Lower FIS, Spinout).

 

[crank]

I haven't skied in your neck or the woods for the past 3 seasons. Hoping to get there this year.

 

[jbs1677]

So I am headed up to Sugarbush to ski wed, thurs and fri... If there is THAT much snow up there how come there were only 48 of the 111 trails open??? Shouldn't the whole mountain be open with that sort of coverage?? Talk to me. HELP ME UNDERSTAND... Last year we were up there the same weekend and Mount Ellen and North Lynx were closed. And it looks like they won't open until friday this coming week.. With all that snow what is the deal???

 

[KingM]

So I am headed up to Sugarbush to ski wed, thurs and fri... If there is THAT much snow up there how come there were only 48 of the 111 trails open??? Shouldn't the whole mountain be open with that sort of coverage?? Talk to me. HELP ME UNDERSTAND... Last year we were up there the same weekend and Mount Ellen and North Lynx were closed. And it looks like they won't open until friday this coming week.. With all that snow what is the deal???

Not enough skiers up here yet. I think that's the only limiting factor. By this weekend, I'd be surprised if they didn't throw the gates wide open.

 

[WWF-VT]

48 of 111 trails is the majority of terrain at Lincoln Peak. Even though the trails are open there are still a lot of "Thin Cover" signs up. Gate House area at LP is scheduled to open this weekend. You are lucky to be there on Friday when MT Ellen is planned to open.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

jbs - there is only enough demand to run one mountain at a time early/late season. Win (President) made the decision a couple years ago that it would be Lincoln Peak, given the substantial investment he made in the base area over there, and because he prefers it! While I tend to disagree, I applaud him for making the decision and standing by it.

As far as I know, Mt. Ellen will open Friday with GMX, Summit, and Northridge turning. Most of the terrain should be open, but it will be up to patrol where the ropes drop and where they don't. In all honesty, some parts of the mountain still need more snow. There are some hefty waterbars in a few spots that take literally 2 feet of packed snow to cover up. But everything on upper mountain ought to be wide open, I'm guessing.

 

[billski]

man, this weekend is shaping up nicely. Thanks Patrick!

 

[snowmonster]

Sad to see fresh untouched snow being groomed...=) Glad to see the Sugarbush cloud do its work. Good on ya!

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Sad to see fresh untouched snow being groomed...=) Glad to see the Sugarbush cloud do its work. Good on ya!

Well, there's a huge difference between rolling it and tilling it. Rolling it saved it. It would have either blown away, or melted down in the little base area rain storm we had yesterday. As it is, we lost a fair amount of snow below 2000', but rolling some of it saved enough to call it a "base." Above 2000' (or, above Mainstream for those who know Mt Ellen) is in great shape. Which Way is perfectly skiable with all natural, and the upper mountain natural stuff is in pretty good shape.

Not to mention some awesome snowmaking. Best snowmaking I've seen in the 5 years I've been around Mt. Ellen.

 

[snowmonster]

^ Good to know. I don't know much about grooming so thanks for the info. The only thing I know about new snow is that when I see it, I want to ski it.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Not to mention some awesome snowmaking. Best snowmaking I've seen in the 5 years I've been around Mt. Ellen.

Best in terms of quantity? Quality? Both?

Any guesses as to why?

 

[riverc0il]

Sad to see fresh untouched snow being groomed..

Normally I would agree. But with that snow just going to blow away or melt for 10 days since the storm until the mountain opens, it makes total sense to pack it down as a base. This is the one type of packing down of snow that I can get behind as it is best for the run for good base building. Besides, more snow is falling this week up there any ways.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Best in terms of quantity? Quality? Both?

Any guesses as to why?

Not quantity. Quantity is no more than years past. But overall product is superior.

We have a good crew this year. They are paying a lot more attention than in years past, and they are getting more direct supervision at Mt. Ellen. They are doing a great job of wide-dispersal snowmaking (moving the guns frequently to avoid making big whales), and the overall quality is a world better than last year. They are doing a good job of starting wet for base, then gradually drying it up for a nice top layer skiing surface. It's making the grooming job easier, and I can tell by the pattern from my tiller that the skiing is great. Nice and soft. Not sure if this will mean anything to anyone, but for comparison, in last year's snowmaking, I would have to run with a tiller depth around 1.5 and tiller shaft speed maxed at 9 to cut through it and leave a good pattern. And it took literally weeks to flatten out the whales sufficiently. This year, I'm able to run a deeper cut (2.5) and a much lower shaft speed (5-6), which leaves a much more pleasant skiing surface. And after less than a week of grooming, Rim Run, Elbow, and Lookin Good are already pretty flat.

:beer:

 

[thetrailboss]

Well, there's a huge difference between rolling it and tilling it. Rolling it saved it. It would have either blown away, or melted down in the little base area rain storm we had yesterday. As it is, we lost a fair amount of snow below 2000', but rolling some of it saved enough to call it a "base." Above 2000' (or, above Mainstream for those who know Mt Ellen) is in great shape. Which Way is perfectly skiable with all natural, and the upper mountain natural stuff is in pretty good shape.

Not to mention some awesome snowmaking. Best snowmaking I've seen in the 5 years I've been around Mt. Ellen.

And guess who is taking Friday off to get first tracks at Ellen?????

 

[BushMogulMaster]

And guess who is taking Friday off to get first tracks at Ellen?????

Me :wink:

But I'm guessing you as well?

 

[thetrailboss]

Me :wink:

But I'm guessing you as well?

I'm gonna be there bright and early. Can't wait!