benski
Active member
Its been down for a few days. But on the bright side I no longer get unsafe site warnings when I try to visit.
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The "Sugarbush Thread"
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
Its been down for a few days. But on the bright side I no longer get unsafe site warnings when I try to visit.
Skimrv is a bit of a train wreck. Wish it was working because I like the local info. Unfortunately it is so hard to log in to that it does not get used like it used to.
On another note- bunny tracks on the snow cam! But no sign of the critter himself. Just missed him I guess!
On another note- bunny tracks on the snow cam! But no sign of the critter himself. Just missed him I guess!
nhskier1969
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2016
- Messages
- 436
- Points
- 28
QUOTE: "As soon as temperatures and snowfall allow, we will open top-to-bottom. " from Sugarbush website 11/21 morning. So 3 straight days of temperatures that will be below 28 degrees isn't enough to open one trail for 900 vertical feet?
benski
Active member
It is close two two miles though.
They need to finish making snow on the upper mountain trails first. They like to ensure they have sufficient base depth to stand up to any potential thaws before they move on to other trails. They don't just dust and run. If the upper mountain was done and they could focus exclusively on the bottom, then yes, 3 straight days would probably be enough from what I remember. Although even 28 is only considered marginal for snowmaking.
sugarbushskier
Member
+1. Patience! SB has proven to have the right blend of fiscal responsibility, yet very flexible once opportunities are presented. Let's hope for mother nature to provide and this becomes a non issue.
Sugarbush also tends to prefer to over-deliver rather than over-promise. So for all we know they might internally think they can get Lower DS->Lower Jester->Coffee Run open by later this week but would rather just not say anything in case they can't and then if they can it would be a "pleasant surprise".
nhskier1969
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2016
- Messages
- 436
- Points
- 28
I can understand a conservative approach last year when the cold temperatures were only lasting for a couple day period at a time. Then I can understand base building last year. This year the long range forecast looks extremely promising. They also have been blowing on the upper mtn for the past couple of weeks and they have received a healthy dose of natural snow on top of it. If they only have capabilities to run guns on three trails at a time, then I understand. But they should be able to blow snow on more than three trails(jester, downspout and organgrinder).
All the resorts in vermont that are opening on Thanksgiving are opening top to bottom except Sugarbush.
P.S.
We need skimrv back online
From a manpower perspective it also makes much more sense to focus on a few trails at a time instead of constantly moving equipment around.
That said, wasn't it only the recent upgrades the past few years with the new low-e guns that enabled them to even blow on Upper Jester, DS, and OG simultaneously? From what I remember last year, they had nearly 100 guns going simultaneously on those trails at one point. That's a lot of firepower and pretty sure that maxes out their water capacity if I remember correctly. SB doesn't have the super powerful snowmaking infrastructure that other places have, but they do quite well with what they have.
They may have been blowing on the upper mountain for the past couple weeks...but they also lost A LOT of snow with the recent warmth and rain.
I will agree with you that we need skimrv back online though. I love win's insight over there.
benski
Active member
Its not that sugarbush does not have a super powerful snowmaking system, its that they have 2 systems with only being used for racers and midseason conditions. I think they had the snow to open Rim Run to Elbow this weekend but Mt. Ellen does not open early season.
Before the skimrv site crashed Win said they tested out the skiing at ME but it wasn't enough to open. Said it would have been ok for the first hour or so and then the skiing would have been crap so it seems like they did consider toying with the idea of opening ME.
So to pull something out of my butt here... my theory is that they were blowing snow on Elbow for GMVS early season. Perhaps better blow snow on a trail that will be in use when Mt Ellen opens anyway rather than try to cover Inverness (esp at lower elevation with sketchy temps this time of year). I do not pretend to know what the agreement between them is but I imagine this may be a more cost effective way for both parties to get snow time this time of year. It was frustrating last year to see Inverness get covered and uncovered several times last Nov/Dec.
And no, I do not think it is financially prudent for Sugarbush to run both mountains prior to mid december. They never have and I would not suggest they start now. North passes are good at south now anyway until Mt Ellen opens.
On another note, looks like this 205 page thread is becoming the new Skimrv. I'd rather have the old one back!
And no, I do not think it is financially prudent for Sugarbush to run both mountains prior to mid december. They never have and I would not suggest they start now. North passes are good at south now anyway until Mt Ellen opens.
On another note, looks like this 205 page thread is becoming the new Skimrv. I'd rather have the old one back!
They always start making snow on ME up high around the same time as they start at LP. Elbow and Rim Run were the first trails to get snowmaking last year around this time as well at ME. As long as you have temps, no point in waiting until closer to opening day in December. Ideally you get a situation where you can open ME later in December with as many snowmaking trails as possible ready to go for that day.
Win did mention that there was a possibility that some of the WC athletes could potentially use Elbow for some practice and training as well.
Win did mention that there was a possibility that some of the WC athletes could potentially use Elbow for some practice and training as well.
slatham
Well-known member
Agreed except that in a normal year they move to Inverness as soon as they have lower mountain temps, and they do this as a top priority (at least in Nov/early Dec) in order to provide skiing on Inverness for GMVS. They do have some form of deal with GMVS, and IIRC GMVS actually owns some of the recently purchased SnowLogics.
That said, given the temp set up this year, and the desire to have a training ground for WC racers pre-Killington, the top was the focus and as far as I know (without a personal inspection) they have not made snow on Inverness.
Btw...if you go to the Sugarbush app and go to the Heaven's Gate cam and switch it to live video instead of still image mode, you can see the snowmaking taking place at the base of the HG chair. No idea why they decided to simply replace the still image pictures with an "Opening Soon" graphic.
benski
Active member
It appears Sugarbush now has guns set up around the Valley House but they are not running.
WWF-VT
Well-known member
Instead of Lower DS->Lower Jester->Coffee Run think about VH Traverse>Snowball>Spring Fling as the TTB route
WWF-VT
Well-known member
They guns were there when I took a walk at LP on Saturday. There are a large number of the SnowLogic guns already set up on the lower third of Inverness just waiting for temps to allow snowmaking for GMVS.
jimmywilson69
Well-known member
That would be interesting... It would spread people out taking the pressure off of Death Spout. There is a lot of ground to cover on Snowball>Spring Fling though
I like that option better as at least it is something other than just a runout that you can actually lap if you wanted to. With the snowmaking pipe upgrades on Spring Fling/Snowball...wasn't it something like 48 hours of snowmaking to open it with the right temps (if they focus on that exclusively)? Certainly would help spread people out as well.
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