The "Sugarbush Thread"

[Newpylong]

Do you guys see Hammond ever up there? Corner him and ask why a trail that has seen snowmaking since it was installed in 1995 isn't seeing it this year despite more potential run hours than any previous ~20-ish seasons.

Straight from the horse's mouth usually is best.

 

[cdskier]

Then leave the guns up there and blow sunrise before moving out. It's not like the complaint is not warranted. And it has been my experience from watching them, asking questions directly tot he snowmakers and then following up that when they do something like move on, it is because something is broken. They are not going to waste time and money moving away and then moving back. Just be honest.

I realize that you are somehow tied to them. Either relationships or past employment but we just want the real story. Just say something broke.
Unless they are just making random decisions. That seems unlikely but OK. Whatever.

Agree. As much as I like Sunrise on natural snow...the headwall in particular really needs some snow made on it as it just doesn't hold snow too well. Once you're below the headwall, the rest of the trail skis great on only natural snow.

But no matter what, just communicate. I should have brought more of this stuff up with Win the other day when I rode the lift with him (he said he hadn't been reading AZ and asked what the hot topics were this year...my response was basically just the usual stuff...then we went on to chatting about other stuff).

Do you guys see Hammond ever up there? Corner him and ask why a trail that has seen snowmaking since it was installed in 1995 isn't seeing it this year despite more potential run hours than any previous ~20-ish seasons.

Straight from the horse's mouth usually is best.

Pretty rare. He seems to hide as opposed to Win that was very visible all the time on the hill.

 

[mikec142]

Do you guys see Hammond ever up there? Corner him and ask why a trail that has seen snowmaking since it was installed in 1995 isn't seeing it this year despite more potential run hours than any previous ~20-ish seasons.

Straight from the horse's mouth usually is best.

Was just about to suggest this. If you don't see Hammond, what about John Bleh?

We are all clearly devoted fans of Sugarbush. To me, that's one of the big reasons that I find the lack of communication so painful It's a self inflicted wound that could be easily avoided with zero consequences.

If SB just came out and said, "We are bummed, but feel it's important to be transparent with the community. Unfortunately, there's a problem with blowing snow on Sunrise. It's due to (insert reason for problem here). We hope to have this issue resolved by (insert date here). Here are the challenges we anticipate facing while fixing this problem, (insert challenges here). Of course, this isn't what we had planned or hoped for, but we will do our best to rectify the problem and in the meantime we will keep you updated on a regular basis."

Anyone who thinks something like that isn't sufficient isn't being reasonable or realistic.

 

[1dog]

Was just about to suggest this. If you don't see Hammond, what about John Bleh?

We are all clearly devoted fans of Sugarbush. To me, that's one of the big reasons that I find the lack of communication so painful It's a self inflicted wound that could be easily avoided with zero consequences.

If SB just came out and said, "We are bummed, but feel it's important to be transparent with the community. Unfortunately, there's a problem with blowing snow on Sunrise. It's due to (insert reason for problem here). We hope to have this issue resolved by (insert date here). Here are the challenges we anticipate facing while fixing this problem, (insert challenges here). Of course, this isn't what we had planned or hoped for, but we will do our best to rectify the problem and in the meantime we will keep you updated on a regular basis."

Anyone who thinks something like that isn't sufficient isn't being reasonable or realistic.

Would agree w above, except ( and I've never worked in corporate America but most of my customers have) I'm thinking they have to be very careful to tow the Alterra line and if anything is construed as undermining, they risk jobs. No idea what the corporate structure is like at a medium size private company is like, but it can't be easy.

Even Win would get on here, share what he could, then stay silent on items that weren't easy for public to understand.

It's a tough business and real estate has not been developed since they purchased it. That's the ( seemingly) advantage in DV- they build infrastructure, develop RE around it. Profits.

( not to mention Utah can't have restrictions VT has)

 

[fulgoreXC]

Then leave the guns up there and blow sunrise before moving out. It's not like the complaint is not warranted. And it has been my experience from watching them, asking questions directly tot he snowmakers and then following up that when they do something like move on, it is because something is broken. They are not going to waste time and money moving away and then moving back. Just be honest.

I realize that you are somehow tied to them. Either relationships or past employment but we just want the real story. Just say something broke.
Unless they are just making random decisions. That seems unlikely but OK. Whatever.

It's really unfortunate and I agree the complaint is warranted. Sunrise skis much better with some base. Since it's southeast facing the headwall burns out early and without a solid base that trail doesn't last through March. As I said at the time they should've run Sunrise for a few days to get through MLK weekend then move down to HotShot. But the real story as I know it came down to timing. Snowmaking at SB is strictly held to November, December, January. When accounting for unknowns like marginal temps and the potential for equipment/plant issues, priorities are set on the trails that are needed for spring.

 

[cdskier]

Snowmaking at SB is strictly held to November, December, January.

Strictly now under Alterra or strictly in general? Because there were absolutely some years that they made snow in February under prior ownership.

 

[Lotso]

Anyone tried posing questions on FB or other places that Bleh writes?

 

[thetrailboss]

Was just about to suggest this. If you don't see Hammond, what about John Bleh?

We are all clearly devoted fans of Sugarbush. To me, that's one of the big reasons that I find the lack of communication so painful It's a self inflicted wound that could be easily avoided with zero consequences.

If SB just came out and said, "We are bummed, but feel it's important to be transparent with the community. Unfortunately, there's a problem with blowing snow on Sunrise. It's due to (insert reason for problem here). We hope to have this issue resolved by (insert date here). Here are the challenges we anticipate facing while fixing this problem, (insert challenges here). Of course, this isn't what we had planned or hoped for, but we will do our best to rectify the problem and in the meantime we will keep you updated on a regular basis."

Anyone who thinks something like that isn't sufficient isn't being reasonable or realistic.

The question in my mind is if the communication issues are due to local decisionmaking or higher?

 

[mikec142]

The question in my mind is if the communication issues are due to local decisionmaking or higher?

It's a fair question. But my proposed communication works whether it comes from the local level or the national level.

That said, you make a good point. If someone wants to be pushy, they should ask these questions (not sure how to do it) directly to Alterra mangageent. That will either alert them to a local problem that they might not know about, or clue them in to a national issue that they didn't realize was an issue.

"Dear Mr. Alterra,

I hope all is well. I'm a devoted skier and fan of Sugarbush. I feel compelled to bring a problem to your attention. There is an extreme lack of communication from Sugarbush regarding key matters such as snow making and lift maintenance. As a fan of Sugarbush, I'm rooting for it to succeed at a high level so I find it frustrating that the lack of communication (which is easily fixed) puts Sugarbush in a negative light. Can you please ask the relevant parties to address the following questions?

List of Questions"