The "Sugarbush Thread"

[Lostone]

Still haven't gotten an update (Noski? :lol: ) but they are not only working there today, but they were working Saturday, this weekend. (This is the first time they've done that.

On the ground, they've unloaded the skis from the rental shop (That's a guess. The trailor is there, but it might be yet to be done.) and the Alpine Options place.

They've started tearing the Alpine Options place down.

The construction site has now expanded to take almost all of the front of the parking lot., and the part they've been digging out where the family center is thought to be going, seems to be about finished.

 

[thetrailboss]

Still haven't gotten an update (Noski? :lol: ) but they are not only working there today, but they were working Saturday, this weekend. (This is the first time they've done that.

On the ground, they've unloaded the skis from the rental shop (That's a guess. The trailor is there, but it might be yet to be done.) and the Alpine Options place.

They've started tearing the Alpine Options place down.

The construction site has now expanded to take almost all of the front of the parking lot., and the part they've been digging out where the family center is thought to be going, seems to be about finished.

Boy, it's getting late in the construction season... :-? ...what are they going to do with this incomplete construction area? Where will the rental shop, etc be going? Why the delay(s)?

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Still haven't gotten an update (Noski? :lol: ) but they are not only working there today, but they were working Saturday, this weekend. (This is the first time they've done that.

On the ground, they've unloaded the skis from the rental shop (That's a guess. The trailor is there, but it might be yet to be done.) and the Alpine Options place.

They've started tearing the Alpine Options place down.

The construction site has now expanded to take almost all of the front of the parking lot., and the part they've been digging out where the family center is thought to be going, seems to be about finished.

That's good news. Now that I think about it, my friend was up there on Sunday, which could explain the inactivity. If they are starting to work on Saturdays, that's definitely a good sign that things are moving in the right direction.

 

[noski]

Ouch!

Still haven't gotten an update (Noski? :lol: ) but they are not only working there today, but they were working Saturday, this weekend. (This is the first time they've done that.

Ouch, my foot! (that was me dropping the ball) Quite a bit of action up there now and will only be increasing. All things will have a place, albeit temporary, before snow flies in earnest, but it will be a major flurry (no pun) of activity to get it done.

 

[Rustyfan]

Above Gatehouse

I read earlier that some of the trees above Gatehouse. Does this mean that, skiing down under the Gatehouse or Super Bravo quads, you can cut the corner (either way) on your way to the bottom of the other lift? That would be a very good thing, as the narrow area between the GH lodge and the trees was inconvenient and a bit dangerous, and the long Sleeper runout was pointless.

 

[Rustyfan]

Sorry, in previous post, meant to ask whether some of the trees above GH have been cleared

Thanks

 

[ski_resort_observer]

bad sign

The AZ news item about Rob Hopkins becoming the new Director of Sales at Okemo has a Sugarbush angle. Rob was hired last January as the new Director of Sales at the Bush. His office was next to mine so I got to know him pretty good in a short time.

I remember welcoming him by saying "welcome to the nightmare"....he thought I was kidding.

Without going into detail I am not surprised he left after just 6 months on the job. Not a good omen for the Bush.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Re: Above Gatehouse

I read earlier that some of the trees above Gatehouse. Does this mean that, skiing down under the Gatehouse or Super Bravo quads, you can cut the corner (either way) on your way to the bottom of the other lift? That would be a very good thing, as the narrow area between the GH lodge and the trees was inconvenient and a bit dangerous, and the long Sleeper runout was pointless.

I think someone mentioned that was done to facilitate access from GH to SB easier in a scenario where the area between the GH lodge and Clay Brook/skier services bldg was going to be pedestrian only. If it had the side effect of shortening the useless Sleeper runout, all the better, but I don' tthink they are going to move quite that much Earth - that's big ridge in the middle there.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Re: bad sign

The AZ news item about Rob Hopkins becoming the new Director of Sales at Okemo has a Sugarbush angle. Rob was hired last January as the new Director of Sales at the Bush. His office was next to mine so I got to know him pretty good in a short time.

I remember welcoming him by saying "welcome to the nightmare"....he thought I was kidding.

Without going into detail I am not surprised he left after just 6 months on the job. Not a good omen for the Bush.

There seem to be a lot of posts hinting at mgmt instability or incometence at SB. Without going into detail, can anyone give a Cliff Notes version of what the problems are and who is responsible among the principles within Summit Ventures?

 

[Schusseur]

While trying to avoid being negative, I did notice an unpleasant trend last season: the rising frequency of mechanical problems with lifts. It seemed to happen too often. I'm talking Super Bravo and GH especially. Now being 20 to 25 years old, are they in need of some major overhaul? Also, the amount of stops made per trip up is just getting silly. Isn't there a way to feed people in so they're better prepared to grab the chair?

 

[Strat]

Re: Above Gatehouse

I read earlier that some of the trees above Gatehouse. Does this mean that, skiing down under the Gatehouse or Super Bravo quads, you can cut the corner (either way) on your way to the bottom of the other lift? That would be a very good thing, as the narrow area between the GH lodge and the trees was inconvenient and a bit dangerous, and the long Sleeper runout was pointless.

I think someone mentioned that was done to facilitate access from GH to SB easier in a scenario where the area between the GH lodge and Clay Brook/skier services bldg was going to be pedestrian only. If it had the side effect of shortening the useless Sleeper runout, all the better, but I don' tthink they are going to move quite that much Earth - that's big ridge in the middle there.

Heard from the owner of alpine options that they're going to flatten that whole ridge and shorten the sleeper runout, partly for these traffic reasons and partly for safety, as they really wanna get rid of the little ice mound at the skier's right end of the trail where lots of rambunxious little kids like to jet off of and fly into the Gatehouse liftlines... so yeah, multiple reasons, but that project is for next summer I think... they probably just wanted to get the trees out because the massive tree cutter machine was already there and it was much more effective to do it then then bring it back later... trees aren't gonna grow back that fast...

 

[Strat]

While trying to avoid being negative, I did notice an unpleasant trend last season: the rising frequency of mechanical problems with lifts. It seemed to happen too often. I'm talking Super Bravo and GH especially. Now being 20 to 25 years old, are they in need of some major overhaul? Also, the amount of stops made per trip up is just getting silly. Isn't there a way to feed people in so they're better prepared to grab the chair?

Those chairs are some of the most modern SB has - others are far higher on the replacement list... heaven's gate, north ridge, north summit come to mind... and then of course the proposed replacements as part of the clay brook project, village chair and valley house... I didn't really notice this increased trend in stops, seems to me as just a normal part of lift riding... they've definitely spent tons of time figuring out the most time-effective way to arrange people in the liftlines, I don't think that's anything they could improve further...

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Re: bad sign

The AZ news item about Rob Hopkins becoming the new Director of Sales at Okemo has a Sugarbush angle. Rob was hired last January as the new Director of Sales at the Bush. His office was next to mine so I got to know him pretty good in a short time.

I remember welcoming him by saying "welcome to the nightmare"....he thought I was kidding.

Without going into detail I am not surprised he left after just 6 months on the job. Not a good omen for the Bush.

There seem to be a lot of posts hinting at mgmt instability or incometence at SB. Without going into detail, can anyone give a Cliff Notes version of what the problems are and who is responsible among the principles within Summit Ventures?

Last winter the sales dept was a ship without a captain. It also was split up with part working out of the Sugarbush Inn and part working out of the Valley House. After months, including most of the ski season, without a Dir of Sales. They finally hired Rob who was highly qualified and experienced but he had his work cut out for him. When I had left in March he was already getting pretty frustrated.

In addition, IMHO moving several key departments out of the Admin Bldg area( next door from Paradise Deli) and moving them to the base of Lincoln Peak was a big mistake.

I do not want to come off totally negetive as Win and Adam have done alot of positive things in the short time they have owned the Bush.

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm sorry, I've heard VERY few good things concerning the new ownerships' leadership. Not that American Ski Co was any better.

All I hear is that the new owner is a clueless ex-stock broker, financial anylist ect who has zero understanding of resort operations. These words come from long time valley residents who worked for the mountain for many years and have finally walked away from it all.

The whole fiasco with Fandango and the current stalled progress at Claybrook only solidifies what I perceive as POOR management.

The current ownership appears to be the Newheart show of the ski industry and its a darn shame because I truly feel that Sugarbush has the best combination of natural terrain and snowfall in the east.

Jay obvioulsy has better snow. I think that Sugarloaf has better natural terrain. To me though, Sugarbush has the best combination of both.

 

[Strat]

So now we have the exact opposite of what we had before: ASC was a giant company that knew exactly how to run a ski area, they just didn't want to. Now we have Summit Ventures, who is a small company that really wants to run the ski area, but has much less knowledge as to how to do so... we just can't win...

 

[daevious]

Ha! This is now EXACTLY like the old RSN thread (I mean, before the Whiteface boys).

 

[thetrailboss]

While trying to avoid being negative, I did notice an unpleasant trend last season: the rising frequency of mechanical problems with lifts. It seemed to happen too often. I'm talking Super Bravo and GH especially. Now being 20 to 25 years old, are they in need of some major overhaul? Also, the amount of stops made per trip up is just getting silly. Isn't there a way to feed people in so they're better prepared to grab the chair?

Those chairs are some of the most modern SB has - others are far higher on the replacement list... heaven's gate, north ridge, north summit come to mind... and then of course the proposed replacements as part of the clay brook project, village chair and valley house... I didn't really notice this increased trend in stops, seems to me as just a normal part of lift riding... they've definitely spent tons of time figuring out the most time-effective way to arrange people in the liftlines, I don't think that's anything they could improve further...

Yeah, those named lifts have had problems which is embarrassing considering that they are about 10 years old...not 20-25 unless you are referring to something else. Then again, could be the infamous 'windholds' that seem to plague SB during slow midweek days :roll:

BTW...aren't we still waiting for SB's answers to the AZ challenge?

 

[Rustyfan]

New owners

are, in my view, still learning how to run the mountain. From all appearances, they had a good year last year. I'd guess they're a bit cash-starved, and they have a bit of a chicken/egg problem with coming up with the cash to fix the (horrible) base area so that they get...more cash. Regardless, I think the mountain "runs" much better than it did even two seasons ago. The snow conditions last season were unreal! The only big issue I see operationally is the Gatehouse backups. The new Valley House lift should help there, moving intermediates over to the easier VH terrain.

 

[thetrailboss]

Yeah, the Gatehouse lift was really bad...I hate those Jersey-Barrier crowd control fences they now are using :roll: Makes the place look like NYC but I guess it is a necessary evil.

 

[castlerock]

Ha! This is now EXACTLY like the old RSN thread

Truer words were never said!

Let's see, ... we have:
1.) the "old time valley hands that feel like they own the Bush dissing Win and Adam".

This is pretty much like Red Sox nation believing they could manage (or general manage) the team better than the current Red Sox manager. I'd love to see the "old valley folks" run a ski area, If they had to write the checks. $10K in Chittenden savings bank doesn't get you that far at Payroll/Debt Service time does it?

2.) "ASC is the evil big ski company, but they sure could run a ski area".

What a short memory we have! Let me ask the question. Is the ski experience better at Sugarbush now than it was 10 years ago? Put those rose colored glasses away.

Do you feel better about what the future for the area is than you did 10 years ago?

3.) The Bush is mismanaged by the "Bob Newhart" of the ski business!
This is the most frustrating as it is really meanspirited in its ignorance. What do you want, Donald Trump?

The Bush is being run by people who want to be there, live there full time, ski there every day. They are doing it out of their own pockets, putting their money on the line. (Sort of I guess, the financial machinacions of even the moderately wealthy are greek to me).

The place isn't Stowe, it isn't Killington, and it isn't Mad River. I don't want it to be any of those. The property values in the Valley have doubled in the last three years, people want in.