I skied Paradise on 3/3 and the top entrance was groomed.
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The "Sugarbush Thread"
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
I skied Paradise on 3/3 and the top entrance was groomed.
Hawk
Well-known member
On three separate occasions this weekend I ran into intermediate skiers walking back up paradise saying that they did not know how bad the section below was and declined to ski it. The bumps at the top are there for a reason in my opinion. Oh well.
Also, I still do not understand why people get so ramped up about the skis in front of the lodge(Valley House). I skied past there at probably 100 times this year and never had an issue with navigating. I can't get worked up about that.
I agree. That's why I was surprised to see it flattened. At the very least they should put a caution/expert's only warning sign up now if there wasn't one (can't remember whether one was there or not).
I do find it funny that people considered the section below "bad". It was in great shape. Why do intermediates decide to go down a double-diamond trail without knowing what it is like? You can even see the bumps on Paradise from various points on the HG lift.
Hawk
Well-known member
Nothing surprises me anymore CD. We saw a group of people in slidebrook snow plowing down Pinball alley. They asked if that was the way to Mt Ellen??? OMG. I can't make this sh*t up.
slatham
Well-known member
Well technically it is, but they would need snowshoes or alpine gear cause it ain't all downhill!
Simply amazing. I don't remember seeing as many of these crazy things in the past. Are we seeing a change in the clientele at SB recently?
Hah! Good point!
Not a change in clientele, just a change in common sense!
I will say this...I've run into quite a few people this year that have said "this is my first time to SB" that are visiting now mainly due to it being on their Ikon pass.
IDK about ramped up, but it had gotten to the point where, on occasion, the skis were blocking the run out from the Mall/Coffee Run. IMO, its a much better experience with out the skis all over the ground.
Didn't see anyone walking up Paradise, but saw several groups that were clearly over-terrained trying to get down. There's a lot of people that "ski" Ripcord in a power wedge so probably think why not try Paradise if it's groomed. Then again, earlier this year, when the top was bumped up pretty good, I saw parents trying to get their little guy down Paradise. The parents seemed very capable of skiing Paradise, the little guy not so much. Dad tried to carry the little guy down, took a good fall with the kid on his back. A ski patroller witnessed and called for a sled to get the little guy down. Point being, people sometimes just make bad decisions, even if they should know better.
Didn't see anyone walking up Paradise, but saw several groups that were clearly over-terrained trying to get down. There's a lot of people that "ski" Ripcord in a power wedge so probably think why not try Paradise if it's groomed. Then again, earlier this year, when the top was bumped up pretty good, I saw parents trying to get their little guy down Paradise. The parents seemed very capable of skiing Paradise, the little guy not so much. Dad tried to carry the little guy down, took a good fall with the kid on his back. A ski patroller witnessed and called for a sled to get the little guy down. Point being, people sometimes just make bad decisions, even if they should know better.
I just go through the maze of skis and if I knock some poles down on my way by, oh well. There needs to be more racks if they want all the skis off the ground and have the blazer coaches make their kids pick up their skis. No biggie to be tho.
Agree on the IKON adding more new people to the hill but business is business. JH did a breakdown recently responding to overcrowding complaints and said IKON added 8% more skiers. Big Sky wrote an open letter saying the need IKON and that locals were not welcoming and selling "IKON wait for you to leave" stickers. I wonder the the breakdown is at the Bush? There have been some busy days for sure but have been lucky everything is open to spread out the crowd
Everyday I ski I see people in terrain above their ability but they are all trying to ski. Yes, there will be people making stupid decisions but you can't get better if you don't push yourself. We were all there at one point. Ironically, I have heard people asking about skiing to Slide Brook to Mt Ellen, and no, you take the Slide Brook lift. Maybe the is some confusion there.
Hawk
Well-known member
I have been taking the singles line quite a bit down at Bravo and gatehouse to get up and out. I usually strike up a conversation. Believe it or not, I think the majority of people are new IKON people to the resort. I would say the percentage of people I have rode with is greater than 60%. I am curious on the numbers also. I am sure they know right down to the last person based on the RFID stats.
skied saturday through monday at LP. packed on saturday. I was happy to see the top of paradise mowed down. definite contrast to the top of castlerock which was more than "firm" on sunday with the winds howling. Steins was groomed too. conditions were just fantastic. bluebird staurday then fresh snow sunday and monday. Untracked run through slidebrook yesterday.
shocked at how many people were there on monday. Heli lot was full as was the CR pub for lunch. Had one Ikon family up on saturday from stratton and another Ikon friend on sunday/monday. wondering how this ikon thing is working out for the mtn.
shocked at how many people were there on monday. Heli lot was full as was the CR pub for lunch. Had one Ikon family up on saturday from stratton and another Ikon friend on sunday/monday. wondering how this ikon thing is working out for the mtn.
If I had to guess, I'd say the ticket revenue is about the same, but everything else (lodging, f&b) is up substantially.
True about needing to push yourself in order to improve. Of course you also need to be smart about it and do it progressively.
Also interesting point about the Slide Brook confusion. Certainly a possibility for people new to the resort. I don't think some people look carefully enough at maps anymore and just go thinking they'll figure it out along the way. Looking at the trail map would show someone there's a pretty big gully between LP and ME in the Slide brook basin. I was always the type of person that would intently study trail maps before I went to a resort for the first time. I suspect I'm more of the minority in that regards.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
Winding up in slide brook by accident is bizarre tho.
I think a lot of the Ikon pass people are peeps that may have bought a quad pack before and decided to switch over to Ikon. I have a few friends that went this route. Personally, I have not noticed a big difference in crowds from years past. It is at its worst from 10:30-11:45 and then things open up. As far as the Ikon - I wish they had an option where you could Pick your home resort and you get unlimited there and 5 days at all the others.
As far as people being over challenged on certain trails - if they paid full price for a ticket and that is what they want to do - good luck, it does not bother me one bit. I guess the only way to know if it is a problem is to look at Ski Patrol numbers. Have they had to pull more people out of places like slidebrook?
Skis on the ground outside the lodge? Doesn't bother me,... I have actually been guilty it when there is no place to put your skis. I say this is more of an issue with not enough rack space - why not build 2X more racks - they are pretty cheap to make.
One issue I do have while we are all bitching - there are not enough chairs in the valley house (or tables for that matter) This is a really cheap problem to fix - plastic chairs cost $10 - buy 50 of them and leave them stacked in a corner.
No other complaints - been a great March so far!
As far as people being over challenged on certain trails - if they paid full price for a ticket and that is what they want to do - good luck, it does not bother me one bit. I guess the only way to know if it is a problem is to look at Ski Patrol numbers. Have they had to pull more people out of places like slidebrook?
Skis on the ground outside the lodge? Doesn't bother me,... I have actually been guilty it when there is no place to put your skis. I say this is more of an issue with not enough rack space - why not build 2X more racks - they are pretty cheap to make.
One issue I do have while we are all bitching - there are not enough chairs in the valley house (or tables for that matter) This is a really cheap problem to fix - plastic chairs cost $10 - buy 50 of them and leave them stacked in a corner.
No other complaints - been a great March so far!
I think most people are clueless about the terrain and what they should or should not be skiing. In their defense, there is no uniformity to the trail ratings. I mean, there are blacks at other mountains that would be blues at SB. I took a family from stratton down paradise some years ago, and the Mom hiked back out.
That being said, I may have taken my nephew down steins inappropriately on saturday. He is in his thirties and just started skiing a few years ago since his now fiancee rips. Anyway, we did a few runs with him on snowball, spring fling and lower snowball, and he was doing really well. Looked good and I figured steins was groomed so it would be a good confidence builder for him to do it. He fell into one of the snow gates at the top and then took a nice tumble about a third of the way down. John Hammond came over to see if he was ok, which was funny. No injury and he made it down the rest of the way without incident but my wife said I'm an idiot for taking him on Steins.
Agreed. This is no boating accident.
some day, they are going expand/replace the valley house and make it a legit lunch option. so much potential there. Giant hot tub facing spring fling would be super cool. just sayin'
People are all too eager to follow tracks into the trees - can't say I haven't done it. Found a lot of good stuff that way. One would think that if you weren't confident in your abilities on all terrain you may be a little more careful, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I've been asked numerous occasions what lift is at the bottom of slidebrook, spoke with a group that though the elevator shaft was the only way down slidebrook, even helped a couple looking for the bus stop at the bridge. At least they knew they needed to catch a bus. Had a different couple in Mt Snow jackets come up behind me on the Long Trail last week and asked "what's in here". I told them what they were getting into, they said "oh good". Happened to run into them later in the day, didn't sound like they enjoyed it much. Maybe its happening more, but it isn't new this year.
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