The "Sugarbush Thread"

[thetrailboss]

https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Ski-mountains-prepare-for-messy-forecast-566914851.html

 

[tumbler]

Sugarbush app question- when they put up important information like lifts on windhold, after the first line a black box blocks the rest of the text. Does anyone get this also? I have the most updated version.

 

[baseconsolidation]

Way behind Win with 34! Haven't made it to MRG or Stowe yet.

I noticed the snowmakers made large mounds near the main lifts presumably to rebuild if needed after the non-snow event tonight/Sunday. Good planning.

Steins was a blast yesterday, the grift was great, and there’s still snow at the top as the temp is dropping below freezing. Good luck with the closing and resurfacing this week, win! Looking forward to the annual mlk weekend snowstorm and fireworks, onward and upward...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ducky]

Sugarbush app question- when they put up important information like lifts on windhold, after the first line a black box blocks the rest of the text. Does anyone get this also? I have the most updated version.

Works fine on my iPhone X, no black boxes. In the am lifts are marked as Windhold but after lunch they are marked as closed, once the decision has been made. Funny though, on my MacBook the webcams will not go live when double-clicked but will on the iPhone, so not entirely Apple friendly.

Just four runs today; Pushover, Hotshot, SF, Snowball. Not terrible but the natural snow has gone for now. Some skimo kids said Steins was great but I could hear it from the lift so stayed away. Starting to snow at my house now right after a big rainbow and blowing like crazy.

 

[cdskier]

Works fine on my iPhone X, no black boxes. In the am lifts are marked as Windhold but after lunch they are marked as closed, once the decision has been made. Funny though, on my MacBook the webcams will not go live when double-clicked but will on the iPhone, so not entirely Apple friendly.

No black box for me either on my old iPhone 7. The lift status page for me never shows holds correctly though. If a lift is on hold, it shows the status for that lift as "unknown" and it shows up in grey. Super Bravo and GMX both show that way right now on the app for me.

 

[STREETSKIER]

As usual I went first thing just a few core at VHouse chute man and his wife and another friend went down the only groomed swath if you got off it was glazed snoballl fling did two runs then went in .patrol had breakfast meet and greet they invited me in I had French toast and coffee great guys for sure I am a former patrol from both sugarbush and mrg some did not know that .after watching the rainbow I then caught gate house for three sick groomed spring runs then I had a lesson I left after that today was day40 I’m hoping for a big Blizzard because it’s going to be hard to catch up on a scale of1-10 I give this season a 3.5 so far

 

[ducky]

Just got a nice signed letter in the mail from Win with a "Sugarbush 100 Days" sticker for last season. Nice touch. Love this place. Thanks, Win.

 

[pinnoke]

VERY NICE Ducky! Well-earned. Hope for the best for 19/20!

 

[CastlerockMRV]

That's awesome! Certainly something to aspire too!!

I cracked 30 days for the first time ever last year. Looking to hit 40 this year with 30 at SB. Don't think I'll be able to get much higher than that until I own my own place or retire in 35 years lol.

 

[baseconsolidation]

Anyone know how the upper mountain coverage (trails/trees) fared after the thaw? Is there something to build on and spread crowds out this weekend?

Forecast looks promising!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hawk]

I would say that the coverage all over up top was sketchy at best last weekend. Not sure of the total damage because the lifts were all shut down up there. Someone that skied this week will have to answer.

 

[Orca]

Looks like maybe 7-8 inches spread over the next three days, which is surely a turn for the better.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

8 inches by thursday, with a 6-12" sat-sun. i'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[cdskier]

Looks like the closing of the sale has been completed...

https://www.alterramtnco.com/news/2020/01/14/sugarbush-closing

 

[thetrailboss]

Looks like the closing of the sale has been completed...

https://www.alterramtnco.com/news/2020/01/14/sugarbush-closing

Just got this:

Dear Sugarbush Community Member,

Today, Sugarbush officially became a member of the Alterra Mountain Company family.



My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed our eighteen years of ownership, and we are grateful for your support and loyalty and all that you have done to make us successful. I am also very thankful for the support we have received from Adam Greshin and the other investors in Summit Ventures. And I remain grateful to Bob Ackland and Tom McHugh, who were responsible for bringing the Sugarbush opportunity to Joe Riemer and me, which led to our purchase of the resort from American Skiing Company in 2001, and who were an important part of our management in the early years.



For the past 60 years, each owner has made Sugarbush better. The Gadd and Murphy families, along with a handful of investors, opened Sugarbush on Christmas Day in 1958, creating what would become known as Mascara Mountain. The culture that they began is one we have tried to build upon. The Elliott family opened nearby Glen Ellen five years later, brought a third ski mountain to the Valley, and created a fun spirit of camaraderie. Roy Cohen followed the Gadds as owner of Sugarbush and brought the two mountains together. After Cohen’s tenure, ARA Services replaced the Gondola with a couple of new fixed-grip triple chair lifts, Bravo (now North Lynx) and Heaven’s Gate, and increased uphill lift capacity. Claneil Enterprises proceeded ARA and transformed Sugarbush into a year-round resort by adding the golf course and Sugarbush Inn. Les Otten of American Skiing Company was responsible for significantly improving snowmaking at Sugarbush and for installing a number of high-speed quad lifts including the Slide Brook Express, which tied the two mountains together.



I am certain that under our ownership my family and I have also made Sugarbush better each year, with three new lodges at Lincoln Peak, improved snowmaking, and seven new lifts along with a number of other improvements at both mountains. I am proud to have partnered with the likes of GMVS, VASS, the Kelly Brush Foundation, High Fives, Protect Our Winters, and other philanthropic organizations and to have been a responsible member of this great Mad River Valley community. And now I am confident that Sugarbush’s new steward, Alterra Mountain Company, will do the same and continue to make Sugarbush better each and every year.



While the past owners have made significant contributions to Sugarbush’s uniqueness, so too has our valued team. Their passion and dedication to serving our guests is something that has differentiated us and will continue to do so in the years ahead. I can’t think of a better team to be part of. They are rock stars!



I will miss being an owner but I am looking forward to Sugarbush’s next chapter with Alterra Mountain Company. And I remain extremely optimistic about our future with new opportunities sprung from access to additional capital, talent, and the Ikon Pass community. As you know, I plan to continue as President and COO of Sugarbush for a while until the right successor is ready to take the reins. After that, our family will continue to be members of the Sugarbush community for decades to come, and I certainly plan to keep skiing at least 100 days a year for as long as I am able.



This past weekend we experienced our fifth weather roller coaster of the season, but we are recovering and getting the mountain back into good shape. Keep doing your snow dances. We still have a long season in front of us and are looking forward to skiing and riding into May again.

All the Best,
Win Smith

 

[ducky]

I would say that the coverage all over up top was sketchy at best last weekend. Not sure of the total damage because the lifts were all shut down up there. Someone that skied this week will have to answer.

Ripcord and Jester were groomed today. It is coming back. 1-3 forecast Weds night and 2-4 on Thursday with more maybe Sat afternoon.

I could not tell that the mountain is now owned by Alterra.

First pic was The Mall from Sunday, the other is from HG today.

 

[AbominableSnowman]

Ripcord and Jester were groomed today. It is coming back. 1-3 forecast Weds night and 2-4 on Thursday with more maybe Sat afternoon.

I could not tell that the mountain is now owned by Alterra.

First pic was The Mall from Sunday, the other is from HG today.

Wow, that second picture is encouraging!

On a different note, kudos to two lifties at Gatehouse for their actions this past weekend:
(1) first liftie did a great job proactively grouping people together down the lift lines, which paid off on Saturday when Super Bravo was shut down due to wind
(2) second liftie proactively stepped up and had groups of four singles grouped and alternated into the rest of the groups in the lift line - which helped keep the singles line from getting excessively long and impeding traffic around the lift corral

Nice job! Hope those two set an example for the upcoming weekend (and MLK weekend is typically a nightmare at Sugarbush around the base lifts)!

It would be great, too, if the lifties were to proactively go down the singles line and ask skiers to angle their skis a bit to allow traffic to flow through the singles line more easily. That used to happen when ASC owned Sugarbush, and it seemed to work well. [And yes, I agree that skiers should be able to figure it out on their own, yet typically that does not seem to happen there].

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i wasn't going to post this, but your post commending sugarbush lifties made this more apropos...

i had a different experience with sugarbush lifties the weekend before last. mainly, they werent cleaning the half inch of snow off of any of the chairs. this was on gmx, and the small lift by the park, at mt ellen. so each time i took the chair, i had to kind of anticipate it and brush the snow off so the back of my legs wouldnt freeze. not a big deal, and not even worth posting but for your post.

 

[AbominableSnowman]

i wasn't going to post this, but your post commending sugarbush lifties made this more apropos...

i had a different experience with sugarbush lifties the weekend before last. mainly, they werent cleaning the half inch of snow off of any of the chairs. this was on gmx, and the small lift by the park, at mt ellen. so each time i took the chair, i had to kind of anticipate it and brush the snow off so the back of my legs wouldnt freeze. not a big deal, and not even worth posting but for your post.

Just for the sake of clarity and accuracy, I did specify the lifties at Gatehouse. No comment on observations at other lifts there....

 

[Scruffy]

First pic was The Mall from Sunday, the other is from HG today.

Wow... I skied the Mall last Tues, and Wed. :-o They lost a lot. Hoping for a quick recovery,