The "Sugarbush Thread"

[Hawk]

I was wondering if there were issues myself. They shut the guns down on Saturday at noon and they did not go back on until Monday morning on Steins. Now they are off again? Interesting. You know we do not want to make John Bleh a liar. He said in this Blog, "Shedding some light on our snowmaking" that we will be blowing snow at every possible window. it was awfully cold the past few days.

http://www.sugarbush.com/blog/around-the-mountain/shedding-some-light-on-our-snowmaking/

 

[tumbler]

I'm glad they shut down Steins on Saturday before it warmed up. It was skiing really nice with dry snow, did it a bunch of times. It was 28 at the base Sunday morning so it would have been the wet stuff.

 

[Hawk]

For the record I was watching the temps all day Saturday. It never went above 20 degrees all the way until I went to bed at 10:00. In fact it was in the low teens most of the day. Sunday morning it was 28 and then it started dropping once the cold winds started up. Monday Morning it 3 degrees. There was only a 12 hour window that the temps were not favorable.

 

[cdskier]

Interesting...now Stein's is listed on the trail report as closed. I have visions in my head of a pipe bursting and turning Steins into a sheet of ice... Let's hope I'm wrong and that's just my crazy imagination!

 

[WinS]

Interesting...now Stein's is listed on the trail report as closed. I have visions in my head of a pipe bursting and turning Steins into a sheet of ice... Let's hope I'm wrong and that's just my crazy imagination!

Yes, That is exactly what happened at 7:20am this morning. The main air pipe exploded,and we had to scramble to shut down Stein's and Slowpoke but a bunch of water was sprayed on those trails. We are digging now to find the break and repair it. We will have to groom Stein's first before turning the towers back on so we don't get an ice layer below the new snow. Hopefully we can will get it back on tomorrow am. We are sending the crew over to help out at ME where we will be finishing on Brambles by morning and moving over to Cliffs.

As to Hawk's comments we make our snow plan based on the weather forecast we receive each morning. It has precise forecasts about temperatures at different elevations, humidity, wind. etc and that is what we use to put the plan together. As you know forecasts don't always reflect what actually happens. John Bleh was correct in what he said. Unfortunately, later in the week it looks to be warming up again

 

[cdskier]

Yes, That is exactly what happened at 7:20am this morning. The main air pipe exploded,and we had to scramble to shut down Stein's and Slowpoke but a bunch of water was sprayed on those trails. We are digging now to find the break and repair it. We will have to groom Stein's first before turning the towers back on so we don't get an ice layer below the new snow. Hopefully we can will get it back on tomorrow am. We are sending the crew over to help out at ME where we will be finishing on Brambles by morning and moving over to Cliffs.

Ouch...I don't like being right about something like that.

 

[tumbler]

Ouch...I don't like being right about something like that.

At least it was the air line, not the water line on Steins. That would be a major mess.

 

[slatham]

Agree. However advanced purchase does shift risk to the consumer. It is a back door way of imposing a 100% cancelation fee on your ski plans.

Actually the cancellation fee is built into the walk up rate. If the early purchase online rate is $90, and walk up is $135, the cancellation fee is effectively $45. You pay an extra $45 to have zero risk of losing $90.

Edit: wrote this before seeing the requests to put the subject in a separate thread. So I’ll leave it here.

And sorry about the pipe issue. Not fun.

 

[WinS]

Actually the cancellation fee is built into the walk up rate. If the early purchase online rate is $90, and walk up is $135, the cancellation fee is effectively $45. You pay an extra $45 to have zero risk of losing $90.

Edit: wrote this before seeing the requests to put the subject in a separate thread. So I’ll leave it here.

And sorry about the pipe issue. Not fun.

It was in a very challenging spot. Just behind the new Lift Maintenance and Water Treatment plant to the uphill side of the Valley House lift. Their is a lot of stuff down there so the dig has to bee done very carefully. They just found the pipe and it has a big crack that needed welding so that is in progress. A real bummer to be missing they great cold temperatures. If there is any good news it is that we are half curtailed from 5-9pm tonight but with LP down we can keep going at ME.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Can we move this topic to it's own thread ? It's getting to be annoying and more relevant to the industry at large than just Sugarbush. Maybe the thread can be titled "I'm Stupid Enough to Pay the Walk Up Ticket Price and I Want to Bitch About It".

I think it's fair the topic be discussed in a thread devoted to the resort with the single most expensive Eastern lift ticket. Not that it's a very interesting topic, but the $139/$129 strikes me as highway robbery. Does Stowe even cost as much? Killington is a few bucks less. I can't find the rates for Stowe. I guess it's like a Rolls Royce where "horsepower is sufficient".

Killington was practically my home mountain for years but they priced me out lately

 

[cdskier]

I think it's fair the topic be discussed in a thread devoted to the resort with the single most expensive Eastern lift ticket. Not that it's a very interesting topic, but the $139/$129 strikes me as highway robbery. Does Stowe even cost as much? Killington is a few bucks less. I can't find the rates for Stowe. I guess it's like a Rolls Royce where "horsepower is sufficient".

Killington was practically my home mountain for years but they priced me out lately

Stowe is $139/149 window rate. So move this over to the Stowe thread if you think it belongs in "a thread devoted to the resort with the single most expensive Eastern lift ticket"!

 

[bdfreetuna]

Stowe is $139/149 window rate. So move this over to the Stowe thread if you think it belongs in "a thread devoted to the resort with the single most expensive Eastern lift ticket"!

Really! All I knew was 3 years ago they were $119/$129.

You make a good point about putting it in the Stowe thread (not that there is one, and you Sugarbush regulars are a particularly ornery bunch when it comes to criticism)... but my point that this is way outpacing inflation is also very valid.

But it would also be a much more boring conversation if you guys didn't get defensive AF about absurd window rates. Sugarbush is one of my favorite ski areas too ya know. Lucky I get to hit it once or twice a year on various promos I guess.

 

[cdskier]

Really! All I knew was 3 years ago they were $119/$129.

You make a good point about putting it in the Stowe thread (not that there is one, and you Sugarbush regulars are a particularly ornery bunch when it comes to criticism)... but my point that this is way outpacing inflation is also very valid.

But it would also be a much more boring conversation if you guys didn't get defensive AF about absurd window rates. Sugarbush is one of my favorite ski areas too ya know. Lucky I get to hit it once or twice a year on various promos I guess.

I'd genuinely be interested in seeing your answers to the questions I posed in the other thread that dhs created dedicated to this topic.

And again though, there are so many ways to save significant amount of money off that window rate that really make it completely irrelevant. You can even pick up a discounted ticket from REI if you're a member there.

 

[jaybird]

.. back to Steins ..
Reflected as groomed/open for Weds ..
True or false?
Additionally, when was sigi last groomed?
Gracias

 

[MorningWoods]

How about some interesting questions not related to window rates?

Like why was Lixi removed from Twist?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[shadyjay]

How about some interesting questions not related to window rates?
Like why was Lixi removed from Twist?

I see it shown as such on the 19/20 trail map online, but the trail report link on the web site has always left out "Lixi's". Same goes for the "Rush" in Black Diamond Rush and the "Joe's" in Cruiser. Come to think of it, it was only a couple years ago when Lixi's and Joe's were added to the map, despite being signed in the field for several few years prior.

 

[WinS]

I see it shown as such on the 19/20 trail map online, but the trail report link on the web site has always left out "Lixi's". Same goes for the "Rush" in Black Diamond Rush and the "Joe's" in Cruiser. Come to think of it, it was only a couple years ago when Lixi's and Joe's were added to the map, despite being signed in the field for several few years prior.

They are still officially Lixi’s Twist, Joe’s Cruiser and Sigi’s Ripcord. Just abbreviated on snow report. The air pipe should be prepared but the temps are going to be only in the mid to high twenties so we will likely hold off for some colder temps this evening. We are just building depth for the spring so want to cover with nice dry powder. That will keep Stein’s alt nice for the rest of the season.

 

[Hawk]

Really! All I knew was 3 years ago they were $119/$129.

You make a good point about putting it in the Stowe thread (not that there is one, and you Sugarbush regulars are a particularly ornery bunch when it comes to criticism)... but my point that this is way outpacing inflation is also very valid.

But it would also be a much more boring conversation if you guys didn't get defensive AF about absurd window rates. Sugarbush is one of my favorite ski areas too ya know. Lucky I get to hit it once or twice a year on various promos I guess.

Sugarbush had a record day on Saturday with 10,000 skiers I believe. I would say that your absurd ticket price didn't have that much affect. I really do not care about the daily ticket prices and I will not defend the policies. These prices have little to do with anything unless you are a very specific minority. The topic is dead and if the price keeps a few stingy people away from Sugarbush then so be it. Also you must realize your rant will have zero affect. Alterra now sets the prices. You will have to wait until next year to see if there is any changes. Snowmaking affects me. That is what I spend my time commenting on.

 

[flakeydog]

How about some interesting questions not related to window rates?

Like why was Lixi removed from Twist?

How about these?

- Why does a bowl of soup cast the same as chili? Soup should be marginally less don't you think?
- Can we get a piece of bread when we order a salad?
- Can you add an extra cross piece to the ski racks so that the poles don't fall over at the slightest touch?
- Would it be possible to open (or re-open actually) a connection from Semi-Tough to the area south of the GMVS Poma so it can be skied while racing/training is possible? Come in from S-T below the 1st pitch, exit back to S-T just before the bottom of the poma.
- Why are ticket prices so h-- Wait, never mind...

On a positive note- I have been meaning to tell the powers that be that the splash guards they put in the urinals last year, or maybe the prior year, are much better than what was there before. And you may have thought people don't notice these things.

Oh yeah- is was crowded this last weekend, as it should have been. Parking was a challenge but not impossible. Lift lines were really not an issue. If this is as long as they get, we are spoiled. Was much worse when all chairs were doubles back in the day. Still better than just about any area in southern VT on a regular weekend. I guess it is just such a shock to see a measurable line that people go all nutso about it.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Alterra now sets the prices. You will have to wait until next year to see if there is any changes.

If?