LOL. I was thinking this exact same thing!
Nice day out there today!
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The "Sugarbush Thread"
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
LOL. I was thinking this exact same thing!
Nice day out there today!
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We have been experimenting with different corral designs to try to keep line from blocking Downspout. Tried a different one today.
medfordmike
Member
I went to Lincoln and Ellen Saturday. Visibility wasn't good at Lincoln but the snow conditions were great. I have not been to Sugarbush in years for no other reason than distance and it has not been on any pass I had and I am cheap. Really enjoyed it. Lines were busy but as a single I flew through on the quads. Ellen was never an issue. BTW i recommend the pretzel and sausage combo for lunch at Ellen with a Citizen. Just saying. Anyone regular there on Saturday who can give me a sense of how the lines compare to other Saturdays this season would be appreciated.
I like the concept. It’s always been a challenge on a board to get all the way over to the end of the singles line on long line days. But having the singles line over on the ripcord side was causing confusion - couldn’t tell if it wrapped or went down the hill.
Less crowded than the last 2 weekends (but those had some pent up demand and/or holiday and/or fresh snow...so hard to judge what is typical so far this year), although about what I would consider fairly normal from prior season experience.
Over the years I tried a few different configurations at the HG corral. Its a tough spot, with Downspout seeing as much traffic as it does, and on the busiest days, the line almost stretches over to the booster pump house. There never appears to be a big enough flat area there to do the corral before it drops off, and its going to spill into Downspout.
One solution possibly is to close off access from Lower Ripcord to the lift and utilize more space to the west. Anyone coming down Ripcord would have to use the cutoff to Downspout (Bailout extension) up by Tower 4 if they want to get to Heaven's Gate, and keep everything below that access to the base only, utilizing Lower Lower Ripcord. Perhaps put up some big orange fencing to close it off on the busy periods, and reopen it for midweek. Or maybe just make the flat area larger by filling in more further down Lower Downspout.
One solution possibly is to close off access from Lower Ripcord to the lift and utilize more space to the west. Anyone coming down Ripcord would have to use the cutoff to Downspout (Bailout extension) up by Tower 4 if they want to get to Heaven's Gate, and keep everything below that access to the base only, utilizing Lower Lower Ripcord. Perhaps put up some big orange fencing to close it off on the busy periods, and reopen it for midweek. Or maybe just make the flat area larger by filling in more further down Lower Downspout.
MorningWoods
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Good ideas. But, Please god no more traffic on deathspout . I like the regrading idea so it can extend straight back.
PS. The Grift was awesome last night. That guy on the keyboard was going crazy. [emoji1787]
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KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
got to lincoln peak today for the first time this season. was gonna go to mad river but decided id rather start earlier at 8 and save mrg for a day without a sunday rush to get home. i really liked what i found at sugarbush today! started off on heavens gate, skiing the unmarked woods off of jester/spillsville and paradise. jester woods were too untracked and tight to be very fun today, as the snow had consolidated a bit and hadn't yet been skier packed. but paradise skied great - can confirm that the woods at sugarbush are skiable and will not kill you. moved on to castlerock and got 2 runs in right after they opened the chair and before there was any line. skied rumble and liftline. rumble is such a classic. i can't imagine what it would be like with lots of fresh snow on it. or the first time its opened before the bumps form. moved over to super bravo/valley house and skied steins, eden, twist, race course woods, grotto, sap line woods, spring fling. great fun riding the wales on steins. looks like that snow will be there for a while. impressive. also big wales on snowball. back to heavens gate via murphys>traverse and finished hte day with 2 final heavens gate rides, a second lap through paradise, and then organgrinder. i wish you could really ski organgrinder t2b. its such an attractive 2000 foot straight line, but that uphill after the upper portion is a bitch and i skied around it.
at 12:30 i had skied 20k and decided it would be nice to drive in the daylight. home in brooklyn at 6:30.
great day.
at 12:30 i had skied 20k and decided it would be nice to drive in the daylight. home in brooklyn at 6:30.
great day.
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Been avoiding downspout the past couple weeks by doing domino then doing that little woods cut thru (wood lot?) off domino down to bottom of downspout to get to HG lift. So much more civilized than downspout!
That is Heaven’s Gate Traverse and a great way to get to HG. Get there by either Organgrinder or Domino. You can also get there from Reverse Traverse from Valley House lift.
Slidebrook87
Active member
Haha nope. I skied at Lincoln until about 9:50 on Saturday morning, caught first chair to Ellen, got on North Ridge and stopped by Walt’s to grab a bite to eat before it got crowded. I skied at Ellen until about 2:15 and then headed back over to Lincoln and skied there for the rest of the day. Tumbler and Hammerhead had very thin cover, but they’re cool trails. Lower FIS had great snow. Probably my favorite run of the day. Attached is a picture of my ski tracks. 
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Slidebrook87
Active member
Slidebrook87
Active member
The idea behind this was to make North Ridge the main lift that people would lap. Skiers would only ride the GMQ to get out of the base area and nothing else. It essentially created a second base area with skiers coming in on Slide Brook, people coming up from the base area, and skiers going up on North Ridge to ski the mountain’s terrain. It was an interesting system that had its advantages and disadvantages. If a large mid-mountain lodge had been built at the top of the GMQ, the system would’ve made more sense. As North Ridge ages, the chain driven contours are known to be a problem. North Ridge is one of only 3 lifts in the US to use this terminal style, the others being at Squaw Valley and Copper (now removed). Most other resorts have replaced the chain driven contours with tire driven ones. Each year work has been done to keep North Ridge going so I wouldn’t be surprised to see this change occur. North Ridge ran a tad faster in previous years, but the current speed seems to be sufficient. It’s about 4.6 m/s or 900 ft/min.
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Hawk
Well-known member
That is funny you should say that. We all thought is was great. All the newbies were lining up and going up the hill on the downspout side. We skied down the Ripchord side and got right into line on the right side. No one knew to just go and fill all he lines in the corral. Perfect for us regulars. Even when the corral filled up we got into the singles line. I never waited for more than 5 minutes all day both days.
Hawk
Well-known member
I also enjoyed the Grift on Saturday night. It was interesting to see the different crowd with not that many locals and regulars. I talked to a few people who have never seen them before. They were blown away by the song selection.
MorningWoods
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Yeah. I did the exact same thing. On second thought, that set up is perfect, leave it just like it is. [emoji1787]
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Slidebrook87
Active member
I also noticed the setup on Saturday and was impressed. Much better than before. Won’t result in overflow like last weekend. 
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I think at the time it was seen by the locals as ASC taking North to just use the parking lot. All of the real activity was shuffled all to South at that point and they figured people would just park and ride straight over to Lincoln Peak. Nothing to see at Ellen... Yes, a pessimistic view but fit in with the "slash and burn" attitude ASC approached ski area management at the time.
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