The "Sugarbush Thread"

[KustyTheKlown]

I've only been to Gore a few times and unfortunately, each time the conditions have been abysmal.

lots of on map tree skiing. some of it quite long in terms of vertical drop (burnt ridge). weird layout - unkind to snowboards. old school vibes. gore is good. would rather ski gore than stratton or okemo for sure. but not magic.

 

[cdskier]

I really liked Gore the bunch of times I was there (this was before the expansion to Burnt Ridge as well). The town of North Creek doesn't have much to offer though and turned me off from considering it as a "home mountain". The MRV on the other hand is a great asset and compliment to the ski areas here.

 

[skiur]

you just tell the shop exactly what value to set the din. its not that complicated.

Or just set it yourself, all it takes is a screwdriver.

 

[mikec142]

I really liked Gore the bunch of times I was there (this was before the expansion to Burnt Ridge as well). The town of North Creek doesn't have much to offer though and turned me off from considering it as a "home mountain". The MRV on the other hand is a great asset and compliment to the ski areas here.

I've mentioned this before. Gore has excellent terrain. There are several drawbacks, some of which have been solved.

First was it's a state owned mountain and for many years the lodge and snow making ability reflected that. That's been alleviated as NY has put in a ton of money to expand terrain, add equipment, redo parts of the lodge and add lifts. There are still parts of the lodge that are what I would politely refer to as old school, but it's improved immensely over the years.

The second issue can't be resolved. I can't explain why, but if the temperature at Sugarbush is 15 degrees, you can guarantee that Gore and Whiteface are several degrees colder. For some reason, I feel like Gore doesn't get as much natural snow as areas in VT but I could be comparing that to the northern greens. It's probably on par with the southern greens for snowfall.

The third issue is that Gore is truly in the middle of nowhere. North Creek has virtually zero to offer and the lodging in the area is lame. My best friend has a lake house about 25 minutes from the mountain so we spend all of our non-ski time at his place. But if you don't have access to a private home, there ain't much going on. Another friend bought a house up there too, but I haven't visited in the winter.

If I were buying a ski house, Gore would not be the first place I would choose. Certainly would be hard to become part of the community as it doesn't feel like there is much of one. The four hour drive is nice though.

My wife and I love Saratoga...lots to do, culture, food, college town, track, etc. It's exactly an hour away from Gore with about half of that driving on the highway. Wouldn't be a bad place to retire...

 

[kingslug]

The few hotels, motels and Bb's are expensive. I stayed at one last week and it was 170.00 for a room that is 90 at Hunter. I have stayed at the Sunview motel in Hunter after skiing there then drive the 2 hours to Gore on Sunday. Cuts the cost in half. Or just day trip to Gore. Not taking any west or Europe trips saves a ton of money..to be spent right here..which is good for local businesses that desperately need it.

 

[keyser soze]

short hills ski club? That house looks nice.

No, Central Jersey Ski Club. It's very close to SHSC though in Rochester. There are places nearby to eat, but we have a huge kitchen with 2 of each stoves, ovens, fridges, microwaves, dishwashers, etc. There's a couple of good places nearby if you want to go out. 15 miles to Killington and about 25 to Sugarbush. Nice setup and only $25/night.

 

[Powder Whore]

Gore is def a hidden gem when it has snow. They simply don't get as much snow as Vt. The glades are good & they open all of the lifelines when its deep. The mountain bike trails & bushwhacking type stuff is amazing . Heads up, there is rock bands everywhere. I have followed tracks into the woods there an unknowingly found substantial mandatory airs.

 

[Powder Whore]

The vibe at Platty reminds me of Mt. Ellen. My buddy lives near windham so I've hit platty for powder days a bunch the last few years.

LAKE EFFECT!! Family owned & operated, very high percentage of good skiers, personal accountability policy,
& LAKE EFFECT.

 

[WinS]

Huh, weird they still have the ad up

I believe that job is the one Dave Ulbrich had. He has moved on to another job in the Valley. The mountain divisions ( patrol, lifts, snowmaking, etc) report directly to PK now. All of those positions are held by people who have been with Sugarbush for some time.

 

[tumbler]

Since so many natural trails are open, when is slidebrook lift opening?

 

[WWF-VT]

Don't confuse "open" with any depth of snow on natural trails. Slidebrook lift needs significant snow depth before it will run.

 

[Slidebrook87]

I would assume (I’m not sure) if they do get 8 inches or so from this storm, Slide Brook could be a possibility. I remember technically it’s a foot and a half, but it’s really more about when the water bars are full and snowmobiles are able to traverse the liftline.

 

[CastlerockMRV]

I think there might be a p-tex shortage in valley soon if this storm doesn't deliver! I stopped into 2 shops this week and both were suuuuper backed up with repairs and not doing overnight turnarounds.

 

[Blurski]

I think there might be a p-tex shortage in valley soon if this storm doesn't deliver! I stopped into 2 shops this week and both were suuuuper backed up with repairs and not doing overnight turnarounds.

This wind forecast might slow down the ski damage via "Wind Hold"

The forecast for Mount Ellen, Vermont at 4,083 ft: Last Updated at 329 PM EST Fri Jan 15 2021 .TONIGHT...Summits in and out of clouds until midnight, then becoming obscured in clouds. Snow after midnight. Lows in the mid 20s. Southeast winds 30 to 40 mph, increasing to 40 to 50 mph with gusts up to 60 mph after midnight. .SATURDAY...Summits in and out of clouds in the morning, then becoming cloudy. Snow. Highs in the lower 30s. Southeast winds 50 to 55 mph with gusts up to 70 mph, diminishing to 30 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph in the afternoon. .SATURDAY NIGHT...Cloudy. Snow until midnight, then snow showers after midnight. Lows in the mid 20s. West winds 15 to 30 mph, increasing to 30 to 35 mph after midnight. .SUNDAY...Cloudy. Snow showers likely. Highs in the mid 20s. West winds 35 to 40 mph.

 

[Powder Whore]

I think there might be a p-tex shortage in valley soon if this storm doesn't deliver! I stopped into 2 shops this week and both were suuuuper backed up with repairs and not doing overnight turnarounds.

Hey this seemed odd to me. I dropped 1 pair off AO last Sat and was told to pick them up on Wends. Those skis actually needed a fair amount of work so ok.
When I picked those skis up Wends morn I tried to drop another pair off for a quick tune. I was told they won't be read until sunday?

 

[smac75]

The Phoenix used to be quite the place some 15+ years ago.

Man, we had a couple of really fun nights at the Phoenix back in the day. It used to be quite the dance party! It felt so short-lived.

 

[jaybird]

We moved to Saratoga Springs this past fall and it looks like we will be deferring our passes due to travel restrictions. I really want to check out Gore this season; some mid-week day while kids are in school maybe. Having been a passholder at SB forever it's a tough $500 pill to swallow taking the family to Gore (or anywhere for that matter!). But I should reason that we aren't paying for lodging in SB every weekend either. So there's that. Still haven't had the pleasure of trying Uncommon Grounds yet! Every time we head down it's packed! Soon though!

When did this become a Saratoga thread .. just sayin'

 

[cdskier]

Nice fireworks tonight. I've never actually watched them before (not often up on holiday weekends). Here's a few shots I took tonight...View attachment DSC_0957.jpg
View attachment DSC_0964.jpgView attachment DSC_0968a.jpgView attachment DSC_0969a.jpg

 

[Slidebrook87]

With all this snow, how long before Castlerock and Slide Brook begin spinning?Assuming there are no warmups, pretty much every mountain in Vermont is set to have a good rest of January in terms of coverage.

 

[Smellytele]

With all this snow, how long before Castlerock and Slide Brook begin spinning?Assuming there are no warmups, pretty much every mountain in Vermont is set to have a good rest of January in terms of coverage.

Who are you asking? You just want guesses?
No knowledge just a WAG - Feb 5 for slidebrook and Castlerock 1/29.