The "Sugarbush Thread"

[Lynxewoods]

Hit Castlerock run several times this week as well as middle earth and cotillion..with a few breaks through the toll road which was almost knee deep. Best lines of the year.
even the bumps on right side of ripcord were deep.

This fantastic ski season is brought to you by me finally committing to getting my knee replacement. Rip it up out there for me!

 

[teleo]

It is South Beech, and yesterday it absolutely sucked. Stay out of there, there be dragons.

Tried to take it home to my condo. Overgrown, blowdowns. Sucks in there. I'd vote stay out too.

 

[Hawk]

Been skiing back to my condo for 15 years now. Sorry but I find really sad that this is the first year that it is totally overrun. used to be very quiet. Lots of first timers I have run into outside of my condo asking how to get back to the base.

 

[kingslug]

Damn..it is friggin cold out there..day 8..motivation...low

 

[jaybird]

Goat is overrated.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Goat is overrated.

the narrow double fall line isn't the most fun ski. def not my favorite at stowe, which would probably be bypass and the woods beyond bypass. but the point is that they're keeping their steepest and rockiest terrain closed when conditions are primo.

 

[kingslug]

And closed. Yet you can go through the woods into lookout or Starr. Still good in there.

 

[ducky]

Was actually overdressed today with double longjohns and my regular gear. Walk on at Gate House 10am, same for Lynx.

 

[cdskier]

Actually planned ahead a bit for the Fireworks tonight and had a much better spot in mind to take some photos:




Skiing wasn't too bad either...
View attachment DSC_0612a.jpg

 

[keyser soze]

How were the conditions at Sugarbush today? Getting scraped off??

 

[Boxtop Willie]

Excellent fireworks tonight.
Another fantastic day at SB. Not quite the fresh snow of last Tuesday and Wednesday, but still excellent. Minimal crowds. Max 5 minutes at Gate House at 11am. Cold, but confortable since there was no wind. Prepped for the arctic and was way overdressed. Essentially ski on at all lifts for most of the day. At Ellen all afternoon. Spent the afternoon doing high speed cruisers, lapping North Ridge (son brought out the GS skis) lift was ski on all the time. Snow conditions were very good, nothing skied off. Another 2-3 inches tonight will refresh things nicely.

 

[Boxtop Willie]

BTW, great photos CD. The fireworks were really good. Some unique shells that I hadn't seen before.

 

[Tonyr]

Actually planned ahead a bit for the Fireworks tonight and had a much better spot in mind to take some photos:
View attachment 50372
View attachment 50373View attachment 50374View attachment 50375


Skiing wasn't too bad either...
View attachment 50377

Great photos!

 

[KustyTheKlown]

a real camera ya? everytime ive ever taken a picture of a firework with an iphone its been a waste of storage space on the phone/icloud

 

[Powder Whore]

Was actually overdressed today with double longjohns and my regular gear. Walk on at Gate House 10am, same for Lynx.

I went with an extra layer most of the week and regretted it most of the week.

 

[cdskier]

a real camera ya? everytime ive ever taken a picture of a firework with an iphone its been a waste of storage space on the phone/icloud

Yes, real DSLR camera with a tripod and remote shutter so I don't shake the camera while taking a shot and can control how long the shutter is open manually

 

[WinS]

Su

I think you’ll find that the way sugarbush lifts are set up, in a hub and spoke system, is really beneficial to regular skiers looking to lap the upper mountain terrain without having to deal with the crowds on the base lifts. There are downsides when pods aren’t open due to windhold, lack of snow or mechanical, but when everything is up and running, it’s a huge advantage imho.

As I recall the Vertical lift capacity at Sugarbush is 25,225 people for the 16 lifts (non including GMVS surface lifts). For Stowe’s 10 it in 19,700 and much of that is on Spruce Peak side.

 

[kingslug]

At Spruce I head right for the Sensation quad..which is usually one of the colder places on earth so lines are non existent. Just wish they had more back there.

 

[mikec142]

your dreams of an uncrowded sugarbush most likely will be shattered if you show up this weekend!

Surprisingly not true. Was with the family this weekend so got out a bit later than normal. But both Saturday and Sunday, arrived at Lincoln Peak around 8:50 and got spots in the main, upper lot. Totally expected to be way down the parking totem pole. Not sure what to attribute it to...maybe on Saturday people got scared away due to the cold. I dressed normally and was fine. It was sunny and no wind, so really not a big deal. All the lifts were maybe 1-2 minute waits with Castlerock being a 3-5 minute wait. Sunday I expected the crowds to be there for sure and got the same exact spot in the lot. GH and SB started to have lines around 11am but still very reasonable.

Saturday was the better conditions of the two days. Cold, but sunny and no wind. Sunday was much warmer, but freezing fog from the top of Super Bravo upward. It was the kind of misty fog that instantly froze on your goggles. It got better as the day wore on, but visibility was challenging up top for a decent part of the day. A couple of highlights for me from the weekend. My youngest (16) continues to progress and it's really fun to watch. Pretty sure I mentioned it upthread, but I can no longer keep up with her. She's fast and graceful. Also discovered Lew's Line and Ruffed Up. Went down Domino with my kid and two bumps in she's in the woods. I followed her in...plenty of soft snow in there. A lot of fun. More challenging than Eden and Deeper Sleeper, but really fun. Since I had never been in there, I took my time...enough time that my kid texted me (twice) from the HG traverse asking if I was all good...LOL. Talk about a blow to the ego.

Castlerock Run was really fun on Saturday, but by Sunday, the top was a bit scraped off and the bumps were bigger and firmer. Lower CRR was still excellent. The top of Paradise has a lot of exposed rocks, but if you navigate down about 50 yards, the coverage is much better. I think both trails will benefit from the additional snow this week. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to do both. But CRR took a lot out of me.

Was planning on skiing Monday, but tired legs and the prospect of a long, treacherous drive home after skiing a couple of hours didn't sit well. As sad as I was to miss a ski day, it was the right call.

 

[jaybird]

Yes, real DSLR camera with a tripod and remote shutter so I don't shake the camera while taking a shot and can control how long the shutter is open manually

Surprisingly not true. Was with the family this weekend so got out a bit later than normal. But both Saturday and Sunday, arrived at Lincoln Peak around 8:50 and got spots in the main, upper lot. Totally expected to be way down the parking totem pole. Not sure what to attribute it to...maybe on Saturday people got scared away due to the cold. I dressed normally and was fine. It was sunny and no wind, so really not a big deal. All the lifts were maybe 1-2 minute waits with Castlerock being a 3-5 minute wait. Sunday I expected the crowds to be there for sure and got the same exact spot in the lot. GH and SB started to have lines around 11am but still very reasonable.

Saturday was the better conditions of the two days. Cold, but sunny and no wind. Sunday was much warmer, but freezing fog from the top of Super Bravo upward. It was the kind of misty fog that instantly froze on your goggles. It got better as the day wore on, but visibility was challenging up top for a decent part of the day. A couple of highlights for me from the weekend. My youngest (16) continues to progress and it's really fun to watch. Pretty sure I mentioned it upthread, but I can no longer keep up with her. She's fast and graceful. Also discovered Lew's Line and Ruffed Up. Went down Domino with my kid and two bumps in she's in the woods. I followed her in...plenty of soft snow in there. A lot of fun. More challenging than Eden and Deeper Sleeper, but really fun. Since I had never been in there, I took my time...enough time that my kid texted me (twice) from the HG traverse asking if I was all good...LOL. Talk about a blow to the ego.

Castlerock Run was really fun on Saturday, but by Sunday, the top was a bit scraped off and the bumps were bigger and firmer. Lower CRR was still excellent. The top of Paradise has a lot of exposed rocks, but if you navigate down about 50 yards, the coverage is much better. I think both trails will benefit from the additional snow this week. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to do both. But CRR took a lot out of me.

Was planning on skiing Monday, but tired legs and the prospect of a long, treacherous drive home after skiing a couple of hours didn't sit well. As sad as I was to miss a ski day, it was the right call.