The "Sugarbush Thread"

[Blurski]

Grooming, I know Sugarbush & Killington are two totally different animals however they are both in Vermont.

Sugarbush groomed 17/111 trails 15% based on today’s report, reason stated “Warm overnight Temperatures”, and Killington groomed 70/86 trails 81%.

Is what it is, it is more giving a questionable excuse why so little was groomed. Maybe total legit, K’s base does sit at 2,000’.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

when killington has 86 trails open, that is basically only their groomers. their trail count shoots to about 150 when the natural terrain is open. killington's groomers get a pass with a groomer just about every night. they also probably have a pretty deep snowmaking base on their groomers

sugarbush has all 111 trails open, which is typical - they are very laissez faire about letting the skier decide for themself. when sugarbush rolls out a full groom it is about 60 trails, so they definitely went light last night, but the killington comparison is a bit off bc killington simply closed all of their natural terrain

 

[cdskier]

When temps don't drop below freezing overnight it makes absolute sense to limit your grooming to just a couple routes. Running a heavy groomer over wet snow is not at all good for snow preservation (or for quality after a refreeze due to the compaction of wet snow by a heavy machine).

 

[slatham]

Agreed, and especially when the temps are going to be warm enough to create spring snow anyhow.

Now tonight you should see everyone implement a maximum grooming plan as temps will drop and not come up enough tomorrow.

 

[tumbler]

The issue is when you groom when it is above freezing and then it drops below freezing which was the case last night. It is a much more enjoyable skiing experience to ski on groomed spring snow than non groomed.

 

[cdskier]

Beautiful spring afternoon out there today. But boy are we going to need some snow to keep some of the natural terrain open much longer. I was amazed how many bare spots are up on Castlerock. Tomorrow is going to be interesting. Hope those temps drop early enough so the trails freeze up before they're ready to start grooming.

 

[Hawk]

Mad River Glen was awesome as usual today.

Yes the snow is going quick, but what did we all expect. Look at the total for the season. 148 is far below average. We were just lucky that the temps stayed cold for 6 weeks and we got small refreshes the whole time. Basically a perfect storm for not that much snow I think.

 

[cdskier]

Mad River Glen was awesome as usual today.

Yes the snow is going quick, but what did we all expect. Look at the total for the season. 148 is far below average. We were just lucky that the temps stayed cold for 6 weeks and we got small refreshes the whole time. Basically a perfect storm for not that much snow I think.

Yea...in the past 10 years this is the 4th lowest snowfall total we've had at this point in the season. 10 year average for March 12th over the previous 10 years is 190". Easy to forget with that extended stretch of great conditions we had this season.

Interestingly enough we seem to be in a snow hole again in the MRV. Both K and Stowe have about 40" more than we do this season so far...

 

[KustyTheKlown]

about 25" of killington's is the december storm that totally missed north

 

[jaybird]

.. Sugarbush snowfall reports are generally more accurate than K. Bush opts to the conservative side. The three foot storm only made it as far as Chittenden. As to grooming, there is no comparison whatsoever. K absolutely pulverizes their snow with excessive multiple passes. The water content of their machine made snow is generally higher due to water supply and equipment. This time of year, sun orientation has a significant impact on snow surface. Of course, add that to the fact that they support two or three times the skier traffic and it’s no surprise that the place skis very LOUD. Having skied both last week, there was a noticeable difference.

 

[slatham]

Amazing and disappointing how little snow has fallen since late Feb. The last 4 weeks are typically a time of year where you get good March storms. Maybe at the end of this week we'll get something but that could easily miss to the south.

 

[STREETSKIER]

Looking like corn peel away
Wednesday/Thursday this week
Then a real cycle for the weekend and week after
Sat and Sunday could be top spring days

 

[ducky]

Yesterday felt like the coldest day of the year.

 

[Boxtop Willie]

Damn close. Was in a PSIA clinic all day...nasty cold. Sleeper was the trail of the day because it's protected from the wind.
Snow was pretty firm everywhere.

 

[WinS]

Yesterday felt like the coldest day of the year.

I will second that. It was a four run day. The weekend is looking really nice at this point and probably a good time to enjoy some trails like Castlerock and Sunrise before the spring sun does it’s thing. Stein’s with 10 feet of depth is going to last for awhile and maybe the wishes of some of you will come to pass one night this week.

 

[ss20]

I will second that. It was a four run day. The weekend is looking really nice at this point and probably a good time to enjoy some trails like Castlerock and Sunrise before the spring sun does it’s thing. Stein’s with 10 feet of depth is going to last for awhile and maybe the wishes of some of you will come to pass one night this week.

Sounded like a lot of innuendos to say "groom"! It's the only trail closed on the trail report so it's gotta be absolutely nasty.

 

[WinS]

Sounded like a lot of innuendos to say "groom"! It's the only trail closed on the trail report so it's gotta be absolutely nasty.

Some reflections from past experience. It takes a lot of time to winch Stein’s, so it has to fit into an overall grooming plan. Once groomed unless there is new snow or the sun softens it, it has to be groomed every night or it becomes very slick. The ideal time is to groom is just before or as new snow is falling or an evening when it is set up and the morning spring sun will soften it and new moguls can be formed.

 

[jaybird]

Paquette once showed me a video of him grooming Steins one night a couple years ago. He bladed a 3 foot ridge near the top and the whole slab took off downhill since the underlying layer was porcelain. Pretty cool footage .. avalanche worthy .. he was pretty amped about it. Looking forward to bumping the crap out of that pitch soon

 

[TSQURD]

Heard today there is a problem with the backup diesel motor on North Lynx, and might be down for some time, or even the rest of the season.

 

[tumbler]

Bummer. Spring is the one time of year I make an effort to get up to there. Bumps on Sunrise are fun