The "Sugarbush Thread"

[ericfromMA/NH/VT]

Just received an e-mail today saying Quad Packs are back. I believe the prices seem higher than I remember, although it has been a while since I bought one (and honestly I thought they were a bit TOO cheap for a while).

Purchase by October 14th and it is $399 for a transferable unrestricted quad pack. There's also a new mid-week Quad pack that is $299 through October 14th.

yep, saw that this weekend. disapointed but not surprised.

The old Quadpacks were $259 in 2019. that year I could get a day pass for 70-80 bucks max if I bought it ahead of time. They were a good deal.

Last year I saw the jump in ticket prices, thought "well, thats OK its just this year".

Shame on me.

The midweek one isnt that bad a deal but the blackout dates in february kills it for me because I used the quad passes to get my kids up there midweek. I've never skied Sugarbush on a weekend and don't want to start this year. In the past I would get a couple quad packs, pull my kids out of elementary school and we would go spend a couple days up there midweek once or twice a year. Thats place really helped them develop into great skiers.

Now my son is in seventh grade and missing a day of school really makes him work hard to catch up on homework etc., So pulling him out midweek is no longer an option, his mid week ski days will be on school vacation days....so that mid week pass dosent help me.

If me and friends want to buy it for mid week trips i may get one, but the days of me skiing there with my kids are over, which sucks. I will not pay $100 a day to ski. I'm sorry, thats just my limit. I havent seen the per day pricing yet, but I'm sure it'll be $100+ no matter how far in advance you buy them.

I'm assuming $30 Thursdays at ME are a thing of the past as well.

We got the epic pass this year so I will take the $400 I'd spend on that quad pass and spend it on a cheap hotel near Stowe (it will buy me 2 nights at a dive hotel, I've checked) and we will ski Stow 3 days midweek in school vacation week instead of Sugarbush this year. New Hampshire and Vermont's school vacation weeks in February is the week after New York and Massachusetts so the crowds shouldn't be that bad. They've never been that bad in New Hampshire that week anyway. And yes I bought the epic pass that lets me ski stowe with no blackout dates. We may spend some time around Christmas up there as well depending on conditions.

I know there's a lot of hatred for Vail on this site and who knows after this year maybe I'll hate them too, but until they give me a reason to I'm excited for the epic pass but I will miss Sugarbush.

Enjoy fellas I hope you have a kick ass season up there this year.

 

[thetrailboss]

yep, saw that this weekend. disapointed but not surprised.

The old Quadpacks were $259 in 2019. that year I could get a day pass for 70-80 bucks max if I bought it ahead of time. They were a good deal.

Last year I saw the jump in ticket prices, thought "well, thats OK its just this year".

Shame on me.

The midweek one isnt that bad a deal but the blackout dates in february kills it for me because I used the quad passes to get my kids up there midweek. I've never skied Sugarbush on a weekend and don't want to start this year. In the past I would get a couple quad packs, pull my kids out of elementary school and we would go spend a couple days up there midweek once or twice a year. Thats place really helped them develop into great skiers.

Now my son is in seventh grade and missing a day of school really makes him work hard to catch up on homework etc., So pulling him out midweek is no longer an option, his mid week ski days will be on school vacation days....so that mid week pass dosent help me.

If me and friends want to buy it for mid week trips i may get one, but the days of me skiing there with my kids are over, which sucks. I will not pay $100 a day to ski. I'm sorry, thats just my limit. I havent seen the per day pricing yet, but I'm sure it'll be $100+ no matter how far in advance you buy them.

I'm assuming $30 Thursdays at ME are a thing of the past as well.

We got the epic pass this year so I will take the $400 I'd spend on that quad pass and spend it on a cheap hotel near Stowe (it will buy me 2 nights at a dive hotel, I've checked) and we will ski Stow 3 days midweek in school vacation week instead of Sugarbush this year. New Hampshire and Vermont's school vacation weeks in February is the week after New York and Massachusetts so the crowds shouldn't be that bad. They've never been that bad in New Hampshire that week anyway. And yes I bought the epic pass that lets me ski stowe with no blackout dates. We may spend some time around Christmas up there as well depending on conditions.

I know there's a lot of hatred for Vail on this site and who knows after this year maybe I'll hate them too, but until they give me a reason to I'm excited for the epic pass but I will miss Sugarbush.

Enjoy fellas I hope you have a kick ass season up there this year.

Yeah, I think it is fair to say that local deals are now history at Sugarbush. The model that Vail and Alterra follow means that those programs are cut in favor of the big pass product and forcing people to that product.

 

[WWF-VT]

We got the epic pass this year so I will take the $400 I'd spend on that quad pass and spend it on a cheap hotel near Stowe (it will buy me 2 nights at a dive hotel, I've checked) and we will ski Stow 3 days midweek in school vacation week instead of Sugarbush this year. New Hampshire and Vermont's school vacation weeks in February is the week after New York and Massachusetts so the crowds shouldn't be that bad. They've never been that bad in New Hampshire that week anyway. And yes I bought the epic pass that lets me ski stowe with no blackout dates. We may spend some time around Christmas up there as well depending on conditions.

You bought an Epic Pass and bitching that Sugarbush has raised the price for Quad Packs.

Welcome to the world where an unrestricted day ticket for $100 is considered a deal.

 

[thetrailboss]

You bought an Epic Pass and bitching that Sugarbush has raised the price for Quad Packs.

Welcome to the world where an unrestricted day ticket for $100 is considered a deal.

You do have a point….

 

[kingslug]

Don't know if this year will be the same as last..but SB was not crowded at all on weekend..even when it was dumping. They were all at Stowe.

 

[Hawk]

We will see but as I stated above, I think the wave is coming like we have never seen before.

 

[ducky]

Stowe has a proof of vaccine requirement for all dining facilities, as well as all employees.

Winter Experience | Stowe

www.stowe.com

Stowe's pass prices (Epic) came down this year. The Epic Local was 539, now 599, and the full Epic pass is still just 799. SB seems to have a similar pricing structure if a tad higher. I am always shocked that anyone buys day tickets considering the season pass platforms available and the unlimited access options they provide.

 

[thetrailboss]

We will see but as I stated above, I think the wave is coming like we have never seen before.

Yeah, I don't wish what we have experienced out here in SLC with IKON on you. But I think that there are major differences--namely that Sugarbush is 4 hours away from a metro area (BOS) and is the northernmost IKON resort in Vermont. We, in the SLC metro area, have over 1 mill people within an hour from the areas (and growing). I would expect that LP would have some busy days but ME would still be relatively quiet. Pretty good for a 2,000+ vertical area.

 

[Shredmonkey254]

Don't know if this year will be the same as last..but SB was not crowded at all on weekend..even when it was dumping. They were all at Stowe.

That's the way it's always been... it was crowded at SB last year... I thinks that you are just used to $teaux

 

[Hawk]

The lines we have seen over the last 10 years have been very consitent. Standing in line for 10 minutes or less is not that bad. I do not call that crowded. Last year the numbers were less but we had no singles or grouping up. Still it was not that bad. it moved along. I think that this year we will see bunches on new full time skiers. I gess we will see and have something to talk about.

 

[nhskier1969]

Don't know if this year will be the same as last..but SB was not crowded at all on weekend..even when it was dumping. They were all at Stowe.

If this is any indication, I normally book New Years at SB in October. I was bored and started looking for lodging a few weeks ago. There is nothing, I mean nothing for lodging around SB. Years past this wouldn't be a problem. I then went to other Ikon properties and it was the same thing, no lodging. It seems that if you want to ski Ikon you will have issues with lodging this year. If you go to an indenpent resort like Smuggs thier won't be as much as an issue.

 

[cdskier]

If this is any indication, I normally book New Years at SB in October. I was bored and started looking for lodging a few weeks ago. There is nothing, I mean nothing for lodging around SB. Years past this wouldn't be a problem. I then went to other Ikon properties and it was the same thing, no lodging. It seems that if you want to ski Ikon you will have issues with lodging this year. If you go to an indenpent resort like Smuggs thier won't be as much as an issue.

What kind of lodging are you looking for? I just looked at 5 different lodges/inns in the area as well as AirBnB and see quite a bit of availability around New Years weekend.

 

[kingslug]

I was there when it snowed 3 days straight 2/8, 2/9, 2/10..never stood on a line..it was empty..I was shocked..yes it was a mon, tues, wed..but at Stowe they come out of the woodworks no matter what day it is if its snowing...all I kept asking was..where are the people??

 

[KustyTheKlown]

If this is any indication, I normally book New Years at SB in October. I was bored and started looking for lodging a few weeks ago. There is nothing, I mean nothing for lodging around SB. Years past this wouldn't be a problem. I then went to other Ikon properties and it was the same thing, no lodging. It seems that if you want to ski Ikon you will have issues with lodging this year. If you go to an indenpent resort like Smuggs thier won't be as much as an issue.

i mean, that's just simply not true.

these are the first 4 results for Thursday December 30 to Sunday January 2. if i were to expand the search out to Waterbury there would be even more.

this is the result of about 15 seconds of low effort.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

and an additional 2 seconds of scrolling to reveal the next 4 fine options within 5 miles of sugarbush...

 

[jimmywilson69]

I really think the Al natural state that SB is left in keeps people away. While most on a ski forum like it this way, the masses want nice groomed terrain.

 

[tumbler]

I'm cautiously optimistic that the crowds will not be awful because there are other options for people to do, like go to warmth and the kids extracurricular activities will be happening where last winter not many were. Regardless, we are on the hill early and know how to move around with the crowd.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

place is def pretty rowdy for gen-pop. there is also a serious lack of true beginner terrain. a modestly icey push-over scared the crap out of my girlfriend and she was limited to easy rider and the village quad. she's a true spaz of a beginner but I reckon many other true spaz beginners have the same experience off of gatehouse.

 

[cdskier]

i mean, that's just simply not true.

these are the first 4 results for Thursday December 30 to Sunday January 2. if i were to expand the search out to Waterbury there would be even more.

this is the result of about 15 seconds of low effort.

Yea...nearly all lodges I looked at right in the Mad River Valley had more rooms available than booked in the New Years time-frame. Only website I went to that came up with nearly nothing was Sugarbush's own site (but you can't really see many details on why they show nothing...is it because the haven't made stuff available? Or are they really sold out? Or are they only accepting longer stays, etc. When you go to many of the individual lodges, they show you room by room what is available vs booked).

 

[kingslug]

SB is a very different place than Stowe..Now that I've been there more I prefer it. The terrain for the most part is pretty hairy..not that Stowe isn't ..but they tend to close runs when SB keeps them open no matter what. And CR..is like no other..