The "Sugarbush Thread"

[tumbler]

It seems like a ton of extra work to change the alignment. Wouldn't they have to move towers? I will say that it is a bit frustrating that you have to climb to get to OG and Jester. But that's not a reason to do the extra work.

Some blasting and regrading of the road to Jester would be nice

 

[Kingslug20]

No love for upper organ grinder (organ donor)...I swear that run has liquid nitrogen running under it...it seems to never soften. I really see anyone on it. The last time i skied it was in a foot of new snow..still solid ice underneath so it got sketchy pretty fast..but what is with it??.

 

[djd66]

No love for upper organ grinder (organ donor)...I swear that run has liquid nitrogen running under it...it seems to never soften. I really see anyone on it. The last time i skied it was in a foot of new snow..still solid ice underneath so it got sketchy pretty fast..but what is with it??.

I think the double fall line plays a big roll on how it skis

 

[Hawk]

Organgrinder is fine most years. This year we had mostly shit conditions so it was not that good for long stretches. I really like that we have a sustained bump run for that long distance with no grooming for the most part. The double fall line is not that pronounced at all and is not that big of a thing for me. I ski it a lot and use the ripchord cut through.

 

[ThatGuy]

Isn’t that Spillsville when you cut in off Ripcord.

 

[cdskier]

Isn’t that Spillsville when you cut in off Ripcord.

I think Hawk is referring to the cut through the woods at the very top right under the HG lift shack (a patroller years ago told me that cut through is named "Monkey Butt").

 

[Kingslug20]

Spillsville is to the right of ripcord

 

[Hawk]

CD is right. It is called monkey bite because the woods below are called the monkey. You know Organgrinder......Monkey.

 

[ThatGuy]

Good info!

 

[Smellytele]

Spillsville is to the right of ripcord

But there is a cutover from OG as well.
Not the same as monkey butt though

 

[Hawk]

Sorry Monkey Butt is correct.

 

[mikec142]

This is good info for sure. I'd like to be able to avoid the OG headwall.

Oddly enough, In low snow years or conditions where there hasn't been new snow in a few days, I don't love several SB classics.

I often find the very top of Upper OG to be boilerplate. Then there's a good stretch and where it narrows it becomes boilerplate again. I also don't love Ripcord or Steins. I find them to be icy messes more often than not. Ripcord from tower 8 down to 6 (or is it 9-7?) is often a sheet of ice. I rarely get to ski RC or Steins in the warm weather as I'm not up there that much in the Spring. I'm betting I'd like Steins a heck of a lot more than I do now if I got to ski it in the Spring.

 

[cdskier]

Sorry Monkey Butt is correct.

I was briefly worried that I was using the wrong name all these years!

This is good info for sure. I'd like to be able to avoid the OG headwall.

Oddly enough, In low snow years or conditions where there hasn't been new snow in a few days, I don't love several SB classics.

I often find the very top of Upper OG to be boilerplate. Then there's a good stretch and where it narrows it becomes boilerplate again. I also don't love Ripcord or Steins. I find them to be icy messes more often than not. Ripcord from tower 8 down to 6 (or is it 9-7?) is often a sheet of ice. I rarely get to ski RC or Steins in the warm weather as I'm not up there that much in the Spring. I'm betting I'd like Steins a heck of a lot more than I do now if I got to ski it in the Spring.

I like the cut through the woods more for avoiding the uphill climb to OG rather than specifically to avoid skiing the headwall. That very top of OG does become pretty slick some years (too much wind exposure at that point). They've tried setting up some wind fencing up there recently to help...I think it has had some degree of success but it was still a tough year this year for the very top of the headwall on OG. There was a rather large stretch this year where I didn't bother skiing OG at all (which is highly unusual for me).

Ripcord...I ski it early in the day and then don't tend to go back to it when conditions are likely to be conducive to it becoming scraped off and icy. Spring is a completely different story on that trail for sure though. RC was the pick of the day many days this spring.

Steins I also tend to not ski as much mid-season in a year like this year. In the spring on a nice warm day though it is a completely different story and a ton of fun.

 

[Hawk]

So the real problem with Upper Organgrinder is the early season snowmaking. So when the temps are marginal in late November, that is when OG gets blown. I have literally skinned and skied it early season 5 of the past 6 years. (Don't tell Win and Hammond) ;-) They blow thick mud and it freezes solid and they almost never go back. I am not sure if the elevation is the issue, or the pipes or the guns but it is never good snow early on. Then when we get snow it just blows off. Grooming never helps because there is nothing for the snow to hold onto. I do ski it anywy but I wish that run was on the list for tower guns or something.

 

[tumbler]

There were towers on it many years ago, the old SR-7 ones. But that was back in the day when constant resurfacing was part of the snowmaking plan.

 

[cdskier]

Eh? Upper OG still has towers...the same HKD tower guns that are on most of Ripcord, Steins, etc. Or am I missing something here? (I just took a look at my photos from 4/14 when I last skied OG to make sure I wasn't going crazy...)

 

[tumbler]

I don't ski OG that often so that's how good my memory is. And from an earlier post, the double fall line on OG is tough, I have seen some nasty falls that then slide into the woods and years ago even a groomer doing some lumberjacking.

 

[STREETSKIER]

Friday lift served on steins

 

[Kingslug20]

Oh man..new boots coming thursday..if they come early enough and i can get them fitted...hmmmm...

 

[slatham]

So the real problem with Upper Organgrinder is the early season snowmaking. So when the temps are marginal in late November, that is when OG gets blown. I have literally skinned and skied it early season 5 of the past 6 years. (Don't tell Win and Hammond) ;-) They blow thick mud and it freezes solid and they almost never go back. I am not sure if the elevation is the issue, or the pipes or the guns but it is never good snow early on. Then when we get snow it just blows off. Grooming never helps because there is nothing for the snow to hold onto. I do ski it anywy but I wish that run was on the list for tower guns or something.

I was going to mention this as well. One year in particular - a couple years "pre" covid - they just absolutely messed it up and it never recovered. The only way (well you now this better than I do Hawk) is to get the guns back on it, make it wet enough at start to bond, then back off to make it ski and groom-able. But thats not how snowmaking works at SB.

And then there's the wind....

And skiers/boarders going sideways scraping it off until they hit decent snow......