The "Sugarbush Thread"

[doublediamond]

Why not just take a CC when making reservations and charge a $50 or whatever deposit.

 

[cdskier]

You've been complaining there aren't enough places to eat and driving to Waterbury is too far. Perhaps an opinion after you try it and see what the wait's like?

I have to imagine many people here are actually happy there are two more restaurants in town.

And those people are more than welcome to go. I won't to a place like that without reservations. Sorry, I have no desire to potentially wait or have to go somewhere else last minute. That's my choice. FWIW heard good things about the food from someone that was at the soft opening a week or so ago...

Meanwhile I also pointed out in my previous post that 1824 House now does accept reservations. So for people looking for a place with a reservation (like me), they're now an option for a more relaxed "upscale casual" option...

Why not just take a CC when making reservations and charge a $50 or whatever deposit.

We don't know for sure if the no-show concern is actually the reason they're choosing to do no reservations. I know some smaller restaurants in other areas that do precisely what you suggest. And usually they'll refund the deposit as well if they can rebook the table (or you cancel a certain number of days in advance). Although I think a commitment like a deposit for a no-show does require a bit of a reputation built up. Not sure how well that would work for a brand new restaurant.

 

[Hawk]

I'm off to the the big eazy NO on Friday. My best buddy is dialing it in for so when we get there, it will be non-stop fun.
I have to say I am a little sad. This will be the first year in 30 that I have not skied Christmas week......

Y'all have a happy new year.

 

[cdskier]

Random weird thing with my Ikon pass today. Today was my first day, yet the gates said it was my 2nd. Just logged into my Ikon pass account and it shows April 9th as the first day on my new pass (April 9th also shows as a day on last year's pass...as do several days after April 9th). Even weirder...I only purchased this season's pass on April 10th! So Ikon's system thinks I used a day on my new pass before I even purchased it... (As someone that works in IT, I find this sort of "bug" fascinating).

 

[Lotso]

And another in the random department: I have lived here 35 years and never seen a stretch of dense fog as I have this week+ .

As a friend once said: "I feel like I am wrapped in cotton"

Hope the pattern changes but looks like it will be a bit...

 

[cdskier]

Looks like Ripcord will be one of the next snowmaking targets...guns and hoses are all setup that weren't there yesterday morning...

 

[Lotso]

New seafood restaurant on Bridge St owned by Joey Nagy from Mad Taco. Here's the post:
We're excited to announce a new restaurant on Bridge Street in Waitsfield, in the former Peasant space. We're open Thursday through Monday 4-9pm and serve creative, shareable dishes inspired by cuisines from all over the world. We encourage our guests to bring friends, eat, imbibe, laugh and repeat. To see a sample menu go to scragandroe.com. No reservations.

Also, Mad Bush Falls is open 7 days a week and brunch on the weekends. He's s Stowe guy but other than that, pretty nice.

Pricey menu. Hope portions are large and food is good!

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Really glad the skiing is soft and fun and DRY today because the past two days were so fucking depressing and I caught a nasty cold (which I seem to have mostly overcome since yesterday.) 30k skied already. Pushing for 40k to make up for the past two days of 10k short rain sessions.

Today would be a great day …. in april

Hopefully this snow overproduces tonite

 

[kingslug]

Made the most of the last 3 days bouncing between here and stowe..
At least lots of moguls..

 

[ColdRain&Snow]

Doing my first visit to SB in about 20 years Jan 2, gonna hit Kill for a day too, about ten years for that one. Looks like some natural snow in the forecast and temps for snowmaking, so hopefully decent conditions.

 

[SteezyRob]

Really glad the skiing is soft and fun and DRY today because the past two days were so fucking depressing and I caught a nasty cold (which I seem to have mostly overcome since yesterday.) 30k skied already. Pushing for 40k to make up for the past two days of 10k short rain sessions.

Today would be a great day …. in april

Hopefully this snow overproduces tonite

it wasn't dry the last 3 hours or so. super light rain so i don't think any damage was done, but i don't think there could be much more to do...

 

[VTSkiBike]

Slept in yesterday, rolled into Mt. Ellen by 11:00 and skied soft, creamy snow until 3:30. No lines, nice temps and great skiing. I've had much worse days on the hill.

 

[cdskier]

Does NRX have an actual issue? Or is this just a choice to not open it yet? I remember last year NRX didn't open in the beginning either...not sure we ever had an explanation for that.

I found the answer (should really remember to check the Sugarbush blog site once in a while as the answer was buried in there in a recent ops update on 12/23)...

State of the Mountain: Heading into the Holidays - SugarBlog

What a wild week it has been for the northeastern ski industry. Unless you've been living under a rock (or really big umbrella), you're likely fully aware of the monsoon-like event that rolled through the northeast last week. Flooding, washouts, and everything else that comes with multiple...

blog.sugarbush.com

All scheduled lifts are also operating normally with the exception of North Ridge, which is still receiving repairs after multiple lightning strikes this summer.

What is it with that lift and lightning strikes? Didn't it have multiple strikes last year or the year before as well that required repairs?

Also some other interesting info about snowmaking...

But remember how I said we didn’t see any infrastructure damage? That’s only partially true. The flooding actually caused the Mad River to flood into our Lincoln Peak Snowmaking Pond a bit, leaving in its wake a significant amount of silt. That silt can do serious damage to our snowmaking infrastructure over time, but it’s a cost we’ve been incurring in order to keep improving the on-mountain product. We’re not currently able to run at full capacity because of this, but we’re doing everything we can to make as much snow as possible.

 

[thetrailboss]

I found the answer (should really remember to check the Sugarbush blog site once in a while as the answer was buried in there in a recent ops update on 12/23)...

State of the Mountain: Heading into the Holidays - SugarBlog

What a wild week it has been for the northeastern ski industry. Unless you've been living under a rock (or really big umbrella), you're likely fully aware of the monsoon-like event that rolled through the northeast last week. Flooding, washouts, and everything else that comes with multiple...

blog.sugarbush.com

What is it with that lift and lightning strikes? Didn't it have multiple strikes last year or the year before as well that required repairs?

Also some other interesting info about snowmaking...

NRX is quite exposed. I can't remember, but isn't the drive at the top? That makes it more vulnerable as all that equipment is sitting at the top. Add to it that it has several cell towers on top of it and that makes it a lightning rod.

 

[slatham]

I found the answer (should really remember to check the Sugarbush blog site once in a while as the answer was buried in there in a recent ops update on 12/23)...

State of the Mountain: Heading into the Holidays - SugarBlog

What a wild week it has been for the northeastern ski industry. Unless you've been living under a rock (or really big umbrella), you're likely fully aware of the monsoon-like event that rolled through the northeast last week. Flooding, washouts, and everything else that comes with multiple...

blog.sugarbush.com

What is it with that lift and lightning strikes? Didn't it have multiple strikes last year or the year before as well that required repairs?

Also some other interesting info about snowmaking...

The pond issue certainly impacted the decision to go Gate House first. Nice find.

 

[cdskier]

NRX is quite exposed. I can't remember, but isn't the drive at the top? That makes it more vulnerable as all that equipment is sitting at the top. Add to it that it has several cell towers on top of it and that makes it a lightning rod.

Liftblog says top drive which confirms what you remember...

Not really sure the top terminal is more exposed than the top terminal of other lifts (although we actually don't even know where the strikes occurred...maybe it wasn't at the top terminal and I would agree that some other sections of NRX are quite exposed...like where it crosses over Lower Elbow).

The pond issue certainly impacted the decision to go Gate House first. Nice find.

Hmm? The pond issue would have occurred only recently with the storm about 2 weeks ago... I don't think that was a factor in the decisions made in November about Gate House first. The Gate House first decision was explained in a previous blog post again (simply they didn't feel they had enough time with good temps down low to try to do something off Bravo first and the GH route requires much less snow).

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I was stuck once on nrx for a solid 20 min or more on a real bitter day on that chasm above elbow. Felt like an eternity. Lift needs some replacin

 

[thetrailboss]

Liftblog says top drive which confirms what you remember...

Not really sure the top terminal is more exposed than the top terminal of other lifts (although we actually don't even know where the strikes occurred...maybe it wasn't at the top terminal and I would agree that some other sections of NRX are quite exposed...like where it crosses over Lower Elbow).

My concern would be with the drive equipment--the computer equipment, sensors, etc.--all at the top. A lightning strike up there would be pretty damaging. Summit, for example, is just a bullwheel. I know that GMX has been struck before and damaged. I also remember that the Sunbowl Quad at Sunapee took a lightning strike years ago and that caused a lot of damage.

I know that NRX is on the list for replacement. It will be interesting to see if they change the alignment or have it as a bottom drive.

 

[WinS]

NRX has indeed be hit several times by lightning during my ownership and after. It is a top drive and we replaced the drive in it a couple of years ago. GMX was hit a few years ago, and we had to run on diesel for the entire winter. Fortunately, it has two diesel engines. I took the insurance company months to finally agree to a new drive. If one has not seen a drive it is hard to imagine that it is a sophisticated computer and requires a skilled electrical engineer at times to diagnose and fix a problem when it occurs.

The former post about snowmaking is correct. After we put in the new VH chair our goal was to try to open both terrain on the GH side as well as Snowball/Spring Fling. That makes for an ideal opening to appeal to different levels of skiers and snowboarders. But it does require at least 72 hours of cold Temperatures. That did not happen this year.

 

[slatham]

Hmm? The pond issue would have occurred only recently with the storm about 2 weeks ago... I don't think that was a factor in the decisions made in November about Gate House first. The Gate House first decision was explained in a previous blog post again (simply they didn't feel they had enough time with good temps down low to try to do something off Bravo first and the GH route requires much less snow).

My bad, thought it referred to July flood. Sad state of affairs when one can be confused by 2 major floods within 6 months of each other!

We need a dump to wipe the slate clean. The good news is there are several *opportunities* in the pattern over the next 10 days. Let’s hope they materialize as white and deep.