The "Sugarbush Thread"

[ducky]

Guns set up on Ripcord and look ready to go. Pretty good morning out there.

 

[Lotso]

Guns set up on Ripcord and look ready to go. Pretty good morning out there.

Nice...

 

[djd66]

JP, head of lift attendants, is getting lung replacement surgery. Here's his gofundme. https://gofund.me/67b78049
All those kids are bright university students but just need to be shown direction.

Thanks for the back info Ducky. That is a very sad story and I only wish JP and his family the best.

 

[shadyjay]

Agree that line management was an issue at GH and Bravo. No rhyme or reason. Sometimes we’d get skipped over multiple times. Seemed like the lift attendants lost track or were just too worried about matching up pairs of two that they ignored any sequence in letting people go.

Why don’t they just call out “front row” and let all people in the front of their respective lines move forward at once? No need to pair up doubles when there are plenty of people waiting in the singles lines to fill in the gaps. This works at many other mountains and requires no logic whatsoever.

It's actually harder than it looks. You really have to be proactive and "own the space". There are always going to be people trying to weasel their way in out of turn. Think of it as trying to direct traffic on a highway. We've all driven, and everyone takes turns merging. Right? Right????
I actually enjoyed doing crowd control. The "front row" concept I think was done away with at Bravo in favor of the groups of 4 alternating, then the singles line coming in after the merge point (so there's no front row anymore).

Saw the "front row" at a couple lifts at Mt Snow on Sunday and they had it going pretty efficiently. Its those groups that come out as 4 and then become 2 somehow.

 

[tumbler]

Bravo doesn't have the merging concept anymore, it's 4 to 5 lines on either side and someone manages when people go. It's not too hard but when they put an inexperienced ambassador it gets wonky. Just start at the lines nearest to lift and work your way up telling people to go. Walk behind the last group and do it again.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

the downhill singles line gets the shaft (i think?). i have headphones in so i am deaf, but it looks to me that the uphill singles line ends up moving faster because the groups moving down the aisle hit that singles line first. if they are actively calling singles for every chair i am not sure. sometimes i make eye contact with the caller. sometimes i sort of assume its my turn when i see a 2 or 3 group from the uphill side. sometimes i just bum rush where i see a hole to fill. again, am deaf, so unsure if i am missing constant audible singles line management

 

[kendo]

Saw the "front row" at a couple lifts at Mt Snow on Sunday and they had it going pretty efficiently. It's those groups that come out as 4 and then become 2 somehow.

... or the person who doesn't understand how a busy single line works.

I'm in the single line for the Six at Stowe. Dude ahead of me goes out with a group of 5 to fill the next to load stalls. They slide up to the chair and he stays planted in the stall. The group of 5 I'm following with, slides up to him to fill the now empty stalls and behind me is another group of 6. I'm left as a boxed out single taking up the Six, with people jeering ... didn't care!

It looks like skiers at SB are more forgiving.

 

[jdr14]

Bravo doesn't have the merging concept anymore, it's 4 to 5 lines on either side and someone manages when people go. It's not too hard but when they put an inexperienced ambassador it gets wonky. Just start at the lines nearest to lift and work your way up telling people to go. Walk behind the last group and do it again.

Yes. It's not that complicated if they just go in order and tell one group from each line to go. But they don't do that. For some reason, they think they can outsmart the logic by pairing doubles from different lines. The problem with this is that they lose track of which lines have gone when, and they also slow down the singles line(s) from filling in.

The "front row" concept is pretty idiot-proof. It requires no memory of which line went last. All the lift attendant needs to do is alternate in calling the front row from uphill lines to the front row from downhill lines, while in-between letting the ski school folks go. And it moves the singles lines along more quickly. Simple, fair, efficient.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

as a constant single skier, boo to pairing doubles!

 

[MrGlen]

I’m hoping this year they make some extra snow on Ripcord and Organgrinder and keep it open extra late with the new lift. After ending the season on that side of the mountain early last year it would be great if they could keep it open until end of April (though understand the sun hits this part of the mountain pretty hard).

 

[Lotso]

Webcam shows a little sneaker dump last night...close to 6" at Allyn's; same up top

 

[Hawk]

as a constant single skier, boo to pairing doubles!

Kusty, all the years you have been a road warrier you haven't found a fellow NY'er to be your wing man?

 

[Steveskio]

Webcam shows a little sneaker dump last night...close to 6" at Allyn's; same up top

Heard the plow in the lot this am, opened the blinds, surprise!

 

[Tonyr]

Is the Castle Rock double broken down or has it ran this season?

 

[Blurski]

Is the Castle Rock double broken down or has it ran this season?

Sure, seems that way, GMX not working as of now.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Kusty, all the years you have been a road warrier you haven't found a fellow NY'er to be your wing man?

dont want one!

i really really like doing this alone. i catch up on my podcasts each week in the car, i listen to my music all weekend while skiing. i watch whatever movie i want to watch that my fiance doesnt care about at the hotel. i get to go to bed at 8:30 and wake up at 5:30, and not have to deal with anyone else's needs and wants. i dont have to wait for anyone. i dont have to consider anyone who cant ski at my level. i dont have to stop for lunch (eww). this is the thing in life i do for me and i do it without any compromise whatsoever.

and also the full solo developed over years. ski buddy #1 moved to denver to be a hospitalist. ski buddy #2 moved to albany, had kids, and decided to switch from skilled snowboarder to novice skier - we see each other on the mountain for 2 min and no longer travel together. ski buddy #3 moved to deep jersey suburbs and had TWO KIDS. he just doesnt ski anymore. ski buddy #4 lives in bozeman now. ski buddy #5 in seatle. great people to visit!

its all good. i really like the solitude of my skiing. i tend to see buddy 1 and buddy 4 on my western trips most years. ive skied crystal and stevens and alpental with #5. another best friend is a low intermediate but lives in denver and he joined me at a-basin and copperr last feb (could not wait to be rid of him honestly he held me back a lot)

a super casual snowboarder friend texted me like 2 weeks ago said 'when are you going skiing, i want to go with you'. i replied 'buddy i go every weekend. just show up at my apartment at 4:45 PM on a friday with your shit, and tell me in advance so i book 2 beds". he didnt reply

a female friend who moved back to nyc from california bought an ikon and has been trying to get me to plan with her and i demur. i am steering her to killington this weekend tho. she doesnt wanna hear it that it will be crowded "base pass is blacked out". i said ok dana, maybe try pico.

 

[bumpcrasher]

Is the Castle Rock double broken down or has it ran this season?

Yes. Castlerock has been broken all season. Mt. Ellen today with only Inverness as GMX is broken.

 

[solar]

Is the Castle Rock double broken down or has it ran this season?

It's down and not yet inspected, although Sugarbush hasn't specified the problem(s).

From the Sugarblog's 1/10 "State of the Mountain";

Castlerock is next on the list. We’re excited to be welcoming in some additional staff from Alterra early next week. This is the third time that they’ve sent resources here to help our lift maintenance team. One of their focuses will be getting Castlerock up and running, potentially by the incoming holiday. In addition, Paul DeAngeles from Alterra will be sticking around to help the team out while our Lift Maintenance Manager Spencer enjoys his upcoming paternity leave.

Slide Brook is then the last lift that needs to be inspected. The team spent over a month on it this summer, and we look forward to getting that running for everyone as soon as possible. And an important reminder, we can’t run that lift until there is sufficient snowpack all through the work roads and under the lift or when it’s below 10 degrees.

GMX is down this morning and they're currently turning people away from North Ridge. Summit's not spinning, either.

 

[solar]

For those keeping track:

1. Castlerock - broken and uninspected
2. Slide Brook - broken and uninspected
3. North Ridge - broken (or at best unreliable not currently loading)
4. GMX - broken
5. Summit - closed
6. Valley House - closed

 

[KustyTheKlown]

woof. maybe my mount ellen plan for sunday will need some revisions...