The "Sugarbush Thread"

[urungus]

Replace Castlerock Double with 8-seat heated bubble chair

 

[vtski802]

Replace Castlerock Double with 8-seat heated bubble chair

How about... NO

 

[vtski802]

In other news.. Northridge down for maintenance again.. icing from last night? Mechanical? Nobody knows! (And we probably never will!)

 

[cdskier]

In other news.. Northridge down for maintenance again.. icing from last night? Mechanical? Nobody knows! (And we probably never will!)

GMX, NRX, and Summit all delayed this morning. I made the mistake of going to Ellen. I should have known better when I saw at 7:35 on the webcam that NRX hadn't moved yet that it was going to be delayed and the report saying it would be the 8AM lift was wrong. They didn't update the report until 8:25 to say NRX was delayed. GMX finally opened at 9:35. Get to the top and Summit is closed (no mention of it being delayed at this point on the report). Took a lap off GMX and by the time I got back up they were getting ready to finally open Summit.

Anything groomed too early was either closed or a sheet of frozen cord. Anything groomed later after it set up was decent.

To the question of what I would do if I had unlimited money...

Slidebrook would be last on my list of anything I did. For me...

New NRX (no bubble...I hate them...would stay a standard detach quad)
Snowmaking (new pond and at least double pumping capacity at LP. Also run a short spur line to the 2nd tower or so on CR to cover the entrance and that last bend coming back down to the lift that always melts out quickly)
Replace GMX (HSQ) and Summit (FGQ)
Replace SB (HSQ), GH (HSQ), NL (FGQ)
Replace Inverness (FGQ with loading carpet to increase speed)
New pod at ME above Inverness. Not against the surface lift idea someone mentioned
New mid-mountain lodge at the top of GH
Expand Walts
Replace any other lifts that need replacement (Should be mostly caught up by this point though, but could replace Slidebrook with another HSQ if needed)

The order of some of the things on my list above could change depending on exact lift needs and how much you wanted to or could do per season.

 

[cdskier]

First things first, I'd move Hammond to directing cars in the parking lot and driving the sugar shuttle. Overhaul social media and be way more communicative.

Install drinking water at Walt's and Allyn's.

LOL. You're being generous letting him drive the shuttle or direct cars.

Great ideas though...

 

[LuckyStrike]

There are like 3 enjoyable ways down Ellen this morning. I’m on the bus to Lincoln to find more options

 

[vtski802]

Yowza! I knew this rain and temperature drop would create a challenging surface today, but atrocious doesn't begin to describe how bad it is at north

 

[vtski802]

There are like 3 enjoyable ways down Ellen this morning. I’m on the bus to Lincoln to find more options

Which ones are those? Haven't found them yet

EDIT: one groomer width wide, skiers far right on elbow is edgeable. The rest is not.

Edit 2: parts of rim run, and northstar

 

[thetrailboss]

GMX, NRX, and Summit all delayed this morning. I made the mistake of going to Ellen. I should have known better when I saw at 7:35 on the webcam that NRX hadn't moved yet that it was going to be delayed and the report saying it would be the 8AM lift was wrong. They didn't update the report until 8:25 to say NRX was delayed. GMX finally opened at 9:35. Get to the top and Summit is closed (no mention of it being delayed at this point on the report). Took a lap off GMX and by the time I got back up they were getting ready to finally open Summit.

Anything groomed too early was either closed or a sheet of frozen cord. Anything groomed later after it set up was decent.

To the question of what I would do if I had unlimited money...

Slidebrook would be last on my list of anything I did. For me...

New NRX (no bubble...I hate them...would stay a standard detach quad)
Snowmaking (new pond and at least double pumping capacity at LP. Also run a short spur line to the 2nd tower or so on CR to cover the entrance and that last bend coming back down to the lift that always melts out quickly)
Replace GMX (HSQ) and Summit (FGQ)
Replace SB (HSQ), GH (HSQ), NL (FGQ)
Replace Inverness (FGQ with loading carpet to increase speed)
New pod at ME above Inverness. Not against the surface lift idea someone mentioned
New mid-mountain lodge at the top of GH
Expand Walts
Replace any other lifts that need replacement (Should be mostly caught up by this point though, but could replace Slidebrook with another HSQ if needed)

The order of some of the things on my list above could change depending on exact lift needs and how much you wanted to or could do per season.

Like Pico, I always felt that if "North" were anywhere else in Vermont then it would have been so successful. It is an underrated mountain IMHO. It fits my tastes. I had many great days skiing there. Rarely did I feel as if I needed to go to LP because I got bored. I had the old ME Plus Pass and it worked very well for me. I like Castlerock on a good day and really came to like Ripcord and Paradise. Spillsville never really jived with me.

I like your improvement ideas. NRX is really crucial to North and has been now for over 30 years (!)

I also have been reading that Glen House is pretty rough. Another underused asset IMHO. It has a great setting.

It is hard to believe that North's massive "makeover" in 1990 or so is now almost 36 years old! I have always wondered what it skied like before that.....some of the pictures I have in my collection (mainly old 'Vermont Life" magazines) show that Elbow was a pretty cool narrow trail with some tree stands.

 

[thetrailboss]

And midmountain lodges. They ALWAYS had water at them. IIRC there were usually water coolers (like at work) at the very least. I seem to recall a water fountain at Glen House downstairs in between the bathrooms. Did they take those out? Are they literally that cheap now?

 

[cdskier]

Which ones are those? Haven't found them yet

EDIT: one groomer width wide, skiers far right on elbow is edgeable. The rest is not.

Rim Run was ok. North Star was ok. Straight Shot and Crackerjack were both fine. That was about it although maybe some things improved after I left.

 

[thetrailboss]

Re: Mount Ellen. I always felt that its profile from Route 17 and other parts of the Valley was impressive. It is very imposing!

 

[Julius]

Got one of the first chairs when NLynx started spinning around 2-ish. A groomed Birtch unlocked a good bit with confident edging unlike Sfling which was..mmm fast?

 

[LuckyStrike]

I was on nlynx at the same time. I tried the liftline but my old board couldn’t handle it without edges. I came up here for a Neversummer demo day that got canceled. I kind of want to go to Killington tomorrow but they want $119 to demo.

 

[Lotso]

Limitless dough? Hmmm.
1) Agree with snowmaking capacity upgrades. Would be #1 project
2) replace ancient HSQs. No 6-packs; trails can't support the volume
3) anything to speed up Summit. That lift is brutal
4) expand and upgrade Glen House. Agreed it is an underutilized asset. Consider summer operation a la European mountain huts.
5) employee housing. Anywhere. Maybe left of ME access road?

Would not be possible in current state of VT/USFS laws:
1) build out lift pod back side of NL that was in the master plan.
2) cut a trail between Rumble and Middle Earth
3) cut a trail between Ripcord and Paradise. No snowmaking, just another option off the top
4) cut a trail south of and parallel to Black Diamond.

 

[cdskier]

Another "new" thing that bothers me this year...they rarely update the snow report with the grooming plan for the following day until early in the morning. For years they always updated it after 4PM to show what was on the plan for that night. Now 99% of the time it just stays showing whatever was groomed today until they update it in the morning tomorrow.

 

[LuckyStrike]

I ended up getting a demo from Splinter board shop for tomorrow. Guess I’ll find out how the Jones Aviator is on prime east coast crust.

 

[slatham]

Limitless? I’d close the mountain to all but those on Alpine Zone who can prove they are worthy to ski it lol.

And all the required fixes noted above.

 

[JMBer]

There are like 3 enjoyable ways down Ellen this morning. I’m on the bus to Lincoln to find more options

FIS was actually the best run over there today. Very edgeable!

 

[solar]

On LP, Organ Grinder was surprisingly good… and Deathspout was surprisingly bad. Mid-day there were a few piles of ice shavings to pinball off but there were was definitely some carnage to watch out for.

Unlimited funds… buy back from Alterra, operate as B-corp, replace all lifts, update snowmaking, employee housing, pay above-market wages, rehire Egan, bring back communication to pre-Covid standard, return lift-serve MTB (janky trails, none of these paved “flow” trails), rebuild old village to include <21 option (eg arcade or similar), update the bathrooms at Valley House, keep the Club 58 room exactly as it is… but allow Blazers full access, continuously buy surrounding land for more glades including an all-day uphill route at LP and maybe some terrain off the west side. Shamelessly hire lobbyists to champion Slide Brook access and beyond. $2 waffles (just to hear kids tell “where’s my $2!?”). Free water at all lodges.