The "Sugarbush Thread"

[cdskier]

re: grooming: It was scary watching the clueless skinners coming down Spring Fling last night around 6 while the groomers were on it. Stupid and dangerous. No wonder resorts are clamping down on skinning. Policy is pretty clear and generous: Stay on GH side for the pm freebie skiing.

There were quite a few people that were visible on the HG cam skinning up Lower DS to HGT when I looked late Saturday afternoon after the lifts closed. I wonder if that was the same group you saw coming down SF around 6 while it was being groomed. The timing would make sense...

That was a cardiac arrest, I believe. No easier for patrol, I am sure.

Correct. I spoke to someone on the lift today that was friends with him and confirmed it was a heart attack on Tuesday. But agreed that can't be any easier on patrol.

 

[MrGlen]

I hope they go with bubble chairs on north ridge. This coming weekend is the perfect weather for bubble chairs…

 

[djd66]

Unfortunately, many people that come to Sugarbush on the weekends *do* drink and ski/ride recklessly after - it is the primary reason I will only go out on a Saturday if I have guests in town and usually avoid Sunday until after 1PM. If that offends anyone, sorry but not sorry.

Been skiing for over 50 years,.. I have never once felt unsafe skiing on any day because of someone drinking - that includes many weekends at Killington.

 

[sull1102]

Was on Bravo before it was shut down, saw a snowmobile parked in the middle of Stein thought that was a bit odd, then saw them in the woods. Immediately thought to myself that can’t be anything but real real bad because the conditions were such that it was an ice rink anywhere groomers didn’t work their magic. Gotta feel for the staff and family, horrible end to the year.

 

[STREETSKIER]

Name one other ski area that opens at 10 am

 

[solar]

Quite a few witness reports of the accident posted on Reddit and it sounds like he was skiing with his three girls at the time of the accident.

https://www.reddit.com/r/icecoast/comments/1s6spy8
Absolutely heartbreaking for the family.

 

[VTSkiBike]

Just awful news. The ungroomed terrain on Saturday was treacherously icy, I can't imagine how gnarly Stein's was.

 

[Plowboy]

So heart breaking!!

Donate to Support the Family of Cory Hartman, organized by Alexis Morton

Cory Hartman was a beloved husband, father, brother, son, and friend, whose charismat… Alexis Morton needs your support for Support the Family of Cory Hartman

www.gofundme.com

 

[jimmywilson69]

Well this is just awful and sad.


When we all question why patrol has stuff closed, its because they don't want more of this...

 

[slatham]

I just can’t imagine. Rest in peace, and prayers for the family.

 

[vtski802]

Fair enough. I have the luxury of not skiing weekends.

I see people drinking right from opening bell, even on the weekends. Makes no sense

 

[Zand]

I know hindsight is 20/20, but based on what everyone is saying about frozen solid bumps, I can't believe Stein's was even open. When I first heard about the accident, I figured it was groomed that morning and got slick in the afternoon. Never would've imagined something ungroomed would actually be open after a freeze like that. Especially something that long and steep.

One of the most memorably terrifying runs I've ever taken was when I was a kid, went down Ripcord at Mt Snow on a similar day to Saturday. Got to the top of the steep and it was pure porcelain. I probably should've walked back to the top. But instead I finally just sat down and luckily I was able to successfully do a controlled slide down to a patch of snow where I finally felt comfortable getting up and skiing out the rest of the pitch. A couple hours later, I was coming down River Run and as I skied up to the bottom of Ripcord, I saw a guy ragdoll down the entire pitch and luckily didn't hit anything or slam his head on the ground and he got right up at the bottom.

It's crazy that some resorts keep runs closed for thin cover but have no problem keeping a run open with boilerplate ice.

RIP, very sad to read about what happened.

 

[thetrailboss]

So heart breaking!!

Donate to Support the Family of Cory Hartman, organized by Alexis Morton

Cory Hartman was a beloved husband, father, brother, son, and friend, whose charismat… Alexis Morton needs your support for Support the Family of Cory Hartman

www.gofundme.com

 

[HowieT2]

Terrible. can't help but well up seeing those little girls.

 

[sull1102]

I know hindsight is 20/20, but based on what everyone is saying about frozen solid bumps, I can't believe Stein's was even open. When I first heard about the accident, I figured it was groomed that morning and got slick in the afternoon. Never would've imagined something ungroomed would actually be open after a freeze like that. Especially something that long and steep.

One of the most memorably terrifying runs I've ever taken was when I was a kid, went down Ripcord at Mt Snow on a similar day to Saturday. Got to the top of the steep and it was pure porcelain. I probably should've walked back to the top. But instead I finally just sat down and luckily I was able to successfully do a controlled slide down to a patch of snow where I finally felt comfortable getting up and skiing out the rest of the pitch. A couple hours later, I was coming down River Run and as I skied up to the bottom of Ripcord, I saw a guy ragdoll down the entire pitch and luckily didn't hit anything or slam his head on the ground and he got right up at the bottom.

It's crazy that some resorts keep runs closed for thin cover but have no problem keeping a run open with boilerplate ice.

RIP, very sad to read about what happened.

Sadly, more I think about the more I have to agree with you. It was a no brainer to have kept it closed, I was honestly selfishly bummed they didn’t groom it one of the last three days just so I could enjoy it in the board instead of fighting the moguls. It was one of the last ones for the cats to touch up. Not to push it, but even crazier that it still wasn’t groomed yesterday at all.

 

[AdironRider]

I know hindsight is 20/20, but based on what everyone is saying about frozen solid bumps, I can't believe Stein's was even open. When I first heard about the accident, I figured it was groomed that morning and got slick in the afternoon. Never would've imagined something ungroomed would actually be open after a freeze like that. Especially something that long and steep.

One of the most memorably terrifying runs I've ever taken was when I was a kid, went down Ripcord at Mt Snow on a similar day to Saturday. Got to the top of the steep and it was pure porcelain. I probably should've walked back to the top. But instead I finally just sat down and luckily I was able to successfully do a controlled slide down to a patch of snow where I finally felt comfortable getting up and skiing out the rest of the pitch. A couple hours later, I was coming down River Run and as I skied up to the bottom of Ripcord, I saw a guy ragdoll down the entire pitch and luckily didn't hit anything or slam his head on the ground and he got right up at the bottom.

It's crazy that some resorts keep runs closed for thin cover but have no problem keeping a run open with boilerplate ice.

RIP, very sad to read about what happened.

This is a sad situation but I'm against closing terrain based on some subjective criteria like conditions being too difficult. One man's hard is another man's easy.

 

[Whitey]

We were going to go to Sugarloaf this past weekend but bailed due to the rain/thaw/freeze on Thurs/Fri. So on Sunday I ran up to Loon for the day just to get some laps in. Expectations were pretty low for conditions. But I wanted to get out and it was the last day of South Peak ops for them for this season.

Conditions were as expected. Hard and fast and a bit icy. I am strong skier and usually nothing bothers me but the whole day while I was skiing I held back a bit and was more conservative than I usually am. I couldn't shake a "bad feeling" all day that lurked in the background because I was still skiing very fast but knew that any mishaps near the tree-lines would be trouble that you might not come back from. It wasn't until I put the skis in the rack at about 345PM that the "bad feeling" passed and I knew I would be heading home with no new injuries.

While I was skiing Sunday and contemplating the conditions, the thought crossed my mind; "with these conditions, someone somewhere in New England is going to get killed today". . . .

 

[jdr14]

I shuddered when I read about Cory's fatal accident. Sending all my love to his family and loved ones.

I had a very similar accident on Stein's almost exactly 1 year ago in the same conditions. And I'm also a father of 3 girls and an avid skier. I hope Cory's story, and maybe mine, will help someone in the future avoid a bad accident.

For me, it was Saturday March 22, 2025. Same thaw during the week and then freeze on Friday night. Spent the morning skiing groomers, and in fact Stein's was closed to start the day. But it was sunny and warming up a bit, and just before lunch, they opened up Stein's. For context, I ski about 40 days per season at Sugarbush, and have skied Stein's many dozens of times (including in similarly icy conditions) along with every other challenging trail at Sugarbush. So I thought - If it's open, I can get down it easily.

I dropped in and stopped maybe 100 feet down from the top to make sure my wife and friend made it in OK. It was a sheet of icy bumps. Once they reached me, I very simply turned downhill to continue down the trail. But somehow caught an edge and fell down. It was a very simple fall. Didn't hurt at all. And I had been barely moving when I fell, so I just thought "oops, I'll just get back up." Except that my body started sliding downhill immediately, and there was nothing to get traction on. My skis were uphill from my body, and I was moving slowly enough that I tried to dig them into the ice to stop myself, which was a mistake, because they popped off.

Still, I was sliding very slowly, so I wasn't worried. I managed to get my legs downhill so I wasn't sliding head first. But once I was on my back, I kept sliding down, picking up speed and going over one mogul after the other. I tried digging in the heels of my boots, but that didn't work. I ended up sliding down the entire rest of the length of Stein's, going faster and faster over each mogul. At some point, I went over a mogul so fast that I got airborne and landed on my shoulder. Knew immediately that I broke it. But was still sliding and now tumbling down the mountain, and I saw the trees off to my right and knew that if I hit a tree at that speed, I was done.

Somehow, miraculously, I came to a stop right by some small trees at the very bottom of Stein's. God bless ski patrol, the folks at Three Peaks Clinic, the ambulance crew, and the team at UVM. If not for all of them, I wouldn't be here today.

I ended up with a broken scapula, 5 broken ribs, a punctured lung and several broken transverse processes in my spine. My helmet was cracked - but thankfully stayed on and did it's job.

3 things I learned from the experience, that I hope might help someone else if they ever find themselves in a similar situation:

1. If it's a steep sheet of ice, don't ski it. No matter how good of a skier you are, stuff happens. And if you end up sliding down a sheet of ice, nothing good will come of it.

2. If for some reason you ignore number 1, the things that I should have done to stop myself sooner:
a) Get your skis below you. They are your best chance to stop your slide.
b) If your skis pop off, use your pole like an ice pick - one hand at the top of the pole and one near the bottom. (unfortunately, I didn't keep my pole straps on, because I would frequently ski the woods where it's a liability to have poles strapped on. So I lost my poles immediately when I fell).
c) If you do find yourself with no skis and poles sliding down ice, as soon as you can (before you get a lot of momentum), roll onto your stomach and press up very slightly onto your hands and knees and then try to dig your toes into the ground to stop. (Note - if you already have a lot of speed, this might just cause you to flip over backwards. So only do this if you are still moving slowly enough to avoid that.)

3. Hug your loved ones extra tight and count your blessings. It's a gift that we all get to have fun skiing. And many of us think we are invincible, because we know the mountain inside and out (I know I felt that way before my accident.) But remember that there's inherent danger and be careful. There's still a ton of fun to be had without going down a sheet of ice (which isn't really fun anyway, even if you stay on your skis the whole time.)

I will say that after a long rehab, I did get back on my skis this year. And on the right day, with plenty of snow coverage, I did go back and ski Stein's to conquer my fear. And I made it down without incident this time. But I will never again risk it when it's a sheet of ice.

Take care.

 

[Lotso]

I shuddered when I read about Cory's fatal accident. Sending all my love to his family and loved ones.

I had a very similar accident on Stein's almost exactly 1 year ago in the same conditions. And I'm also a father of 3 girls and an avid skier. I hope Cory's story, and maybe mine, will help someone in the future avoid a bad accident.

For me, it was Saturday March 22, 2025. Same thaw during the week and then freeze on Friday night. Spent the morning skiing groomers, and in fact Stein's was closed to start the day. But it was sunny and warming up a bit, and just before lunch, they opened up Stein's. For context, I ski about 40 days per season at Sugarbush, and have skied Stein's many dozens of times (including in similarly icy conditions) along with every other challenging trail at Sugarbush. So I thought - If it's open, I can get down it easily.

I dropped in and stopped maybe 100 feet down from the top to make sure my wife and friend made it in OK. It was a sheet of icy bumps. Once they reached me, I very simply turned downhill to continue down the trail. But somehow caught an edge and fell down. It was a very simple fall. Didn't hurt at all. And I had been barely moving when I fell, so I just thought "oops, I'll just get back up." Except that my body started sliding downhill immediately, and there was nothing to get traction on. My skis were uphill from my body, and I was moving slowly enough that I tried to dig them into the ice to stop myself, which was a mistake, because they popped off.

Still, I was sliding very slowly, so I wasn't worried. I managed to get my legs downhill so I wasn't sliding head first. But once I was on my back, I kept sliding down, picking up speed and going over one mogul after the other. I tried digging in the heels of my boots, but that didn't work. I ended up sliding down the entire rest of the length of Stein's, going faster and faster over each mogul. At some point, I went over a mogul so fast that I got airborne and landed on my shoulder. Knew immediately that I broke it. But was still sliding and now tumbling down the mountain, and I saw the trees off to my right and knew that if I hit a tree at that speed, I was done.

Somehow, miraculously, I came to a stop right by some small trees at the very bottom of Stein's. God bless ski patrol, the folks at Three Peaks Clinic, the ambulance crew, and the team at UVM. If not for all of them, I wouldn't be here today.

I ended up with a broken scapula, 5 broken ribs, a punctured lung and several broken transverse processes in my spine. My helmet was cracked - but thankfully stayed on and did it's job.

3 things I learned from the experience, that I hope might help someone else if they ever find themselves in a similar situation:

1. If it's a steep sheet of ice, don't ski it. No matter how good of a skier you are, stuff happens. And if you end up sliding down a sheet of ice, nothing good will come of it.

2. If for some reason you ignore number 1, the things that I should have done to stop myself sooner:
a) Get your skis below you. They are your best chance to stop your slide.
b) If your skis pop off, use your pole like an ice pick - one hand at the top of the pole and one near the bottom. (unfortunately, I didn't keep my pole straps on, because I would frequently ski the woods where it's a liability to have poles strapped on. So I lost my poles immediately when I fell).
c) If you do find yourself with no skis and poles sliding down ice, as soon as you can (before you get a lot of momentum), roll onto your stomach and press up very slightly onto your hands and knees and then try to dig your toes into the ground to stop. (Note - if you already have a lot of speed, this might just cause you to flip over backwards. So only do this if you are still moving slowly enough to avoid that.)

3. Hug your loved ones extra tight and count your blessings. It's a gift that we all get to have fun skiing. And many of us think we are invincible, because we know the mountain inside and out (I know I felt that way before my accident.) But remember that there's inherent danger and be careful. There's still a ton of fun to be had without going down a sheet of ice (which isn't really fun anyway, even if you stay on your skis the whole time.)

I will say that after a long rehab, I did get back on my skis this year. And on the right day, with plenty of snow coverage, I did go back and ski Stein's to conquer my fear. And I made it down without incident this time. But I will never again risk it when it's a sheet of ice.

Take care.

Thanks for the account and I am glad you are ok. Sadly, I think in this case he had no chance to engage 2a-c, as he was out from the first impact, according to witnesses. Brutal.

 

[mikec142]

I shuddered when I read about Cory's fatal accident. Sending all my love to his family and loved ones.

I had a very similar accident on Stein's almost exactly 1 year ago in the same conditions. And I'm also a father of 3 girls and an avid skier. I hope Cory's story, and maybe mine, will help someone in the future avoid a bad accident.

For me, it was Saturday March 22, 2025. Same thaw during the week and then freeze on Friday night. Spent the morning skiing groomers, and in fact Stein's was closed to start the day. But it was sunny and warming up a bit, and just before lunch, they opened up Stein's. For context, I ski about 40 days per season at Sugarbush, and have skied Stein's many dozens of times (including in similarly icy conditions) along with every other challenging trail at Sugarbush. So I thought - If it's open, I can get down it easily.

I dropped in and stopped maybe 100 feet down from the top to make sure my wife and friend made it in OK. It was a sheet of icy bumps. Once they reached me, I very simply turned downhill to continue down the trail. But somehow caught an edge and fell down. It was a very simple fall. Didn't hurt at all. And I had been barely moving when I fell, so I just thought "oops, I'll just get back up." Except that my body started sliding downhill immediately, and there was nothing to get traction on. My skis were uphill from my body, and I was moving slowly enough that I tried to dig them into the ice to stop myself, which was a mistake, because they popped off.

Still, I was sliding very slowly, so I wasn't worried. I managed to get my legs downhill so I wasn't sliding head first. But once I was on my back, I kept sliding down, picking up speed and going over one mogul after the other. I tried digging in the heels of my boots, but that didn't work. I ended up sliding down the entire rest of the length of Stein's, going faster and faster over each mogul. At some point, I went over a mogul so fast that I got airborne and landed on my shoulder. Knew immediately that I broke it. But was still sliding and now tumbling down the mountain, and I saw the trees off to my right and knew that if I hit a tree at that speed, I was done.

Somehow, miraculously, I came to a stop right by some small trees at the very bottom of Stein's. God bless ski patrol, the folks at Three Peaks Clinic, the ambulance crew, and the team at UVM. If not for all of them, I wouldn't be here today.

I ended up with a broken scapula, 5 broken ribs, a punctured lung and several broken transverse processes in my spine. My helmet was cracked - but thankfully stayed on and did it's job.

3 things I learned from the experience, that I hope might help someone else if they ever find themselves in a similar situation:

1. If it's a steep sheet of ice, don't ski it. No matter how good of a skier you are, stuff happens. And if you end up sliding down a sheet of ice, nothing good will come of it.

2. If for some reason you ignore number 1, the things that I should have done to stop myself sooner:
a) Get your skis below you. They are your best chance to stop your slide.
b) If your skis pop off, use your pole like an ice pick - one hand at the top of the pole and one near the bottom. (unfortunately, I didn't keep my pole straps on, because I would frequently ski the woods where it's a liability to have poles strapped on. So I lost my poles immediately when I fell).
c) If you do find yourself with no skis and poles sliding down ice, as soon as you can (before you get a lot of momentum), roll onto your stomach and press up very slightly onto your hands and knees and then try to dig your toes into the ground to stop. (Note - if you already have a lot of speed, this might just cause you to flip over backwards. So only do this if you are still moving slowly enough to avoid that.)

3. Hug your loved ones extra tight and count your blessings. It's a gift that we all get to have fun skiing. And many of us think we are invincible, because we know the mountain inside and out (I know I felt that way before my accident.) But remember that there's inherent danger and be careful. There's still a ton of fun to be had without going down a sheet of ice (which isn't really fun anyway, even if you stay on your skis the whole time.)

I will say that after a long rehab, I did get back on my skis this year. And on the right day, with plenty of snow coverage, I did go back and ski Stein's to conquer my fear. And I made it down without incident this time. But I will never again risk it when it's a sheet of ice.

Take care.

Whoa...what a story. Glad to hear that you're okay.

I've had several scary experiences on Upper Organgrinder where its been boilerplate and I'm slding 40mph with my skis sideways and just praying I stay upright and on the trail. Just so people know, steep ice is certainly more dangerous, but I had a similar sliding story on lower snowball where it makes the left hand turn. They had signs up where snowball meets spring fling that said experts only and I was like WTF, how bad can it be...