Weekly Sundown Night Skiing Gathering: 2008-09

[gmcunni]

the season pass will work best for me and my wife.

i'm jealous, my wife's a non-skier. She's supportive of my habit, for the most part, but just doesn't "get it" (same for MTB). We have a pretty good system. what i spend on skiing she spends on stuff she likes but it is the time away from home that makes skiing harder to deal with. I brought up the topic tonight and it went well. she didn't blink at the 10 nights, just mentioned that her PTO meetings were once a month on Wednesday too so i'd have to work on scheduling. She even mentioned going on a Friday night or two with the kids, she hangs in the lodge while we ski. I'll take kids on a few weekends, the 4-hour pass is great for that. i'll make up my mind by 10/31, having a pass of some kind

 

[Greg]

i was very close to pulling the trigger on the sundown once-a-week pass. worked out a little comparison chart on pass vs. discount card. based on getting there for 10 nights and a few 1/2 day weekends the pass works out cheaper.. BUT.. if i go a few more weekends with the kids i get close to the cost of the full season pass... i actually don't want to go full season pass as i think i'll be less motivated to head north . i've officially crossed the threshold of over-analysing this

I know you're not the bump fanatic I am, but if the bumps are really good at Sundown this season, I'll be spending more time there, especially given gas prices so I don't think some potential lack of motivation to head north should be a consideration. I expect an awesome Sundown season. With a full pass, you could even buzz up after dinner last minute and pull in at 8 pm for a few hours of skiing and not feel cheated. You gotta do what's right for you though obviously. How old are your kids? I'l be there a lot with my 5 turning 6 year old too. Either way it looks like I'll be skiing with you quite a bit this season which is cool.

 

[mondeo]

I'll probably do it up next week or the week after. No sense in buying it early (other than the 'I just got my pass!' factor like I had with my Kmart pass last week, but that was bought before their first price hike.)

 

[gmcunni]

I know you're not the bump fanatic I am

who is?? :-D

With a full pass, you could even buzz up after dinner last minute and pull in at 8 pm for a few hours of skiing and not feel cheated.

yes, very true. but back to your bump comment, i enjoy skiing them but don't have the skills/passion to stay in them all day. lapping gunny or the rest of the hill by yourself gets old quick. don't mean that as a knock on sundown, more so on my limited attention span.

How old are your kids? I'll be there a lot with my 5 turning 6 year old too.

10YO D and 15 YO S. i'll be there mostly with my daughter. I'm signing my son up for a friday night gig through our town. unfortunately they go to Mohawk. which is another factor weighing on my decision.. i could potentially sign up for chaperon duty on the town trips and ski Mohawk with my son. Less $$ but also less fun. No way to swing mohawk weekly and also hit Sundown, just too much time involved with that.

In the back of my head i was thinking about getting involved with the town trip and then after a year see what i could do to push them over to SkiSundown.. not sure what kind of "deal" they work out with the mountains. i see lots of buses @ sundown when i'm there so i know it is a possibility.

 

[Grassi21]

i'm ready to f'ing ski.

sundown stoke...

I skied at Satan's Ridge for a number of years, I think the first was '63. According to a friend of mine who was involved in the early years, Satan's ridge opened in 1962 with a rope tow and the original Mueller center post chairlift. The mid station was there because the intermediate terrain was mostly either side, lower gunbarrel to the right and whatever the T-bar slope was called to the left. The only intermediate trail from the top was miracle mile, what is now called Canyon Run, and the old Chicken Point was much more intimidating to low intermediates. Because of that and the less snowmaking at the top, quite a few skiers got off at the midstation. The lines in those days weren't bad so you didn't mind the short vertical. The other early trails I remember are Papoose, the flat green from the top, Temptor, just to the left of the liftline, and The Horn, departing Chicken Point for Gunbarrel just below the steepest iciest portion. Temptor was always a natural snow trail and was rarely open. Gunbarrel was the only trail to keep its original name.

Within a year or so the Hall T-Bar was added. The Wikopedia entry I looked at seems wrong, I don't believe there was ever 2 T-bars at Satan's Ridge or Sundown.

There was never skiing under the chair in the early years. I don't even remember seeing poached tracks. Lots of stumps and logs and ledge, with the little natural snow there was it likely was only rarely possible. In those days snow was rolled after a snowfall and deep snow was difficult to ski. Grooming was minimal.

The original bunny hill was tough to learn on. First you had to conquer the steep rope tow, and then there was an icy bowling alley across the fall line to the lower 2/3 of the slope. It really was a low intermediate pitch. A number of beginners would hit the fence that kept you from going into the brook.

I also don't remember Satans Ridge being abandoned or closed. It just changed names when it was sold.

Satans Ridge was the first chairlift I rode, and I put in a lot of days and nights there as a kid. As a skier, I grew up there.

 

[Greg]

yes, very true. but back to your bump comment, i enjoy skiing them but don't have the skills/passion to stay in them all day. lapping gunny or the rest of the hill by yourself gets old quick. don't mean that as a knock on sundown, more so on my limited attention span.

Skill? You most definitely have that. Passion I can't help you with.

I'm still learning so I'm still content to lap the bumps. Rarely do I have to do that solo for an entire night session at Sundown, but I will if that's how it shakes out. I've got plenty of technique to work on after all. The bottom line is that there seems to be a growing Sundown contingent here. More often than not, you can use these forums to hook up with someone to ski with there. The camaraderie for me is huge.

Take a night last December for example. Brian and I met up and skied in pretty miserable freezing rain. I would have been friggin' out of there in an hour doing that solo, but we had a fun time skiing and BSing on the lift. It's also cool to hang with AZers like the Evils or Grassi or whoever is new to learning to fall in love with skiing bumps. And then there are those winners like 2/22 last season when a foot of powder was falling on newly seeded bumps. That night ranks up well within my top 10 days for the season.

Anyway, it's sorta starting to become like Cheers, a place where everybody know your name. Or maybe like a weekly bowling league. No matter how you look at it, it's still better than watching TV at home....

 

[2knees]

No matter how you look at it, it's still better than watching TV at home....

At the end of the day, this is what makes it all so appealing. Its not just better then watching TV. They have a bump run to play on everytime we go. Sundown simply has the most reliable bumps in the lower half of new england. bar NONE.

 

[severine]

Anyway, it's sorta starting to become like Cheers, a place where everybody know your name. Or maybe like a weekly bowling league. No matter how you look at it, it's still better than watching TV at home....

That's pretty much how I look at it.

For those who are hemming and hawing, when Brian calculated it out, he guessed about 15 weeks for a season. Then you have to look at how often you want to go. Last season, I spent about 15 of my days at Sundown (some of them nights after work, but that's a whole other issue...). There would have been more if I hadn't injured my knee in mid-February and missed out on 6 weeks of skiing. Planning on only one weekday a week, the $199 pass is a good deal. But with wanting to get the kids skiing this year, plus it being more likely that we'll be able to get childcare on the weekends so we can ski together (but not likely to be early morning childcare so we can't travel far), AND with gas costs/lack of funds this season, it just made sense to go for the full pass. In a way, it could turn out to be motivation for me with my unique position compared to you guys; if I can get someone to trade childcare with me, I can head up there for a few hours during the day, too. If I only had the once a week pass, I wouldn't have that flexibility.

Yes, it's a small hill. But it's nearby and it really is like going to the neighborhood bar... it seems like there's always someone there who you know. I like that. And right now, I'll take what I can get.

 

[gmcunni]

i'm ready to f'ing ski.

+1

all this talk about skiing really has me pumped up.

 

[bvibert]

B, don't you get a free season pass as an employee? Just wondering.

I'm not working there this year, so no I don't. If I was working there, then yes I'd get a pass of some sort, depending on hours worked.

 

[bvibert]

Can you post this sheet? I haven't over analyzed it enough yet.

Sure, just don't let me know if you find any flaws in my calculations that would have made go with something other than a full pass....

http://www.bvibert.com/skiing/Sundown costs.xls

I also plan on joining the Meriden ski club for the awareness days http://www.skiclub.com/documents/CSCAwdays08-09.pdf Do you think you can factor that into the sheet too?

No, I don't see how it's relevant. My sheet only takes into account Sundown...

 

[o3jeff]

Sure, just don't let me know if you find any flaws in my calculations that would have made go with something other than a full pass....

http://www.bvibert.com/skiing/Sundown costs.xls

Thanks, this will give me something to do in the office today!

 

[Greg]

Sure, just don't let me know if you find any flaws in my calculations that would have made go with something other than a full pass....

http://www.bvibert.com/skiing/Sundown costs.xls.

Why do you get two nights a week and Carrie only gets one? :smash:

:razz:

 

[severine]

Why do you get two nights a week and Carrie only gets one? :smash:

:razz:

Because he's a jerk!

 

[o3jeff]

Because he's a jerk!

You should take the pow days from him in trade.

 

[bvibert]

Why do you get two nights a week and Carrie only gets one? :smash:

:razz:

:roll:

You'll notice that the actual numbers entered into the sheet don't reflect those original estimates. I was a little delusional at the time...

 

[Greg]

:roll:

You'll notice that the actual numbers entered into the sheet don't reflect those original estimates. I was a little delusional at the time...

Oh yeah? Well explain your 24 projected ski days to her 17. Hmmmmm?

 

[bvibert]

Oh yeah? Well explain your 24 projected ski days to her 17. Hmmmmm?

I can't help it if I'm selfish.

 

[powhunter]

yea im all amped up...skiometer redlining! Ordered my pass today!! whos gonna be doing wed nights?? Early season roll call!!!

Powhunter
Jonnypoach
Bob Marley

 

[Greg]

yea im all amped up...skiometer redlining! Ordered my pass today!! whos gonna be doing wed nights?? Early season roll call!!!

Powhunter
Jonnypoach
Bob Marley

I plan to hit as many Wednesday nights as possible. Might try to squeeze in a fair amount of Sunday nights too, reserving the option to shift around to take advantage of the inevitable and numerous powder days we will have this season.

Predictions: The mountain will open on November 28 (Friday after T-day) and Temptor gets seeded on the night of December 16.