Treeskier wrote:

I figured this thread would be about all of the technology that would be put in place. Let get off grumbling.

I thought the same thing Tree. Anyway we watched the road crew from the Today Show roll in on Monday from our deck. There were 3 tractor trailers of stuff. I was told that they were setting up the mobile studio adjacent to timbers in the shuttle turn around. That was why they diverted foot traffic to the stairs. It was quite involved with a front end loader and trucks dumping dirt to make a level platform.

As for all the hub-bub and publicity, I think that it is fun to see the mountain thriving and growing. People don't like change and that is the lay of the land in the MRV. But if you want a new guest services lodge, more cafeteria space, a less crowded boot room and the Village double renovated then you have to deal with some change. It a double edged sword.

I guess there will always be that nostalgic sentiment towards the way things were and I respect that. Try to see that this new publicity builds the reputation of SB and will make us better in the long run. I have not waited in line more than 15 minutes all year and that was only a couple of times. We have 3/4" of the season where the mountain ours. The holiday weeks are a small price to pay.

Also Madhavok is right. I think everybody should go to North and Ski. South is way too crowded. It is the best mountain, except when the North Ridge breaks down or Brambles and Semi tough is closed....

skibum1321 wrote:

Do you realize what a grumpy old man you sound like?

He's not as grumpy as he sounds.

The Today show thing is just a symbol, but I hope it adds to all good for all the entrepreneurs in the valley. I hope it adds regular weekenders, not daytrippers.

I'm privy to a couple specific incidents that color the comments of Walks. One was my 9 year old son (one of those kids you see skiing anything/everywhere) getting clobbered into the woods by an out of control snowboarder (with NYC on their hat). The second was a dangerous close call with his own kids. To make it worse it was statistically significant as we were only on the trails for a small fraction of our time on the hill, between woods shots.

The second issue was the overall difference in etiquette. We were picking up trash, including sports drink bottles thrown off the chair. The lift lines had more rude people, (albeit some teenagers) intentionally trying not to alternate.

Is this the inevitable price of progress? Maybe, but for a valley that sells itself on ambiance, and its "difference", the difference on this weekend was obvious.

Castlerock, don't you think the close calls, rudeness and the trash thing is common on holiday weeks in general? A good number of the people that come up for the holidays only ski a few days a year. They are not well versed in ski etiquette and are oblivious to other people because they are trying to stay on their feet. I do not think that this is a new thing. It has always been that way during holidays and not so much on regular weekends. I do hate the trash thing though. I picked some up myself.

castlerock wrote:

skibum1321 wrote: Do you realize what a grumpy old man you sound like? He's not as grumpy as he sounds. The Today show thing is just a symbol, but I hope it adds to all good for all the entrepreneurs in the valley. I hope it adds regular weekenders, not daytrippers. I'm privy to a couple specific incidents that color the comments of Walks. One was my 9 year old son (one of those kids you see skiing anything/everywhere) getting clobbered into the woods by an out of control snowboarder (with NYC on their hat). The second was a dangerous close call with his own kids. To make it worse it was statistically significant as we were only on the trails for a small fraction of our time on the hill, between woods shots. The second issue was the overall difference in etiquette. We were picking up trash, including sports drink bottles thrown off the chair. The lift lines had more rude people, (albeit some teenagers) intentionally trying not to alternate. Is this the inevitable price of progress? Maybe, but for a valley that sells itself on ambiance, and its "difference", the difference on this weekend was obvious.

Or is it a case of realizing expectations. I think these things happen all the time, but when you're looking for something you notice it more. Yes, when there are more teens at the mtn there is going to be more trash and sophomoric behavior. Yet I had no problems finding great snow and little traffic this past weekend. Not the end of the world.

Hawk wrote:

Castlerock, don't you think the close calls, rudeness and the trash thing is common on holiday weeks in general? A good number of the people that come up for the holidays only ski a few days a year. They are not well versed in ski etiquette and are oblivious to other people because they are trying to stay on their feet. I do not think that this is a new thing. It has always been that way during holidays and not so much on regular weekends. I do hate the trash thing though. I picked some up myself.

Sure, it is. That is part of the point. It is the contrast to the regular weekends, that we are talking about. Look, Those $73 lift tickets are what can make the difference for the mountain. We need that, the businesses in the valley need the $$$ too. I understand that, that doesn't mean we have to abide by litter and rudeness reminiscent of Kxllxngtxn.

Walks point on the capacity of the mountain on peak weekends wasn't based on lift lines, It was based on the capacity of Downspout and the capacity of the Gate house lodge. Yes the mountain can handle more skier visits distributed across the year. It does feel like the peak days are close to max.

I'm now going to reprise my old advice on the lodge. PLEASE replace the plastic arm chairs with benches for the winter season. The capacity of that building will be increased by 50%. It will also feel more like a ski lodge.

HowieT2 wrote:

Or is it a case of realizing expectations. I think these things happen all the time, but when you're looking for something you notice it more. Yes, when there are more teens at the mtn there is going to be more trash and sophomoric behavior. Yet I had no problems finding great snow and little traffic this past weekend. Not the end of the world.

No, we weren't looking for it, it hit us in the face. Who was complaining about snow? Woods R'Us, but Every once in a while you have to cross a trail. When your kid gets whacked, it gets personal.

Personally, I'm thrilled that the Today Show is coming to MRV. I believe that it is very positive for the Valley and SB. My DVR is already set to record the show!

As for busy holiday weekends, they are to be expected and it is a good idea to plan around them. We had visitors from Sunday River and they were pleased with the conditions and thought the Lift Ops did a great job managing the lines. Win is right - Even when the lines look ugly, they are rarely more than 10 minutes. During the weekend, my crew spent a good amount of time in Slide Brook and on other off piste adventures. Even Monday was really pleasant with the soft conditions. As a result, our reflections of the weekend were 100% focused on the sweet runs and not the crowds.

“The Mountains – Just another day in Paradise”

3 questions:

1. Are there any other remote locations for broadcast other than Timbers and LP Village? Top of HG?

2. Who of the Today Show cast is going to be clicking in for a few turns? Matt or maybe Anne?

3. Who among the SkiMRVers, If any, might be standing behind Al during the weather holding a silly sign and screaming like a cotton headed ninny muggins? Hmmmmm. . . .

Hawk wrote:

Treeskier wrote: I figured this thread would be about all of the technology that would be put in place. Let get off grumbling. I thought the same thing Tree. Anyway we watched the road crew from the Today Show roll in on Monday from our deck. There were 3 tractor trailers of stuff.

that's just Meredith's wardrobe. ; }

One thing that I certainly have noticed is the dramatic increase of skiers skiing Slidebrook. A couple of times on the bus there was no room to fit everyone, which is fairly ridiculous. Also, I do agree that the crowd does just seem different at times. Some weekends it just doesn't feel like the normal Sugarbush crowd. No one said progress is always welcome by all parties, but we need the extra people in order to sustain the mountain and the MRV.

Yard Sale wrote:

3. Who among the SkiMRVers, If any, might be standing behind Al during the weather holding a silly sign and screaming like a cotton headed ninny muggins? Hmmmmm. . . .

As much as I would like to get in on the action, I am actually spending the whole day with a film crew representing The Learning Channel filming a segment for a Designing Spaces special episode on Destination Weddings & Honeymoons. The MRV will be the only destination featured on the thirty minute program. The rest of the program will feature national companies that deal with attire, stationery, etc. It should begin airing in April. Big day for the MRV!!

[quote="castlerock"]

Hawk wrote:

I'm now going to reprise my old advice on the lodge. PLEASE replace the plastic arm chairs with benches for the winter season. The capacity of that building will be increased by 50%. It will also feel more like a ski lodge.

Couldn't agree more!!

Hey Rock,

Saw that same kid and his pal's in the claw, almost took out my 13 year old daughter. He was in the chute, came off sideways 5 feet in the air, then shot into the bramble on his arse. Luck was on his side.....that time. My other favorite experience of the weekend was a 25ish year old boarder in the singles line at HG. When mostly threesomes were going through she got frustrated and proceeded to engage two others in the single line to "triple up". I challanged with a "not in front of me" that was met with frowns and disgust by all three. Not sure why the guy behind me let em in........

The Today Show is very fluid right up to the time of the broadcast. We will probably open with a shot of either a torchlight or some other group ski down Spring Fling. There is a two minute segment that has been produced about what it takes to prepare a mountain for opening (snowmaking, grooming, patrol, etc.) George has his oven set up in front of the Clay Brook plaza and will be making Flatbread. The cast will be doing some interesting and fun things on the snow, Al Roker will be patrolling outside for his weather segments. If the day is nice enought, Matt and Meredith will broadcast outside, and if not, inside Timbers. The best thing is to either show up tomorrow morning or watch TV to see what the final show is!

With respect to comments about capacity, the constraints are space in the lodges which will be addressed with the second lodge and likely some expansion of the Gate House. Ski areas depend upon 40 days in a season of 150 plus days to be successful. We do have to have paying guests on those days and that is when most people can ski and thus the larger crowds. Sugarbush does have the trail and lift capacity to handle 8,000 to 9,000 skiers and riders without making the experience like that of some others. Knowing where to go (like ME) on days like this do help a lot. There is rarely a long lift line on Castlerock, Heaven's Gate and North Lynx for example on the family Holidays. Gate House is usually the longest line and even that is
rarely more than 10-15 minutes at the worst.

In any crowd there will be rude people, but standing in the lift lines and wandering the lodges as I do, I find the vast majority of people who come here - including last weekend - to be nice and thankful guests. And most I speak to say the same thing!

[Walks point on the capacity of the mountain on peak weekends wasn't based on lift lines, It was based on the capacity of Downspout and the capacity of the Gate house lodge. Yes the mountain can handle more skier visits distributed across the year. It does feel like the peak days are close to max. I'm now going to reprise my old advice on the lodge. PLEASE replace the plastic arm chairs with benches for the winter season. The capacity of that building will be increased by 50%. It will also feel more like a ski lodge.[/quote]

I agree with your points 100%. There is also no possible way to deal with the lodge on a Holiday weekend with little kids. The plastic chairs are ridiculous and take up way too much space. The lack of real bar and inability to obtain a beer upstairs is devastating to me. Climbing up the hill with a 2 year old is not really viable and neither is Timbers.

As for the crowds and attitude, most weekends there is no issue. I ski almost every weekend at Sugarbush and rarely have problems. In fact, the opposite is true -- people at sugarbush are typically polite and helpful. I was not up there this weekend because I have a 6, 4 and 2 year old, all of whom are in various stages of learning to ski. There is no way that I would take the kids up to endure the holiday weekend madness. A couple of Sunday's ago, my four year old got clipped and luckily avoided injury by a snowboarder coming out of the woods onto Sleeper Road. Talk about pissed off. I had to restrain myself from delivering a beating. This was an eyeopener and made me decide to stay away until next week.

Without meaning to complain, South also lacks any real quantitity of beginner terrain. While I enjoy it most of the time, it just does not ski well for beginners and newbies to the mountain during Holiday crowds. Heading to north is not really an option when the 2 year old is with me. In short, the problems with South are glaring on Holiday weekends -- not enough lodge space, overcrowding on certain key trails, and for me, lack of options/ease of logistics for beginning skiers. A lot of this is probably true at many mountains on holiday weekends.

Having said all this, I believe that Win and his team will address the lodge/children's issues as development continues. I am happy for Win and the community and hope the Today Show brings the right type of exposure to the mountain. Hopefully, the masses will have enjoyed their time and spent a lot of money so that we can all enjoy the Bush and all it has to offer, relatively crowd free on other weekends and weekdays. The Valley and local busineesses could use the boost. I just wish there was a regulars only policy with respect to Slidebrook. Enjoy.