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View Full Version : Status of those "ungroomed" runs



shadyjay
12-05-2008, 03:05 PM
Anyone been on VHTrav/Snowball/Spring Fling? I see they've been blowin' snow. Is it "dust on crust"?
How is Lower Jester (not the Lower Downspout part - but the x/c lower Organgrinder part) ???
Gotta get out - haven't been out since 11/17, going tomorrow, definetely some midweek next week.
Any suggestions? Hints/tips? Website says Organgrinder will be groomed.

Lostone
12-05-2008, 03:19 PM
Spring Fling was once again my pick of the day.

A few of the guns were slightly wet, but in the main, they were making snow that was skiing quite nicely. :D

Last Tracks
12-05-2008, 06:35 PM
mountain skiing much better this afternoon than Weds... got an inch and still coming down at 4... spring fling and snowball have nice soft bumps. spillsville skiing well too.. ripcord/paradise still dust on crust and a little scary.. ... birdland, murphy's ,domino dust on crust.

still firm but worth going up and fun.

shadyjay
12-05-2008, 10:34 PM
sounds good - only my 2nd day out and since i lost health insurance, don't want to kill myself just yet. but snowball/spring fling looks tempting.

it may all look tempting come monday, if the anticipated snow event on sunday pans out. monday could be very nice... if anything, cold.

shadyjay
12-06-2008, 03:13 PM
First hand report from my day on the hill:
Domino Chute/Lower Jester were "interesting"... nice one minute, glazed the next. I think I hit it too early, both in the day and in my day.

Definetely some folk flocking down Birdland and a few braving Murphys, the former having moguls. Neither looked "soft". Nor did Stein's - didn't see a sole on that all day.

VH Traverse was nice - and Snowball was beautiful - crankin' snow. Spring Fling had more bumps, also crankin snow. Lower Snowball wasn't as soft as the upper but quite manageable, with a couple waterbars near the bottom.

Good day - trip report later tonight on shadyjay.com

summitchallenger
12-06-2008, 05:38 PM
Just got back from my day. Snowmaking runs were slick, but I got a late start. There is definitely a frost/ice line...seems to be running along a line running even with the Reverse Traverse/Heaven's Gate Traverse--anything ungroomed above that is ice and FG. Below that is softer. I found some good/decent snow on Lower Snowball. Lower Domino was good as well. We're almost into low/mid prime conditions...just one more good snowstorm and things will be nice.

shadyjay
12-07-2008, 10:06 AM
One thing that irks me and probably confuses some is the reports that Lower Jester is groomed. Now for all the years I've been riding at Sugarbush (since 1990), I never considered Lower Jester to be the last runout of Lower Downspout down to Coffee Run/Gondolier. I assumed it was Lower Downspout the whole way. Lower Jester signage begins just downstream from Allyn's Lodge. Yesterday, 90% of Lower Jester was not groomed, leading to quite the slick run. Jester top to bottom is one of my favorite trails on the mountain, and seeing it groomed on the snow report is a bit misleading.

Personally, I'd get rid of Lower Downspout, and just call the whole thing Downspout right down to Coffee Run/Gondolier. Or "Home Run" from Lower Jester's intersection down to the Valley House. Its just a little misleading to see a trail listed as groomed, and then those not in the know take it right from downstream of Allyn's Lodge, only to learn its anything but.

BTW, saw a uniformed officer walking around the base area/Gate House yesterday... is this something new/regular? Security at the Bush?

freeheel_skier
12-07-2008, 11:54 AM
BTW, saw a uniformed officer walking around the base area/Gate House yesterday... is this something new/regular? Security at the Bush?

I've seen security @ ME and Lincoln Peak for a while now....at least the last 2 seasons (maybe longer).

Strat
12-07-2008, 11:55 AM
The Hunter North people... they're often around, though I'm not entirely sure what purpose they serve, I've never seen them actually in action or anything... maybe just to establish a little presence...

summitchallenger
12-07-2008, 06:05 PM
I agree with the comment about the grooming on Lower Jester. The SM whales on the middle section were very slick and if you weren't looking it was not fun. But the way the snowreporting system is set up is that it is all or nothing.

And I too wondered why the security guy was there....

vonski
12-07-2008, 06:34 PM
Have they made snow on Lower Jester yet? I know below Downspout they have, but what about the middle section. Or is that still all natural. In regards to the security, not sure if they help or not, but through my own fault. I for got to lock my car early December 2006 on a Saturday and my radar detector went for a walk. Got lucky though cause my wallet was in the console and they just grabbed the detector. So, hopefully the guards are a deterent to any potential petty thieves wondering the parking lot. They were also around all of last year.

Lostone
12-07-2008, 07:25 PM
1) On some maps Lower Downspout continues to Coffee Run. On others, Lower Jester goes to Coffee Run.

I think Lower Jester should also take over Coffee Run or Gondolier. That way it would be the way I describe it; a road that goes from the bottom to the top.

B) The way the snowmaking and trail open/close works, if there is one section of a trail that is open/groomed/has snowmaking that is the way the status shows for the whole trail. They could change it to Lower Organgrinder section 1 is open, 2 closed, 3 open... but that would be very cumbersome.

III) The security guards have been around for a while. I would guess the theory is that their visibility presents some deterrent. But they can't be everywhere, so I would suggest locking your stuff.

Strat
12-07-2008, 07:55 PM
I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Jester was indeed a logging road pre-Bush, though I'm not sure how far up the hill it went.

vonski
12-07-2008, 08:26 PM
Lostone, have they made snow on lower jester? below domino chute to bottom of Murphy's!!!! and if they have not then I could imagine how interesting that is at this point.

Yard Sale
12-07-2008, 08:26 PM
I believe security increased last year. At least some of the condo associations are sharing the cost of the increased presence with the mountain. They are patroling condos as well as mountain facilities.

shadyjay
12-07-2008, 08:45 PM
Saturday was my first day ever seeing security... roaming around the Gate House. Perhaps I've never noticed them before because if I'm in the Gate House, I'm usually sitting at the bar. With the bar not open yet, my break is upstairs.

I too remember seeing that Jester is an old logging road. In fact, its mentioned on the interactive trail map at sugarbush.com. Maybe what's confusing is that Lower Downspout just feeds directly into it that you think its the same trail... a straight shot. From Birdland and Murphy's, its pretty obvious you're turning onto a different run. Not to get into trail count logistics here, but Downspout/Lower Downspout should be merged, along with Twist/Lwr, Moonshine/Lwr, etc. But I'll cut that off now...

BTW, about 6" or so here in Waterbury. Thought about going tomorrow but temps in the teens in the Valleys = even colder up top. I can wait till Tuesday.. for the next snowstorm!

Lostone
12-07-2008, 08:46 PM
They made snow on part of Lower Jester, but people have said they didn't go all the way down. I was on the part down to Heaven's Gate Traverse, where I headed for Lower Domino.

Lower Domino was my pick for today. The terrain was a little ugly, in places, but it was the best snow I found.

vonski
12-07-2008, 09:36 PM
I would imagine after the brief warm up on Tuesday Wednesday they are going to have to get to that lower part of Jester along with lower organgrinder prior to the B-day celebration. Cause they must not have made snow on the lower section yet.

shadyjay
12-07-2008, 10:09 PM
Absolute lowest section of Organgrinder was not open Saturday. It was open up until the last Jester crossover though. So I doubt any snow's been made there, or on "Mid Jester" for that matter. I'm sure snowmaking will move there sometime in the near future, but I'd guess the Gate House/Village pod is next on the agenda.

Tin Woodsman
12-07-2008, 10:33 PM
1) On some maps Lower Downspout continues to Coffee Run. On others, Lower Jester goes to Coffee Run.
B) The way the snowmaking and trail open/close works, if there is one section of a trail that is open/groomed/has snowmaking that is the way the status shows for the whole trail. They could change it to Lower Organgrinder section 1 is open, 2 closed, 3 open... but that would be very cumbersome.

Or they could add a way to indicate on the snow report that it's only partially groomed.

Strat
12-07-2008, 11:11 PM
1) On some maps Lower Downspout continues to Coffee Run. On others, Lower Jester goes to Coffee Run.
B) The way the snowmaking and trail open/close works, if there is one section of a trail that is open/groomed/has snowmaking that is the way the status shows for the whole trail. They could change it to Lower Organgrinder section 1 is open, 2 closed, 3 open... but that would be very cumbersome.

Or they could add a way to indicate on the snow report that it's only partially groomed.
Stowe seems to do this: http://www.stowe.com/mountain/conditions.php ...

vonski
12-08-2008, 05:07 PM
guns moved to low/mid jester and organgrinder, save before the rain. Yeah!!! Think and Pray snow.