Date(s) Skied: Sunday, May 3, 2009

Resort or Ski Area: Sugarbush--Lincoln Peak

Conditions: SC

Weather: Partly to mostly cloudy, temps in the 60's.

Trip Report: I was not planning on skiing this weekend because I was going to be visiting my fiancee who is doing her first hospital rotation for med school out of town. Well, she was disappointed when she was assigned to work today from 5:30am on until Monday morning. That, combined with the 5pm closing, meant that I could enjoy a weekend with her and get up at a reasonable hour and drive back to SB for turns today.

Got in late...at about 3:30pm. Good crowd in the lot. Good vibes. Not much snow on the base or for one patch on Stein's. Most places would not have opened....they would have bagged it. Not SB. I got in 5 runs today. All smiles from everyone. The Meatheads were skiing (Radio Ron came and spoke with me).

Many of us were at the top of Stein's at 5pm. There was a comment that there was no fanfare about the "last run." No shouts, no cheers, nothing. Folks just took it in on their own terms and savored the view and snow. I was the last paying customer to shove off...in fact my fiancee called me at 5pm and we chatted for 15 minutes or so. She has great timing (and wants us to do Tux this season!)

As I left, many more folks were mingling and having a drink, including Win. What a great place...pass was purchased on Friday...see you next season.

Overall, well worth the journey. The bumps were great, even if there was mud on Coffee Run and at the loading area, as well as the moss/grass/dirt/rock on the upper part of Stein's....that was tricky to ski.

What a great season. Having SB push the envelope when it comes to length of season is only one reason why I pulled the trigger on a pass for next season there. Until November, here are some pics and vids to keep you going:

The WROD that was Coffee Run:



Always weird riding up the lift with grass underneath you:



Yum.



The obligatory faceshot:



Nice bumps and skies!



Radio Ron!



Last chair...4:55pm:



Radio Ron mingled with us locals after the lift stopped....



Looking down.......



Ski Patrol descending in a wave with a cool sky above them:

The bottom...mud and dirt...some snow:





And yes, because I was driving to Maine, I didn't have room for the big skis:



A familiar face:





What was left....



And some vids...last chair for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwNojyCBno0

And I was the last guy down Stein's...before patrol came down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e7Em70cUds

Personally, I haven't been able to get up to SB and ski the last 4 weeks, but it's great the effort put in to keep the lifts running into May. I was talking to a friend last night who lives in Sun Valley and he was lamenting that they shut the lifts invariably every year after Easter. They had plenty of snow but they just don't care about the locals.

Skied late morning on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the top of Steins had been flattened a bit and you could make some nice GS turns before the bumps dominated the rest of the way. Snow was surprisingly good - not really corn, but not mashed potatoes either. Trying to come up with a new term for it - packed ball bearings?





By Sunday, the whole trail was thoroughly moguled, except for a 100 foot section below the headwall which was just muddy snow and rocks (we need a neologism for that as well -- shmoe?). What a great time!

I think I met Radio Ron, as he was getting set to get out. He was asking about how heavily to dress. I showed him what I had and he decided to lose his fleece, as he was going to be wearing a one-piece. I told him that a one-piece might be way more than he'd want, but he assured me that it was a very light shell, that was 20 years old.

Fits the description!

I may also be in one of the videos posted in the Zone, but way off in the distance, and toward the right-center. (They were on the left.)

I have a lot of pix, but by the time I get around to posting them, people will be saying, "What is this snow thing of which you speak?"

I, also, was there late morning. I spoke of that one spot as "an ugly little section" First time I went thru it, I hit a bunch of rocks, some of them mixed in with the snow. Second time I did a much better job of picking my way thru.

Why would people do something like that? Because it was the last chance, and looked worse than it was, which was also the story of the end of Coffee Run. Saturday and Sunday, I went thru a totally brown patch, that skied just fine . . . Well... No turns allowed.

SC, Great report. I'm looking forward to more good ones next season. Oh, and good luck with the missus to be.

QB, Nice post.

LO, Your posts are so numerous you may not always get the props you deserve. Please keep up the good work.

Posts, especially with photos, are like mountaineering methadone for flatlanders like me. Much appreciated.

Thanks,

YS

Here's a blast from the past: the closing day 2008 video I made of Radio Ron and the Meatheads skiing Stein's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlxkzjvY_TY