opening thread 2015

[jimmck]

Give us a break guys! You have no clue what we have been dealing with and what a transition day like this is like. We are maxing water to get resurfaced and to expand. When temps are high and fall and you were skiing over dirt you have to do something which make the short term less than ideal but set things up well. It would be ideal not to only have Downspout but that was not possible. Our goal is to get GH open tomorrow and top to bottom at ME. Check in the am!

I'm not questioning the effort your team is putting in trying to provide quality skiing and boarding for your customers. As an employee at another mountain, I'm all too familiar with the challenges in providing a quality surface for your customers.

I was challenging the decision to bring the children's programs to Downspout during peak time today. With a challenging surface and the crowd, I don't believe it was a smart decision.

Now, bring on the snow...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[mountainsider]

Sugarbush had solid coverage on days that most resorts were closed or required walking this year. Every time that the the temp has been low enough for snowmaking at my house on the mountain, the guns have been running. Many days there was simply no terrain that was cold enough and not covered. All of the slopes have been resurfaced a couple of times since thanksgiving. This year the emphasis on keeping proper depth on the open slopes has paid off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[djd66]

Not exactly 100% accurate. Even with the weather the way it is, Killington, Sunday River, Sugarloaf and others have resurfaced and even expanded during this period. I think we all just have to face the reality. Sugarbush will never have the type of snow making system that will power through bad weather. Not until the philosophy changes, serious money is committed and the infrastructure is totally replaced and upgraded. Personally I have come to the understanding that this management has a pretty set plan and a snowmaking expansion is not in the cards. I totally appreciate all that has been done. The place really has transformed. I have set my expectations now and can see past all this. All this means is more road trips until it snows. There is really no other way.

Tomorrow the snow will fall and maybe this will be the turning point. Who knows.

What's not 100% accurate? A) that we have had the warmest December on record? B) up until last night you could not blow snow at any of the major ski areas for the past week? C) it is going to be a shit show at every ski area in New England ?

[Orca]

Give us a break guys! You have no clue what we have been dealing with and what a transition day like this is like. We are maxing water to get resurfaced and to expand. When temps are high and fall and you were skiing over dirt you have to do something which make the short term less than ideal but set things up well. It would be ideal not to only have Downspout but that was not possible. Our goal is to get GH open tomorrow and top to bottom at ME. Check in the am!

The warm temperatures and paucity of natural snowfall have been incompatible with good ski conditions and terrain openings. I'd wager that Sugarbush ops is going all out with snowmaking to compensate as best possible. Tempered expectations are the order of the day.

[SurfBoy]

Dude - what planet have you been on during the month of December? It was 65 degrees Christmas Eve! It has not been cold enough to blow snow anywhere. I have no skied this week,... But one thing I can tell you for sure - it is a shit show at every ski area in New England.

I live on a planet where other ski resorts that compete with SB have top 2 bottom sking. What I am saying is that SB needs to figure a way to get top 2 bottom sking so you do not run into this problem. What is so hard to understand DUDE?

[winjr]

What's not 100% accurate? A) that we have had the warmest December on record? B) up until last night you could not blow snow at any of the major ski areas for the past week? C) it is going to be a shit show at every ski area in New England ?

Love you, Hawk, but this is not true. Killington, Sunday River and Okemo have awesome plants built years ago.
I am proud that in terms of acreage and quality we have kept up with everyone this year. But you can never
replace the real stuff. Our capacity can now cover 43 acres in a foot of snow in 24 hours. That is far more
Than a few years ago.

[teleo]

Worst weather in years, or ever, equals Nov conditions for new years:'(
Gonna get ugly on the slopes and the forums for all the open resorts.
Gotta get some popcorn and lot's of alcohol. We need lot's of snow bad.

[mountainsider]

Surf boy, sadly the plant you live on is not earth circa December 2015. All resorts are struggling this year.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SurfBoy]

Surf boy, sadly the plant you live on is not earth circa December 2015. All resorts are struggling this year.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Not saying that.. What I am saying is they need to figure a way to get top 2 bottom. Other resorts have done that. SB needs to as well. Of course it's bad all over that isn't the point.

[cdskier]

Not saying that.. What I am saying is they need to figure a way to get top 2 bottom. Other resorts have done that. SB needs to as well. Of course it's bad all over that isn't the point.

Sugarbush is T2B at LP. You can ski from the top of Lincoln Peak down to the bottom of the Super Bravo lift if you want. That is the very definition of top to bottom last time I checked. Also keep in mind that the base elevation of Lincoln Peak (~1600) is about 600 feet lower than the base of K's main lodge and the Snowshed/Ramshead area. That 600' can make a huge difference in a year like this where snowmaking has been very elevation dependent so far.

[SurfBoy]

Sugarbush is T2B at LP. You can ski from the top of Lincoln Peak down to the bottom of the Super Bravo lift if you want. That is the very definition of top to bottom last time I checked. Also keep in mind that the base elevation of Lincoln Peak (~1600) is about 600 feet lower than the base of K's main lodge and the Snowshed/Ramshead area. That 600' can make a huge difference in a year like this where snowmaking has been very elevation dependent so far.

What about Stowe?

[HowieT2]

Surprised it took this long for the annual snow making meltdown to occur. That's a good sign.
We are all frustrated. Hopefully tomorrow is a good day.

[HowieT2]

What about Stowe?

Don't take offense if you don't get a response. We've been over this before. Do you not understand the situation?

[cdskier]

What about Stowe?

Stowe has about 30% more snowmaking capacity which surely helps. They've spent quite a bit of money from what I understand over the past several years to get to that point. Their season pass also costs about 70% more than SB (just saying). Should I even bother mentioning that they are owned by a multi-billion dollar corporation?

I'd rather ski Organgrinder and Ripcord than any of the trails Stowe has open anyway.

[SurfBoy]

Don't take offense if you don't get a response. We've been over this before. Do you not understand the situation?

No offense taken, I understand that someone questioned the decision making on putting the kids programs on downspout. I added that only having the top of the mountain open in SB's case was problematic. I also suggested that some of SB's competition had "real T2B skiing". Also adding that SB needed to figure out how to fix this when you get snow years like this. IMO this might be the norm in years to come, unfortunately. I like SB as well, that is why I ski here. Not once was my intention nor do I think I was blaming management for the weather or lack of snow. Just making a suggestion that if their competition could do it they might figure out how to avoid this dilemma they are in for the future. I also know after reading some of these posts, that some members of this forum have their panties on way to tight. To answer your question, I do understand the situation. Off to ski pow if we don't get delayed by ice or wind. Have a good day!