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  1. #1

    opening thread 2015

    I saw in an email from sugarbush The Valley House quad will be ready to go opening day. Does that mean it will run that weekend because it would be unusual for any of the trails to be ready to go that weekend.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Yah they said that about the Northridge the last two years

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Benski View Post
    I saw in an email from sugarbush The Valley House quad will be ready to go opening day. Does that mean it will run that weekend because it would be unusual for any of the trails to be ready to go that weekend.
    "ready to go" does not mean running. depends on whether the trails over there are open.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by HowieT2 View Post
    "ready to go" does not mean running. depends on whether the trails over there are open.
    Agreed. If weather cooperates I could see them potentially making a push to get Spring Fling open early just to show off the lift.

  5. #5
    I doubt they will open spring fling that early without a dump. That would be nice but I doubt they will be able to make snow over that low that early. Having the vhq ready that for opening day would give them a month to troubleshoot before they need it. They could also open the vhq for lift rides just to try it out.

  6. #6
    gostan's Avatar
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    Let's not get greedy. We should all be satisfied if the mountain is able to open this Thanksgiving all of the trails that were open last Thanksgiving. Notwithstanding all of the E-Guns that $$ can buy, Mother Nature has a lot to say about what opens and when.

    Happy Labor Day.
    Stan

    "There's No Cure For Life"

  7. #7
    It would take a dump to get that side of the mountain open. It has happened as I recall skiing an empty mountain on Thanksgiving one year. That whole side was covered in a wet heavy snow that was incredible but being early season killed my legs to the point that I made it only a few hours on Friday as my legs were jiggly worms from the get go on Friday! So Ma Nature will have to provide as a Big Turkey Leg!

  8. #8
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    while I don't anticipate that they'll deviate from the standard Downspout/Lower Jester/Gondolier run, it's worth noting that it would be a lot easier and quicker (and cheaper) to just cover Snow Ball/Spring Fling. It's not like you gain much in the way of elevation advantage by going with the traditional route, though I suppose it's closer to the ridge line and more protected from sun/wind. I'd be interested to see them experiment with this approach. Then they could expand to Lower Snow Ball/Racers Edge and then Reverse Traverse over to Glade, Lower Jester and Lower OG for multiple ways down.

    Then again, not sure RT has snowmaking, in which case nevermind.

  9. #9
    reverse traverse does not have snowmaking.The reason they start on Heavens Gate is because they can at least make enough snow on Jester before lower mountain trails are even an option.

  10. #10
    I would be interested to hear a mountain ops person view on this, but I bet that in the month of November there is typically TWICE as many snowmaking hours from Alyns lodge up mountain than there are from VH lift down Mountian. I recall many many times over the past couple of years reading comments on the snow report that they were expanding coverage up top ( to OG or RC for instance) before hitting the run out simply because they could make snow up top but not on the run out.

    Concrete flies on Tuesday!

  11. #11
    It is not quicker and cheaper to cover Snowball->Spring Fling compared to the run out from HG. Those two trails are substantially more acreage and get hammered by the sun. Plus you are already at the bottom of HG so just keep going down. Early season is all about chasing temps. Opening the main mountain is the right way to go, then to gatehouse for beginners then to VH side then up to NL. I just hope this year they bounce around more instead of parking on a trail for a week and making piles.

  12. #12
    Interesting...from today's Stoke Exchange blog: "With the Valley House lift loading adjacent to Super Bravo, the feel of the base area is very different. Terrain access at Lincoln Peak is going to be altered too and may result in early season snowmaking plan changes. Stay tuned for updates."

    I still think the plan they've used the past couple years was pretty good for spreading out pretty quickly to different mountain areas to spread the people and abilities out, but we'll have to wait and see the details on this.

  13. #13

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    There is no reason why they couldn't do that. Other mountains make top to bottom snow for opening day. It would change the dynamics of the mountain for the beginning of the season. In a thread from last year this option was brought up and if I remember correctly Win joined in the conversation and indicated that it could be a possibility that was being considered. It would be nice not to put everyone through death spout!

  14. #14
    Hawk's Avatar
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    Death spout is unavoidable in the first few weeks of the season. As stated above they will open HG first because that is what early season temps command. They will do downloading before they even have a top to bottom route. it is not until steady 20 - 25 degree temps at the bottom that they will be able to blow other routes to get people down. But once they do have the temps I bet they will blow Spring Fling and Snow Ball sooner than later. I am sure they will want to run the new lift as it will be good publicity. If you also remember, they put all new snowmaking pipes on those trails last year so they run pretty efficiently. Can't wait.
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  15. #15
    I hope the plan is to run VH 7 days a week not just weekends and holidays.

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