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  1. #1
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    Sugarbush 12/30-12/31

    What a surprise and delight Saturday was at ME. The snow was deep when I arrived and got a lot deeper by the end of the day. SB ski patrol was kind enough to reserve a number of fantastic natural snow trails (or those that simply hadn't seen snowmaking) like Upper Looking Good, Which Way, and that little chute connecting Elbow and Lookin Good. Then we got naughty(er) and took our liberties on the mid-mountain expert trails. Bad Tinny. Bad . Bad. Bad. But oh so good. Boot to knee deep on Hammerhead, Bravo and Tumbler.

    It was very niiiiiiiiice.


    Sunday was a mob scene at LP. Got there an hour earlier in anticipation. Beat the crowds for the most part. First run was Moonshine to Lower Twist. Great chowdery conditions. Birdland was skiing soft with beautiful manmade. Took a trip to HG and Jester with the wife, and something caught my eye. Line was getting to ludicrous status at this point. Came back to HG, gathered a friend or two, turned right off the lift and never stopped going straight until I emerged at the top of Castlerock. Lots of tracks down CR run, not as many on Middle Earth. What followed was 1700' vert of powdery goodness. If I was in better shape, I would have just done laps there all day. But I'm not, so I didn't. Lodge was a crowded disaster - one guy on the salad/soup station mid-day during X-Mas break. Who would have thought that a line would develop?


  2. #2
    Was going to hit up Mt Ellen on Sunday, woke up at 730, was all set to go, but was fealing a bit sore from the day before in the powder. At noon, I was kicking myself when I saw blue skies and the fact that there was an alternate to Cruiser from midmtn down. D'oh. At least I got my laundry done.

    Was Sunday at Mt Ellen mobbed? Did I make the right decision?
    (if we don't get more snow soon, I'll be kicking myself for a while)

    -Jay

  3. #3
    OK, I'll let you off the hook.

    I left there pretty early, and the place didn't seem too packed, but as the bus was pulling out, I noticed the parking lot was almost full. This was either 9:45 (most likely) or 10:15
    .
    Two roads diverged in a wood,

    and I- I took the one less traveled by,


    And that has made all the difference.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by shadyjay
    Was Sunday at Mt Ellen mobbed?
    -Jay
    It was more crowded than Sat. I didn't really notice the trails being too crowded until just after lunch which was when I quit.



    Did I make the right decision?
    NO The morning was great!
    "Quietly Heartbroken Tennis Player."

  5. #5
    Whoa Tin..I hope a part of your TR doesn't land you in any hot water. and I'm not talking about the salad bar comment.
    www.firstlightphotographics.com
    Sugarbusher since 1970
    Skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by ski_resort_observer
    Whoa Tin..I hope a part of your TR doesn't land you in any hot water. and I'm not talking about the salad bar comment.
    I've been known to duck a rope or two, but only when I'm pushed to my breaking point. No lift-served natural snow until 12/30 counts as being well beyond my breaking point. I needed my fix, and by God, I got it. Went with a partner though - always - and dialed back the warp engines so as to limit any potential carnage from encountering barely concealed snow snakes. I truly can't understand why Upper Looking Good wasn't open on Saturday - it had a deep, bulletproof base in the morning that got deeper and softer as the day wore on. Why was Which Way unopenable on Saturday yet opened on Sunday? I'm not criticizing the patrol here - they do a great job at SB getting stuff open. I'm just saying that in rare cases, I feel comfortable making my own determination of what's ready/safe base on the conditions of the surrounding natural snow terrain and my knowledge of what certain trails look like in the summer. For example, despite the depth on Black Diamond, I would never have considered hitting that given all the rocks and stumps lurking.

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