New England 2018/19 Northeast

[SKI-3PO]

My son and I plan to be at Sugarbush next weekend as well.

 

[Phelmut]

I'll be up at Sugarbush Saturday and either Killington or Stratton Sunday, It will be tough to leave Sunday when they'll be getting a good dose of snow.

 

[Laurel Hill Crazie]

My son and I plan to be at Sugarbush next weekend as well.

We will arrive late Saturday. The plan was to settle in on Sunday and ski beginning on Monday. That could change depending on conditions.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Definitely planning on being "stuck in Vermont" from sunday to Monday. Benefit of my current temp job is I have the flexibility to take a Friday and/or a Monday off when I want. If Michael can't get Monday off then we are taking 2 cars. This is more of a coastal storm so I'm sure none will be in the office anyway so why not ski...………...

 

[QueueCT]

I had to cancel my Monday/Tuesday at Stratton since I need to travel to Toronto on Tues morning. My (non-skiing) wife is taking my daughters up instead. Figures I'll miss the snow.

 

[EricG]

Smuggs was a zoo this morning, but it was warm & sunny.

The Madonna 1 lift was feeding the Extreme Challenge happening up top. There was a ultimate school slalom training session off to the side of the Sterling lift. So I grabbed the Madonna 2 lift, bad idea after it stopped twice for 20 min each time.

2hr, 10 min & 1 run completed. Booo.

 

[Tony S]

I grabbed the Madonna 2 lift, bad idea after it stopped twice for 20 min each time.

This really is the problem with small - from a budgeting point of view - mountains.

 

[RJS]

Smuggs was a zoo this morning, but it was warm & sunny.

The Madonna 1 lift was feeding the Extreme Challenge happening up top. There was a ultimate school slalom training session off to the side of the Sterling lift. So I grabbed the Madonna 2 lift, bad idea after it stopped twice for 20 min each time.

2hr, 10 min & 1 run completed. Booo.

This really is the problem with small - from a budgeting point of view - mountains.

It looks like Madonna 2 was installed during the 1979-1980 season, so it's not even that old as far as fixed grip lifts go. I'm guessing that it still has a lot of life ahead of it?

 

[Tony S]

It looks like Madonna 2 was installed during the 1979-1980 season, so it's not even that old as far as fixed grip lifts go. I'm guessing that it still has a lot of life ahead of it?

Average age of lifts at Smuggs vs. avg age of lifts at major resorts. E.g., Big Sky. QED

 

[cantunamunch]

Anyone going to be at Stratton on the 9th?

 

[surfsnowgirl]

We went to mount snow today. Main reason was my friends were getting ski boots so we went to see nick. We skied a while after. Conditions were decent with lots of soft snow but ice very close underneath so you just had to be careful. That said it was mardi gra day and stupid, dangerously crowded. I've never seen it this bad. Kids bombing straight down in a power wedge, adults going way faster than their ability. It was frightening. We stuck to less crowded trails but still busy. Maybe it was better on the north face or sun brook but we didn't have time to get over there.

 

[LKLA]

We went to mount snow today. Main reason was my friends were getting ski boots so we went to see nick. We skied a while after. Conditions were decent with lots of soft snow but ice very close underneath so you just had to be careful. That said it was mardi gra day and stupid, dangerously crowded. I've never seen it this bad. Kids bombing straight down in a power wedge, adults going way faster than their ability. It was frightening. We stuck to less crowded trails but still busy. Maybe it was better on the north face or sun brook but we didn't have time to get over there.

Bluebird day, Mardi Gras day, Saturday,.... near NYC...not surprised Mount Snow - and Nick - was packed.

 

[noggin]

Sugarloaf has had hero conditions for last 4 days. Fri -Sat both top notch Bluebird days, today little cloudy..but excellent.. more snow on the way tonight!

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Bluebird day, Mardi Gras day, Saturday,.... near NYC...not surprised Mount Snow - and Nick - was packed.

It was a saturday so expecting it to be crowded but this was above and beyond. I've been coming here for years, this was my first vermont season pass place. It was dangerously crowded, I've never seen it this way, wasn't even a bluebird day. Nick was the least busy thankfully. A few runs at snow and i was glad to leave and go back to the safety of my main mountains. Losing some love here that's for sure. Will do a couple more days in March but glad we aren't renewing our passes next season.

Happy news is our friends found ski boots they love and jen demoed, fell in love and bought some Volkl Flair 79s. Converted her from the dark side. So in the friendship, having fun arena it was a fabulous day. Bonus, the station tap room had sip of sunshine on draft and serves food now.

 

[EricG]

This really is the problem with small - from a budgeting point of view - mountains.

I spoke with one of the liftys this ,ormimg, he mentioned yesterday’s electrical issue was fixed shortly after. I didnt want to bug him too much. Overall Smuggs does a great job and I think spends they $$ where they need too. While I might complain about the lifts, I’ll probably sell our condo here if it gets acquired by a big company (VR) or they start installing high speed lifts. I don’t think the trails here can handle the quantity of people that high speed quads will transport uphill.

It looks like Madonna 2 was installed during the 1979-1980 season, so it's not even that old as far as fixed grip lifts go. I'm guessing that it still has a lot of life ahead of it?

Smuggs will be like this as long as the current owner has it. He has tried hard to maintain the vibe & the crowd control on the narrow trails by keeping uphill traffic limited by the old double chairs. It still works great, it’s classic and well maintained. But issues pop up like anywhere.


Smuggs skied great this morning. Grabbed a first chair and things were pretty quiet till 11ish. Just came in to make some lunch and get some work done.

 

[Slide of Hans]

Any reports from SoVT today. Icy? I was thinking of going tomorrow but I'm not sure 3 inches of snow can cover the ice. Other option is wacheustts, as they may get 10"?

 

[Josh Matta]

Smuggs should put in detachable doubles to stop the lifts stopping, make your time on the lift less, and keep the skier traffic exactly the same.

 

[CalG]

Smuggs should put in detachable doubles to stop the lifts stopping, make your time on the lift less, and keep the skier traffic exactly the same.

All it would take is an extra couple of Million Dollars. They could make that up in pass revenues without anyone noticing the increase.

Or maybe some would notice and complain..... bunch of cry babies ;-)

 

[EricG]

Smuggs should put in detachable doubles to stop the lifts stopping, make your time on the lift less, and keep the skier traffic exactly the same.

All it would take is an extra couple of Million Dollars. They could make that up in pass revenues without anyone noticing the increase.

Or maybe some would notice and complain..... bunch of cry babies ;-)

Knowing that the snowmaking waterline upgrades took as long as they did, the board won’t be appoving any upgraded lifts anytime soon.

Like I mentioned earlier, I may complain about the lifts. But I really don’t mean it, I do appreciate the old school vibe and the reasonably priced lunch if I don’t feel like walking back to the condo.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Powder day at magic