Sugarbush, VT 21NOV99

Jay Silveira

New member
<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 11/22/99. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>We returned to Sugarbush for the canned food drive, and I could <BR>already see a difference in coverage from just the day before. The Gate <BR>House lift wasn't turning, and the low elevations were getting more <BR>brown than white. We started off early, and conditions were firm! <BR>These were certainly the firmest conditions I'd experienced so far this <BR>season. They had not groomed Downspout, so it was a snap shot frozen in <BR>time with yesterday's bumps and ruts all there. The temperature at the <BR>summit was around upper 30s, but only locations with direct sun softened <BR>up immediately. When we got to the top of Heaven's Gate, we found that <BR>the first southward facing slope of Jester had beautiful soft snow, and <BR>E said that she'd be happy to hike and ski that one section all day if <BR>it meant we could avoid the rest of the frozen disaster. However, we <BR>knew that things would get better with each run, so we went for another <BR>lap. By about the third run, things were getting much better. The <BR>sunny spots were still the best, but the warmth and traffic softened the <BR>snow nicely. Downspout does a great job of holding onto its snow, and <BR>that's because it is heavily shaded and faces north(ish) in many <BR>sections. This of course means that it doesn't soften up very well, or <BR>for very long. Even as we approached noon, and the low sun was starting <BR>to hide behind Lincoln Peak, it was starting to get a bit firm again. <BR>Things remained top to bottom all day, but the mid mountain natural snow <BR>trails became roped off (coverage getting thin) as the day progressed. <BR>By the time we left (around noontime) only the upper elevation natural <BR>trails like Ripcord and Spillsville were left open. These had adequate <BR>coverage. The snowmaking trails like Jester / Downspout / Organgrinder <BR>were doing fine. The runout from Heaven's Gate to the base was getting <BR>thin in spots, but hopefully then can push it around to keep things <BR>top-to-bottom. They may have to resort to downloading again though <BR>before they can blow enough snow - looks like Wednesday will be the <BR>first chance. Crowds were much less than Saturday, and no lift lines <BR>developed despite the canned food drive.
 
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