Sugarbush, VT Sat. February 1, 2003

[billski]

Actually did this one as a day trip from Boston. I-89 froze over around Sunapee, NH. Witnessed the immediate aftermath of five (count-em, five) rollovers, in a five-mile stretch, all having just occurred, about 7:30am. Several ambulances were enroute. Extensive Damage. So we slowed down quite a bit, things chilled a bit and turned to snow at the VT line and life was good again.... <BR> <BR>General observations: <BR>- First thing that struck me was how few boarders were there - it must have been 95% skiers. I asked a staffer about this, and he acknowledged it was true, but didn't have an explanation. Maybe the aura of Mad River Glen... <BR> <BR>- Also noticed very few brain buckets. <BR>- Intermediates to Advanced skill levels reigned. Skiers were more interested in skiing than anything else offered. Few day trippers. <BR>- Meager base lodge facilities. Inadequate seating for the numbers involved. Maybe that's why everyone was on the trails. <BR> <BR>VERY crowded on-trail at the Lincoln Peak area. Lift lines were not bad, but the downside to high speed lifts is that everyone was on the mt. Everywhere I was, even on expert I could look afront and behind me and see at least a dozen other skiers, all day. Kind of took the fun out of the great runs. An excellent mountain, lots of challenging terrain, all in great shape. Was a little more scratchy than mid NH areas and all the dumps they got, but hey, compared to prior years, it was heaven. <BR> <BR>Sugarbush does a nice job of balancing well-groomed with natural & bump terrain. <BR> <BR>I'm getting quite tired of all these ski areas that have made "boulevards" out of their ski trails - wide and flat, you can see top to bottom. I much prefer the narrow winding stuff - it doesn't have to be black diamond either. Profits get in the way of good skiing... Anyways, Sugarbush had some nice narrow winding trails. <BR> <BR>They had a well organized NASTAR program - looks like the NASTAR people did a total program overhaul, since every ski area I've been to this year, there is an excellent setup. <BR> <BR>Took the Slide Brook Express over to Mount Ellen, found there to be significantly fewer people. The locals also prefer the shuttle bus over the Slide brook Quad - it's faster, and warmer when it's windy and cold. Would make a great tourist vista in the summer - great views. Definitely do it once if you enjoy the views. <BR> <BR>Had lunch with some locals who work at the mt and ski when not working... They indicated that Mt. Ellen is the place to be on weekends - no crowds. <BR> <BR> Nice trails, got a good kick out of "Brambles" for my narrow and windey. <BR> <BR>Mt. Ellen has the half pipe and terrain park - pretty impressive. Here's where we found what few boarders there are. <BR> <BR>The clientele seemed to be especially friendly. Most socialable lot of all skiers I've met in the east. <BR> <BR>Snowed on and off all day. <BR> <BR>They still have <BR> <BR>A very large area, you never run out of new things to try. Worth the trip, more than once and definitely a multi-day stayer. <BR> <BR>Parking is OK, certainly better than Waterville's uphill climb! <BR> <BR>This one is definitely a keeper.