Overall, a good day was had. It didn't rain as the weatherguys and weatherbabes predicted it would, so it was a good call. Very temperate, perhap 40F by mid afternoon. <BR> <BR>The Choice <BR>Had planned to go to Mad River, but with the single chair being down, that limited a good chunk of skiable terrain. I was told when I called MRG that the shaft on the top bullwheel had snapped. A new one needed to be custom-milled, and it would be till shortly after Xmas before it was back up. <BR> <BR>Took 89 north from Boston. While there was white stuff everywhere, it wasn't until I crossed into VT that it looked like Santa's playland. From the snow on the trees and other surfaces, it was clear that they have had continous, localized snow squalls all week. And I really got psyched too see a highway plow still pushing back the piles from the road. That's always a good sign. Temps were too high to worry about Ice. It was already 29 degrees at 8 AM. <BR> <BR>Ticket Suprise <BR>Was suprised to see SB has given up on the good old ticket wickets. They've replace them with more ruggedized tickets with a plastic tie-wrap as the fastener. I'll miss the wickets... <BR>Speaking of tix, I didn't realize that you can buy SB tickets off-site at ski shops and save $6-8 per ticket. <BR> <BR>Not Too Busy <BR>By day's end there was only about 4 double rows of cars in the parking lot. Quite a mix of skiers - families, singles, college, couples. It gets a bit tiring getting scanned at the base mountain lifts everytime. I was waiting for their reader to go defect, or worse, tell me that I cycled too fast between runs! 
<BR> <BR>Moist Snow <BR>First thing I noticed was the @#$@$ relative humidity. It was 90% - I only notice this because for some reason the wide-screen TV in the bar was on the Weather Channel all day. Locals told me the humidity came in Monday night. Snow conditions were signifcantly heavier than the day prior. Until about 11AM it felt like suction cups under my boards. Wished I had waxed. Couldn't make turns as tight as I had wished. <BR> <BR>Coverage <BR>Nothing short of incredible for the East, before Xmas. Everything was skiable and just about everything was open. The glades and off-piste coverage was nothing short of impressive. It's difficult when you're on the slopes to recognize just how deep the snow it. I only got a real handle on the depth when I walked from the base lodge to the ski shop. They had shoveled four big STEPS into the snow to get down to the door of the ski shop. This amounted to a totally packed snow depth of about three feet. Incredible. <BR> <BR>Terrain <BR>There was absolutely nothing to complain about. You could go everywhere. Plenty of bumps, spent the day on Lincoln, Castlerock and a quick couple runs on Lynx. Jester is always my fav for a fast, narrow cruiser. Gettin on in age here, I take things slower than even a few years ago. You could absolutely go anywhere you want as much as you wanted. While starting at 9AM, I was completely beat by 3pm. <BR> <BR>Food <BR>Cafeteria food was fine, perhaps a bit better than avg. Only the main Base House Lodge was serving food. No sit down restaurants were opened. <BR> <BR>Signage <BR>One of the things that has always impressed me (other than the skill of the average skier at Sugarbush) was the well-thought out signage. First, all lifts make it perfectly clear what skill levels are service by that lift. This does a great job of keeping those who don't belong off the wrong places to begin with. Second, destination signs, in alternate colors (red I believe) point you in the direction of popular destinations, most particularly lodges and other mid-mountain chair lifts. Third, and conversely, it becomes very clear that Lynx is a lower-skill, "family" oriented area. Signs at the entrance to "family fun area" or something like that, keep those of us who are screamers, away from that group of skiers. <BR> <BR>Greeters <BR>SB is one of the only areas that has (read: can afford$) to have greeters, both at the base, and at the top of various lifts. An interesting idea, especially if you are new to the area. <BR> <BR>Dial 9-11 <BR>I noticed that Ski Patrol now monitors channel 9 subchannel 11 on Motorola Talkabouts. Just after I saw the sign, a fellow who had clearly taken one too many tumbles on Ripcord, pulled out his talkabout and called Ski Patrol. I overheard him say "I'm on a double-black. How do I get down?" Of course I could think of some smart a** comments, but kept them to myself. I remember being in the same position 25 years ago, but no technology was going to save me then or now. Best way down? Ski. One of the best learned lessons I ever had. <BR>Wise Old Sage <BR>Had a good conversation on the ride up with an extremely knowledgeable senior. We had an interesting discussion about SB and MRG. He had some interesting stats. Like the fact that about $4 of every lift ticket goes to liability insurance, but that a very big chunk of the lift ticket price covers snowmaking, which explains the exhoribitant price escallations in the past 20 years. He must have been 70 YO and took off from the top down carving like the hill was made of butter. After he left, I couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't a major stakeholder. Should'a asked. <BR> <BR>Snow Prognosis <BR>With 3 feet at the base, what rain is coming for Christmas eve and day will not do enough damage to the base to worry about. Our regular storms are due for the next few weeks, should put enough powder on top to keep us all happy till April. <BR> <BR>Bad Road Home <BR>Don't take the "scenic way home" as I had the bright idea to do, on a day when the temps were so high and the snowpack so deep. I traversed the valley south along Route 100. The fog was "thick as pea soup", as my Dad would say. To make matters worse, one of my headlamps blew out and the road spray from all the melting snow just diffused the only working light. The wipers they put on Mercedes didn't seem so frivolous. It was a long 30 miles after a hard day of skiing. But someone had to do it. <BR> <BR>Weatherbabes and Weatherguys <BR>Don't take them too seriously, they're only right about 50% of the time. For the past 30 years, I've been froliking in the outdoors and have learned not to plan my life around what they say. Want to know what the weather is? Stick your snout out the door, make your own decision and go for it. With the inet , I supplement the old schnoz technique with a quick look at radar maps, select webcams and some good old NWS reports. <BR> <BR>Get out there and enjoy yourself. And Merry Christmas!
<BR> <BR>Moist Snow <BR>First thing I noticed was the @#$@$ relative humidity. It was 90% - I only notice this because for some reason the wide-screen TV in the bar was on the Weather Channel all day. Locals told me the humidity came in Monday night. Snow conditions were signifcantly heavier than the day prior. Until about 11AM it felt like suction cups under my boards. Wished I had waxed. Couldn't make turns as tight as I had wished. <BR> <BR>Coverage <BR>Nothing short of incredible for the East, before Xmas. Everything was skiable and just about everything was open. The glades and off-piste coverage was nothing short of impressive. It's difficult when you're on the slopes to recognize just how deep the snow it. I only got a real handle on the depth when I walked from the base lodge to the ski shop. They had shoveled four big STEPS into the snow to get down to the door of the ski shop. This amounted to a totally packed snow depth of about three feet. Incredible. <BR> <BR>Terrain <BR>There was absolutely nothing to complain about. You could go everywhere. Plenty of bumps, spent the day on Lincoln, Castlerock and a quick couple runs on Lynx. Jester is always my fav for a fast, narrow cruiser. Gettin on in age here, I take things slower than even a few years ago. You could absolutely go anywhere you want as much as you wanted. While starting at 9AM, I was completely beat by 3pm. <BR> <BR>Food <BR>Cafeteria food was fine, perhaps a bit better than avg. Only the main Base House Lodge was serving food. No sit down restaurants were opened. <BR> <BR>Signage <BR>One of the things that has always impressed me (other than the skill of the average skier at Sugarbush) was the well-thought out signage. First, all lifts make it perfectly clear what skill levels are service by that lift. This does a great job of keeping those who don't belong off the wrong places to begin with. Second, destination signs, in alternate colors (red I believe) point you in the direction of popular destinations, most particularly lodges and other mid-mountain chair lifts. Third, and conversely, it becomes very clear that Lynx is a lower-skill, "family" oriented area. Signs at the entrance to "family fun area" or something like that, keep those of us who are screamers, away from that group of skiers. <BR> <BR>Greeters <BR>SB is one of the only areas that has (read: can afford$) to have greeters, both at the base, and at the top of various lifts. An interesting idea, especially if you are new to the area. <BR> <BR>Dial 9-11 <BR>I noticed that Ski Patrol now monitors channel 9 subchannel 11 on Motorola Talkabouts. Just after I saw the sign, a fellow who had clearly taken one too many tumbles on Ripcord, pulled out his talkabout and called Ski Patrol. I overheard him say "I'm on a double-black. How do I get down?" Of course I could think of some smart a** comments, but kept them to myself. I remember being in the same position 25 years ago, but no technology was going to save me then or now. Best way down? Ski. One of the best learned lessons I ever had. <BR>Wise Old Sage <BR>Had a good conversation on the ride up with an extremely knowledgeable senior. We had an interesting discussion about SB and MRG. He had some interesting stats. Like the fact that about $4 of every lift ticket goes to liability insurance, but that a very big chunk of the lift ticket price covers snowmaking, which explains the exhoribitant price escallations in the past 20 years. He must have been 70 YO and took off from the top down carving like the hill was made of butter. After he left, I couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't a major stakeholder. Should'a asked. <BR> <BR>Snow Prognosis <BR>With 3 feet at the base, what rain is coming for Christmas eve and day will not do enough damage to the base to worry about. Our regular storms are due for the next few weeks, should put enough powder on top to keep us all happy till April. <BR> <BR>Bad Road Home <BR>Don't take the "scenic way home" as I had the bright idea to do, on a day when the temps were so high and the snowpack so deep. I traversed the valley south along Route 100. The fog was "thick as pea soup", as my Dad would say. To make matters worse, one of my headlamps blew out and the road spray from all the melting snow just diffused the only working light. The wipers they put on Mercedes didn't seem so frivolous. It was a long 30 miles after a hard day of skiing. But someone had to do it. <BR> <BR>Weatherbabes and Weatherguys <BR>Don't take them too seriously, they're only right about 50% of the time. For the past 30 years, I've been froliking in the outdoors and have learned not to plan my life around what they say. Want to know what the weather is? Stick your snout out the door, make your own decision and go for it. With the inet , I supplement the old schnoz technique with a quick look at radar maps, select webcams and some good old NWS reports. <BR> <BR>Get out there and enjoy yourself. And Merry Christmas!