# Mt Snow 20-21 Intel



## sugarbushskier (Dec 6, 2020)

Heading up on Tuesday for first day out.  Since Vail's websites are useless, what's the current snowmaking/lift situation for this coming week?  Any chance Carinthia area gets opened to spread folks out?  

I'd like for more than one option down from North Face area as well, but since their snow reports are written as cursory and vague as possible, there's never any real intel.

Any details or first hand knowledge is appreciated.


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## SLyardsale (Dec 6, 2020)

they were showing off their water supply today with guns on all over the place.  They are blowing at least Gulch on Carinthia - perhaps more but couldn't tell.  A Little John / Ridge route could also be ready.  Chute on the North Face.  Ridge/Coopers Jct along the Tumbleweed line.  Not sue if all of this by Tues, although it appears they can run guns non stop perhaps over the next 36-48 hours if they want.

edit - they had tried to make snow on Gulch and at Carinthia base last week, but production was limited due to wet bulb.  They were a bit ahead on those, so I would think with that head start, Gulch may be 1st to expand.


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## Cobbold (Dec 6, 2020)

Skied Mt snow today, considering Mother Nature has  not helped at all this season, conditions were pretty good, all things considered, Mt snow is what 600 acres of trails, my guess they had 85 to 90 open. Good sized crowd considering, all pass holders today, I think, theirs a ton of epic pass holders,lol.  My guess they had 2k their today, maybe more.


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## MikeDeJ (Dec 6, 2020)

Gluch in Carinthia is going to be setup as a park on Tuesday, so open Weds or Thurs.  So for Tues no carithia as I see it.  I think Chute and Ridge will have the snow by Tues depends if they let it sit and open wiht whales or keep closed to drain.

I was there today also, good crowd handled well.  With all passholders lift never stopped!!!!


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## Nick (Dec 6, 2020)

@MountSnow


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## FBGM (Dec 6, 2020)

Id assume the Carinthia area will be much less park then previous years. Vail will scale back parks. Especially there with that new lodge. Maybe 2 trails of park and rest normal. They fired that idiot peak resorts park guy right off the bat. Less snow needed. Less money. Better terrain for the people that actually pay over there


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## sugarbushskier (Dec 6, 2020)

Thanks for this information. I'd trade a Carinthia trail for Chute and Ridge as additions any day.  I guess I was hoping to be able to park at C to avoid a potentially loooong walk from the main lot, but doesn't sound that way.

Last year I skied Chute the first day it was opened and the snowmaking whales were huge, but it was the ROTD so I'm hoping they open it and just let it drain while being skied.


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## keyser soze (Dec 6, 2020)

I've never skied Mt. Snow and was wondering how it compares to Killington & Sugarbush.  I have an Ikon so not likely to get there, but just curious.


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## drjeff (Dec 6, 2020)

fan guns now at about a 30hr run on Snowdance, Canyon, Ridge, parts of Long John, Cooper's Junction, Gulch, Discovery, and the Carinthia base area. Air/Water guns on Chute, Little John, High Traverse, N.E. Time and parts of Deer Run, and some isolated other areas. Currently 19 degrees with moderate NW winds at about 10:30 Sunday night.

Guns on Chute were running wet and making base snow today for sure based on the 8 rides up Outpost my son and I did today that had us looking like a popsicle, all the while enjoying the skate over to lap freefall.

Wouldn't be surprised to get Little John open tomorrow, and Gulch, if they want as a trail, not a park (my sons friend who is a park competition kid told him today that they had used the previous snowmaking runs on gulch to already pre form some features and were using the current run to enhance things and connect the patches between where they harvested snow for builds). Tuesday would be my guess as to when Ridge, Chute, Snowdance and N.E. Time get a rope drop based on historical precedence to open them. Then if the normal pattern is followed (and who knows for many reasons this season) I'd expect to see Nitro, lower Titanium, Mineshaft, Lodge and either Plummet or Fallen Timbers, and possibly Drop to see snowmaking heading towards next weekend.

As of right now, it doesn't appear that Vail is holding back on running the snowmaking system at/very near its maximum capacity. And if that continues, expect another handful or so of new trails every 2-3 days as long as the temps hold

And for reference the maybe 3" of snow on my back deck railing in this picture (and I'm at about 2200 feet elevation- about 300 feet above the base area for reference) is what fell yesterday. Maybe another 1-2" at the summit, and all rain down by Brattleboro and along route 31 from the junction with 100 to roughly the base of the Stratton Access rd in some of my Christmas Shopping excursions the last 2 days


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## sugarbushskier (Dec 7, 2020)

keyser soze said:


> I've never skied Mt. Snow and was wondering how it compares to Killington & Sugarbush.  I have an Ikon so not likely to get there, but just curious.


As a former 30 year SB second home owner, I'd say that MT Snow doesn't have the same extreme challenge areas or size/vert that K or SB has, but with that said, MS skis much bigger than you'd expect.  

Living in northern CT, I was looking for a replacement mountain and MS fit the bill.  It's less than a two hour drive for me so day tripping is the norm.  Their snowmaking system is probably the best or close to the best in the east.  When looking at the trail map, the mountain seems to be nothing special, but it really does ski like 4 separate areas with the main face for long decently pitched runs, some real challenge on the north face, a quieter, laid back (albeit slow lift) Sunbrook area and Carinthia for park and terrain interests. Lifts in general move people around nicely.  If you're like me and like to get off the beaten path and away from bulldozed boulevards, there are paths less traveled like Uncles and Ledge that give you a more isolated feeling.

MS can get crowded, but since I ski midweek, it's usually bearable.  Park at Carinthia when you can to avoid the lengthy walk from the main lots.

Hope this helps!


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## sugarbushskier (Dec 7, 2020)

drjeff said:


> View attachment 49641fan guns now at about a 30hr run on Snowdance, Canyon, Ridge, parts of Long John, Cooper's Junction, Gulch, Discovery, and the Carinthia base area. Air/Water guns on Chute, Little John, High Traverse, N.E. Time and parts of Deer Run, and some isolated other areas. Currently 19 degrees with moderate NW winds at about 10:30 Sunday night.
> 
> Guns on Chute were running wet and making base snow today for sure based on the 8 rides up Outpost my son and I did today that had us looking like a popsicle, all the while enjoying the skate over to lap freefall.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dr Jeff!  Now this is the type of info that would be helpful to see on their "snow report" to help folks plan their schedule.

Fingers crossed for all or at least some of this to come to fruition by tomorrow.


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## njdiver85 (Dec 7, 2020)

Anybody have any thoughts on why this Friday is fully booked up on the reservation system?  Seems odd considering Sat and Sun are still open.


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## Edd (Dec 7, 2020)

Important question here since I haven’t skied anywhere yet. Are there porta-potties at the base to keep the lodge crowds down?


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## icecoast1 (Dec 7, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> Anybody have any thoughts on why this Friday is fully booked up on the reservation system?  Seems odd considering Sat and Sun are still open.


The weather for the weekend looks pretty bad


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## njdiver85 (Dec 7, 2020)

Mountain ops on twitter posted that tomorrow's plan similar to today.  Guess they are holding off on opening Ridge, Chute, and Snowdance a little longer.


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## abc (Dec 7, 2020)

Question about Mt Snow's parking. 

The most obvious way to get a parking spot close to the lift is to arrive earlier than everybody else. But failing that, what's the strategy to avoid having to ride the silly shuttle bus? Would parking on the South entrance be a little easier to find?


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## icecoast1 (Dec 7, 2020)

abc said:


> Question about Mt Snow's parking.
> 
> The most obvious way to get a parking spot close to the lift is to arrive earlier than everybody else. But failing that, what's the strategy to avoid having to ride the silly shuttle bus? Would parking on the South entrance be a little easier to find?


Wait until Carinthia opens and park there


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## FBGM (Dec 7, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> Mountain ops on twitter posted that tomorrow's plan similar to today.  Guess they are holding off on opening Ridge, Chute, and Snowdance a little longer.


Pre Vail, Mount Snow used to open trails with straight up dust on dirt. 1 marginal snowmaking night and they would call it good. Vail wants a decent product down, not the crap old Mount Snow Mountain oops used to do.


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## ss20 (Dec 7, 2020)

FBGM said:


> Pre Vail, Mount Snow used to open trails with straight up dust on dirt. 1 marginal snowmaking night and they would call it good. Vail wants a decent product down, not the crap old Mount Snow Mountain oops used to do.



Mt. Snow would also not groom Freefall for the first weekish of the season it was open....typically had some of the most fun November terrain you could find in the Northeast.  Now Vail grooms it flat and turns it to ice the minute the guns turn off.


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## ss20 (Dec 7, 2020)

abc said:


> @drjeff  do you know what's up at the Snow Lake Lodge?  For hahas I looked up lodging there but everything is supposedly "sold out" the entire season.  10 years ago that place was one of the best deals in the ski industry...indoor pool, indoor and outdoor hot tub, free breakfast, 10 minute walk (or an even shorter shuttle ride) for like $99 a night midweek.



I can't figure out how to unquote you abc....this has nothing to do with your parking question lol.


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## MikeDeJ (Dec 7, 2020)

FBGM said:


> Id assume the Carinthia area will be much less park then previous years. Vail will scale back parks. Especially there with that new lodge. Maybe 2 trails of park and rest normal. They fired that idiot peak resorts park guy right off the bat. Less snow needed. Less money. Better terrain for the people that actually pay over there


Parks are going to be roughly the same with no 3 jump lines, and smaller jumps on Inferno


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## MikeDeJ (Dec 7, 2020)

FBGM said:


> Pre Vail, Mount Snow used to open trails with straight up dust on dirt. 1 marginal snowmaking night and they would call it good. Vail wants a decent product down, not the crap old Mount Snow Mountain oops used to do.


not true, the past 8 years or so the trails they opened early season were edge to edge.  I dont even bring up my rocks skis early season anymore.


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## SLyardsale (Dec 7, 2020)

abc said:


> Question about Mt Snow's parking.
> 
> The most obvious way to get a parking spot close to the lift is to arrive earlier than everybody else. But failing that, what's the strategy to avoid having to ride the silly shuttle bus? Would parking on the South entrance be a little easier to find?


1) Parking has not been an issue yet.  It maybe by next weekend when day tickets are in the mix.  They have been blowing snow on Cooper's, so Sundance Lodge is an option maybe with a slow FG Tumbleweed or a somewhat easy walk past Grand Summit to the main base.

2) no extra porta potties as of now.  I've been here over a week and have not set foot in a lodge yet

3) I do remember when Freefall was opened with whales as was Chute, as was Plummet, as was Ripcord.  None of that happen last year post Peaks so I agree with FBGM.  Freefall's conditions change daily.  When they resurface it has been good.  Today, it was shitty.  Freefall was the first NF trail to nix the whales, though a few years ago.

4) snowmaking has been aggressive, so that is good.  Terrain expansion just in time for weekend liquid.


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## FBGM (Dec 7, 2020)

MikeDeJ said:


> not true, the past 8 years or so the trails they opened early season were edge to edge.  I dont even bring up my rocks skis early season anymore.


Your definition of “edge to edge” must be different then mine....cuz that dump zone never has wall to wall early season. You’re telling me that they open that wide ass trail lookers right wall to wall when it opens? You must be just as high as half the employees there.


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## MikeDeJ (Dec 8, 2020)

FBGM said:


> Your definition of “edge to edge” must be different then mine....cuz that dump zone never has wall to wall early season. You’re telling me that they open that wide ass trail lookers right wall to wall when it opens? You must be just as high as half the employees there.


No they dont open Snowdance edge to edge, the skiers right of that trail does not have coverage.  The trail is 100 yards (or more wide)  they cover 50-60 yards of it.

If you dislike the place so much why do you waste your time talking/writing  about it??  MOVE ON!!!!  We dont need you there.  In this discusion you bring no inside info only negativity.


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## pauldotcom (Dec 8, 2020)

keyser soze said:


> I've never skied Mt. Snow and was wondering how it compares to Killington & Sugarbush.  I have an Ikon so not likely to get there, but just curious.



I've skied Mount Snow for years along with Killy and the Bush. Here are my thoughts;

1- It's close
2- Front side is blah with the exception of a few pretty fun trails (ledge/hop). In my opinion, Mount Snow doesn't have great groomers so the frontside but Killy, in my opinion, doesn't either (not sure about Bush)
3- Glades - Not enough glades but the glades they have are pretty good. Trials are super fun and there are some nice glades on the Sun side and a really nice ripper at Carinthia. Some steeper, tighter glades off Ripcord.
4- The quad on Carinthia is a fantastic lift. Lot's of big jumps to be viewed from the chair and it's just plain fun. I like watching the kids rip it up.
5- Terrain is good on the North Face. You can do laps back there and some of the terrain is fantastic. Runs like Jaws and Challenger are bumped up all the time and just as challenging as some of the best at Killy and Bush. I like the fact that Snow leaves some natural snow trails ALONE!
6- Can feel crowded at times


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## FBGM (Dec 8, 2020)

MikeDeJ said:


> No they dont open Snowdance edge to edge, the skiers right of that trail does not have coverage.  The trail is 100 yards (or more wide)  they cover 50-60 yards of it.
> 
> If you dislike the place so much why do you waste your time talking/writing  about it??  MOVE ON!!!!  We dont need you there.  In this discusion you bring no inside info only negativity.


To spread the truth and actual issues and happenings that have gone hidden for years. And to fuel the fire from people like you in denial.


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## njdiver85 (Dec 17, 2020)

We should move this thread up a little.  Great conditions today with #17 and #9 spinning from the base, plus Challenger.  No delays in opening which was a great surprise.  Looks like Friday still open on the reservation system.  Saturday booked now.


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## skimagic (Dec 17, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> We should move this thread up a little.  Great conditions today with #17 and #9 spinning from the base, plus Challenger.  No delays in opening which was a great surprise.  Looks like Friday still open on the reservation system.  Saturday booked now.


How's the snow depth,& consistency?  Lot of bottoming out?


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## abc (Dec 17, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> We should move this thread up a little.  Great conditions today with #17 and #9 spinning from the base, plus Challenger.  No delays in opening which was a great surprise.  Looks like Friday still open on the reservation system.  Saturday booked now.


And the lift line wait not too bad?


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## njdiver85 (Dec 17, 2020)

Ski on all day on Lift 9.  Max wait time for Challenger was about 7 min.  Maybe 10 min max for #17.   Excellent consistency of snow depth with maybe the very top of Chute the only exception.


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## MikeW (Dec 29, 2020)

Skiid the last few days here. Some observations. They are still terribly understaffed, but getting better. More new lifties, and people working the lines. They took a big hit with the rain on Christmas, but I remember them being able to recover quicker in the past. Lots of guns going, but grooming is not up to the usual snuff. It's an issue, as none of the natural snow trails are open. Don't know what the racers are doing since Ego, Countdown, South Bowl, are all closed. Seems that many of the trails which should be open at this point in the season are still down. NB-the boot shop in the Main Base Lodge is no longer Mt Snow Bootworks, which had been a premium shop. Cape house demo center is also not running, that had also been a very helpful and convenient feature. I know it's a tough year, I don't know if these issues are related to Covid or the Vail transition. We rode up the BB with one of the Vail higher-ups (socially distanced!), he said they're trying, they're trying. We shall see. All this said, got in a bunch of good runs with the (grown up) kids, and most of the folks we encountered were in good spirits. Always good to be on the snow!


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## drjeff (Dec 29, 2020)

MikeW said:


> Skiid the last few days here. Some observations. They are still terribly understaffed, but getting better. More new lifties, and people working the lines. They took a big hit with the rain on Christmas, but I remember them being able to recover quicker in the past. Lots of guns going, but grooming is not up to the usual snuff. It's an issue, as none of the natural snow trails are open. Don't know what the racers are doing since Ego, Countdown, South Bowl, are all closed. Seems that many of the trails which should be open at this point in the season are still down. NB-the boot shop in the Main Base Lodge is no longer Mt Snow Bootworks, which had been a premium shop. Cape house demo center is also not running, that had also been a very helpful and convenient feature. I know it's a tough year, I don't know if these issues are related to Covid or the Vail transition. We rode up the BB with one of the Vail higher-ups (socially distanced!), he said they're trying, they're trying. We shall see. All this said, got in a bunch of good runs with (grown up) kids, and most of the folks we encountered were in good spirits. Always good the be on the snow!



I have noticed that what they've been doing snowmaking wise this year is that in the past when they made a run on a trail, it tended to be in the 48-60 hour range. This year, it seem like its in the 72-96 hour range.

Some of the grooming has been because they're grooming out the whales on most trails less than 24 hours after the guns are shut down, so they're not draing as much and getting the semi chunky surface so as to likely not have some of the masses crash after launching off of a fresh whale. I do agree though that the width of the groomed area seems to be less than usually, in particular when making your way back from Carinthia down Long John, the short pitch just past where Heavy Metal lets you in, is maybe 2/3rds width, with netting keeping people from going down the side.

The racing programs for the Mountain itself, not Mount Snow Academy, start this Saturday, which will further put a strain on folks running the lift lines as many of the coaches for the Mount Snow programs have been scanning passes the last 2 weekends.

Nick Blaylock, the main guy behind Mount Snow Bootworks, opened up his own shop, Nick's Boot fitting, on route 100 across from the Silo, next to the Dover Bar and Grill. He was kind of vague if he was ready to branch out on his own or if Vail didn't want him to continue on, even though some of the old staff is still there fitting boots

This is quite a challenging year to figure out all the logistics, for sure, and doing so in a way without a sizable portion of the staff they usually have.

In some ways, it's better than I thought it would be. In other ways, it's worse and could use some attention. More often than not, it's about what I expected this year, given the information that they put out there.


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## MikeW (Dec 29, 2020)

Jeff-Thanks for your insights. I was actually expecting you to respond. We also noticed some Demo coaches and instructors scanning. I guess it's an "all hands on deck" situation. I did go to see Nick at his new place. We all had high hopes when Peaks took over, just hope Vail sticks with us going forward.


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## Cobbold (Dec 29, 2020)

Hop


drjeff said:


> I have noticed that what they've been doing snowmaking wise this year is that in the past when they made a run on a trail, it tended to be in the 48-60 hour range. This year, it seem like its in the 72-96 hour range.
> 
> Some of the grooming has been because they're grooming out the whales on most trails less than 24 hours after the guns are shut down, so they're not draing as much and getting the semi chunky surface so as to likely not have some of the masses crash after launching off of a fresh whale. I do agree though that the width of the groomed area seems to be less than usually, in particular when making your way back from Carinthia down Long John, the short pitch just past where Heavy Metal lets you in, is maybe 2/3rds width, with netting keeping people from going down the side.
> 
> ...


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## Cobbold (Dec 29, 2020)

Cobbold said:


> Hope nick b. Comes back to the boot shop, vail will lose money with him being out on his own. Nick is the best


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## JimG. (Dec 29, 2020)

MikeW said:


> Always good the be on the snow!


Even though for the most part conditions haven't been good it always feels great to be skiing.


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## drjeff (Dec 29, 2020)

MikeW said:


> Jeff-Thanks for your insights. I was actually expecting you to respond. We also noticed some Demo coaches and instructors scanning. I guess it's an "all hands on deck" situation. I did go to see Nick at his new place. We all had high hopes when Peaks took over, just hope Vail sticks with us going forward.


The Devo coaches and race team coaches (the folks in the orange coats scanning and running lines) I found out today, from one of the Devo coaches, had to do one of 2 things this week to help with the crowds, before their programs start this coming weekend.

They had the choice of running the pass scanners in line for 2 separate 4hr sessions or acting as the "greeter"/"please put your mask up" people near the entrance to the queue lane ropes by the main base area lifts.

Apparently they're also using some of the instructors who usually do privates and/or group lessons as well as the mountain camp program coaches as I have seen some of their blue coats doing the same jobs this week as well.


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## jaytrem (Dec 29, 2020)

Some were even bumping chairs.  All of them seemed to be happy to help out, at least as far as I could tell.


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## njdiver85 (Dec 30, 2020)

Perhaps they can teach the extra help to drive a groomer.    If anybody skied Plummet today, they'd know what I'm talking about.


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## SLyardsale (Dec 30, 2020)

njdiver85 said:


> Perhaps they can teach the extra help to drive a groomer.    If anybody skied Plummet today, they'd know what I'm talking about.


They lost the Boyd brothers in the early covid months.  Apparently, they were the only ones who could groom in the Valley.


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## slatham (Dec 31, 2020)

I got an email from Epic showing future availability for Mt Snow and Okemo. I haven't skied either as Epic mountains, but have skied Stowe, but no email? So I am wondering if they are having more trouble selling out at Mt Snow/Okemo? Or do they know I have a place at Bromley (which one of you told them?!?!?). To be clear, when I bought Epic passes at Stowe I used home address. 

It was also interesting to see Mt Snow $106 for Monday, dropping by the end of the week to $93 which appears to be the lowest price. Thats not terrible......


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## gittist (Dec 31, 2020)

slatham said:


> I got an email from Epic showing future availability for Mt Snow and Okemo. I haven't skied either as Epic mountains, but have skied Stowe, but no email? So I am wondering if they are having more trouble selling out at Mt Snow/Okemo? Or do they know I have a place at Bromley (which one of you told them?!?!?). To be clear, when I bought Epic passes at Stowe I used home address.
> 
> It was also interesting to see Mt Snow $106 for Monday, dropping by the end of the week to $93 which appears to be the lowest price. Thats not terrible......


What triggered your email from EPIC?  I have a season pass and am wondering because I didn't get anything from them.


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## abc (Dec 31, 2020)

I have a pass. I didn't get any availability email. 

Strangely, Hunter is sold out on Saturday and Sunday, but not tomorrow. I guess people really don't feel like skiing on New Year's Day? It's not like you can go out and get hammered on New Year's Eve... Not to mention Saturday is expected to RAIN (windy too)!


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## Edd (Dec 31, 2020)

abc said:


> I have a pass. I didn't get any availability email.
> 
> Strangely, Hunter is sold out on Saturday and Sunday, but not tomorrow. I guess people really don't feel like skiing on New Year's Day? It's not like you can go out and get hammered on New Year's Eve... Not to mention Saturday is expected to RAIN (windy too)!


It’s not remotely strange that people aren’t expecting to ski New Years Day. They can get hammered at home or Airbnb just fine.


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## slatham (Dec 31, 2020)

Not sure what triggered the email, but the two came only minutes apart. I do not have an Epic pass and the email was definitely geared toward non-pass day trippers.


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## JimG. (Dec 31, 2020)

slatham said:


> Not sure what triggered the email, but the two came only minutes apart. I do not have an Epic pass and the email was definitely geared toward non-pass day trippers.


Yeah I got those emails as well. Definitely geared towards non or past Epic resorts customers.

I don't do reservations so they'll never get my business.


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## cdskier (Dec 31, 2020)

slatham said:


> Not sure what triggered the email, but the two came only minutes apart. I do not have an Epic pass and the email was definitely geared toward non-pass day trippers.


I received 2 e-mails from Epic yesterday about availability at a couple of their resorts as well a minute apart from each other. One was for Hunter and the other for Vail itself. It has probably been 10-15 years since I've been to Hunter (although I have been on their e-mail list continuously for a while so at least that makes sense). Vail though makes no sense. I've never skied out west or signed up for any mailing lists or snow reports for any western resorts.

At the time of the e-mail, Hunter was filled on Jan 1, 2, and 3 while Vail was not sold out a single day in the next 3 weeks (according to the calendar in the e-mail at least).


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## abc (Dec 31, 2020)

So perhaps it's from each mountain individually. 

I recalled receiving a bunch of e-mail from just about every Vail owned mountain during the run up to the season. I found them too much and unsubscribed from most of them. 

So that may explain why I don't receive any of these new batch of emails.


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## cdskier (Dec 31, 2020)

So I went back into one of the e-mails and clicked the "Update your preferences" button at the bottom just to see what they have on file for me. Here's my "Resort Interest" options that they have on file for that particular e-mail account:


Vail isn't checked...so still no idea why they sent me Vail. Stowe is checked, but the last e-mail from Stowe was on July 24th... Wildcat I receive about 1-2 e-mails a month for, although last one was 12/10. Okemo realistically SHOULD be checked (I received e-mails from them on a regular basis until their communications transitioned to Vail Corporate. My Okemo mailing list subscription should have been integrated when Vail bought them like obviously the Stowe, Hunter, and Wildcat ones were).

Interestingly enough, Mt Snow also isn't checked, yet I do see e-mails from Vail about Mt Snow as recently as 12/8. Amazing that Vail can't even get something simple like this to work. The "Resort Interests" you have checked are what should drive which e-mails you get. It isn't complicated at all from an IT perspective to get this to work properly...


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## slatham (Dec 31, 2020)

I checked my preferences and I do have Mt Snow and Okemo selected, but I also have Stowe but did not get an email. I checked Stowe’s web site and they have tickets available post holiday other than Sunday MLK weekend. But perhaps availability is low enough to not warrant proactive emails? In any event next week midweek is $123. Go out far enough and cheapest is $103.

I also speculate that perhaps the newly acquired areas still maintain their own email lists.


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## ss20 (Dec 31, 2020)

abc said:


> I have a pass. I didn't get any availability email.
> 
> Strangely, Hunter is sold out on Saturday and Sunday, but not tomorrow. I guess people really don't feel like skiing on New Year's Day? It's not like you can go out and get hammered on New Year's Eve... Not to mention Saturday is expected to RAIN (windy too)!



The stereotype that New Year's is dead at the ski resorts is very very true.  Also true that it picks up after 11am.


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## mattskis (Jan 1, 2021)

How have morning lines been this week to pick up lift tickets? Heard it was a mess after the big snow the week before xmas.

Also, anyone know if sundance lodge is open and if i could pick up lift tickets there? Thanks.


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## njdiver85 (Jan 1, 2021)

Morning lines have not been too bad.  Nothing like the mayhem on the Friday after the big snow.


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## MikeW (Jan 2, 2021)

Sundance lodge not open as of Tuesday


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## njdiver85 (Jan 11, 2021)

No truth to any of Mount Snow's terrain status reports lately, or maybe it's been going on all season and I'm just starting to notice.  For example, Choke keeps being shown as open yet it is still closed (though perhaps maybe the top 20 feet by Link is open).  Snowdance shown today as groomed, but seems they only groomed the flat runout at the bottom.  Overall, seems they are doing the technical bare minimum to call something "open" or "groomed".  Overall,  the grooming has been very poor, leading to many, many serious accidents the last few days due to the large presence of ice everywhere.  Yet they represent trails as groomed that clearly are not.  A number of years ago, Mount Snow made use of a "renovator" attachment to chop up some of the icy trails and re-groom.  Probably time consuming process so Vail has said no-go.


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## sugarbushskier (Jan 11, 2021)

How long does it take to fix a webcam(s)?


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## icecoast1 (Jan 11, 2021)

sugarbushskier said:


> How long does it take to fix a webcam(s)?


Well, at least we can see the summit snow stake .  They could be fixed pretty easily if they actually wanted to


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## FBGM (Jan 11, 2021)

njdiver85 said:


> No truth to any of Mount Snow's terrain status reports lately, or maybe it's been going on all season and I'm just starting to notice.  For example, Choke keeps being shown as open yet it is still closed (though perhaps maybe the top 20 feet by Link is open).  Snowdance shown today as groomed, but seems they only groomed the flat runout at the bottom.  Overall, seems they are doing the technical bare minimum to call something "open" or "groomed".  Overall,  the grooming has been very poor, leading to many, many serious accidents the last few days due to the large presence of ice everywhere.  Yet they represent trails as groomed that clearly are not.  A number of years ago, Mount Snow made use of a "renovator" attachment to chop up some of the icy trails and re-groom.  Probably time consuming process so Vail has said no-go.


Renovators work ok but need a deep base and you have to till twice to even have an OK product. They also beat the piss out of a cat. Mount Snows grooming is weak at best. Vail would fix if they could find operators and or someone to train and work with them. Instead it’s just drive around with your tiller down and call it groomed.


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## drjeff (Jan 11, 2021)

njdiver85 said:


> No truth to any of Mount Snow's terrain status reports lately, or maybe it's been going on all season and I'm just starting to notice.  For example, Choke keeps being shown as open yet it is still closed (though perhaps maybe the top 20 feet by Link is open).  Snowdance shown today as groomed, but seems they only groomed the flat runout at the bottom.  Overall, seems they are doing the technical bare minimum to call something "open" or "groomed".  Overall,  the grooming has been very poor, leading to many, many serious accidents the last few days due to the large presence of ice everywhere.  Yet they represent trails as groomed that clearly are not.  A number of years ago, Mount Snow made use of a "renovator" attachment to chop up some of the icy trails and re-groom.  Probably time consuming process so Vail has said no-go.


They definitely groomed maybe the skiers/riders left say 1/3rd to maybe half of Snowdance last night. I saw the lights of the cats out the window of my condo last night making a few laps up and down it. And my son and I about 9:20 this morning, definitely found some corduroy on it today 

Definitely needs some resurfacing, as they started doing up on Snowdance Pitch last night, as there are numerous patches of world cup race hill quality snow underneath the loose granular.

It's from a combo of the freezing rain/rain event the previous weekend, and the simple fact that as a core trail, Snowdance gets worked on by the cats basically every night it's not warm and pouring rain, which ultimately over time compacts the base down below where the tiller can reach.

In the past, they have tended to manage this with a relatively quick (less than 24hrs) run with the fan guns usually just before the weekend. With how much snowmaking they had going on all over all 4 faces of the mountain, late last week, even with the water pumping capacity they now have, probably not enough to also light up the fans on trails like Snowdance, Ridge, Lodge and Long John, while they were running guns on Little Dipper, South Bowl, Ego Alley, Charlie's Chase, Yardsale, Drop, Rollercoaster, Committed, Ripcord, Fool's Gold and the half pipe area.

My hunch is that the core trails get a touch up in the next couple of days


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## sugarbushskier (Jan 17, 2021)

Can anyone tell me if Tuesday, January 19th is considered a "holiday" for Mt Snow?  

I have Epic Midweek Northeast and would like to ski, but it seems odd that Mt Snow might consider that day a holiday period and therefore my pass might not be eligible?  I don't want to go through the reservation process and then have to cancel or worse, show up and have my pass not be valid?


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## sugarbushskier (Jan 17, 2021)

Looks like I jumped the gun.  Went to Epic website and NE Midweek isn't restricted.


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## NYDB (Jan 18, 2021)

Someone shared a pic of a liftline from Facebook yesterday I think from carinthia.  I'm sure it was after a wind delay or something but Holy Shit.  Why don't people just stay at home and hit themselves in the nuts all day instead.


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## njdiver85 (Jan 18, 2021)

NY DirtBag said:


> Someone shared a pic of a liftline from Facebook yesterday I think from carinthia.  I'm sure it was after a wind delay or something but Holy Shit.  Why don't people just stay at home and hit themselves in the nuts all day instead.



I saw that picture, and it was a little deceiving.  For starters, there were actually two lift lines in the that picture, one for Nitro and one for Heavy Metal.  The picture made it look like it was a single long line.  Second, due to fewer "lanes" due to Covid, the lines are longer in length, but fewer in quantity, so again, a little deceiving.


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## keyser soze (Jan 18, 2021)

Yes, but on the second part while there are fewer people on lines than it appears, the wait is actually that long because people are not filling the chairs, so still a long wait regardless of the amount of actual people.


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## drjeff (Jan 18, 2021)

keyser soze said:


> Yes, but on the second part while there are fewer people on lines than it appears, the wait is actually that long because people are not filling the chairs, so still a long wait regardless of the amount of actual people.



From actually being in, if not that exact line, lines on that lift yesterday of similar length, while not "short", as part of a triple in one of the regular queue lanes, it was about 20 minutes.

Yesterday at Mount Snow, with the big winds having the Bluebird and Grand Summit Express on the main mountain, the Challenger triple on the Northface on wind hold all day, and the Sunbrook area on wind hold until around noon. When you factor in a "sell out" reservation day, the crowds could only move side to side across the mountain and the lines got BIG all over the place with the combo of roughly 1/3rd of the total uphill capacity not available due to wind holds, and the inability to move 360 degrees around the mountain as the crowds arrived all morning.

The crazy thing is that unlike most MLK Weekends, the outer parking lots weren't filled to capacity and there were no tour busses there either!!


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## abc (Jan 18, 2021)

drjeff said:


> From actually being in, if not that exact line, lines on that lift yesterday of similar length, while not "short", as part of a triple in one of the regular queue lanes, it was about 20 minutes


20 min on a holiday weekend is pretty "normal" from my limited experience. But was it 20 min all over the mountain, every lift? Or just one or two lifts? (yes, I under some chairs are on wind hold).


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## Ski2LiveLive2Ski (Jan 18, 2021)

Lines Sunday were 30 on Canyon Express, 20 on Nitro, 10 on Challenge and Sunbrook, 5 on Sundance. Conditions were some of the best conditions I have ever skied in East with 95% open on 18" of snow over prior 30 hrs with another 6" falling as we skied.

Lines today were about 20 on Bluebird, 15 on Grand Summit / Nitro / Canyon, 10 on Sunbrook, non-existent on Challenge and Outpost. Conditions were just as good with a few more inches fresh to start, more falling throughout the day and all but one trail open. Did lots of great tree runs too.


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## drjeff (Jan 19, 2021)

abc said:


> 20 min on a holiday weekend is pretty "normal" from my limited experience. But was it 20 min all over the mountain, every lift? Or just one or two lifts? (yes, I under some chairs are on wind





abc said:


> 20 min on a holiday weekend is pretty "normal" from my limited experience. But was it 20 min all over the mountain, every lift? Or just one or two lifts? (yes, I under some chairs are on wind hold).


20 was about the average that I waited in during the wind holds on Sunday.  I didn't wait in the line for Canyon, which late morning looked substantially longer than the line for Nitro that was in that picture, far longer than any line that I had ever personally seen for that lift in all the years that I've been a Mount Snow skier.

Most of the lifts that were running on Sunday had LONG lines at them due to the limited number of lifts that the wind holds created.

Not sure how, with a reservation system, the mountain could "pivot" last minute when the wind hold situation becomes quite apparent, and immediately say "cancel" some reservations, many of which were made days, if not weeks, in advance?


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## ski&soccermom (Jan 19, 2021)

drjeff said:


> 20 was about the average that I waited in during the wind holds on Sunday.  I didn't wait in the line for Canyon, which late morning looked substantially longer than the line for Nitro that was in that picture, far longer than any line that I had ever personally seen for that lift in all the years that I've been a Mount Snow skier.
> 
> Most of the lifts that were running on Sunday had LONG lines at them due to the limited number of lifts that the wind holds created.
> 
> Not sure how, with a reservation system, the mountain could "pivot" last minute when the wind hold situation becomes quite apparent, and immediately say "cancel" some reservations, many of which were made days, if not weeks, in advance?


I agree with drjeff and abc about the lines this weekend.  The only thing I will add is that I did wait on that Canyon line twice on Sunday when it went back past the waffle cabin.  If there were six queues set up at that point, the three on the right went back to the waffle cabin, BUT, the three on the left stopped before the bluebird barn.  We waited almost 30 minutes.  Yesterday was so much better - lines on North Face and for Beartrap were non existent.  Maybe 15 minutes for Nitro?  Bluebird looked a little longer.

The one thing I don't understand this year is the merging of the lines.  They are set up nicely for social distancing until you are nearing the lift, and then they all have an awful disorganized merge with everyone standing very close.  Why not just keep the spacing and yell front row like in past years?


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## slatham (Jan 19, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Not sure how, with a reservation system, the mountain could "pivot" last minute when the wind hold situation becomes quite apparent, and immediately say "cancel" some reservations, many of which were made days, if not weeks, in advance?


Thats a really good question. The issue is from a PR perspective, and VT DOH, it doesn't matter, it just looks bad. Not to mention the agony of waiting in those lines. Hopefully it didn't actually result on any Covid issues (I am a big believer that outdoors, masked, 30 mph wind, not an issue.....)

Realistically Mt Snow (or any area) could hold back some ticket sales when the 4-5 day forecast is for high winds (which it was). As you get closer if the wind forecast improves then you free up the tickets. If winds remain in the forecast then you have limited skier visits closer to the AVAILABLE capacity. FWIW I could see some areas doing this, I CANNOT see Vail doing it.


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## abc (Jan 19, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Not sure how, with a reservation system, the mountain could "pivot" last minute when the wind hold situation becomes quite apparent, and immediately say "cancel" some reservations, many of which were made days, if not weeks, in advance?


The situation is not help with the Vail's vague threat on cancelling reservation. Even though I'm reasonably sure Vail can't possibly justify docking people for canceling on the day of when there's massive wind hold.  It nonetheless created a resistance for people who are on the fence to NOT cancel.


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## jimmywilson69 (Jan 19, 2021)

I've cancelled a ton for my wife and son and even a few for myself.  No communication.

And LOL  they aren't going to hold back on reservations because the wind might pick up...

Holidays are busy ALWAYS and when you get wind holds long lines appear at lifts that are running.  Everyone is outside  COVID risk is small whether it is windy or not


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## KustyTheKlown (Jan 19, 2021)

lol 20 minute lift lines. enjoy your vail corp resorts.


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## FBGM (Jan 19, 2021)

njdiver85 said:


> I saw that picture, and it was a little deceiving.  For starters, there were actually two lift lines in the that picture, one for Nitro and one for Heavy Metal.  The picture made it look like it was a single long line.  Second, due to fewer "lanes" due to Covid, the lines are longer in length, but fewer in quantity, so again, a little deceiving.


That makes it worse! If the lift lines for those 2 lifts tangle and you can’t tell, fuck that noise. Might as well just walk up the hill. Or walk home.

I’d rather get a root canal from Dentist Jeff then wait that long to ski flat vail poop.


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## abc (Jan 21, 2021)

Ski2LiveLive2Ski said:


> Lines today were about 20 on Bluebird, 15 on Grand Summit / Nitro / Canyon, 10 on Sunbrook, non-existent on Challenge and Outpost. Conditions were just as good with a few more inches fresh to start, more falling throughout the day and all but one trail open. Did lots of great tree runs too.


Thanks for that detail description. 

I took the punt and skied Mount Snow yesterday and today. 

Condition was excellent. Soft fluff here and there, on top of true "pack powder". 

Yesterday, I stick to Canyon and Challenger. No lines whatsoever. Today, Canyon was down for a while so I had to skid over to Bluebird, which has a very short line, probably less than 5 min (don't have a watch). Grand Summit has no line whatsoever. (why is everyone standing in line for Bluebird, however short, while Grand Summit is ski right on? What is it that I don't know?)

Fallen Timber was fantastic. A couple inches on top of perfectly groomer surface == hero snow! No one's on it. So I was able to open up and ENJOY! Repeated as many times as my feet could handle (still dealing with some boot issues). 

Ripcord top section was super slick. Lower part was roped off.


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## drjeff (Jan 21, 2021)

abc said:


> Thanks for that detail description.
> 
> I took the punt and skied Mount Snow yesterday and today.
> 
> ...


Many people will choose to avoid the Grand Summit Express on days like today when snowmaking ops on Exhibition are going on to avoid getting hit with the snowgun product while on the lift.

Also, it is warmer with the bubble down than out in the open on the Grand Summit Express.

Other than that, the Bluebird is slightly faster to the top (just under a minute quicker) and there's a touch more back support due to the higher backed seat vs on the Grand Summit


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## abc (Jan 21, 2021)

Good point. 

It's not cold enough to need to close the bubble. (besides, I was sharing it with one other not from my household. Neither of us felt like closing the bubble). Though even with the bubble up, it still provides a little bit of shelter from the wind, and the falling snow. 

I kept looking at the Grand Summit as we went up. It SEEMS to be a tad slower but I wasn't sure. Thanks for confirming that. Though the faster time was negated by the 3 minute line on the Bluebird. Grand Summit was ski right on.


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## Newpylong (Jan 22, 2021)

I would choose the GSE any day if given the option. The slightly quicker rope speed of the BB is made up and then plenty more by not waiting to load it.


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## jaytrem (Jan 22, 2021)

With limited loading on the lifts, I suspect the GSE is moving more people per hour these days.  Thanks to the closer chair spacing.


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## icecoast1 (Jan 22, 2021)

Newpylong said:


> I would choose the GSE any day if given the option. The slightly quicker rope speed of the BB is made up and then plenty more by not waiting to load it.


Same here.  I never got the fascination people have with standing in line just to ride the bluebird when the grand summit is ski on.  I'm not talking about those days when it's nuclear cold or snowmaking going on either, people do this on sunny warm days.


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## Zand (Jan 22, 2021)

icecoast1 said:


> Same here.  I never got the fascination people have with standing in line just to ride the bluebird when the grand summit is ski on.  I'm not talking about those days when it's nuclear cold or snowmaking going on either, people do this on sunny warm days.


I don't understand the fascination with lowering the damn thing on said warm sunny days either.


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## Ski2LiveLive2Ski (Jan 22, 2021)

Skiing solo I avoid the Bubble as I would not want to share with a stranger with Bubble down

Skiing with my kids I usually do the Bubble if the line is only a little worse as:
1. The little warm ups the Bubble provides keeps them enthusiastic about skiing longer days, especially as
2. We want to avoid indoor warm up breaks as much as possible due to Covid


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## Newpylong (Jan 22, 2021)

Plus for those lift aficionados, nothing says bad ass quite like those Yan towers with lifting frames.


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## GregoryIsaacs (Jan 22, 2021)

Nothing beats the ASC days where the GSE would be absolutely slammed and you could still ski right onto the Summit Local..... Probably averaged a 20-min ride but I do remember the liftline being pretty low/sheltered from crazy winds etc.


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## abc (Jan 22, 2021)

Ski2LiveLive2Ski said:


> Skiing solo I avoid the Bubble as I would not want to share with a stranger with Bubble down


That was my concern when I rode it yesterday. That was the reason I refused to pair with a couple but only shared the chair with another single. Fortunately, nobody lower the darn thing on the few trips I rode it. 

Today, it's warmer. So I wasn't worried about anyone lowering the bubble. Except the lines are quite a bit longer. So singles are paired with double, no question asked. 

If Friday afternoon is like this, I don't want to know what Saturday and Sunday will be like. I'm going cross country skiing for this weekend (beside, it'll be brutally cold both days). I'll return on Monday when the crowds are gone. 

Today's condition was excellent. It kept on snowing, especially in the afternoon. It was coming down kind of hard. So by 3 o'clock, there were actually fluffy powder on some of the lessor traveled areas. 

So for those of you who must ski tomorrow, and can handle the cold, be there first chair and you might get some powder. Otherwise, there're also some leftover in the woods too.


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## drjeff (Jan 22, 2021)

abc said:


> That was my concern when I rode it yesterday. That was the reason I refused to pair with a couple but only shared the chair with another single. Fortunately, nobody lower the darn thing on the few trips I rode it.
> 
> Today, it's warmer. So I wasn't worried about anyone lowering the bubble. Except the lines are quite a bit longer. So singles are paired with double, no question asked.
> 
> ...


Just an FYI for you... Mondays have become the new Sundays many times this season.

Bubble down when I ride it with my wife and a paired single tomorrow. Winds circulating through it. That's my risk comfort zone

And a squall just rolled through that put down just over an inch in about 20 minutes


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## abc (Jan 22, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Bubble down when I ride it with my wife and a paired single tomorrow. Winds circulating through it. That's my risk comfort zone


Haven't you medical people already got your vaccine jab?


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## drjeff (Jan 22, 2021)

abc said:


> Haven't you medical people already got your vaccine jab?


Dose #1 - yes
Dose #2 - next week

Still went bubble down when it was me, or me and my wife with a single on the opposite side of that flying couch.

Air flow, and looking at the realistic science about the transmission risk in that situation, and my personal comfort with the risk.

Honest more worried about the potential effects of fumes from the ski wax I apply multiple days a week than the bubble down risk, or heck, even the Covid risk while I am at work, less than 2 feet from people's open mouths with air and water spray going in and out of my patients mouths.

I actually wear a higher level mask while waxing skis than working on my patients after looking at all of the risks


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## abc (Jan 22, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Still went bubble down when it was me, or me and my wife with a single on the opposite side of that flying couch.


What I mean to imply is you're no longer at risk. So you can share chair with as many as you like and have the bubble down, as long as your chair-mates are ok with that. It's their risk, not knowing you. But you're safe. 

Today I share the bubble with a double. But they're not a "couple" (2 guys). So instead of sitting on the edge together, one sat at the middle. At least they didn't insist on closing the bubble. Nevertheless, that was the last time I rode the bubble. 

I'm not ever going to ski on weekends there any more. And using the reservation sold out days as a guide, there're no other Vail mountain less busy than Mount Snow. So it's no weekend skiing for me, period. Don't want to deal with the pressure of having to share chair when the line is long. (also can't stand  in line for long time in my new boots)

So far, Mount Snow fits my need. There's only 1 bubble chair, which I can easily avoid on busy or cold days by toughing it out on the Grand Summit. (I'm ok as long as the bubble is up, even if the 3rd person sits in the middle). I'm just not going to take the risk of people wanting the bubble down. So, bubble only on warm days, or days so quiet that I don't have to share with doubles. Not that I ride the Bluebird that often. The North Face is a good pod with relatively light traffic, which I spent most of my time in. 

The biggest plus of Mount Snow for me is the close-in parking by the Canyon Express. I don't have to walk in my new boot liner. Today I parked as the 2nd car to the snow!  So 5 feet to putting my skis on. Happy! I don't know of another Vail Mountain in NY/VT that I can park that close to snow so easily. Granted, once my boot is broken in, I can theoretically explore other mountains that requires more walking.


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## abc (Jan 23, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Just an FYI for you... Mondays have become the new Sundays many times this season.


Thanks for the warning. 

Some said Friday is the new Saturday too. But yesterday at Snow wasn’t too bad. A lot more people than the previous 2 days. But by no means crowded. Only the Bluebird had a noticeable line. 

So hopefully Monday will be no worse than Friday.


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## mlctvt (Jan 23, 2021)

abc said:


> The biggest plus of Mount Snow for me is the close-in parking by the Canyon Express. I don't have to walk in my new boot liner. Today I parked as the 2nd car to the snow!  So 5 feet to putting my skis on. Happy! I don't know of another Vail Mountain in NY/VT that I can park that close to snow so easily. Granted, once my boot is broken in, I can theoretically explore other mountains that requires more walking.


How early did you have to arrive to get that close? Last weekday I was there that lot was quite full rather early.


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## abc (Jan 23, 2021)

7:30 according to the early birds I parked next to. 

I usually got there after 12, as I had a bunch of morning meeting I need to attend. There's usually space as people start to leave. 

(this was all weekday, weekend maybe a different story)


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## icecoast1 (Jan 23, 2021)

mlctvt said:


> How early did you have to arrive to get that close? Last weekday I was there that lot was quite full rather early.


Parking is almost always better at Carinthia, unless you are trying to get there early for first tracks off the summit.  You can pretty much ski right to your car when you're done and its only a short walk to the lift


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## drjeff (Jan 23, 2021)

REALLY GOOD today. The cold temps and the snow globe effect that has been on going since the main storm departed last Sunday has put down about 3 feet, with no melting, in the last week!

Some lines were long. The skiing was great with my wife and I regularly finding extended runs of boot top deep powder on trails that certainly aren't off the beaten path for most of the morning!!

It's REALLY good right now, regardless of the line situation ll!


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## ctdubl07 (Jan 30, 2021)

Longtime Lurker, first time poster. 
Just letting you folks know you have yet another, MS know it all which Im sure, completes your day. 
One other thing, I dont think Vail sucks.....


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## drjeff (Jan 30, 2021)

Cold out on the hill this morning. Crowds are light. The wait for the Bluebird (10-15 minutes) is worth it and getting out of the headwind on the ride up!!


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## abc (Jan 31, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Cold out on the hill this morning. Crowds are light. The wait for the Bluebird (10-15 minutes) is worth it and getting out of the headwind on the ride up!!


Days like this is why I cross country ski! 

Plus, I can do that rolling out of bed, driving a short way to an uncrowded parking lot... no reservation, no standing in lines.

But cx skiing sucks when there's 20" of wet heavy powder. That's when I head to the hills and let the lift take me up, lines notwithstanding.


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## drjeff (Jan 31, 2021)

Beautiful out this morning! While the air temps are similarly cold as yesterday, with basically no wind, it feels "balmy" compared to yesterday.

Snow is soft and enjoyable both on the ungroomed naturals as well as the snowmaking groomer trails.

Light crowds, with maybe 1/2 full queue lanes on the Bluebird and GSE with most other lifts my wife and I have been on all over the mountain being practically ski on.

Mid morning coffee break is just about done! Time to go get some more laps in!


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## St. Jerry (Jan 31, 2021)

Great morning!  What a difference no wind makes.


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## Smellytele (Jan 31, 2021)

Strange that Mt Snow was windy on Saturday and Magic had no wind at all.


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## ctdubl07 (Jan 31, 2021)

For those looking for conditions report:

- my perspective is that the snow surface is seemingly the most consistent I have seen it in many years thanks to recent weather pattern (minus Hot piss rain event from Xmas....love that description)
- Mtn has not had this # of trails open, day over day, in many years
- They appear to be grooming "out" more terrain than in past. Not sure if this is a new approach, trail preservation tactic for season or response to cust feedback (does feel a little BCreek-ish)

Yesterday was cold and windy, chose to sit on couch. Pulled kids from programs but they lapped a few PM runs but...Today was fantastic. Couldn't believe how early Carinthia p-lot emptied, even for for a Sunday.

We're distance learning to comply with VT QTine guidelines. CT schools won't let us back in without neg testing each time we'd return home so F-it...going to hit it hard next 2 storm days.


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## drjeff (Jan 31, 2021)

ctdubl07 said:


> For those looking for conditions report:
> 
> - my perspective is that the snow surface is seemingly the most consistent I have seen it in many years thanks to recent weather pattern (minus Hot piss rain event from Xmas....love that description)
> - Mtn has not had this # of trails open, day over day, in many years
> ...



Heck, the fact that on some trees, where the recent snow fallS (emphasis on the plural!) was finally blown off on Saturday to still show the branches on some trees up on the top roughly 1/2 of the mountain still encased in ice from the last liquid event over 3 weeks ago, gives a perfect example as to how good the weather has been for snow preservation I between snow events for the majority of January! It's been a GOOD weather month overall in SoVT!!


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## ctdubl07 (Feb 2, 2021)

Snow did not start here until 2:30 yesterday and really didnt get cooking till around 6. Cats were humming all night but I think bulk of snow came after a good portion was groomed so should be ideal. (as a boarder, these are my ideal conditions....cord base with 4-6 inches on top, nothing more fun to surf!)
Driveway was just plowed and deck looks to have another 10-12 inches so trees should be reloaded and be great.
Wind is still kicking pretty good but I can see the lifties pulling the coral ropes on Nitro lift so we will see how it effects BB lif, et all. Hopefully GSE runs.
Kids have 2nd snow day in a row back in CT but we're distance learning for season to comply with everyones rules so we'll be out there at 9!!
Come on up!


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## sugarbushskier (Feb 2, 2021)

I see on their snow report that "Nitro will be closed".  Is this due to the wind or is this a mid-week plan?  I'm heading there tomorrow and want to plan parking accordingly.


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## ctdubl07 (Feb 2, 2021)

sugarbushskier said:


> I see on their snow report that "Nitro will be closed".  Is this due to the wind or is this a mid-week plan?  I'm heading there tomorrow and want to plan parking accordingly.


That is the trail "Nitro". The lift that runs atop it goes by same name.
Since yesterday morning, they've been rebuilding a number of the larger features that got "flattened out" over last few weeks of heavy use with such good snow.
The should Nitro should be running  as some point because I can see the lifties setting up the ropes/corral.


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## ctdubl07 (Feb 2, 2021)

ctdubl07 said:


> That is the trail "Nitro". The lift that runs atop it goes by same name.
> Since yesterday morning, they've been rebuilding a number of the larger features that got "flattened out" over last few weeks of heavy use with such good snow.
> The should Nitro should be running  as some point because I can see the lifties setting up the ropes/corral.


Nitro life just started spinning about 11. We've been out for 2 hours...while the snow is plentiful, it is "mini-sleeting" and your googles are covered instantly with a frozen film. This has now left about 1/8" of crust on everything which I did not expect. Snow is by no means now, powder.


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## sugarbushskier (Feb 2, 2021)

Thanks for the update.  I should have realized trail vs lift duh.....LOL.

The sleet, well I didn't expect that.  I assumed light fluffy pow and even planned on my 107's.  Oh well, any day out is a good day!


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## ctdubl07 (Feb 2, 2021)

sugarbushskier said:


> Thanks for the update.  I should have realized trail vs lift duh.....LOL.
> 
> The sleet, well I didn't expect that.  I assumed light fluffy pow and even planned on my 107's.  Oh well, any day out is a good day!


Its dropped a few degrees and wind as eased a bit so back to more formed flakes and looks like it will stay snowing for awhile.


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## Pez (Mar 1, 2021)

Mount Snow yesterday was a zoo.  Bluebird went down which didn't help.


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## tumbler (Mar 15, 2021)

Looked like a fun weekend in the park








						VIDEO: Woman Assaults 13 Year Old Boy @ Mt. Snow, Vermont
					

Wish I had more background information on this assault on the slopes of Mount Snow in Vermont but accordingly to second hand reporting on Reddit, the woman had allegedly gotten out of her skis to f…




					unofficialnetworks.com


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## NYDB (Mar 15, 2021)

Carinthia is where the shit goes down it seems.  

Smart move by Mt Snow to keep that all contained in one spot on the mountain.


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## Domeskier (Mar 15, 2021)

Surely there is more to this video than what got posted on Reddit. It was just getting good.


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## Pez (Mar 15, 2021)

Fairly epic day at mount snow yesterday.

started snowing which softened everyithng up real nice.  not crowded, skied right into the quad a bunch of times.  had a great day.


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## drjeff (Mar 16, 2021)

Domeskier said:


> Surely there is more to this video than what got posted on Reddit. It was just getting good.


Guessing that there was probably a good minute of back and forth, before the video started that might put a different perspective as to why the lady lost it......


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## ThatGuy (Mar 16, 2021)

NY DirtBag said:


> Carinthia is where the shit goes down it seems.
> 
> Smart move by Mt Snow to keep that all contained in one spot on the mountain.


Carinthia is definitely a cesspool a least the north face is on the opposite side of the mountain.


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## ctdubl07 (Mar 16, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Guessing that there was probably a good minute of back and forth, before the video started that might put a different perspective as to why the lady lost it......


My sons and I caught tail end from above on lift....my daugher is one of the voices you hear saying stop in the video. Very unsettling for her. Weve had a few family discussions about it. 
Yes, before the kid popped off at her, the group was telling her to clear the landing area. What you dont see is that she is sitting right past a feature, out of her skis.


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## KustyTheKlown (Mar 16, 2021)

i think its pretty visible that she is obstructing a jump, standing in the middle of a park, not wearing her skis. she also doesn't look like someone who would be skiing park in the first place.

i don't recall if it was in the reddit post or in the unofficial networks article, but i read that she was just walking around the park, outside her skis, filming a friend who was just skiing thru the park as if it were a groomer, and was waiting for that friend to ride up the lift to film the friend coming back thru the park. what i read said that she would not move from in front of a park feature, one of the kids called her a retard, and then she started getting physical

fuck that lady. fuck her right in her asshole. i don't love the word, but retard seems to fit her conduct.


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## drjeff (Mar 16, 2021)

ctdubl07 said:


> My sons and I caught tail end from above on lift....my daugher is one of the voices you hear saying stop in the video. Very unsettling for her. Weve had a few family discussions about it.
> Yes, before the kid popped off at her, the group was telling her to clear the landing area. What you dont see is that she is sitting right past a feature, out of her skis.



Wouldn't shock me at all of she just chose to put her stuff down there.  Heck, a few weeks ago, on a busy Saturday, there was a group of what looked like mid 20 somethings, who chose to take their gear off and sit an have a snack in the snow between were the Canyon and Bluebird queue lanes end, both had pretty full queues that were maybe with 30 feet of meeting, and that doesn't even take into account the folks trying to ski/ride down the bottom of Canyon and either into the queue lanes or to the base lodge, etc.  They were absolutely oblivious it seems to how that place they chose to stop wasn't a good option.

And while I will admit that the vast majority of my time at Carinthia (which is maybe a couple of runs each weekend down Mineshaft to Inferno) isn't on trails that have parks on them, I have tried to pay attention in the past to the etiquette bits that the ambassadors put out a few years ago about what is and isn't a proper lane to use if you're not using the features, where to stop, etc.

There's plenty of situations a day in reality that go on at Carinthia where just the use of some simple etiquette and/or personal responsibility are far from what happens and then you get things like that video.  Tough as a parent as well when you try and explain some of that to your kids


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## ctdubl07 (Mar 16, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Wouldn't shock me at all of she just chose to put her stuff down there.  Heck, a few weeks ago, on a busy Saturday, there was a group of what looked like mid 20 somethings, who chose to take their gear off and sit an have a snack in the snow between were the Canyon and Bluebird queue lanes end, both had pretty full queues that were maybe with 30 feet of meeting, and that doesn't even take into account the folks trying to ski/ride down the bottom of Canyon and either into the queue lanes or to the base lodge, etc.  They were absolutely oblivious it seems to how that place they chose to stop wasn't a good option.
> 
> And while I will admit that the vast majority of my time at Carinthia (which is maybe a couple of runs each weekend down Mineshaft to Inferno) isn't on trails that have parks on them, I have tried to pay attention in the past to the etiquette bits that the ambassadors put out a few years ago about what is and isn't a proper lane to use if you're not using the features, where to stop, etc.
> 
> There's plenty of situations a day in reality that go on at Carinthia where just the use of some simple etiquette and/or personal responsibility are far from what happens and then you get things like that video.  Tough as a parent as well when you try and explain some of that to your kids


Im certainly a MS homer but I wont deny it has an "edge" that exists at few other places and bothers me now and again. Its a vibe caused by its blend of clientele and its volume. Those seemingly increase the chance of these types of occurrences.
Thankfully my kids have all grown up in programs where their instructors or coaches focus on responsibility and mtn citizenship....but even their groups have kids whom behave like their parents.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 18, 2021)

Must be school break in New England.


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## icecoast1 (Mar 18, 2021)

thetrailboss said:


> Must be school break in New England.


Too many kids with too much time on their hands because they arent in school everyday


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## skimagic (Mar 22, 2021)

Today I watched a female snowboarder slide  down Freefall for 20-30 yards on her stomach while clutching a whiskey bottle in her outstretched arms.


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## Zand (Mar 22, 2021)

ctdubl07 said:


> Im certainly a MS homer but I wont deny it has an "edge" that exists at few other places and bothers me now and again. Its a vibe caused by its blend of clientele and its volume. Those seemingly increase the chance of these types of occurrences.
> Thankfully my kids have all grown up in programs where their instructors or coaches focus on responsibility and mtn citizenship....but even their groups have kids whom behave like their parents.


No offense to anyone here, but Mt Snow is what happens when you mix NJ, NY, CT, and MA. Kinda like I-95 in New Haven. The only ski area that I've ever encountered more pissed off people than Mt Snow is Alta.

Killington kinda has the same mix but always seems much more chill. Then you have Stratton which is just NYCers with Range Rovers and Lambos doing business deals on the gondola and complaining that one of the black diamonds has 5" of ungroomed snow on it.


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## jaywbigred (Mar 25, 2021)

Anyone have an opinion on how Mt. Snow base is holding up?


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## Edd (Mar 29, 2021)

jaywbigred said:


> Anyone have an opinion on how Mt. Snow base is holding up?


I’d be curious to know this also. Tomorrow looks nice. How are they with winds?


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## drjeff (Mar 29, 2021)

Before yesterday afternoon's liquid event. things were getting thin in places (I quit about 10 when the fog in the air started to produce some water droplets on my coat and goggle lens)

Cold air will help today set the base up. There's still some snow to push around in places, however there's not a bunch extra in some key places, so cold air will be key.

Heard that the potential if they loose the summit due to melting at some point, would be to push things out at Carinthia and potentially go just out of there if that happens. The GM apparently is very aggressive about trying to make the April 18th closing date they announced a few weeks back.  Mother nature needs to be much more cooperative than she was the past week for that to happen


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## MikeW (Mar 29, 2021)

Edd said:


> I’d be curious to know this also. Tomorrow looks nice. How are they with winds?


Summit lifts on hold right now. Reading between the lines on the snow report, Sunbrook closed for the season, but they’re trying to rebuild some features at Carinthia. All natural snow trails closed. They had some big piles of snow that I guess they can push around. Tomorrow would be the day, though,  maybe Wednesday morning before the rain. Anyone been there this last weekend?


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## MikeW (Mar 29, 2021)

Thanks Dr J!


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## skiur (Mar 29, 2021)

Would u say that mt snow made more, the same, or less snow this year compared to the last few?


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## icecoast1 (Mar 29, 2021)

Edd said:


> I’d be curious to know this also. Tomorrow looks nice. How are they with winds?


You're almost certain not to have summit or north face access with wind there.   Once in a while you get lucky if it's blowing out of the right direction, but if it's going to be windy, Stratton is a much safer pick in Southern VT


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## drjeff (Mar 29, 2021)

skiur said:


> Would u say that mt snow made more, the same, or less snow this year compared to the last few?


Less.

Because of the lack of thaw/freezes from basically MLK Weekend through early March, and favorable storms, once they got through the post Christmas Day monsoon recovery and then covering the rest of their snowmaking terrain. The couple of extra often recovery snowmaking efforts as well as using favorable weather windows to add base to core trails atleast, just didn't happen this year.

There are numerous trails right now that do sure seem like they have a normal, or close to normal base depths for heading into the beginning of April now.

There are also other spots, like some portions of the main Cascade to Canyon route, that look like they typically would a few weeks from now.

My guess is that there's somewhere in the neighborhood of about 50 snowgun locations at various places across some core trails on the mountain where in hindsight getting another snowmaking run in those areas would of been beneficial. And while 50 snowguns sounds like a lot of locations, their system when fully cranking, depending on the type of guns and how much water is being sent to the guns has regularly had 250-300+ guns running at the same time in the past.  

Some selective targeting of certain areas would of helped right now. For example, the Cascade/Canyon route I mentioned earlier, I'd say that 85-90% of it had good coverage still this past weekend, so it's not like the majority of that route was deficient in snow quantity


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## drjeff (Mar 29, 2021)

icecoast1 said:


> You're almost certain not to have summit or north face access with wind there.   Once in a while you get lucky if it's blowing out of the right direction, but if it's going to be windy, Stratton is a much safer pick in Southern VT



Once the gusts get above 35-40 out of either the Northwest (issue for mainface Summit lifts and Canyon quad and especially the Challenger lift on the Northface) or out of a generally Southerly direction (main face Summit lifts). Wind holds enter into the possibility for Mount Snow


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## ctdubl07 (Mar 30, 2021)

Id say they made Less snow this year due to favorable Jan/Feb temps and snowfall. I would not buy into any conjecture about expense control. 
Mtn beginning to suffer with lots of random bare spots on knuckles so I suspect you'll see trail count begin to drop precipitously. A number of primary trails still have snow that could be pushed around to extend life but secondarys likely done for season. 
Last weekend noticably quiet. Saturday Grand Summit was ski on all day. 
No one tried to park in our driveway which is a telling sign. Sunday was a ghost town but that was crappy weather. 
Did receive an email that this/next weeks free style camps were off....inferring all (or part) of Carinthia was to be shut down midweek for preservation purposes.
Heading to Vail this weekend with some some mtn staff....will report back on operations there.


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## MikeW (Mar 30, 2021)

Skiid today, 1030-230. Small line at the Bubble, ski on the Quad. Soft snow turning to mashed potatoes. Perfectly blue sky. Plenty of bare spots. Laps on Chute. Glad I made the trip, though. I'll ski tomorrow morning and that's it for the season!


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## jaywbigred (Apr 5, 2021)

Snow was great this weekend, particularly Saturday morning, and more particularly at Carinthia and on the North Face! Hope it lasts the next few weekends. No rain in the forecast (fingers crossed it stays that way) but I wish it was dipping below freezing a little bit more consistently at night.


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## Whitey (Apr 7, 2021)

Today was the opposite of suck.   North Face is holding up well.   6+ inches of mashed potatoes is the only way to ski Ripcord (and have it be good/fun).   Gonna get really skinny before closing on 4/18 but I hope they keep it loose until then.   Dodging the brown spots is part of the fun this time of year.


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## urungus (Apr 8, 2021)

The end is near...

For Friday and Saturday, we plan to spin Canyon Express, Challenger, Nitro Express, and Discovery Shuttle. Planned trails for North Face are Chute, Free Fall, River Run, with a chance for Ripcord. To get back to the Main Base Area, we'll have Skyline to Committed to High Traverse, with Canyon, N.E. Time to Snowdance, and hopefully Roller Coaster. Beginner terrain will be available only on Launchpad via the Discovery Shuttle. At Carinthia, The Gulch will be open with 11 features, Nitro with 14 features, Junkyard has 2 features, and Upper Fool's Gold will be open as a ski trail.

These 4 lifts are scheduled to spin from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Beginning Sunday, all operations will be out of the Carinthia Base Area. Nitro Express is scheduled to spin from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and provide access to ski trails as well as a trail with park features, weather permitting. We plan to remain open daily at Carinthia through April 18.


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## ss20 (Apr 8, 2021)

urungus said:


> The end is near...
> 
> For Friday and Saturday, we plan to spin Canyon Express, Challenger, Nitro Express, and Discovery Shuttle. Planned trails for North Face are Chute, Free Fall, River Run, with a chance for Ripcord. To get back to the Main Base Area, we'll have Skyline to Committed to High Traverse, with Canyon, N.E. Time to Snowdance, and hopefully Roller Coaster. Beginner terrain will be available only on Launchpad via the Discovery Shuttle. At Carinthia, The Gulch will be open with 11 features, Nitro with 14 features, Junkyard has 2 features, and Upper Fool's Gold will be open as a ski trail.
> 
> ...



Wow that's bad.  Crazy not to be skiing core trails like Ridge or Lodge at close.


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## chuckstah (Apr 8, 2021)

ss20 said:


> Wow that's bad.  Crazy not to be skiing core trails like Ridge or Lodge at close.


I was there yesterday. Everything on the front side is toasted. There was basically no snow on the summit after 2. The N face skied great, but getting out of there is " interesting". Ripcord open, soft and loads of fun.


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## drjeff (Apr 9, 2021)

ss20 said:


> Wow that's bad.  Crazy not to be skiing core trails like Ridge or Lodge at close.


Lodge really hasn't been a player in the end of the season game for the last couple of seasons since they stopped taking the bubbles off the haul rope every night. Snowmaking on Lodge from basically where the pitch just above where Link crosses near the top of the Ego lift, on up through the narrow stretch to the junction of Exhibition/Lodge/Ledge near the summit, requires that the bubbles be off the haul rope or else they get pummeled by the snowmaking product and the bubbles and the lift towers need to be cleared.  That was a lesson learned the 1st season the bubble operated, and after that when they make snow on that part of Lodge, the bubbles come off the haul rope for the snowmaking run. So even in a "normal" year, let alone this COVID year, Lodge just doesn't get as many snowmaking runs, and base depth builds, as it used to in the past.

As for Ridge, based on what I saw first hand last weekend, it's probably still skiable, however it sounds like, and wouldn't surprise me after seeing the Little John/Long John options from the summit to get to the top of Ridge, that those trails, not Ridge itself, is the major issue. Not saying that Ridge would be full width at all right now, however there was still a good 2 to 3 feet of base along skiers/riders left the majority of the top flat and down through the pitch


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## spiderpig (Apr 9, 2021)

So you have to drive to get between base areas, right?


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## drjeff (Apr 9, 2021)

spiderpig said:


> So you have to drive to get between base areas, right?


Yup, or take the shuttle, which I think is still running


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## jaytrem (Apr 9, 2021)

Snow report says it isn't.


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## Newpylong (Apr 10, 2021)

Isnt this the first year they've contracted just to Carinthia and utilized all that snow that just sits there? I think many folks hae wondered why they haven't done that in the past.


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## ss20 (Apr 10, 2021)

Newpylong said:


> Isnt this the first year they've contracted just to Carinthia and utilized all that snow that just sits there? I think many folks hae wondered why they haven't done that in the past.



I would make tons of sense to knock down the park and do a couple bonus weekends over there.  They'd have a serious advantage late April/first weekend of may with their proximity to the population centers with everyone else closer closed.


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## drjeff (Apr 11, 2021)

Newpylong said:


> Isnt this the first year they've contracted just to Carinthia and utilized all that snow that just sits there? I think many folks hae wondered why they haven't done that in the past.


They did it once before, probably that awful season about 8 to 10yrs ago when the blow torch showed up in mid March and didn't leave for about 10 days or so.

They were Carinthia only, and even pushed enough snow around on Milky Way to let them spin the Bear Trap chair as well


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## ctdubl07 (Apr 12, 2021)

Ran up this weekend to empty fridge and close up. Carinthia could limp along with Nitro and Mineshaft but struggling eslewhere. Fools gold was open but was like hopscotching down. Near zero wait in Nitro line and Sunday the place was empty. I appreciate that their keeping mtn open but I see no reason to with so few visitors and none paying for tickets. 
Hit Vail last week for 4 days. Incredible...60's, sunny and entire mtn was open with plenty of snow thanks to that late March storm.  
Awesome end to what was a really good season all in all for us.


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## drjeff (Apr 12, 2021)

ctdubl07 said:


> Ran up this weekend to empty fridge and close up. Carinthia could limp along with Nitro and Mineshaft but struggling eslewhere. Fools gold was open but was like hopscotching down. Near zero wait in Nitro line and Sunday the place was empty. I appreciate that their keeping mtn open but I see no reason to with so few visitors and none paying for tickets.
> Hit Vail last week for 4 days. Incredible...60's, sunny and entire mtn was open with plenty of snow thanks to that late March storm.
> Awesome end to what was a really good season all in all for us.


I thought Nitro yesterday is going to be a problem to keep open this week as mid trail, maybe 200 yards both uphill and downhill from the 2 remaining decent sized rollers on the trail, it was starting to get fairly thin, and then the last pitch on lower Fool's Gold just above the houses on skiers/riders right was showing more dirt than snow (seemed to be a bit more snow to push around by that one).

I could see next weekend potentially only being Gulch serviced by Heavy Metal, as even the section of Long John from the top of Nitro down to the top of Gulch seems like it may be a challenge to keep going. Fortunately the temps this week should be cooler than last week, so that will help slow the melting.  And who knows what the rumored Friday time frame storm may end up bring??


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## kingslug (Apr 13, 2021)

They're predicting over a foot.....figures


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 13, 2021)

kingslug said:


> They're predicting over a foot.....figures



where are you seeing that?


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## ThatGuy (Apr 13, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> where are you seeing that?


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## KustyTheKlown (Apr 13, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> where are you seeing that?


many places.

here is snow-forecast.com


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## kingslug (Apr 13, 2021)

Hopefully K gets some of this as they have good amount of terrain available...this will go to waste here.


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## KustyTheKlown (Apr 13, 2021)

k should get it, sugarbush should get it, north of 89 looks like a bust. southern vt is bullseye. sucks there is no base and barely any lifts turning. only mount snow i think.


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## cdskier (Apr 13, 2021)

dblskifanatic said:


> where are you seeing that?



Even NWS is saying "Decent snow at elevation" is possible. Valleys may be all rain, but you'll see snow in the mountains if the storm materializes.  Models are definitely showing 12+ possible in some locations in southern VT. (starting to see some agreement between the Euro, GFS, and even Canadian models where all 3 are showing the potential for decent snow in the southern greens.) Although as we've seen this winter, plenty of time for things to change between now and Friday. What the models show today could easily be way off...



> Have begun to introduce some low likely PoPs
> to central/southern zones where the best chance at precipitation
> looks to be at this time from early Thursday through Friday. Ptype
> will unfortunately come into play Thursday night into Friday with
> ...


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## kingslug (Apr 13, 2021)

We shall see


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## dblskifanatic (Apr 13, 2021)

That will be interesting to see what materializes.


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## kingslug (Apr 13, 2021)

I'm waiting for tomorrow nights report to see if I'm going.


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## drjeff (Apr 13, 2021)

They're going to need a generous effort from Mother Nature with decent totals above 1900 feet (Mount Snow's rough base elevation) to get them to reopen the main face.  It was sparse, and rightly so closed, on Sunday, and they had already done some decent amount of farming off of some of the trails on the main face to keep the few they had going on Sunday open.  And even then, they may not choose to open the main face.


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## giantfan (Apr 17, 2021)

Lift tickets seem to be sold out for the weekend


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## Edd (Apr 17, 2021)

The storm seems to have worked out nicely. I’m struggling with a bout of sciatica or else I would have taken the gear out of storage for this.

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1383130574496309252


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## NYDB (Apr 17, 2021)

Looks great, but isn't it carinthia only?  How can that possibly be your best day ever?


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## drjeff (Apr 17, 2021)

before,


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## drjeff (Apr 17, 2021)

Skied well this morning. Had to be a bit careful on the ungroomed stuff as there was definitely some areas of variability in the snow density and what was under it in places. 

Light crowds during the 10 runs I grabbed starting at opening bell. 

Biggest bottle neck area is the last pitch on lower fools gold where it's down about 1 cat width which makes it essentially single file travel down that area.

My son skinned up to the Summit this morning and said that you could feel the snow getting heavier density wise as you descended.

Currently 35 and light drizzle/mist in the air across the street from the mtn


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## Newpylong (Apr 18, 2021)

NY DirtBag said:


> Looks great, but isn't it carinthia only?  How can that possibly be your best day ever?


And Portland Cement consistency...


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## drjeff (Jul 4, 2021)

Vail is spending some $$ this Summer and putting a sizeable expansion on the mountain ops building that was put up a few seasons ago after the old one burned down.. 

I'd guess from looking at it this evening that the finished facility will be atleast triple the size of what was there the last few years since the post fire rebuild... Can't imagine how much lost revenue from the reduction in a few parking spaces will amount too


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## ss20 (Jul 5, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Vail is spending some $$ this Summer and putting a sizeable expansion on the mountain ops building that was put up a few seasons ago after the old one burned down..
> 
> I'd guess from looking at it this evening that the finished facility will be atleast triple the size of what was there the last few years since the post fire rebuild... Can't imagine how much lost revenue from the reduction in a few parking spaces will amount too



So they're not moving it to Sundance base as in the master plan?  It's such a shame to see all the work Peaks put into that plan go to waste.  That was as comprehensive as it gets and was a viable long-term vision.


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## drjeff (Jul 5, 2021)

ss20 said:


> So they're not moving it to Sundance base as in the master plan?  It's such a shame to see all the work Peaks put into that plan go to waste.  That was as comprehensive as it gets and was a viable long-term vision.



Guessing with the new ownership that a reassessment of what the old ownerships view of the master plan is to be expected.

Also seems like that due to multiple, probably unknown at the time of Peak's Master Plan's creation that much of the additional retail and residential development slated for the Carinthia base area isn't going to happen now either


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## machski (Jul 5, 2021)

Unlike u see Peaks, Mount Snow is not their Crowne Jewel in the portfolio, not even in the East.


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## drjeff (Jul 5, 2021)

The new building as of 7/5


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## Newpylong (Jul 7, 2021)

Jeff, where exactly is that?

The maintenance building was not effected by the fire was it? I can't imagine just Mountain Ops needing all that space if the cats are still kept elsewhere...

They must be planning to move other staff to that top floor as well...


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## drjeff (Jul 7, 2021)

Newpylong said:


> Jeff, where exactly is that?
> 
> The maintenance building was not effected by the fire was it? I can't imagine just Mountain Ops needing all that space if the cats are still kept elsewhere...
> 
> They must be planning to move other staff to that top floor as well...


It's in basically the exact same location, between the A and B parking lots, the original mount ops building was, and looks very close in size to what the original footprint of the building that burned down a few seasons ago.

Not sure what their full intentions for all the extra space is, as there hasn't been any information put publicly about it. Maybe it will house the locker room area for all of the paid parking lot checks that they will need this Winter     

Heck, I was taken by surprise by it myself when my wife and I drove through the base area on Sunday afternoon after not having been on the Mount Snow property since closing weekend in April!


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## Whitey (Jul 7, 2021)

It's not all a Vail project.   It took them a while to work out the insurance payout from the fire.   Most of the $ for the project is coming from that but VR is adding more $ to the project to increase its size.    When completed the 1st floor will be fleet ops/snow cat maintenance, building maint, and snowmaking.    Lift Maint will stay where they are now.   On the 2nd floor will be mtn ops mgmt offices, conference rooms, and ski patrol.    

Part of the bid process was that the winner had to agree that the project would be done by Oct/Nov.   So they are working really, really fast.   Started about a week after the season ended.   Hence why you were surprised by how much progress they made since April.  

Vail is buying Mt Snow another new snow cat, a park pro.    2 new cats at Mt Snow in the last year with only 1 older cat moving on.


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## Newpylong (Jul 8, 2021)

Thanks for the great info.


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## FBGM (Jul 9, 2021)

Whitey said:


> It's not all a Vail project.   It took them a while to work out the insurance payout from the fire.   Most of the $ for the project is coming from that but VR is adding more $ to the project to increase its size.    When completed the 1st floor will be fleet ops/snow cat maintenance, building maint, and snowmaking.    Lift Maint will stay where they are now.   On the 2nd floor will be mtn ops mgmt offices, conference rooms, and ski patrol.
> 
> Part of the bid process was that the winner had to agree that the project would be done by Oct/Nov.   So they are working really, really fast.   Started about a week after the season ended.   Hence why you were surprised by how much progress they made since April.
> 
> Vail is buying Mt Snow another new snow cat, a park pro.    2 new cats at Mt Snow in the last year with only 1 older cat moving on.


Now they just need to find employees to fill all those offices.


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## Whitey (Jul 26, 2021)

Just announced - Snow Lake Lodge will be 100% employee housing this season.    Room for about 200 ppl.   Additionally, the housing located near Carinthia will be employee housing as well.    Should be a huge assist to staffing the operation this winter as housing availability and housing cost are the biggest barriers to staffing.  People will put up with sh!tty pay if they have a place to live and can be at a ski area for the winter.     Snow Lake Lodge will be a very multi-cultural experience with all the international seasonal employees there this winter. . .


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## slatham (Jul 26, 2021)

Whitey said:


> Just announced - Snow Lake Lodge will be 100% employee housing this season.    Room for about 200 ppl.   Additionally, the housing located near Carinthia will be employee housing as well.    Should be a huge assist to staffing the operation this winter as housing availability and housing cost are the biggest barriers to staffing.  People will put up with sh!tty pay if they have a place to live and can be at a ski area for the winter.     Snow Lake Lodge will be a very multi-cultural experience with all the international seasonal employees there this winter. . .



Thats very impressive, though the devil is in the details - for instance, what are they charging? Interesting to see the math vs "normal' year occupancy revenue. But having that amount of housing that close to the mountain is great. Don't even need a car to go to work.


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## drjeff (Jul 26, 2021)

slatham said:


> Thats very impressive, though the devil is in the details - for instance, what are they charging? Interesting to see the math vs "normal' year occupancy revenue. But having that amount of housing that close to the mountain is great. Don't even need a car to go to work.



Rumor for a few years was that they were looking at having to do a complete top to bottom gut and redo if not knock it down and rebuild the entire place if they wanted to keep Snow Lake Lodge in their short term lodging pool for guests. 

It definitely is showing its 60ish or so years of age


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## ss20 (Jul 26, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Rumor for a few years was that they were looking at having to do a complete top to bottom gut and redo if not knock it down and rebuild the entire place if they wanted to keep Snow Lake Lodge in their short term lodging pool for guests.
> 
> It definitely is showing its 60ish or so years of age



I loved it 10ish years ago I'd stay there usually once a season or so.  $70 a night for a room with a real breakfast, indoor/outdoor pool, and walk to the slopes or take the shuttle.  Then with the CT ski council the midweek rate was like $45 midweek, or $50 any day after mid-March.  

I knew those days wouldn't last forever the way the industry was headed but didn't know they'd already be gone.


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## jaytrem (Jul 26, 2021)

Well there goes any chance of the Aircar coming back.  ;-)


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## Whitey (Jul 27, 2021)

drjeff said:


> Rumor for a few years was that they were looking at having to do a complete top to bottom gut and redo if not knock it down and rebuild the entire place if they wanted to keep Snow Lake Lodge in their short term lodging pool for guests.
> 
> It definitely is showing its 60ish or so years of age


That rumor would be accurate.   They are addressing 2 problems with this move - what to do with Snow Lake Lodge and add'l employee housing.      It would need a lot of fixing up if you were going to charge customers to stay there (or at least have a place that people would be willing to pay to stay at).     As 100% employee housing and being a little run down, it will be interesting to see if this place turns into a co-ed version of the Delta house from "Animal House" this winter. . .


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## FBGM (Jul 29, 2021)

Snow Lake Lodge is borderline a condemned dump. Good thing the international works don’t care. Standard Vail move


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## drjeff (Aug 1, 2021)

If anyone is interested, tickets for their 1 day, Labor Day Weekend (Saturday of Labor Day Weekend) smaller in size than previous versions, limited ticketed Brewfest went on sale this morning..


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## drjeff (Oct 20, 2021)

Parking Plan For Winter 2021-22
As part of our ongoing effort to improve the guest experience at Mount Snow Resort, we are implementing a new parking plan for the 2021-22 winter season.
Premium parking for a daily fee of $15 weekdays and $30 weekends and holiday periods will be available in Lot A and Upper Carinthia. On weekends and holiday periods, Lot B, Lot C, Sundance, and Lower Carinthia will also be paid parking at a rate of $15. Lot D, Lot E, and the Tiered Lots—which comprise nearly half of the resort’s total parking—will remain free daily, and all lots will be free after 1 p.m. throughout the season. Payment will be handled electronically through an application accessible via smartphone.
These changes will alleviate congestion to help ensure faster, more efficient parking for all our valued guests, especially at our busiest times.


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## ThatGuy (Oct 20, 2021)

I wonder what level of enforcement they will have for it.


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## drjeff (Oct 20, 2021)

ThatGuy said:


> I wonder what level of enforcement they will have for it.


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## thetrailboss (Oct 20, 2021)

ThatGuy said:


> I wonder what level of enforcement they will have for it.


Good question.  Especially if they lack staff to enforce it.


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## zyk (Oct 20, 2021)

So I don't have a smartphone (this is a real thing).  Does that mean its free?  Granted if I won't buy a phone I probably won't pay for parking anyway,  but its a valid question.


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## Smellytele (Oct 20, 2021)

“These changes will alleviate congestion to help ensure faster, more efficient parking for all our valued guests, especially at our busiest times.”

How does ease congestion?


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## icecoast1 (Oct 20, 2021)

Smellytele said:


> “These changes will alleviate congestion to help ensure faster, more efficient parking for all our valued guests, especially at our busiest times.”
> 
> How does ease congestion?



I laughed when I read that.   Unless they think they're going to piss enough people off and stop them from showing up


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## slatham (Oct 20, 2021)

Smellytele said:


> “These changes will alleviate congestion to help ensure faster, more efficient parking for all our valued guests, especially at our busiest times.”
> 
> How does ease congestion?



I think the logic is rather than EVERYONE trying to get to, say Lot A, to find parking, only those with a paid reservation will, hence less people going to A. 

The part I don't buy is the overused, slap in your face "As part of our ongoing effort to improve the guest experience at Mount Snow Resort". Improving guess experience isn't supposed to cost you more.

Sad thing is Mt Snow is simply off my radar again this season, and I don't really see that changing any time soon. I like the mountain and have great memories of Presidents weeks there with multiple families and friends. But I'm not Epic and I highly doubt I'm going to pay for a single day, even if discounted online days prior.

It's dividing the skiing community just like political parties. Epic, Ikon, Indy or OYO.


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## FBGM (Oct 20, 2021)

ThatGuy said:


> I wonder what level of enforcement they will have for it.


If it was anything like Solitude paid parking, minimal. I refused to pay every time and never got a ticket or boot. I’d do the same at Mount Snow, just park and tell them to shove it. 

I’m also waiting for the day I get to cut a boot off my truck. Miller/Bobcat welder/generator is in the back most times with my tools. Hit that boot with the cut off wheel and see what happens


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## Pez (Oct 20, 2021)

Fuck Vail.


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## Ski2LiveLive2Ski (Oct 20, 2021)

Decreases congestion as more will carpool


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## Smellytele (Oct 20, 2021)

Ski2LiveLive2Ski said:


> Decreases congestion as more will carpool


Doubt they will. They will just drop their shit and passengers off at the front and park in the free spots. More cars moving around causing more traffic


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## Newpylong (Oct 20, 2021)

What's worse, making half your parking paid or offering a ticket with a priority lift line?


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## ss20 (Oct 20, 2021)

slatham said:


> Sad thing is Mt Snow is simply off my radar again this season, and I don't really see that changing any time soon. I like the mountain and have great memories of Presidents weeks there with multiple families and friends. But I'm not Epic and I highly doubt I'm going to pay for a single day, even if discounted online days prior.



Agreed.  People love to shit on Mount Snow but there terrain is MILES ahead of Stratton, Okemo, and Bromley in my book.  Plenty of ungroomed and funky terrain.  Cashed in many many fun "SoVt Special" snowstorms there.  Deals were easy to find and even the "plebian" online rate was very cheap til Vail took over.  2hr 50m to Snow or 3hr 20m to Killington used to be a question worth asking if Mount Snow had been getting the goods (usually in a southern snow cycle and because Mount Snow was much cheaper than K).  

Those were the days.... I still remember skiing there 2 weeks after "4ft in 5 days" in late February 2010.  Still probably the most snow I've ever seen in the East.  There was snow piled up the the second floor of the Snow Lake Lodge.  Stop signs on the roads that had been unburied so people could see them.


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## Pez (Oct 21, 2021)

Newpylong said:


> What's worse, making half your parking paid or offering a ticket with a priority lift line?



In my eyes paid parking like this is way worse


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## ThatGuy (Oct 21, 2021)

Parking is worse, especially on weekdays.


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## njdiver85 (Oct 21, 2021)

ThatGuy said:


> I wonder what level of enforcement they will have for it.


Well there is no towing company in West Dover so at the very least, your car will still be there if you return even if you didn't pay for parking.


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## Smellytele (Oct 21, 2021)

njdiver85 said:


> Well there is no towing company in West Dover so at the very least, your car will still be there if you return even if you didn't pay for parking.


Sounds like a good business opportunity!


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## drjeff (Oct 21, 2021)

njdiver85 said:


> Well there is no towing company in West Dover so at the very least, your car will still be there if you return even if you didn't pay for parking.



A couple of towing operations down in Wilmington though... Or atleast that's where the crews who a few times a season need to haul the weekend renters in their priuses and/or mini vans with all season tires out of the snow banks and/or adjacent ditches in my condo complex come from when called


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