# Suicide Six 2/8/2014



## dlague (Feb 10, 2014)

*Suicide Six*

*Conditions:* MG PP, Powder (six inches?).  HP/Frozen underneath.

*Trip Report:*

This was our first visit to Suicide Six.  My wife’s grandfather used to compete in aerial competitions there back in the 40’s and she was eager to ski it herself.   We were told that we would get bored there very quickly, but that was far from the case.  Yes it has a 1200’ vertical and the chairs are slow, but we found plenty to entertain ourselves with.  

We started by going down The Gully and they basically groomed a single path down the left the rest of the field (that what it is) ungroomed which was deceiving.  There were bare spots and frozen surface spots that made it a little interesting.  However, we would not revisit it again (was not worth it).   We skied over to the 1600’ Double because we saw some nice looking powder stashes and skied that lift for a couple of runs on Lift Line and then took Laskys Lot over to the 2000’ Double.  The powder was very light and soft to ski on and we enjoyed being able to experience this since the storm that brought it was several days past us.  It was nothing steep,  but fun it was!

At this point, we wanted to ski all the steeper terrain and set out to do so.  We started by skiing Face which is the main trail that is focused on for racing and historical speed records at S6.  Once again, it was groomed flat for the most part except that Crystal intersected where there were powder bumps on top of frozen bumps which was a little weird to ski.  I then decided to go after Show Off and Pomfret Plunge.  Kind of like the ungroomed section of Face, there were bumps and not bumps.  The powder was deceiving because it was hard to tell whether a mogul was going to be hard or soft and if it was soft then it was more than likely not a mogul.  Once again a little weird to ski since it was hard to see what was under it.  The top of Show Off and Pomfret Plunge were very boney and bare spots were scattered but generally could be avoided.  They definitely could use another storm to shape up those trails.  Another interesting trail was Back Scratcher which is listed as a Double Black.  It starts of relatively simple and lulls you in to asking yourself why this is listed as a double black.  Then it sneaks up on you – a 15+ foot drop which is not a real big deal since it is ski-able.  We proceeded with caution since our turns were tilling up leaves.  Under normal snow pack this would be more interesting – double black might be a little much.

We then made a few more runs which included SkyLine, Face (again) and then one last run on Crystal which was bumped out on the upper section then flatten out.  My wife actually went with me since she is interested in learning bumps a little at a time which was weird coming from someone who avoids bumps at all costs.  Last weekend steeps and this weekend bumps – got love it!

We never skied anything Green since we felt that most of their trails are overrated so greens had to be flat.  Then again the rating is based on the resorts definition.  Their blues are more like greens and some of the blacks are more like blues.   I like the character of the trails and the layout of the mountain.  I do not think I would ever pay full fare to ski there ($64 for an adult) but as part of the Foxx 44 pass I don’t mind.   Overall, conditions were primo and besides a few thin spots coverage was great.  I also appreciated the fact they left about 40% of the trails natural.

I have to point a few issues:  This is a racer’s ski area and the racing families s act like they own the place.  The lodge is small so when races are being held people are fighting for space.  We hung our boot bags up only to find that someone else moved our stuff to hang their shit!  That pissed me off!  The other thing, it is cafeteria based and the food prices are ridiculous so if you go there bring your own stuff

Top of Show Off which was a little boney


The Gully which looked better than it was


On Lift Line


My wife on Chrystal - starting to get a feel for easier bumps


Powder flats


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## bdfreetuna (Feb 10, 2014)

Racers keep some of these smaller mountains in business. I feel the same way at Berkshire East on some days when it's like 50% racers on the hill and the lodge is jam packed. But I was a high school racer too so I don't really mind. Actually I don't mind observing some of the racers to try and remind myself of the kind of lessons and technical training I used to have.

Better to have a mountain full of expert skiers than n00bs!


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## dlague (Feb 11, 2014)

bdfreetuna said:


> Better to have a mountain full of expert skiers than n00bs!



Good point!  In fact, out on the trails it is never a problem.  They are isolated to where they are racing, so while it looks busy inside, it really is not busy on trails where racing is not happening.  The only issue really is the lift line where they seem to think they have the right of way!


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## deadheadskier (Feb 11, 2014)

Great report.  I enjoyed myself there on a crappy condition day.  I'm sure I would've loved it on the day you went.

Oh and I think you had a typo with the 1200 vert comment.  More like 600.  If it were 1200 with the terrain it has, it would be on everyone's radar.


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## PomfretPlunge (Feb 11, 2014)

Yay!  Grew up skiing at Suicide 6   Now down in the mid-Atlantic.  Nice to hear a report from home


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## dlague (Feb 11, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> Great report.  I enjoyed myself there on a crappy condition day.  I'm sure I would've loved it on the day you went.
> 
> Oh and I think you had a typo with the 1200 vert comment.  More like 600.  If it were 1200 with the terrain it has, it would be on everyone's radar.



You are right 1200 elev with 650' vert!  It does ski bigger than that for some reason.


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