# Sunday River So Far



## uphillklimber (Nov 21, 2017)

x


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## thetrailboss (Nov 21, 2017)

Wow.  That sucks.  Exactly who is responsible for significant lift repairs?  Boyne?  The REIT owner?  I believe that this was a big issue with the 'Loaf and its "lift mishaps".


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## SkiFanE (Nov 21, 2017)

11 days in and already starting on Barker.  Go someplace else if you think the place is so badly managed. I don't know what you consider crowds but I've had a different experience. Lots of other mountains open - really no crush of racers. Only real line I saw was Barker Saturday am at 10:30. Took Locke instead and by time at base Barker was just a minute line. Sunday afternoon was a ghost town. 

Shit happens. If it needs to taken down for safety - okay with me. I don't know where this "world class" resort distintation comes from - but okay. As much as can be expected for Maine. I honestly don't want to pay more for some fancy lift - our ski budget is maxed and as long as lift is safe - I'm happy. We get a long season, tons of variety and well maintained trails. I'm a happy customer and can deal with this stuff, all part of the ski experience. (I skied in 70s when typical lift lines were 30-45mins, my benchmark is pretty low lol)


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## Vortex (Nov 22, 2017)

I believe Barker opened around 10.00 yesterday.   Things happen.  I bought two kickstarter passes, one actually yesterday to get my kids on the hill.
I have  4 days in at the River and 5 more coming up in row starting tomorrow.  The vibe is make snow and get terrain open. Glad this is my home mountain. Quite a bit of pride by those who make it happen.  Props.


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## Hawk (Nov 22, 2017)

This forum like all forums always has posts that have totally polar opposite opinions.  I find this interesting and this is one of those.  People who have skied Sunday River for a long time have come to expect a certain level of service and quality.  Lifts and snow making have been the mainstay of what Sunday river is about and not glitzy amenities.  If you are talking about lift lines and quality of snow by all means they are world class.  This is no arguing they are one of the best in the east.  But this expectation is why when a lift breaks down or lines are more than 10 minutes, people start to question what is going on.  I can totally understand that.
For the record the Barker lift is one of the oldest and is due for a total revamp.  I believe this is on the extended plan.  But with the latest moves with management of the mountain, It is my understanding that upgrades for this lift has been kicked down the road a bit.  I am sure that they are using Band-Aid measures until the actual upgrade happens.


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## shwilly (Nov 22, 2017)

This is a lot of agita over one lift hold. How about we let the season get started before drawing conclusions about their lift maintenance strategy?


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## machski (Nov 22, 2017)

This minor case at Barker is a non issue.  Stuff happens, they got it right quickly (so in this case if parts were needed, they had them readily available).  Now, has Barker gone down for extended stretches the last two seasons due to lack of readily available parts?  Yes.  But you have to remember this is a Lift Engineering (Yan) lift that had two major retrofits by Poma.  The first happened in the late 90's and was mandatory to be recertified following Yan's collapse.  It required new grips/sheaves and the necessary hardware in the terminals to accommodate that.  While the fixed grip Yan's weren't necessarily suspect, all those grips and sheave sets were changed out as well.  There is one new HS lift.  Then Poma did another overhaul several years later, this one included new chairs and terminal covers.  That one was about half a new HS lift.  So we have some $$ they are still trying to wring out of this lift.

The long wait for parts stink but that is because some of the guys of the lift are still Yan parts.  Last year, one of the failures happened and DB wanted to just grab the part off South Ridge and put that lift down while waiting for the part (South Ridge is a full blown Poma).  Unfortunately, Barker had a Yan part that South Ridge couldn't sub in for.  So Barker was down.  You may ask why not have these parts on hand.  That is because there is zero inventory out there for the Yan specific parts.  They are pricey to get and make regardless of when the order is placed.  So why pay for parts before you know for sure you need them?  I get why Barker is managed the way it is.

A replacement is probably held up by the asset ownership conundrum.  I know it is definitely on the resorts radar, but I know the second river pump to the west side for Snowmaking is currently higher priority and a similar or higher price tag.  

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## Jully (Nov 22, 2017)

shwilly said:


> This is a lot of agita over one lift hold. How about we let the season get started before drawing conclusions about their lift maintenance strategy?



It is one lift hold, but Barker had significant problems last year, and the year before that, and that. Last year others down for a week in peak season. Every time they try to fix it something else goes wrong.

I think Hawk sums it up perfectly. River skiers expect the best, that is why they ski there. Anyone with a brain, like Uphillklimber clearly has, will always temper any complaints with "I know the river is great, BUT." These complaints aren't because we are ungrateful.

I have to think SR is replacing Barker within the next 3 years at the latest. The problems are becoming too frequent and undoubtedly too expensive to warrant.


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## VTKilarney (Nov 22, 2017)

Man, you guys are tough.  Uphillklimber is one of the biggest Sunday River advocates out there.


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## Vortex (Nov 22, 2017)

Nothing against uphillklimber.  Just happy with the River.


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## SkiFanE (Nov 22, 2017)

VTKilarney said:


> Man, you guys are tough.  Uphillklimber is one of the biggest Sunday River advocates out there.


He came here to complain - I did not see him in other posts related to early season skiing and how great it was (which I've only glanced at so don't shoot me if I'm wrong).  

When i hear "world class" I imagine Vail. Not Maine. The term is relative lol. Their cafeteria food is not world class. Nor their bathrooms. Or their parking lots. Neither are K's (minus peak lodge). Can't speak for other NE places - but I don't have the budget if the place was to get "World Class" status and update everything. They could start with a potty close to our favorite pub - lmao.  If what Machski says is correct - a snowmaking pump is as much as a lift?!  Nutso - and an industry that is struggling to survive.  So I give SR a pass when stuff happens - they are working hard with what they have.


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## Smellytele (Nov 22, 2017)

People come here to complain and brag about areas that is what this is for. If you get only one side you what as well be a republican watching Fox news or a democrat watching MSNBC. People get too defensive of their "home" mountain. UHK is usually a homer when it comes to SR (I have attacked him on this before) but he sees past issues with Boyne and lift maintenance and has every right to question what is going on and if things could be done differently.


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## Edd (Nov 22, 2017)

If you lump in the Loaf issues in recent years, Boyne is spending an inordinate amount of time putting out fires when it comes to lifts, so it’s certainly something for ski nerds to ponder. 

Ski areas try to run lifts as long as possible so the problems Boyne is experiencing could spread as the lifts set new precedents in length of service. 


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## Jully (Nov 22, 2017)

Edd said:


> If you lump in the Loaf issues in recent years, Boyne is spending an inordinate amount of time putting out fires when it comes to lifts, so it’s certainly something for ski nerds to ponder.
> 
> Ski areas try to run lifts as long as possible so the problems Boyne is experiencing could spread as the lifts set new precedents in length of service.
> 
> ...



One SL issue was a design flaw, the other was a botched repair job on an old lift gone coupled with a set of unfortunate circumstances. SR's Spruce Peak issue was basically a design flaw.

As lifts get older, I do not think systematic design flaws, like what happened with Borvigs (at Boyne properties and elsewhere) the past few years will surface. 

I think repair jobs that were screwed up could definitely become an issue and just simple wear and tear that is not caught by routine maintenance. Hopefully nothing as serious as a deropement happens, but significant lift downtime because of a messed up 20 year old repair job finally kicking it? Possibly.

While I hold Sugarloaf responsible for what happened with their lifts, I do not think their lift maintenance staff and policies were way below industry standard.


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## Jully (Nov 22, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> I get that some parts are no longer in production and need to be special ordered. But if you know you need the part soon, just don't when, you won't save any money ordering it earlier, or later for that matter, unless you are paying rush status and overnight delivery.



A good question. I wonder if this works for every part though? Some parts definitely, but would some not show signs of imminent failure until they fail? I am not a mechanic at all, so can't say.

A third factor might prevent SR from ordering the part beforehand: Boyne/CNL/OZ have indicated that Barker might be replaced this offseason, so don't put any additional money into the lift than what you have to.

Alternately the way reimbursement for expenditures on lift maintenance works might prevent pre-ordering a part that is going to break. That would be frustrating, but given the nature of REITs and the lease, it wouldn't shock me.

I'd like to think that someone at Sunday River in lift maintenance would have the foresight and management skills to pre-order parts that were about to break if it were as simple as that, but I'm willing to bet there is a little more complexity holding it back.

Then again, with your first hand experience with the gas pump, maybe not.


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## shwilly (Nov 22, 2017)

If nothing else, this illustrates the perception problem that SR faces. One 90 minute lift hold is all it takes for us to rehash problems last season, notable lift failures in the state of Maine since 2010, and some story about a truck back in the day. That reaction seems out of proportion to the event, but whatever.

Sometimes a lift hold is just a lift hold. If the Barker lift has ongoing problems this season, that will become apparent soon enough. Personally I will wait a bit before drawing that conclusion.


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## Edd (Nov 22, 2017)

shwilly said:


> If nothing else, this illustrates the perception problem that SR faces. One 90 minute lift hold is all it takes for us to rehash problems last season, notable lift failures in the state of Maine since 2010, and some story about a truck back in the day. That reaction seems out of proportion to the event, but whatever.
> 
> Sometimes a lift hold is just a lift hold. If the Barker lift has ongoing problems this season, that will become apparent soon enough. Personally I will wait a bit before drawing that conclusion.



Yes, a lift hold is just that, agreed. Perhaps if Boyne wants to get out from under this “perception”, they should minimize the lift issues they’ve persistently had for years.  I say this as a fan of their ski areas. Again, we’re ski nerds talking lifts, so it’s all fair game.


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## machski (Nov 22, 2017)

Jully said:


> A third factor might prevent SR from ordering the part beforehand: Boyne/CNL/OZ have indicated that Barker might be replaced this offseason, so don't put any additional money into the lift.



Not sure where you heard that floating around.  Would love to believe it but top of the food chain at SR has told me rather recently we are probably stuck with the current Barker for a while.

Yup, the western water feed is quite a big pricetag.  Of course we are talking a whole new draw with associated pumps, water main up to Jordan and tie into the existing system.  I've heard the plan is another 4-5000 gpm onto the mountain.  That would boost water capacity to 12-13000gpm.


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## deadheadskier (Nov 22, 2017)

Wow. That's insane.  The GM at Wildcat the other day was telling me they pump about 2200 gpm there.   Obviously Cat is a much smaller operation.  

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## Jully (Nov 22, 2017)

machski said:


> Not sure where you heard that floating around.  Would love to believe it but top of the food chain at SR has told me rather recently we are probably stuck with the current Barker for a while.
> 
> Yup, the western water feed is quite a big pricetag.  Of course we are talking a whole new draw with associated pumps, water main up to Jordan and tie into the existing system.  I've heard the plan is another 4-5000 gpm onto the mountain.  That would boost water capacity to 12-13000gpm.
> 
> ...



Heard it from a friend at Gould (who heard from another source) that a Barker replacement was inside 3 years, but I was always skeptical. That's really too bad, but i can respect that decision regarding the pump. An additional 4 to 5k GPM would be incredible. Does this have anything to do with the pumping issues out west last year too? In thought I remember hearing it did.


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## Dickc (Nov 22, 2017)

machski said:


> Not sure where you heard that floating around.  Would love to believe it but top of the food chain at SR has told me rather recently we are probably stuck with the current Barker for a while.
> 
> Yup, the western water feed is quite a big pricetag.  Of course we are talking a whole new draw with associated pumps, water main up to Jordan and tie into the existing system.  I've heard the plan is another 4-5000 gpm onto the mountain.  That would boost water capacity to 12-13000gpm.
> 
> ...



It is my understanding from talking to certain individuals that Sunday River now has more air capacity than water capacity owing to all the high efficiency guns.  They can move air to the Jordan basin quite well, but with water the efficiency drops off so when blowing snow in Jordan/Aurora, they cannot blow as much water as they would wish.  The new pump and pond they are angling for would come into the Jordan basin so they would be able to blow at Jordan/Aurora and use the original feed to blow in the main South Ridge/Barker area at the same time.  The firepower would be quite impressive!


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## machski (Nov 22, 2017)

Dickc said:


> It is my understanding from talking to certain individuals that Sunday River now has more air capacity than water capacity owing to all the high efficiency guns.  They can move air to the Jordan basin quite well, but with water the efficiency drops off so when blowing snow in Jordan/Aurora, they cannot blow as much water as they would wish.  The new pump and pond they are angling for would come into the Jordan basin so they would be able to blow at Jordan/Aurora and use the original feed to blow in the main South Ridge/Barker area at the same time.  The firepower would be quite impressive!


Yes, that's my understanding as well.  Rather than just add feed on the current line, this would allow them to blow both the western and Eastern extremes more efficiently simultaneously.  Look at the location of both hotels and you understand why this is put high up on the priorities list.

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## Newpylong (Nov 23, 2017)

The further you move water the lower the pressure due to head and friction losses. This is often negated with booster stations. I am not familiar with Sunday River's system but that is crazy if they are currently moving water at high pressure from one side to the other. Of course if that's your only option you deal with it but it is very inefficient.

Killington has both the Snowshed and Bear pump stations and up high on the Snowshed there is the Glades booster station and off the Bear feed is the South Ridge booster station. So they are only moving water up and not across.


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## machski (Nov 23, 2017)

Newpylong said:


> The further you move water the lower the pressure due to head and friction losses. This is often negated with booster stations. I am not familiar with Sunday River's system but that is crazy if they are currently moving water at high pressure from one side to the other. Of course if that's your only option you deal with it but it is very inefficient.
> 
> Killington has both the Snowshed and Bear pump stations and up high on the Snowshed there is the Glades booster station and off the Bear feed is the South Ridge booster station. So they are only moving water up and not across.


There is at least one booster station over in Jordan already.

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## doublediamond (Nov 23, 2017)

There is no more loss for pumping long distances at high pressure c.f. low pressure.  The pressure drop is based on distance & pipe characteristics as well as GPM, not pressure.


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## Dickc (Nov 24, 2017)

doublediamond said:


> There is no more loss for pumping long distances at high pressure c.f. low pressure.  The pressure drop is based on distance & pipe characteristics as well as GPM, not pressure.



I do not have a degree in fluid dynamics, but from what I have seen, there are a few pretty good bends in the water pipes in varied places.  Makes me wonder sometimes if an accountant laid the pipes.  On the transfer double between Jordan and Aurora, you can hear the air making quite a bit of noise in the pipes as it hits the 45 degree corners under it when they are making snow at Jordan.  Both the air and water go though 45's right under that double.  I would think that a slow bend in the pipe would work better than a sudden 45.


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## machski (Nov 30, 2017)

Huge expansion of terrain this weekend!  Chondi spins up and Spruce 2.0 debuts Saturday along with Tempest Quad and Roadrunner and ski out of GS.  

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## machski (Dec 3, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> Just an update on recent conditions. Early in the morning, the corduroy is really good everywhere that is open. But when it gets scratched up, South Ridge has deeper and softer snow to play on. Over at Barker, they've had 2 good soaking rains which caused the base to get packed down. There just isn't much to work with snow wise over the base, outside of Cascades. They could stand to spray some "maintenance" snow over those trails, but that would come at the cost of losing terrain expansion. Cascades doesn't get the traffic that Punch does and seems to have a deeper base. I haven't seen rocks and gravel coming up thru the snow as I have around the mid station on Punch.
> 
> Other trails at Barker are being set aside for races (Monday Morning and T-2), while upper and middle Punch are being used as a jib park for the kids. We crossed Jungle road to the Jib park and one of the maintainers asked us not to use the launching or landing areas, as they put a lot of work in it for the kids who do play there. We agreed to ski the sides of the trail, out of courtesy, but i also said, sure, but you gotta give us a show on these features! Which he did, with ease! Fun to watch. I thanked him for the show!
> 
> ...


I'll give them a pass on lack of refresh snow.  Weather hasn't really cooperated to make that a worthwhile venture.  Of we get the sustained cold the weather folks are talking about, then I expect to see a more balanced approach.  They are way ahead of where they were the last two years now in terms of open terrain.  Sunday Punch alone is likely to get a remake since they have yet to add anything since they pulled the guns back to their normal location.

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## machski (Dec 6, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> We went skiing today, and wow, was it fast and crisp. The groomers did what they could, but by the time they got to Sunday Punch, their window of opportunity had passed. Mother nature is not co-operating. Skied a little over 3 hours. Almost no one there.
> 
> Now onto an issue with the Spruce lift, or rather what is under it. We had noticed that the old haul rope was just left lying on the side of Risky Business and all along Gnarnia. Some of the haul rope was coiled around onto part of the skiing area of Risky business, though it was flat on the ground, so a groomer probably won't wind it around the tiller. Probably.
> 
> ...


I noticed that too with the old haul rope.  They actually cut it into several pieces after they detensioned the base station just after the topple.  Most of it is lying flat but I know where you are talking about.  The part that sits up over the xmountain airline by 3 Mile after gnarnia's cliff band is disturbing.

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## machski (Dec 6, 2017)

machski said:


> I noticed that too with the old haul rope.  They actually cut it into several pieces after they detensioned the base station just after the topple.  Most of it is lying flat but I know where you are talking about.  The part that sits up over the xmountain airline by 3 Mile after gnarnia's cliff band is disturbing.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


And the reality is it was lurking there last season for the side country skiing.

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## Jully (Dec 6, 2017)

Thank-you for the awareness post. Definitely will watch out for that! 

Excited for the resurfacing effort. Will be heading up there Saturday I think. Should hopefully be the best conditions of the season thus far!


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## mbedle (Dec 6, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> We went skiing today, and wow, was it fast and crisp. The groomers did what they could, but by the time they got to Sunday Punch, their window of opportunity had passed. Mother nature is not co-operating. Skied a little over 3 hours. Almost no one there.
> 
> Now onto an issue with the Spruce lift, or rather what is under it. We had noticed that the old haul rope was just left lying on the side of Risky Business and all along Gnarnia. Some of the haul rope was coiled around onto part of the skiing area of Risky business, though it was flat on the ground, so a groomer probably won't wind it around the tiller. Probably.
> 
> ...



Any chance that you mentioned this to someone at the resort? The piece sticking a foot off the ground pointing up hill seems like an accident waiting to happen.


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## SkiFanE (Dec 6, 2017)

mbedle said:


> Any chance that you mentioned this to someone at the resort? The piece sticking a foot off the ground pointing up hill seems like an accident waiting to happen.



Have to say in 15 years solely at SR - it's always like this. Not sure why - if they have confidence the liability waiver covers them?  The rope is maybe out of or ordinary - but last year there was a cable all winter eventually marked half ass.  When they cut the "new" blind ambition section it was a mess of tree limbs and logs that made it nearly unusable for a few years. After about 5 years husband was close to edge and caught a branch under snow and cartwheeled - one of those bell ringing "wtf was that" falls. Saw it out of corner of my eye lol. All was well luckily. But for some reason they do this all the time. I don't think it requires log removal but rather chainsawing to let things lie flat so they can break down safely and quickly.  Frustrating and dangerous.


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## Gnarcissaro (Dec 7, 2017)

SkiFanE said:


> Have to say in 15 years solely at SR - it's always like this. Not sure why - if they have confidence the liability waiver covers them?  The rope is maybe out of or ordinary - but last year there was a cable all winter eventually marked half ass.  When they cut the "new" blind ambition section it was a mess of tree limbs and logs that made it nearly unusable for a few years. After about 5 years husband was close to edge and caught a branch under snow and cartwheeled - one of those bell ringing "wtf was that" falls. Saw it out of corner of my eye lol. All was well luckily. But for some reason they do this all the time. I don't think it requires log removal but rather chainsawing to let things lie flat so they can break down safely and quickly.  Frustrating and dangerous.



Gimme a break, if you’re in the woods you need to be ready for unmarked obstacles. Not ready? Stick to Lollapalooza.


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## SkiFanE (Dec 7, 2017)

Gnarcissaro said:


> Gimme a break, if you’re in the woods you need to be ready for unmarked obstacles. Not ready? Stick to Lollapalooza.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Puhlease...I know the risks - but also know from skiing SR that this was a result of crap left from bad woods clean up on this particular trail.  That's all I was saying.


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## ironhippy (Dec 7, 2017)

Gnarcissaro said:


> Gimme a break, if you’re in the woods you need to be ready for unmarked obstacles. Not ready? Stick to Lollapalooza.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I help clean the glades at my local hill, we take the time to ensure stuff lays flat so skiers don't get caught up on it.

If you are skiing in the woods outside of a marked trail, then yeah what you are saying is true, but it's a marked trail, there should be some effort to ensure things are smooth.

Of course there is always rocks and stumps and stuff, but if the maintainers are cutting the trees, then they should be leaving them in a way that makes sense.


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## Jully (Dec 7, 2017)

While I agree it would be nice if the mountain cleaned the glades themselves, picking up logs and whatnot during the offseason is another workaround.


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## Jully (Dec 7, 2017)

Love the update! Heading up there this weekend and looking forward to it, though I can only ski Sunday. Expansion plan is into Aurora and Whitecap, IIRC? Will they blow Obsession top to bottom or just complete the hotel ski in/ski out loop and wait to open the full peak until they get both hotels ski in/ski out?

Those hazards do make me a little nervous... though I wonder if the risk is actually any greater than hitting any other number of unmarked hazards in a glade. Either way, I'll be avoiding that until we have PLENTY of snow.


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## KustyTheKlown (Dec 7, 2017)

ill be there tomorrow, maybe Saturday, probably loon sunday. gotta figure out lodging now.


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## KustyTheKlown (Dec 7, 2017)

booked motel 6 Portland tonight, a place in Gorham NH fri and sat nights. 30 from river, 60 from loon. options.


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## SkiFanE (Dec 7, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> They were blowing the top end of Obsession this morning when I came in. Snowbound had been blown previously and they knocked over the whales, just cat tracks on it for now, but they're getting close!
> 
> Regarding the hazards on Gnarnia. Those were all there last year, as someone noted previously. But to hit those obstacles, you had to hike up from Aurora, and once people did that, the skiing was so good on Risky and American that few bothered with Gnarnia. This year, they'll have lift service there. Things could be a whole lot different.


 We enjoyed gnarnia a couple times last year. It really was nice. But I'm generally pretty cautious so had my guard up. No worse than year before - but less traffic to uncover the junk. This year the tree crap is worse - probably avoid it - even the part below three mile - they left a lot of obstacles from widening lift line over the summer.


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## Jully (Dec 7, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> They were blowing the top end of Obsession this morning when I came in. Snowbound had been blown previously and they knocked over the whales, just cat tracks on it for now, but they're getting close!
> 
> Regarding the hazards on Gnarnia. Those were all there last year, as someone noted previously. But to hit those obstacles, you had to hike up from Aurora, and once people did that, the skiing was so good on Risky and American that few bothered with Gnarnia. This year, they'll have lift service there. Things could be a whole lot different.



Never did end up doing anything on Spruce last year. Took a year off the Boyne pass when I moved out of Maine so only made it to the River early and late season.

Great to hear about Obsession! Sounds like they might be close.


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## Jully (Dec 7, 2017)

KustyTheKlown said:


> booked motel 6 Portland tonight, a place in Gorham NH fri and sat nights. 30 from river, 60 from loon. options.



Gorham is one of my favorite locations to stay. SR, Wildcat, Attitash, Cannon, Loon all a very reasonable trip away.


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## Jully (Dec 8, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> Well, folks, seems I may have mislead some of you. It is not the upper part of obsession they are blowing snow on, it is the lower part, from Snowbound down past the White Heat quad onto Road runner. Just want to clear that up.
> 
> I had some friends come up today, and the skiing was pretty good. All that maintenance snow they pasted out there has had a great effect. Just before we left, we saw a group of 16, perhaps, ski down American Express under the guns. More terrain!!!
> 
> And some freshies coming tomorrow in the for of natural. It'll be a great weekend!



Shucks. Any word on what other trails are just about ready? Snow reporting has been scarce on what trails are next to come online since they struggled to make some of their advertised openings this fall.


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## machski (Dec 23, 2017)

Glad we are getting a bunch of snow.  Even the mix will be good to pack the fluff into a base today.  Really need it this year at the pace Snowmaking is going.  With the December we've had, the place would normally be wide open to the ends and in-between by now.

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## Jully (Dec 24, 2017)

machski said:


> Glad we are getting a bunch of snow.  Even the mix will be good to pack the fluff into a base today.  Really need it this year at the pace Snowmaking is going.  With the December we've had, the place would normally be wide open to the ends and in-between by now.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



Any more official word on what the reason for that is beyond potentially frozen pipes? Is the reduced staff hurting them too? Or is it purely technical?


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## machski (Dec 24, 2017)

Jully said:


> Any more official word on what the reason for that is beyond potentially frozen pipes? Is the reduced staff hurting them too? Or is it purely technical?


Sounds more like very low staff.  I think they like having around a 60 person team for peak season, sounds like they only are staffed to half that.

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## machski (Dec 24, 2017)

Hopefully Boyne doesn't just pocket the coming $$ saved from Uncle Sam and instead invests in employees.  IE, hard to hire seasonal positions when wages are too low (you can get hired at Dunkin or McDonalds and make more an hour in many locations) and unemployment is super low as well.

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## Jully (Dec 24, 2017)

machski said:


> Hopefully Boyne doesn't just pocket the coming $$ saved from Uncle Sam and instead invests in employees.  IE, hard to hire seasonal positions when wages are too low (you can get hired at Dunkin or McDonalds and make more an hour in many locations) and unemployment is super low as well.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



Hopefully this year is a tipping point for them regarding seasonal employees. This year seemed worse and at a minimum it got press attention. It seems everywhere pays above minimum wage now except ski resorts.


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## machski (Dec 27, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> Wow!!!! The river is opening up terrain. We basically had no natural snow until mid December, not even winter, and trail count advanced slowly. Not so slow now!!! 82 of 135 trails open. Almost legit one end to the other skiing. ( You need to take the double traverse lift out of Jordan as Kansas is not open quite yet. And the little white cap chair is not open yet, so getting back to the Summit involves some walking).
> 
> Years back, I wouldn't plan on starting skiing until christmas, and look at this. 82 trails!
> 
> We went today for a few hours. What a crowd! I am spoiled with mid week skiing, this was just like a weekend. Anyways, if anyone has been waiting for decent trail count, it is there now! Have fun!!!


Yes, great mother nature is delivering.  But without ma nature coming to the rescue, count would have been much lower.  Still amazes me we have Aurora open with just Northern Lights.  This is a first for Christmas week.  Normally have Vortex and Airglow by now.  So thanks nature for delivering good presents this year!

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## machski (Dec 29, 2017)

Little White Cap has not run yet this year (for guests anyway, may have run for tests/snow making crews) and that is late.  Rogue Angel is open on natural only making just Lolla and Kansas the only groomers opened in Jordan for the holiday week.  Most of the naturals are open in Jordan and Oz now, along with LP/TW on natural only as well.  Had an absolute blast today out there.  But all this natural is not the vast majority of skiers cups of tea.  Only having Lolla and Northern Lights for cruisers on the west side of the resort diminishes the use of those pods.  Lines haven't been bad this week (Cold and wind likely) but Barker has been busy at times.

All this said, it did look like hose is set on Excalibur (cat track up the Snowmaking line side of trail too).  My guess is as 3D and Bear Paw wrap up, Excalibur is the next up.  Would like to see Vortex and Paradigm up soon too.

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## machski (Dec 30, 2017)

uphillklimber said:


> Thanx for the update, I won't be getting there until Monday (bronze pass).


By then they may have Bear Paw open.  Hope they don't loose a cat into the trees, whales are just about as tall as them in there!!

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## SkiFanE (Jan 7, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Did you see this on their website?
> 
> Rolling with the punches is what we do around here but Grayson seems to be packing a little extra punch than our average winter storm. During our normal daily lift inspection routine on Saturday morning, our team discovered wind and temperature related issues on several lifts and trails across the resort, such as downed trees. We've since identified the complications caused by Friday night's weather and developed a plan to get the resort back to its normal scheduled operations as quickly, efficiently, and safely as possible. Thankfully the forecast is calling for significantly warmer and calmer days ahead, which will provide our team the opportunity to get the majority of operations back within the next day or two, and the remaining well before the holiday weekend ahead.
> 
> ...


You complain about crowds on weekdays. I don't think you will ever be happy at SR. Go find a place that suits you pickiness. Give them a break....it's freaking miserable outside - if people's trucks won't start in this weather maybe they have similar problems. Our car battery decided this cold was just waaay too much for it. So we had to replace last weekend. If it was never -15 we would not have known and would still be using old battery.  Maybe I don't maintain stuff as  should - but shit like this happens to me, so it's not out of the question that others have to deal with affect of cold.


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## Newpylong (Jan 7, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> [FONT=&quot]Did you see this on their website?
> 
> Rolling with the punches is what we do around here but Grayson seems to be packing a little extra punch than our average winter storm. During our normal daily lift inspection routine on Saturday morning, our team discovered wind and temperature related issues on several lifts and trails across the resort, such as downed trees. We've since identified the complications caused by Friday night's weather and developed a plan to get the resort back to its normal scheduled operations as quickly, efficiently, and safely as possible. Thankfully the forecast is calling for significantly warmer and calmer days ahead, which will provide our team the opportunity to get the majority of operations back within the next day or two, and the remaining well before the holiday weekend ahead.
> [/FONT]
> ...



This is independent of SR but You can't stock every spare part especially when you have 20 lifts. Also, machines typically don't care what people want, they're going to work or not work when they want to. The temperatures have been abnormally low for sustained periods of time. Stuff happens.


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## machski (Jan 7, 2018)

It's like that nearly everywhere now uphillklimber.  I fly for a living, we used to have approval as pilots to change out cockpit switch light bulbs on the ground (we had a bunch of them and they burnt out frequently).  Well, maintenance control decided down the road that each little bulb (4 in a switch) was $12 (got to love aviation) and they didn't like having a lack of control on the inventory when pilots changed them.  So now we had to defer systems and some switchlights could not be deferred if it didn't illuminate (even if system worked with said switch).  So now we had hard breaks and jet sitting on the ground for light bulbs instead of making $$.  

It's just the way it is in slim margin businesses.

In the case of cold weather issues, note they did say trees down across the line.  I had confirmation that did affect at least 1 lift.  Not sure how you could prevent that, all the lines are trimmed back to reasonable widths.

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## MEtoVTSkier (Jan 7, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Can you stand another Sunday River Maintenance story? Well, here it comes anyways.
> 
> I maintained the North Peak condos (primarily), the brick red buildings right up next to the North Peak chair. It was my job to keep an eye out for burnt out lightbulbs, among other things. Initially, I was instructed to walk the hallways first task of my shift, and make a note of which light bulbs were burnt out. Then drive down to inventory in the basement of the White cap Lodge, and sign out the requisite number of lightbulbs. Then drive back to North peak and walk back up and change those bulbs.
> 
> ...



Because Beancounters don't understand common sense. Just high numbers vs. low numbers.


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## Jully (Jan 7, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Ain't lightbulbs maddening? And then inventory control efforts that probably cost as much as just throwing half the lights in a ditch....
> 
> Cold weather issues. From the scuttlebutt I am getting, it basically means the windows or doors were blown open and control panels froze. Yeah, sure some trees came down, saw a few on the roads today, that's legit. But doors and windows not being secured at the end of shifts?? This is not the first time the winds have blown this hard. Or that it has been this cold. Or both at the same time, shucks several times last year as I remember.  I'm, okay, call me cynical, but I'm saying there is more to what has happened here than just the cold weather.



Was there today. Word was a tree hit and was resting on North Peak Express haul rope. Also chondola and SRX backup engine pumps froze. One was permanently broken. 

Didn't hear what was up with Jordan, Oz, or Aurora. 

Seems the issues were legit this time and not actually due to deferred maintenance.


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## SkiFanE (Jan 8, 2018)

Despite everything you'd think was awful about SR - had a fantastic Sunday.  Woods were loaded with sticks and branches and you could see where some trees had fallen but were removed (agony - possibly hit the rope?).  Great conditions. Gnarnia was open top to bottom - tons of snow. Agony was great. Stuck to Barker and Spruce and had a blast.


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## machski (Jan 8, 2018)

Jully said:


> Was there today. Word was a tree hit and was resting on North Peak Express haul rope. Also chondola and SRX backup engine pumps froze. One was permanently broken.
> 
> Didn't hear what was up with Jordan, Oz, or Aurora.
> 
> Seems the issues were legit this time and not actually due to deferred maintenance.


Jordan sounded like the control room door blew open and it froze up completely (probably wind packed with snow too).  Oz just hasn't run this year since they have not blown Cowardly Lion off the top.  Would think there is enough natural to pack down and run that chair to comp. For jordan

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## Jully (Jan 8, 2018)

machski said:


> Jordan sounded like the control room door blew open and it froze up completely (probably wind packed with snow too).  Oz just hasn't run this year since they have not blown Cowardly Lion off the top.  Would think there is enough natural to pack down and run that chair to comp. For jordan
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



Well that completely stinks about Jordan. Any idea if they'll have to replace the panel? If they do it sounds expensive. They announced today that they expect to have Jordan up and running by midweek, so hopefully it isn't that bad.

I forgot they hadn't blown anything off the top of Oz.


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## machski (Jan 8, 2018)

Jully said:


> Well that completely stinks about Jordan. Any idea if they'll have to replace the panel? If they do it sounds expensive. They announced today that they expect to have Jordan up and running by midweek, so hopefully it isn't that bad.
> 
> I forgot they hadn't blown anything off the top of Oz.


No idea, I was working this weekend and was not there.  It at least sounds like it'll be up and running shortly.

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## machski (Jan 9, 2018)

Southridge is back up at noon today.  No idea on Jordan, Aurora west is windhold anyway.  Skiing is great with the fresh 2-3 last night.  Hope Jordan is a go first thing tomorrow, woods over there should be nice.

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## machski (Jan 9, 2018)

No Jordan til the weekend is the pronouncement from the afternoon report.  Oh well, skins be getting some use tomorrow.

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## Keelhauled (Jan 10, 2018)

Jully said:


> Also chondola and SRX backup engine pumps froze. One was permanently broken.


Water pumps in the diesels? They live outdoors, you'd think they could get the right blend of coolant in them to not freeze.


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## machski (Jan 10, 2018)

machski said:


> No Jordan til the weekend is the pronouncement from the afternoon report.  Oh well, skins be getting some use tomorrow.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


Well, they beat their timeline.  Jordan reopened today just after noon (and right around when I got to the top of Ruby on skins up Kansas).  Did get first tracks with patrol on Tin Woods though.  Carumba was sweeeet!!  Rogue had huge whales, so now the three primary trails in Jordan have all been made.

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## Dickc (Jan 15, 2018)

Bob,  Are you angulating or just leaning the whole body to the side.  Try skiing and keeping your coat zipper straight up and down to the extent possible.  This will greatly improve the down force on your edges.  I find that since I have been practicing this I grip stuff others seem to slide on.


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## Dickc (Jan 15, 2018)

I have skied with Maine adaptive for a few seasons and early in the season you must take a principles of skiing clinic.  I picked up on how to angulate at one of these clinics.  The easiest way is to try and bend at the waist while turning like you must keep that jacket zipper vertical.  You will not really be able to, but by trying you will find yourself bending at the waist.  Adaptive is fun helping the handicapped and you do learn how to ski better.

http://www.yourskicoach.com/glossary/SkiGlossary/Angulation.html


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## Edd (Jan 15, 2018)

Dickc said:


> I have skied with Maine adaptive for a few seasons and early in the season you must take a principles of skiing clinic.  I picked up on how to angulate at one of these clinics.  The easiest way is to try and bend at the waist while turning like you must keep that jacket zipper vertical.  You will not really be able to, but by trying you will find yourself bending at the waist.  Adaptive is fun helping the handicapped and you do learn how to ski better.
> 
> http://www.yourskicoach.com/glossary/SkiGlossary/Angulation.html



How’s it go with lifting, like helping folks in one of those carts onto a chair? I’m in decent shape but my shoulders have issues. I’d like to volunteer some season and see how I like it.


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## Dickc (Jan 15, 2018)

Edd said:


> How’s it go with lifting, like helping folks in one of those carts onto a chair? I’m in decent shape but my shoulders have issues. I’d like to volunteer some season and see how I like it.



When working with a client in one of the sit skis, you have TWO volunteers to get them up onto the lift.  The sit skis are spring loaded so they go up without needing too much brute force.  I will not lift them because of my back, so I go along to ski behind them to kind of advertise to the skiing public to beware of the group (usually two do this, one angled back and to the left, the other back and to the right).  My job when they are loading the chair is to be on the chair behind them and at loading, make sure they get fully loaded by getting right behind that chair and pulling the sit ski all the way back.  We also have other clients that ski standing up.  Some on sliders that assist them in standing, others are blind and you ski with them telling them when to turn.  I've skied with an older former ski instructor who has early Alzheimer's and the job was one in front for him to follow, and one behind to holler out if he starts to wander.  He could not otherwise ski as he would get lost.  His wife would come along in the afternoons.

Take a stop in the Handicapped building on Sundance and meet some of the people there.  They will show you around the place, introduce you to some of the equipment and they can most likely walk over to the assignment board and tell you what each skiers disability is that day. We usually sign up in the fall.  You need to take new volunteer orientation, Principles of skiing, and one other training class.  The principals of skiing is required every fall, and its a great opportunity to learn how to ski better (think a small group lesson with a very good instructor).  The actual volunteer days start after January one and go through to the end of March.  People who volunteer in year two for ten or more days can get a discounted pass.  If you do not have a pass, but ski with day tickets, they provide the day ticket for you on the volunteer days.

If you want to see organized mayhem, stop in on a Sunday morning about 9AM as they are getting ready to go out.  Its impressive how madness breaks up into organized ski lessons!


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## catherine (Jan 15, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Folks, I only spent a couple hours at the River today. I'm a little under the weather, so bear that in mind with today's observations, please. The rain did some damage to the trails. Last week, I saw some 106 trails open, today, 76. Agony, for example was pretty well covered up, but today, it is about half grass and rocks, and the ledges are basically big ice flows. Can't help what mother nature provides....
> 
> I did most of my skiing at little white cap today, just wanted to stretch my legs and work on technique, though I did venture over to North Peak for a couple runs. What I found was basically dust on crust. The groomers made it look real nice, but there simply isn't a whole lot to work with. I had sharpened my edges up last night in anticipation, but I just couldn't edge into this stuff. Either the snow was too thin to carve into or just enough that it prevented me from grabbing on the hard packed base. It was plenty cold, so the ice was pretty hard. (I'm sure there was a good portion of operator error thrown in there as well!!!:wink
> 
> ...



Thanks for the report.  Heading to SR Thurs.  would love to hear your perspective on what you find tomorrow.  Hope it’s better than today.  Hope you’re feeling better.


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## catherine (Jan 15, 2018)

Thanks.  It can’t be bad, “snowing like crazy”.


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## nanjil (Jan 15, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Folks, I only spent a couple hours at the River today. I'm a little under the weather, so bear that in mind with today's observations, please. The rain did some damage to the trails. Last week, I saw some 106 trails open, today, 76. Agony, for example was pretty well covered up, but today, it is about half grass and rocks, and the ledges are basically big ice flows. Can't help what mother nature provides....
> 
> I did most of my skiing at little white cap today, just wanted to stretch my legs and work on technique, though I did venture over to North Peak for a couple runs. What I found was basically dust on crust. The groomers made it look real nice, but there simply isn't a whole lot to work with. I had sharpened my edges up last night in anticipation, but I just couldn't edge into this stuff. Either the snow was too thin to carve into or just enough that it prevented me from grabbing on the hard packed base. It was plenty cold, so the ice was pretty hard. (I'm sure there was a good portion of operator error thrown in there as well!!!:wink
> 
> ...


Spruce was edgable and better than elsewhere

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## Dickc (Jan 16, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Catherine, the snowing like crazy amounted to only a dusting... but they are blowing all kinds of maintenance snow to cover up the thin areas. Kudos to the river!
> 
> Dick, I asked one of my ski buddies how to work the angulation, and worked on it most of today's skiing on Dream maker, Escapade and Grand Rapids, Where there are a ton of whales to play on! Does that work well!!!! I can see myself making a habit of this real fast. I only have 20 years of old habit to break though!!!
> 
> I also went and signed up for Adaptive skiing today. Looks like I am in, after a background check, of course. Maybe I'll see you there, I have made myself available mondays and Fridays for the rest of the season.



Right now I am not in the volunteer pool as I have a back problem that severely limits my skiing.  I am only up on weekends right now, but once the grandkids get a little older I will return to some weekdays.  I really want to get to the bottom of my back problem right now.  You CAN volunteer for a Sunday or two and they will supply the lift ticket for you.  My son gets a lesson this Sunday provided he shakes the bad cold he just picked up.

Happy to hear you signed up for adaptive.  I am sure you will enjoy it.  I am also glad you got the angulation idea underway.  It really does shove that edge right down solidly!  You can learn to make most trails ski like they have well groomed snow.


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## Dickc (Jan 16, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Catherine, the snowing like crazy amounted to only a dusting... but they are blowing all kinds of maintenance snow to cover up the thin areas. Kudos to the river!
> 
> Dick, I asked one of my ski buddies how to work the angulation, and worked on it most of today's skiing on Dream maker, Escapade and Grand Rapids, Where there are a ton of whales to play on! Does that work well!!!! I can see myself making a habit of this real fast. I only have 20 years of old habit to break though!!!
> 
> I also went and signed up for Adaptive skiing today. Looks like I am in, after a background check, of course. Maybe I'll see you there, I have made myself available mondays and Fridays for the rest of the season.



Right now I am not in the volunteer pool as I have a back problem that severely limits my skiing.  I am only up on weekends right now, but once the grandkids get a little older I will return to some weekdays.  I really want to get to the bottom of my back problem right now.  You CAN volunteer for a Sunday or two and they will supply the lift ticket for you.  My son gets a lesson this Sunday provided he shakes the bad cold he just picked up.

Happy to hear you signed up for adaptive.  I am sure you will enjoy it.  I am also glad you got the angulation idea underway.  It really does shove that edge right down solidly!  You can learn to make most trails ski like they have well groomed snow.


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## catherine (Jan 16, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Catherine, the snowing like crazy amounted to only a dusting... but they are blowing all kinds of maintenance snow to cover up the thin areas. Kudos to the river!
> 
> Dick, I asked one of my ski buddies how to work the angulation, and worked on it most of today's skiing on Dream maker, Escapade and Grand Rapids, Where there are a ton of whales to play on! Does that work well!!!! I can see myself making a habit of this real fast. I only have 20 years of old habit to break though!!!
> 
> I also went and signed up for Adaptive skiing today. Looks like I am in, after a background check, of course. Maybe I'll see you there, I have made myself available mondays and Fridays for the rest of the season.



You have me intrigued.  Got to look up angulation.  Thanks for the info on the snow.


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## Dickc (Jan 16, 2018)

catherine said:


> You have me intrigued.  Got to look up angulation.  Thanks for the info on the snow.





Dickc said:


> I have skied with Maine adaptive for a few seasons and early in the season you must take a principles of skiing clinic.  I picked up on how to angulate at one of these clinics.  The easiest way is to try and bend at the waist while turning like you must keep that jacket zipper vertical.  You will not really be able to, but by trying you will find yourself bending at the waist.  Adaptive is fun helping the handicapped and you do learn how to ski better.
> 
> http://www.yourskicoach.com/glossary/SkiGlossary/Angulation.html




Look at this link and you will get some idea.  Watch the Gould kids and how they bend at the waist.


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## catherine (Jan 16, 2018)

Dickc said:


> Look at this link and you will get some idea.  Watch the Gould kids and how they bend at the waist.



Thanks.  Where can I find the Gould Kids?


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## Dickc (Jan 16, 2018)

catherine said:


> Thanks.  Where can I find the Gould Kids?



They usually practice on Monday Mourning at Sunday River.  If you ski on the weekend, take the Locke lift and watch from the chair.  On weekdays they will often go over on Jungle road and you have a poor chance of seeing them.  When they have spare time they do ski other trails in the Barker pod.  You can pick them out by their style, and they do ski fast!  You will note they edge really well and leave ski marks that are very thin as the edge cuts through the snow.  They are impressive to watch!


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## catherine (Jan 17, 2018)

Dickc said:


> They usually practice on Monday Mourning at Sunday River.  If you ski on the weekend, take the Locke lift and watch from the chair.  On weekdays they will often go over on Jungle road and you have a poor chance of seeing them.  When they have spare time they do ski other trails in the Barker pod.  You can pick them out by their style, and they do ski fast!  You will note they edge really well and leave ski marks that are very thin as the edge cuts through the snow.  They are impressive to watch!



Will be on the lookout for them.  I love watching from the chair, there are some incredible skiers out there!


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## SkiFanE (Jan 18, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Essentially, when I practice angulation (trying to make it a habit) I think that I have to put my skis on edge to dig into the ice, then I need to put my weight (body) back over the skis. I used to just lean to dig in the edges, but really had no weight on the skis, so they'd pop loose all too easy. But if I try to lean my ankles (You can't really, but do that motion), you'll push your hips uphill of the skis and the uphill edges into the surface. Lean your body back down the hill to get the weight over the skis. I know, it sounds like I am asking you to do something that sounds like it will tumble you downhill when you are trying to get safe on ice, but it really does work. Practice on dream maker first, obviously.
> 
> Today at the River, was somewhat promising. They continue to blow snow and cover up up thin areas, though not quite at the frenetic pace I seem to remember in the past. Crowds were small today and skiing lasted quite a while before things started getting scraped off, notably at the bottom of American Express where it approaches the Spruce triple and Lazy River crosses it. Jordan was on wind hold most all day I was there. The river is rebuilding from before the rain. They were blowing on southpaw like they want to open it now!



From one of my kids perfect turn coaches a few years back I learned the following drill. Hold poles out front so that the bottom of the trail is between them and don't lose site of it as you ski. Forces your upper body to stay in one position pointing down the hill  And when I learned it was after a long stretch of dust on crust skiing. I turned into a skidder after 2 months of that crap - got down on myself for skiing so bad. But couldn't figure out how to get out of that habit.  I came upon my kid and her group and did the drill with them and voila - back to carving.  

That being said - I have a hard time committing to a good carve with ice - I still skid (i.e. That cluster area you talk about lol). But I've used that drill a few times to get my groove back.  I was carving full speed GS turns once down cascades and lost edge on tiny patch of ice- flew pretty far and landed on my hip and into a race net (odd they had a cascades race then). I was actually rushing to catch my kids race at bottoms of MM - so picked myself up quick - continued down and then realized how hard I landed.  Been a scaredy cat ever since lol.


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## SkiFanE (Jan 19, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Thanx for that story, I can soooo Identify with that! We are supposed to be skiing and carving on snow, not ice!


. Patience. Soon enough.... until then Shockwave is open today


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## machski (Jan 20, 2018)

ShockWave was a blast until the winds put stuff on hold.  New Spruce carrying it's costs well, stayed up all day.  Allowed for laps on Upper Vortex which was really nice skiers right.

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## catherine (Jan 22, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Essentially, when I practice angulation (trying to make it a habit) I think that I have to put my skis on edge to dig into the ice, then I need to put my weight (body) back over the skis. I used to just lean to dig in the edges, but really had no weight on the skis, so they'd pop loose all too easy. But if I try to lean my ankles (You can't really, but do that motion), you'll push your hips uphill of the skis and the uphill edges into the surface. Lean your body back down the hill to get the weight over the skis. I know, it sounds like I am asking you to do something that sounds like it will tumble you downhill when you are trying to get safe on ice, but it really does work. Practice on dream maker first, obviously.
> 
> Today at the River, was somewhat promising. They continue to blow snow and cover up up thin areas, though not quite at the frenetic pace I seem to remember in the past. Crowds were small today and skiing lasted quite a while before things started getting scraped off, notably at the bottom of American Express where it approaches the Spruce triple and Lazy River crosses it. Jordan was on wind hold most all day I was there. The river is rebuilding from before the rain. They were blowing on southpaw like they want to open it now!



I am going to need a lesson!  I didn’t see your response till after I got home from SR, but I am going to Attitash tomorrow and will try it.  May try and find some videos.  Tonight.  Thanks for the info!


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## catherine (Jan 22, 2018)

SkiFanE said:


> From one of my kids perfect turn coaches a few years back I learned the following drill. Hold poles out front so that the bottom of the trail is between them and don't lose site of it as you ski. Forces your upper body to stay in one position pointing down the hill  And when I learned it was after a long stretch of dust on crust skiing. I turned into a skidder after 2 months of that crap - got down on myself for skiing so bad. But couldn't figure out how to get out of that habit.  I came upon my kid and her group and did the drill with them and voila - back to carving.
> 
> That being said - I have a hard time committing to a good carve with ice - I still skid (i.e. That cluster area you talk about lol). But I've used that drill a few times to get my groove back.  I was carving full speed GS turns once down cascades and lost edge on tiny patch of ice- flew pretty far and landed on my hip and into a race net (odd they had a cascades race then). I was actually rushing to catch my kids race at bottoms of MM - so picked myself up quick - continued down and then realized how hard I landed.  Been a scaredy cat ever since lol.



I’ve tried keeping my upper body facing down the hill but as soon as I get into any trouble, I am a skidder.  I’ve actually found myself trying to “float” over ice and wind up sliding with no control at all.  I hate ice, unless it’s in a cocktail!


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## Not Sure (Jan 22, 2018)

catherine said:


> I’ve tried keeping my upper body facing down the hill but as soon as I get into any trouble, I am a skidder.  I’ve actually found myself trying to “float” over ice and wind up sliding with no control at all.  I hate ice, unless it’s in a cocktail!



Skis have a turning radius , anything shorter tends to be a bit of skidding unless your lifting the ski to turn . I'm of the opinion if your having fun and enjoying yourself "So What". 

As far as ice goes anything that can reflect is not to be turned on ,set and edge traverse it then turn on some crud. Hopefully by then your not in the woods ;-)


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## SkiFanE (Jan 23, 2018)

catherine said:


> I’ve tried keeping my upper body facing down the hill but as soon as I get into any trouble, I am a skidder.  I’ve actually found myself trying to “float” over ice and wind up sliding with no control at all.  I hate ice, unless it’s in a cocktail!


Oh gosh - I can't carve well on ice either. Hate it and don't care to ski it either. So I'll skid. Problem is when it's weeks of skidding during ice spells - I find it hard to get carving again.  So I'll do drill to get groove back. I don't sharpen edges often so can't really commit to icey carves.  White heat head wall without snow or bumps gives me panic attacks. I have some fear of free falling, and it gets worse every year. I'll lap shockwave with bumps all day - but trails with sheer ice scare the crap out of me. No skidding needed on it all weekend lol.


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## machski (Jan 24, 2018)

Carving on ice is tough, especially in more recreational skis with a more recreational edge tune.  Racers can carve on that but they are on GS or Slalom specific skis with a fresh edge tune to an edge bevel designed to engage and stay engaged at high turn angles.  Most of us do not maintain our gear with fresh edges and no where near the bevel angle the racers do.

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## chuckstah (Jan 24, 2018)

machski said:


> Carving on ice is tough, especially in more recreational skis with a more recreational edge tune.  Racers can carve on that but they are on GS or Slalom specific skis with a fresh edge tune to an edge bevel designed to engage and stay engaged at high turn angles.  Most of us do not maintain our gear with fresh edges and no where near the bevel angle the racers do.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


And the temps look great for making snow today through Friday. Not so good in the weekend. 

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## chuckstah (Jan 24, 2018)

Clicked wrong thread...

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## catherine (Jan 24, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Today, it looks like I'll be getting a lesson, and I'll ask to practice carving on the ice. We'll have plenty of that after yesterday's rain.



So, how did it go, the practicing?


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## caribchakita (Jan 25, 2018)

Heading up Sunday...day tripping so parking at White Cap..cannot wait...


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## catherine (Jan 25, 2018)

SkiFanE said:


> From one of my kids perfect turn coaches a few years back I learned the following drill. Hold poles out front so that the bottom of the trail is between them and don't lose site of it as you ski. Forces your upper body to stay in one position pointing down the hill  And when I learned it was after a long stretch of dust on crust skiing. I turned into a skidder after 2 months of that crap - got down on myself for skiing so bad. But couldn't figure out how to get out of that habit.  I came upon my kid and her group and did the drill with them and voila - back to carving.
> 
> That being said - I have a hard time committing to a good carve with ice - I still skid (i.e. That cluster area you talk about lol). But I've used that drill a few times to get my groove back.  I was carving full speed GS turns once down cascades and lost edge on tiny patch of ice- flew pretty far and landed on my hip and into a race net (odd they had a cascades race then). I was actually rushing to catch my kids race at bottoms of MM - so picked myself up quick - continued down and then realized how hard I landed.  Been a scaredy cat ever since lol.



Did this, I think, today at Wildcat.  Kept the poles in front and could feel myself getting more up on my edges.  Need much more practice but it felt good.  Also, I felt a bit silly holding my poles like that, I usually use them to start a turn so it didn’t feel natural, but it works!


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## catherine (Jan 26, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Well, I learned a few things! It seems I always do. And I finished the day with a smile on my face!
> 
> Going back today to work on one thing. Skiing on one ski to get myself into proper position. Looks like another wind hold day, I'll only need Sundance, the beginner area. I know I lean back when I ski. I also lean forward and everywhere in between. In skiing on one ski, it only works if you are in proper position for turning left and right on each ski and linking them together. I managed to do it some, and at other times, not so much.... When I did it right, it happened so easily, I mean it was almost natural skiing. Yeah, I want some more of that! Bear in mind, yesterday was only the second time in my life that I had ever done the one ski thing. With an instructor I could question about what happened when I splatted on the ground, it became obvious. I never saw the value of this lesson, but I learned the value yesterday. Today, I apply and learn!
> 
> I should add that we discussed angulation verses inclination, and the benefits of it, but I had the basics and just need practice (I have the science, now just need to work on the art).



Nice!


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## caribchakita (Jan 26, 2018)

cool...how was Wildcat


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## catherine (Jan 27, 2018)

I’m going to take a screen shot of the description so I can try it on a trail.  Sounds like you have taken your skiing to an entire new level!


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## machski (Jan 27, 2018)

Going away for the ski instruction stuff, o would have loved a ride in the cat grooming ShockWave last night.  That must have been terrifying!!  Even hooked to a winch, holy crap!

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## Edd (Jan 27, 2018)

Maybe a decade ago I was showing someone around SR, and I’d told him Shockwave can be a fun, gnarly, mess of a trail. Conditions were good that day so I was looking forward to skiing it. We get there and it was groomed. I was gobsmacked. I had no idea they ever groomed it. 


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## deadheadskier (Jan 27, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> I think the reason they groom it is to basically pack down the snow (only one time). But they also want to give others the bragging rights that they have done shockwave...


Bragging rights should never be an excuse for grooming a trail.  Trails like Shockwave, Heat, Agony, Top Gun, Vortex etc, should only see a groomer to start the season and set the base.  After that, only after rain/thaw/freeze events.  

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## machski (Jan 27, 2018)

Or, we get the occasional avalanche as well here:
	

	
	
		
		

		
			








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## Jully (Jan 27, 2018)

Black Hole slides every year it seems haha.


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## catherine (Jan 27, 2018)

machski said:


> Going away for the ski instruction stuff, o would have loved a ride in the cat grooming ShockWave last night.  That must have been terrifying!!  Even hooked to a winch, holy crap!
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app





deadheadskier said:


> Bragging rights should never be an excuse for grooming a trail.  Trails like Shockwave, Heat, Agony, Top Gun, Vortex etc, should only see a groomer to start the season and set the base.  After that, only after rain/thaw/freeze events.
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using AlpineZone mobile app



A different perspective:  me, I was thrilled to have done some of the trails that you listed, I  mostly remember Vortex and it was an incredible run, groomed.  I doubt I would have, check that, I wouldn’t have done it if it was ungroomed.


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## machski (Jan 27, 2018)

Jully said:


> Black Hole slides every year it seems haha.


Yeah, unfortunately they caught a gun in the debris field and I think it may have pulled off the air hydrant head at the line.  The air roar was quite loud after the slide.

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## deadheadskier (Jan 27, 2018)

catherine said:


> A different perspective:  me, I was thrilled to have done some of the trails that you listed, I  mostly remember Vortex and it was an incredible run, groomed.  I doubt I would have, check that, I wouldn’t have done it if it was ungroomed.


Glad you enjoyed yourself.  

But my feeling is a double diamond trail shouldn't be made easy via grooming.  

By definition, a double diamond should be very challenging.  

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## SkiFanE (Jan 28, 2018)

deadheadskier said:


> Bragging rights should never be an excuse for grooming a trail.  Trails like Shockwave, Heat, Agony, Top Gun, Vortex etc, should only see a groomer to start the season and set the base.  After that, only after rain/thaw/freeze events.
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using AlpineZone mobile app



No kidding. Have to say they probably needed to groom SW - that once yearly. Hopefully that's it. Was trail of weekend last weekend. Heard it was a shit show of underskilled people skiing it yesterday, no way I was bothering. Only thing really worth skiing was Oz. Underskilled people clogging up the trail too - but it needed an army to help bump it up lol. Every trail is well set up for some natural...  have to say I'm getting bored...rare occurance but zippo natural or bumps is getting old.


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## machski (Jan 28, 2018)

SkiFanE said:


> No kidding. Have to say they probably needed to groom SW - that once yearly. Hopefully that's it. Was trail of weekend last weekend. Heard it was a shit show of underskilled people skiing it yesterday, no way I was bothering. Only thing really worth skiing was Oz. Underskilled people clogging up the trail too - but it needed an army to help bump it up lol. Every trail is well set up for some natural...  have to say I'm getting bored...rare occurance but zippo natural or bumps is getting old.


Yup, underskilled on ShockWave yesterday was scary.  I think everyone survived which is good (if you got off the groom you were sliding until you hit a hard stop).  It was fun but glad I did it first thing when the crowd was lighter on it.  Hate seeing it groomed as well (Vortex too and Heat, well we have lost that battle), but if not, even with 4 feet of natural, the frozen ridges of the whales would still be present.  Add wind in, may not have even held natural.  So, hopefully this is one groom and done and if nature doesn't deliver, it gets another coating from the guns in a week or two.

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## machski (Jan 30, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> I finally got to Shockwaye today. They ran a groomer down it last night. Maybe an inch of groomed snow atop hardpack. Not a whole lot of fun. I was hoping for some nice large soft bumps. I guess we'll have to wait for real snow, whenever that cares to make an appearance.
> 
> Just some observations about the snowmaking at the River. I see them blowing snow on Airglow, Black hole and Top gun to get them open. I also see them blowing maintenance snow just below the top station of the Chindie, Tourist trap and other places on mountain. I truly appreciate the maintenance snow since the rains have iced up so much terrain. It seems to me that they are not quite as aggressive with the snowmaking as they have been in the past. It's the end of January and only about 2/3 of the mountain is open. Yeah, the rain has caused issues, but they seemed to be able to overcome it in years past. Not really complaining, I am pretty happy if I am able to go downhill. Just trying to call it straight.
> 
> Crowds today were minimal, basically ski up to the chair everywhere. Love the mid week skiing!


So they are currently working on Airglow/BH and Top Gun and they just announced Agony and Quantum Leap are next.  By my count that leaves just the lower portion of Airglow, Firestar and Eureka to not see Snowmaking yet.  Nothing we can do about Natty trails right now.  Not sure what more they can do, I would think they might dial up Maintenance recover as the weekend approaches.  After what they did got wrecked by Saturday nights NCP, can't say I blame them from going slow on recovering.

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## SkiFanE (Jan 30, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> I finally got to Shockwaye today. They ran a groomer down it last night. Maybe an inch of groomed snow atop hardpack. Not a whole lot of fun. I was hoping for some nice large soft bumps. I guess we'll have to wait for real snow, whenever that cares to make an appearance.
> 
> Just some observations about the snowmaking at the River. I see them blowing snow on Airglow, Black hole and Top gun to get them open. I also see them blowing maintenance snow just below the top station of the Chindie, Tourist trap and other places on mountain. I truly appreciate the maintenance snow since the rains have iced up so much terrain. It seems to me that they are not quite as aggressive with the snowmaking as they have been in the past. It's the end of January and only about 2/3 of the mountain is open. Yeah, the rain has caused issues, but they seemed to be able to overcome it in years past. Not really complaining, I am pretty happy if I am able to go downhill. Just trying to call it straight.
> 
> Crowds today were minimal, basically ski up to the chair everywhere. Love the mid week skiing!



who cares?  SR lost Caramba, Ruby Palace, Garnia, Last Tango, Tightwire, crossbow, Locke line, Bims, Hardball and Chutzpah since a few weeks ago. Weather has caused major backslide. By this time of year they are usually laying off snowmaking except for maybe a few maintenance areas that need it or people will die lol.  We just need snow. More groomers that are great the first day then turn to another groomed highway of nothingness are a waste of resources (to me). But more people enjoy that nothingness and pay dearly for it - so they will continue I'm sure.


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## Edd (Jan 31, 2018)

Just drove up to SR to get shutout by wind holds from White Cap to Jordan. Why they don’t automatically open the bar when the mountain is shut down I will never understand. 


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## machski (Jan 31, 2018)

Edd said:


> Just drove up to SR to get shutout by wind holds from White Cap to Jordan. Why they don’t automatically open the bar when the mountain is shut down I will never understand.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone


Staffing most likely.  Anyway, I just looked, only Aurora and Jordan are showing holds so hopefully you got some skiing in.

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## Edd (Jan 31, 2018)

machski said:


> Staffing most likely.  Anyway, I just looked, only Aurora and Jordan are showing holds so hopefully you got some skiing in.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



Moved onto Wildcat. How long I’m expected to twiddle my thumbs waiting for lifts to open, only Sunday River can say. Opening the bar ain’t hard. There was a guy in there.


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## caribchakita (Jan 31, 2018)

We went up Sat. aft. Decided to wait until Sunday vs night ski. We hit South Ridge to check out the scene. Folks shared they had a great day. Sunday, pfftt...icy mess; crunchy icy corduroy. Most was open initially but quickly Oz closed and later much of White Cap. It was probably my top 5 worst days since starting to board, 5 years ago.


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## machski (Feb 1, 2018)

caribchakita said:


> We went up Sat. aft. Decided to wait until Sunday vs night ski. We hit South Ridge to check out the scene. Folks shared they had a great day. Sunday, pfftt...icy mess; crunchy icy corduroy. Most was open initially but quickly Oz closed and later much of White Cap. It was probably my top 5 worst days since starting to board, 5 years ago.


Yeah, sorry.  We got R and Freezing R 8pm and on Saturday night.  Longer than predicted.  Saturday and Sunday we're totally different days this weekend.  Glad January is over, we need a reset.

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## catherine (Feb 4, 2018)

Thinking about a trip to SR during NH vacation week.  How are the crowds normally during NH vacation week?


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## machski (Feb 4, 2018)

catherine said:


> Thinking about a trip to SR during NH vacation week.  How are the crowds normally during NH vacation week?


My experience has been not too busy at all.  Of course, we only get the usual midweek lifts that week but it seems to be plenty adequate.  I don't really recall waiting in any lift lines during NH vaca week,

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## catherine (Feb 4, 2018)

Thanks!


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## SkiFanE (Feb 5, 2018)

catherine said:


> Thinking about a trip to SR during NH vacation week.  How are the crowds normally during NH vacation week?


. It's quiet that week. But I find even Feb vacation week "quiet" as a weekend warrior - so take that into consideration.


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## SIKSKIER (Feb 6, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> I'm not sure how much snow the River got, but what an improvement over Wednesday. Wednesday, there were wind holds and dust on crust conditions and I simply wasn't feeling it. The River is blowing snow on Agony and other places now. Pretty much any actual trail is gonna be open, with the exception of Oz, Three Mile trail and Sluice. Glades and woods trail are lacking in the snow department. 87 trails open, not too shabby, really, when you look at it.
> 
> http://www.sundayriver.com/winter/mountain-report/trail-map
> 
> ...



SR has has some tough luck on windholds this year.Numerous.Good thing you didnt go Monday as most of the place was on hold again.I see SR finally has some new cams.


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## caribchakita (Feb 11, 2018)

Ya think the conditions will stay stellar after today and the week's temps? So glad you had a great sesh...


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## machski (Feb 12, 2018)

caribchakita said:


> Ya think the conditions will stay stellar after today and the week's temps? So glad you had a great sesh...


Probably no chance to stay stellar given the forecast and yesterday's liquid.  But it should be good, especially when it warms up after Tuesday.

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## Jcb890 (Feb 12, 2018)

Thinking of heading up there Sunday or Monday with our MAX Pass this coming holiday weekend since our Peak Pass is blacked out.


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## catherine (Feb 21, 2018)

Any news on SR conditions after this warmup?


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## catherine (Feb 28, 2018)

Heading up either Wed or Thurs.  forecast looks good, snow Wed.  Fingers crossed!


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## Jully (Feb 28, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Spring conditions, I had to shed multiple layers. Hardpack is softening up. Nice!!!!



How is cover outside of the key snowmaking routes? Will it survive another few days of mild temperatures or does everything look like mid April?


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## Jcb890 (Feb 28, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Well.... It's not quit mid April. We did ski some of the bumps off to the side of Right Stuff and they had decent depth and coverage, while we just looked at others, fairly certain we would gain more gouges on the bottoms of our skis. The River has been a bit different this year as far as snowmaking goes. They haven't blasted the trails as in years past and gotten good bases and coverage like we "seem" to remember.
> 
> There is an awful lot I want to ski, but I want my skis to last me a while longer without stone grinding them. Their regular routes that most of their day visiting clientele love are in decent shape. It's the sides that get bumped up and the more challenging terrain that is taking a back seat this year, perhaps even the puker seat in the old 8 passenger wagons.


I have holidays from work on April 2nd and April 16th that I was thinking would be good Sunday River days... but it seems like once again I'm not going to be getting to Sunday River while conditions are prime and everything is open which is sad.


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## Jcb890 (Feb 28, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Yeah, that is late in the season. About mid April (I'm thinking April 16) they tend to close down mid week skiing and are only open weekends. Several other areas nearby are pretty much done by then. You may want to try to get to the River earlier in the season, or go to someplace a little further north.


I figured by that point it'll probably be basically down to Killington and Sunday River.
Sugarloaf tends to close even with snowpack due to minimal crowds if I remember.  That's about it for mid/late April though, right?  Maybe Wildcat too, but that's debatable.


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## Jully (Feb 28, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Yeah, that is late in the season. About mid April (I'm thinking April 16) they tend to close down mid week skiing and are only open weekends. Several other areas nearby are pretty much done by then. You may want to try to get to the River earlier in the season, or go to someplace a little further north.



Pretty sure they shift to White Cap, Locke, and Barker (sometimes Spruce) only after the second week of April traditionally, IIRC. You might still get Aurora and Jordan the weekend of the 14th.

Does the bronze pass typically become valid on weekends when they close midweek?


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## Jcb890 (Feb 28, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Pretty much, I figure any April skiing is a bonus,  being weather dependent. Not just April weather, but what did the winter months provide for us? By mid April..... well, I buy a bronze pass, so when they shut down mid week skiing, I am done.


I'm on the MAX Pass and have both April 2nd and April 16th off as work holidays.  So, hopefully I'll be able to do Sunday River on those days.  That's my plan as of now at least...


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## Jully (Feb 28, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Bronze pass does not become valid for mid week, though they did open up one day last year, IIRC.... can't quite remember what for, old timers is setting in.... I was just happy to be skiing the extra day.



Passholders BBQ? I think Peaks invites their midweek passholders to their passholder party.


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## machski (Feb 28, 2018)

Jully said:


> Passholders BBQ? I think Peaks invites their midweek passholders to their passholder party.


^^^^This^^^^

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## Jully (Mar 1, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Warm temps are making for some soft skiing. Even the boilerplate under the snow is softer and more easily edged. 10 day forecast shows lows in the 20's and highs in the 30's and 40's. Hoping this changes and we get some snow.



Looks like no trail closings throughout this week of of warmish weather, so that is good. 105 trails isn't bad given what we've experienced!

Probably going to bag trying to chase this storm with the masses in So. VT/ the Catskills and will be a SR this weekend. Have a friend I haven't skied with in a bit who wants to meet me there. Looking forward to it.


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## machski (Mar 1, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> It's gonna depend on what the weather brings and how they determine to close a trail. Some of the trails, I didn't want to bring my skis across, but they had a sign on them, open or thing coverage. If we get rain, they won't be able to open some of those trails. They are talking rain/snow/wind. Temps from 28-39. Temps for the next 10 days show lows in the 20's so that is good for snow retention.
> 
> My biggest concern is the wind. 20MPH called for. I've heard gust of 40 and 50. I'm thinking there are going to be at least some wind holds. If you are traveling any distance, you may want to reconsider. Today was pretty awesome, tomorrow..... well.....
> 
> I live 24 minutes away, I'll be there. Actually, I'll be volunteering at Maine Adaptive. So I may not be able to roam the mountain and check things out better.


This storm is going out South of SR and not going into the gulf of Maine.  I don't think winds will be too bad this go around at the river.  You never know, storm could track weird, but it seems Maine ski country is out of the worst.

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## catherine (Mar 1, 2018)

Forecast is looking good for next week.  Snow Wed with some rain from 11 to 3 then back to snow until Thurs pm.  Hopeful!


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## Jully (Mar 1, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> My biggest concern is the wind. 20MPH called for. I've heard gust of 40 and 50. I'm thinking there are going to be at least some wind holds. If you are traveling any distance, you may want to reconsider. Today was pretty awesome, tomorrow..... well.....



I'd do Sat/Sun with the option of going elsewhere on Saturday if everywhere is windy. Definitely considering that though, and a good point.


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## Jully (Mar 1, 2018)

machski said:


> but it seems Maine ski country is out of the worst.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



SR's had enough bad luck with power outages this season, so that would be nice for a change!


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## Mildcat (Mar 2, 2018)

Jully said:


> Looks like no trail closings throughout this week of of warmish weather, so that is good. 105 trails isn't bad given what we've experienced!
> 
> Probably going to bag trying to chase this storm with the masses in So. VT/ the Catskills and will be a SR this weekend. Have a friend I haven't skied with in a bit who wants to meet me there. Looking forward to it.



Most of the trails still had great coverage yesterday. A few natural trails like uppercut and crossbow were getting really thin as the week went on. I don't think I'd ski those today. Didn't see any glades open despite the report saying Northwoods and Wizards Gulch are open. Agony looked like it had good coverage but was closed. Freezing rain outside my window now, hopefully it changes over to snow.


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## Edd (Mar 9, 2018)

Anyone know what’s up with the Aurora lift? Wasn’t spinning yesterday. 


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## Edd (Mar 9, 2018)

I really like what they did with the North Peak lodge bar area. Long overdue. Not sure when they did it, actually. My visits have been sporadic in recent years. 


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## SkiFanE (Mar 9, 2018)

Edd said:


> I really like what they did with the North Peak lodge bar area. Long overdue. Not sure when they did it, actually. My visits have been sporadic in recent years.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone


I am the LAST person to ever get a sit down meal at a lodge. But with some crappy ski days this winter - I've been there quite a few times and I LOVE it!  They pour a generous cocktail and the food is out of this world, and not priced too badly. I was skeptical but it's been a great addition. And look overhead - the art is built from pieces of old Spruce lift.


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## Edd (Mar 9, 2018)

SkiFanE said:


> And look overhead - the art is built from pieces of old Spruce lift.



Ah, very cool. I noticed them but didn’t make a connection. 

I also noticed the signs for the Portland restaurants, The Front Room, etc. Are the owners of those restaurants involved with the cuisine? I think the Room restaurants all have the same owner. Not sure about Boone’s.


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## machski (Mar 9, 2018)

Edd said:


> Ah, very cool. I noticed them but didn’t make a connection.
> 
> I also noticed the signs for the Portland restaurants, The Front Room, etc. Are the owners of those restaurants involved with the cuisine? I think the Room restaurants all have the same owner. Not sure about Boone’s.


Yes, the owner and lead chef owns all including the Mountain Room.  That is why you can't use SR dining cards there.  It is a nice addition, though the Peak lodge gets extremely crowded now.  Could have used an addition or 2 I think, but I'm glad we did get what we did.

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## Jully (Mar 9, 2018)

machski said:


> Yes, the owner and lead chef owns all including the Mountain Room.  That is why you can't use SR dining cards there.  It is a nice addition, though the Peak lodge gets extremely crowded now.  Could have used an addition or 2 I think, but I'm glad we did get what we did.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



Aren't there plans to add a second floor/expand it further? Or did those get cancelled?


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## machski (Mar 9, 2018)

Jully said:


> Aren't there plans to add a second floor/expand it further? Or did those get cancelled?


I have heard it will expand into the overflow on the first floor.  Problem is weekends, Peak still draws large crowds for the resort food options (especially kids and the peak sticky buns!). Take more space from standard offerings, makes it all the more crowded.  I have never heard of actual sq ft addition up there.

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## Jully (Mar 9, 2018)

machski said:


> I have heard it will expand into the overflow on the first floor.  Problem is weekends, Peak still draws large crowds for the resort food options (especially kids and the peak sticky buns!). Take more space from standard offerings, makes it all the more crowded.  I have never heard of actual sq ft addition up there.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



Interesting. I'm probably mistaken. The seating for the cafeteria is definitely noticeably more crowded, IMO, so shrinking it would not go over well, I think.


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## machski (Mar 13, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> What a day skiing! Started snowing about 10 AM and fresh snow all day long. I could start to feel my knee about 2:30 so I called it shortly after, was looking to shut down the mountain. What a nice ski day!! 134 trails open today out of 135. Good luck finding the one closed trail!
> 
> In other news:
> https://www.pressherald.com/2018/03...ator-to-owner-of-sugarloaf-sunday-river-loon/


Poma Road or 1500 Road most likely.

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## jmgard (Mar 15, 2018)

Went to the River for the first time since the 13-14 season... skied this Mon-Thurs. Wow!!!! Loving the new trails and glades (Gnarnia, Poppy Fields, etc.).  Finally got to ski Chutzpah, Ruby Palace, and a ton of other stuff that had always been closed on earlier visits. So much snow everywhere.  I will admit I'm still a Loaf fanboy but SR is a really great place, especially with tons of snow and no lift lines...


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## SkiFanE (Mar 17, 2018)

jmgard said:


> Went to the River for the first time since the 13-14 season... skied this Mon-Thurs. Wow!!!! Loving the new trails and glades (Gnarnia, Poppy Fields, etc.).  Finally got to ski Chutzpah, Ruby Palace, and a ton of other stuff that had always been closed on earlier visits. So much snow everywhere.  I will admit I'm still a Loaf fanboy but SR is a really great place, especially with tons of snow and no lift lines...



nice! I was there Friday. Awesome skiing - but lots of lift closures. Didn't get to Jordan and was dying to. A year without Ruby Palace is incomplete (got it last week luckily). I think Garnia was run of day- filled in nicely. Yetiville was awesome too. Actually - everything was awesome.  Weekdayers really don't wander off piste much thankfully lol.  Had to do kid stuff today and back out Sunday. Hubby was still finding untracked stashes today.


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## Edd (Mar 20, 2018)

Thanks for the report. I read this as Boyne’s never ending lift issues continue. 


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## caribchakita (Mar 20, 2018)

We have a freebie at the Summit Hotel, 13-16 April. Found 49.00 tickets on the SR website. Ya think snow will be decent in April?


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## Jcb890 (Mar 20, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> My crystal ball is a bit fuzzy, but the past few years, it's been a good deal of terrain and skiing available. That's right about when they shut down weekday skiing and go to weekend only, as well as closing down terrain. They need a certain number of patrollers to cover the terrain, and they lose some full timers about then, who go to their summer jobs.


I get Patriots Day the 16th (Monday) off and was debating heading up to SR that day... they should run the lifts the 16th I'd think, right?


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## Jcb890 (Mar 20, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Iffy, real iffy.... I skied April 10th, 11th and 13th last year and my notes say slushy.... That was it for me as a mid week bronze pass skier, until May 1st.


I'll judge conditions as they get closer and I realize it may be slushy, we went 4/29 last year and it was really slushy with not much left.  Still fun though.  As long as its not raining, I'm in.  I'm just hoping lifts will spin on Monday the 16th since its kind of a holiday even though most people don't have it off.

Was that the last you were allowed to do as a mid-week skier because they stopped mid-week lift operations?


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## machski (Mar 20, 2018)

Jcb890 said:


> I'll judge conditions as they get closer and I realize it may be slushy, we went 4/29 last year and it was really slushy with not much left.  Still fun though.  As long as its not raining, I'm in.  I'm just hoping lifts will spin on Monday the 16th since its kind of a holiday even though most people don't have it off.
> 
> Was that the last you were allowed to do as a mid-week skier because they stopped mid-week lift operations?


Had been they would open for Patriots Day Monday and then be Sat-Sun only.  Part of me wants to say they did not do Patriots day last year though.  Watch the mountain report closer to Easter weekend.  They should post the operating plan by then if not by next week.

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## Jcb890 (Mar 21, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> I seem to remember heading to my mother's in NC on the 14th, and there was no more mid week skiing after that. (So I missed out on Friday the 14th that I could have skied.)
> 
> It may be different this year, but seasonal staff gets tired near the end of the season and just wants it to be over. Seasonal folks are looking to head to their summer jobs, etc... and get a little break in between. I gotta agree with Machski, I don't think they were open for Patriots day. What also plays into it is that the walk up ski ticket sales are really declining about then. Most anyone still on the mountain are the passholders, and there just isn't much income in it for them. It becomes a tough business decision, look how long our season is, vs. look how little we make staying open like this.


I sent SR a FB message asking them their plans and they responded... quite helpful really.  I thanked them.

Sunday River said that April 16th (Patriots Day) will be their last day of mid-week operations.

I will most likely be there since places further South will probably be closed or weekend-only by then and we haven't used any SR MAX Passes yet this season... I'm sure we will though as the S. VT options dwindle.

I'll post in this thread again as it gets closer to confirm I'll be there the 16th and see if anyone else will be there.  I'll most likely be solo and don't know SR that well, so if any locals want to take me on a bit of a tour, that would be awesome.


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## Jcb890 (Mar 21, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Awesome! Good to know Patriots day is on the table.
> 
> If you want a tour, I typically ski out of South Ridge. Look for a black helmet with a Prime Time ski group sticker on it. I used a sharpie to put BOB on the sticker, right over my goggles. Blue jacket, black pants.


I have only ever been to Sunday River once, all they had open for lodges was Barker I believe.
I would be down to meet at South Ridge or on the slopes for a good follow.  I can ride just about everything, but I'm guessing woods and natural terrain won't be an option.

Look out for...
6'1" with a good-sized beard, black with green accent helmet, light and dark green Marmot jacket, black Arc'Teryx pants and a 169W '17/'18 Jones Flagship (real-wood looking topsheet, red and black base).  If the woods are in play (doubtful), I might bring my 163W Ride Highlife instead to bang off some rocks and stumps.


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## machski (Mar 21, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Awesome! Good to know Patriots day is on the table.
> 
> If you want a tour, I typically ski out of South Ridge. Look for a black helmet with a Prime Time ski group sticker on it. I used a sharpie to put BOB on the sticker, right over my goggles. Blue jacket, black pants.


Highly possible it will just be Barker and WH on Patriots Day.  Spruce could be in play too but I bet South ridge is closed down.  We'll see, with all the March snow, maybe not.

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## Riverveteran (Mar 21, 2018)

Passholder BBQ 4/15 full mountain is normally open, could be down to East side of resort Monday 4/16.




machski said:


> Highly possible it will just be Barker and WH on Patriots Day.  Spruce could be in play too but I bet South ridge is closed down.  We'll see, with all the March snow, maybe not.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## machski (Mar 22, 2018)

Riverveteran said:


> Passholder BBQ 4/15 full mountain is normally open, could be down to East side of resort Monday 4/16.


Not even close, last several years it has been North Peak East.  Aurora/Jordan/Oz have been closed after first weekend in April.  Maybe with Easter early we get the 7-8 fully open but no way we will for Passholder BBQ.

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## Riverveteran (Mar 22, 2018)

BBQ is a week later than last year, so that may impact operations.  Full mountain was open last year day of BBQ.  Weekday cutbacks began 4/3 last year, but reopened West for the weekend. 

They were open Patriots Day last year.



machski said:


> Not even close, last several years it has been North Peak East.  Aurora/Jordan/Oz have been closed after first weekend in April.  Maybe with Easter early we get the 7-8 fully open but no way we will for Passholder BBQ.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Jcb890 (Mar 22, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Today, I talked with the cook up at North Peak Lodge. They will be open April 1, closed April 2, completely, no weekends, nada. At the North Peak Lodge. He was also pretty certain April 15 would do it for South Ridge.(Passholder BBQ).
> 
> That's all I got, other than a short day of harder than usual skiing. Got too much to do today....


What do you think will be available on the 16th?  Sorry, not too familiar with SR.  Much appreciation on all the info and tips!


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## Jcb890 (Mar 22, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Well.... I can't remember all that well, but I do remember last night's dinner! LOL!
> 
> Seems to me, the first place to close down is always little whitecap, all the way to the far left of the mountain as you are looking up. And Oz is typically done then as well. Once it starts, it continues. Not so sure of the order after that, maybe Aurora, then Jordan and White Heat. But White heat is a big marketing draw, they try to keep that one open. South Ridge goes sometime as well, along with White Cap (the Tempest lift). They'll announce it sometime soon, I'm sure.


I'm going to send them another FB Message to ask for details... can't hurt, right?


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## Jully (Mar 22, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Well.... I can't remember all that well, but I do remember last night's dinner! LOL!
> 
> Seems to me, the first place to close down is always little whitecap, all the way to the far left of the mountain as you are looking up. And Oz is typically done then as well. Once it starts, it continues. Not so sure of the order after that, maybe Aurora, then Jordan and White Heat. But White heat is a big marketing draw, they try to keep that one open. South Ridge goes sometime as well, along with White Cap (the Tempest lift). They'll announce it sometime soon, I'm sure.



Last two are always (at least the last few years) Barker + White Cap (White Heat). I'd bet April 16th has Aurora, White Cap, Barker, Locke (though Locke won't run). Aurora may be closed down for the 16th though.


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## Jcb890 (Mar 23, 2018)

*FB Messenger response*:

_The only peaks that are closed on the 16th are Aurora and Jordan (Jordan Hotel dining/accommodation still open). All other peaks/lodges should be open!_

Nice!
Their FB Messenger responses have been great the last couple of weeks.  Kudos to them for that.


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## Riverveteran (Mar 23, 2018)

They got a lot of use out of that new deck!



uphillklimber said:


> Today, I talked with the cook up at North Peak Lodge. They will be open April 1, closed April 2, completely, no weekends, nada. At the North Peak Lodge. He was also pretty certain April 15 would do it for South Ridge.(Passholder BBQ).
> 
> That's all I got, other than a short day of harder than usual skiing. Got too much to do today....


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## Hawkshot99 (Mar 23, 2018)

Skied Sunday River for the first time. That place is ALOT of fun. Loved the well groomed trails, and OZ wad great at the end of the day.  I'm up here for sat and sun as well.

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## machski (Mar 25, 2018)

So I was up Friday but missed the weekend.  Heard they already shut Oz Quad, Quantum Triple and Jordan Double for the year this weekend.  From the sounds of it, they could have used all three Saturday.  With all the snow and conditions plus the slow rollout of terrain this year, I would have thought they'd have kept those in play this weekend.  Guess the late season ops have started to kick in already.  I know sister resort Loon is shuttering South Peak midweek starting tomorrow.  Poor.

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## Jully (Mar 25, 2018)

There today. Crowds weren't bad at all today thankfully, never more than a 5 minute wait at the major lifts that I saw (though I avoided Barker from 10 to 11:30).

Jordan was 3 people to a chair, so something is up with the motor there.


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## SkiFanE (Mar 26, 2018)

Fabulous weeekend at the River. 1-2" was nice little frosting Saturday night.  So many options, so much open. Bumps are beautiful. Woods are decent but showing their age lol. Those times when bumps aren't coated with crust after inevetiable rain or thaw is rare - so go get it if you can.


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## Riverveteran (Mar 27, 2018)

*From Sunday River webpage:

Weekend of April 14-15
*Skiing on all eight peaks. Last weekend for skiing on Aurora, Oz and Jordan Bowl, and last weekend for the Peak Lodge, Mountain Room, and Foggy Goggle.




machski said:


> Not even close, last several years it has been North Peak East.  Aurora/Jordan/Oz have been closed after first weekend in April.  Maybe with Easter early we get the 7-8 fully open but no way we will for Passholder BBQ.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## machski (Mar 27, 2018)

Riverveteran said:


> *From Sunday River webpage:
> 
> Weekend of April 14-15
> *Skiing on all eight peaks. Last weekend for skiing on Aurora, Oz and Jordan Bowl, and last weekend for the Peak Lodge, Mountain Room, and Foggy Goggle.


Yup, nice to see this year.  They need to, roll out was so slow this year!

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## 2Planker (Mar 27, 2018)

Open for "Patriots Day" but BUMMER that they are closed for the MA school vacation week 4/17-4/20








machski said:


> Yup, nice to see this year.  They need to, roll out was so slow this year!
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## machski (Mar 27, 2018)

2Planker said:


> Open for "Patriots Day" but BUMMER that they are closed for the MA school vacation week 4/17-4/20


Been at least 5 years since they were open all week for MA Vaca, maybe even longer.

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## 2Planker (Mar 27, 2018)

Yup,  2011 - They sold our friends from NY (8 people)  2 condo's for Sunday thru Thurs, and then had no services to offer after Monday.... They couldn't even complain to anyone. Place was shut up tighter than a drum  for Tues- Fri.  They ended up day tripping  over to Wildcat for 4 days where they skiing was spectacular.  Sad, they'll always remember that. Good people, who spend $$$$$ at ski resorts, and will prob never go back to SR 







machski said:


> Been at least 5 years since they were open all week for MA Vaca, maybe even longer.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Jully (Mar 27, 2018)

How popular is their Spring Festival? Is that what replaced/is Parrothead?


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## SkiFanE (Mar 27, 2018)

machski said:


> Been at least 5 years since they were open all week for MA Vaca, maybe even longer.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using AlpineZone mobile app



i think last year of it was right after Boyne bought it. We went once and it's not very busy. And that week can get lots of rain if I remember. My kids are done with skiing by then. There'd be uprising if we dragged them up there for a week - so not ever happening.


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## Jully (Mar 28, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Meh, they get a crowd, it seems to go well, but I don't drink, so.... I don't really go there. I ski.



Specifically wondering about crowds on that day on the trails/at the lifts. I would assume it is more crowded than a typical early-mid April weekend, but not bad. that seems to be roughly what you're saying too, if I'm understanding you.


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## shwilly (Mar 29, 2018)

Jully said:


> Specifically wondering about crowds on that day on the trails/at the lifts. I would assume it is more crowded than a typical early-mid April weekend, but not bad. that seems to be roughly what you're saying too, if I'm understanding you.



I expect that the only crowd that weekend will be in front of the stage. Crowds should be minimal on trails and lifts from here on out. (That said, I was surprised that last Saturday was a midwinter Saturday type of crowd.)


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## Riverveteran (Mar 29, 2018)

White Cap get's crowded



Jully said:


> Specifically wondering about crowds on that day on the trails/at the lifts. I would assume it is more crowded than a typical early-mid April weekend, but not bad. that seems to be roughly what you're saying too, if I'm understanding you.


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## caribchakita (Mar 31, 2018)

We are heading to SUR 13-16 April. They have 99.00 tickets for two days. Think they will have any sales or is that is low as lift ticket prices will go?


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## machski (Apr 4, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Went skiing yesterday (of course). We ranged from Shockwave to Excalibur, skipping Oz (We can only ski so many trails in a day, eh?). The snow was interesting. Well groomed and pack in the morning, transitioning to corn snow (piles) over the base before noon. It made for some of the most controlled skiing down White Heat and other steeps we have ever done. Brown spots are appearing, car sized and larger. They appear not to have enough Bamboo to mark them all. Bombing over rises and ridges became less .... well, we were just less inclined to leap before we looked, as it were. Overall, the skiing was fun, and going around the growing brown spots became a fun challenge for us.
> 
> At Jordan, we saw the runout from Lolopalooza, beneath Excalibur, was all brown. We felt no need to ski lolop. On the way back, across Kansas, it is thin. We crossed a good deal of ice there. Didn't have to pole, which was nice. But it is thin, and it is raining now. NO place to gather snow and push it back onto the trail, except at the top of the Oz lift. Not even sure they will do that. Friday's 6" forecast has been downgraded to 1-3". Not gonna be much help. And then there is a ton of rain int he forecast. I think Mother Nature is going to have a good deal of sway in the final ski schedule for the season.
> 
> Currently, all the glades are closed and most of the dedicated bumps runs are closed (Agony, Top Gun, others). Just not enough snow coverage. The bumps on the side of White Heat softened up yesterday on skier's right, and were fun. We had to pay attention to bare areas and ski around them on the trail and back into them. That's just what it is these days.


You cannot believe forecasts at this time of year until the storm is on us.  Could swing back up for Friday.  And early next week is on the fence right now, could go either r or snow.  Right Stuff and Ecstacy/Punch and MM have great base depth (rocking chair too obviously) but I was surprised by the lack of deph on Cascade this past weekend.  And the fact the microwave rocks are out on WH and how thin the very top of Obsession was does not bode well if the r materializes for that to stay in play much longer.

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## machski (Apr 4, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> I just looked at the Sunday River website. It clearly shows Agony, Top Gun and all of OZ open. I don't think I remember it that way yesterday....



I rode Barker Sunday afternoon and was thinking of making Locke LIne/Crossbow/Tightwire my last run.  My chair partner was a patroller so I decided to ask him if those runs were open.  He said not to his knowledge, that they hadn't been checked yet but that he just opened Agony.  He asked what the trail report said for LL/CB/TW, I told him they showed as open from first chair and he said that isn't right.  Given that, I wouldn't put too much stock into the trail report right now.  If they can't get it straight on the weekend, I doubt midweek is any better with less patrol staff to check ungroomed runs.


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## machski (Apr 6, 2018)

So skied today, they have done a great job with grooming and these cold temps!  Barely any bare spots anywhere, looks like midwinter.  Only groomers for the most part today, though lower Bims off Salvation was open ungroomed.  Actually wasn't too bad.  Not sure I'd want to do Agony full length like it, but was better than it looked.  Skied the bumps on lower Risky and they were good too, especially in the smoother lines.  Snow started around 330 at the base, around 2 in Jordan.  About 2 inches at the base so far and still coming down.  Time for BrewFest!

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## machski (Apr 7, 2018)

Great day today, the 4-5 made everything super fun.

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## prsboogie (Apr 7, 2018)

Got there at the crack of 930 and there were already soft piles of powder everywhere. Made for some fun skiing. Definitely there was some glacial patches on the headwalls. Nice surprise finding The Substance on tap in the Goggle.
	

	
	
		
		

		
			

















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## Terry (Apr 8, 2018)

Third picture is definitely not Sunday River. Looks like it says My Snow on the lift.


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## prsboogie (Apr 8, 2018)

Oops, sorry guys grabbed the wrong party pic, edited to correct, not much different except WH in the background [emoji4]

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## nanjil (Apr 8, 2018)

it was great till i screwed by mcl in top gun bumps


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## prsboogie (Apr 8, 2018)

Sorry to hear that, vibes!!

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## shwilly (Apr 8, 2018)

Very nice weekend starting with a mini powder morning. I had too many IPAs Friday night and didn't make first chair yesterday. Not to worry, there were plenty of good lines left.

We had fun, the kids had fun, our beginner friends had fun. I haven't yet adjusted to needing sunscreen before each ski day. My younger daughter claims she got the last cheese pizza slice of the year at North Peak.

January and most of February were pretty meh, but these last 5 weeks have really saved the season. 

Hope your knee recovers quickly, nanjil.


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## caribchakita (Apr 9, 2018)

Heading up Saturday...tips/recs where to board, most appreciated...Staying at Grande Summit. Should I get a two day or one? I can board Sat. and Sunday.


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## lentilmaps (Apr 9, 2018)

Skied SR both Saturday and Sunday.  Coverage was excellent, the entire mountain skied well.  Was surprised how well the woods are holding up; the 4-5 inches Friday night really helped.  It felt like midwinter on the summits, corn fest by the afternoon down below.  

All 8 peaks are supposed to be open next weekend - definitely suggest going west for the last turns on Aurora/Oz/Jordan.  The woods on the west side seemed to be holding onto snow better than some of the eastern woods.  Kudos to the kind patrol member who was roping off Poppy Fields for the day Sunday but let me in.  It was worth it:




~lm



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## machski (Apr 9, 2018)

Friday/Saturday look pretty good.  It's spring and it has come late.  Bummer next Monday trending the way it is currently (being the last midweek day).

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## machski (Apr 10, 2018)

Some of the runs putting Saturday back into a winter mode.  Crazy year wx wise.

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## caribchakita (Apr 10, 2018)

Looks cool and rainy, this weekend. SUPER EXCITED no matter what. It's the start of April School Break. Hope crowds are down. Super excited to try glades. I am a beginner so where shall I head, Jordan?


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## shwilly (Apr 10, 2018)

Crowds should be down. Glades have been good for weeks, but getting a bit bony. If there's no new snow, I would take it easy on the glades unless you can see a clear line through.

If you're staying at the Grand Summit hotel, the Little White Cap lift (if running, not sure) will be right outside. You can start with a run or two there to get your legs.

If you're a beginner, I would skip the White Heat chair to begin with, as that area is a bit steeper. It's a lot of fun when you want to do some steeper trails, though.

You can get from the White Cap area to the Barker base on the trails Cascade or Bear Paw (and from there to South Ridge via Easy Street). Cascade is blue; Bear Paw is "green" but should be blue. (It isn't steep but has sweeping banked turns which may intimidate true beginners.)

The real beginner area is South Ridge. Nearby on North Peak is the cruiser Dreammaker, which is a more difficult green. If you can do Dreammaker easily then most of the blues around the mountain will be fine.

In the Jordan area is Lollapalooza, another "high green." Right off of this is the gentlest glade on the mountain, Blind Ambition. Blind Ambition is a ton of fun if coverage is reasonable. 

There are blue cruisers all over the place. One thing that might be fun to try is the boardercross course near the bottom of the Barker lift. You can access that from Sunday Punch.

If you're starting at the Grand Summit, one approach would be to try Little White Cap, then after taking the White Cap chair, try Wildfire or Cascade. If those are intimidating, head over to South Ridge and work your way up gradually. If Wildfire and Cascade are easy, you'll be good to go off of basically any lift.

In any case, have fun!


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## machski (Apr 10, 2018)

uphillklimber said:


> Wow!!! I just got back in from 4 1/2 hrs of skiing. What great conditions. 2" surface over the base, hardly any one there. About 2 rows worth of cars in the lot. No lines at all. About noon the slush started making it's appearance, at the lower areas and moving up. This slush, unlike 2 weeks ago, was not sticky, you could ski through it and slide pretty well. If you have the opportunity, tomorrow should be a real good day....


Then it's not slush, it's corn!!

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## caribchakita (Apr 11, 2018)

Hey all, what's my weekend plan? The weather keeps changing. Originally, it looked like Saturday was the golden day. Now, perhaps Sunday? Toying with the idea of waiting until Friday to buy online lift tickets. We head up crack of dawn Saturday and leave Monday AM. So, have two days to board.  Also, I typically love first chair. Better to wait? We will start at White Cap and work our way over to Jordan and then back.  I don't do a lot at Oz or White Cap as I am an an intermediate preferring blues and single diamonds.


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## caribchakita (Apr 11, 2018)

Thanks Shwilly, so sweet of you to take the time..this will be my 4th time at Sunday River. LOVE it..we will avoid the mayhem at South Ridge. I love Spruce, Aurora and Barker the best.


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## machski (Apr 11, 2018)

caribchakita said:


> Hey all, what's my weekend plan? The weather keeps changing. Originally, it looked like Saturday was the golden day. Now, perhaps Sunday? Toying with the idea of waiting until Friday to buy online lift tickets. We head up crack of dawn Saturday and leave Monday AM. So, have two days to board.  Also, I typically love first chair. Better to wait? We will start at White Cap and work our way over to Jordan and then back.  I don't do a lot at Oz or White Cap as I am an an intermediate preferring blues and single diamonds.


Hard to tell with this weather pattern.  Easier for me to decide with a season pass, depends what your tolerance is to be out given the way things keep swinging.

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## caribchakita (Apr 12, 2018)

Thanks Bob, ugh...90% rain ..booo..don't know anyone with a season pass...anyone want to be my friend? XX


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## caribchakita (Apr 12, 2018)

Thanks Bob, nice photo. A discount ticket on Sunday would be grande. Are you referencing lift tickets or the BBQ? Interested in lift ticket. Not needing grub ..


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## Jcb890 (Apr 12, 2018)

We might do a day trip up to Sunday River on Sunday.  It looks like they may get and stay as all snow Saturday through Sunday, so I'll take that over rain.


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## caribchakita (Apr 12, 2018)

The rain is going to happen, it's a monster system in the mid west. I don't care..I am snowboarding..whoooo


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## caribchakita (Apr 14, 2018)

Rain held off..see trip report..SUPER fun day... You take the good and enjoy and the hard cord trails, you avoid..it's spring boarding..I love it here..


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## shwilly (Apr 22, 2018)

Great weekend of spring skiing to end our season. So many glades were good for this late in April. It's sad to be finished, but we had a good season. 

The heavy snow was tricky for the kids! They had a couple big wipe-outs, but no serious injuries, thankfully.

November turns seem a long way away, but the warmer months will be fun too.


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