# Sugarbush Lift Fail: Feb. 2014 Edition



## thetrailboss (Feb 8, 2014)

Just heard from a (very angry) friend that Bravo is down....on a Saturday and in primo conditions.  "Maintenance Delay" is what they are saying


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## Xcreamus (Feb 8, 2014)

Yeah.  It has been on "Delay" since Wednesday.  They hope to have it running, soon.

Hope it is ready for the holiday crowd.  Depends on how long they "delay" its opening.  

Does this count against the integrity value?


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## steamboat1 (Feb 8, 2014)

Someone who lives there wrote this week:

"Big question today is if the chairs will break down again. Bravo was  down before noon and then Valley House crapped at 1, Northridge also  broke in the middle of the day. Turning into a junk show around here."


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## thetrailboss (Feb 8, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Someone who lives there wrote this week:
> 
> "Big question today is if the chairs will break down again. Bravo was  down before noon and then Valley House crapped at 1, Northridge also  broke in the middle of the day. Turning into a junk show around here."



wow!


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## steamboat1 (Feb 8, 2014)

How disingenuous is it to list all the trails off Castlerock as open in their report yet the lift is closed?

C'mon give me a break.


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## Plowboy (Feb 8, 2014)

CR is open for hiking from HG..  ME lot is full to cap and the Summit chair goes down. Inverness chair is closed for racing. Bravo chair is still down. I will have to admit it is a shitshow today!!!!!


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## steamboat1 (Feb 8, 2014)

Plowboy said:


> CR is open for hiking from HG..


So why do they say in the same conditions report that the Castlerock chair is closed because it needs more snow yet the trails are listed as open? I thought this was a ski area, you know snow, not a rock climbing area.

God forbid they get a puff of wind. The lifts that are running will be put on wind hold. Happens all to frequently at Sugarbush while other mountains don't seem to have an issue.

Also they had qualifying today for the Jr. Castlerock Challenge. The qualifying runs were not taken at Castlerock (lower Birdland).


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## Plowboy (Feb 8, 2014)

Sorry...I meant you can hike the Long Trail from Heavens Gate to ski CR.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 8, 2014)

Plowboy said:


> CR is open for hiking from HG..  ME lot is full to cap and the Summit chair goes down. Inverness chair is closed for racing. Bravo chair is still down. I will have to admit it is a shitshow today!!!!!



Now Summit is down?!  :blink:  WTF?


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## thetrailboss (Feb 8, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> So why do they say in the same conditions report that the Castlerock chair is closed because it needs more snow yet the trails are listed as open? I thought this was a ski area, you know snow, not a rock climbing area.
> 
> God forbid they get a puff of wind. The lifts that are running will be put on wind hold. Happens all to frequently at Sugarbush while other mountains don't seem to have an issue.
> 
> Also they had qualifying today for the Jr. Castlerock Challenge. The qualifying runs were not taken at Castlerock (lower Birdland).



In my years there, they did have A LOT of windholds.  And I also think it is kind of lame to add CR trails to the open list if the lift is not running.


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## Euler (Feb 8, 2014)

Holy crap...AZ is usually a love vest for Sugarbush and Winn Smith...what's going on up there?


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## thetrailboss (Feb 8, 2014)

Love Sugarbush, but the lifts and snowmaking are just falling behind the pack.


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## WWF-VT (Feb 8, 2014)

Plowboy said:


> CR is open for hiking from HG..  ME lot is full to cap and the Summit chair goes down. Inverness chair is closed for racing. Bravo chair is still down. I will have to admit it is a shitshow today!!!!!



The Inverness* trail *was closed for racing.  The Inverness chair was open Brambles, Semi-Tough and Walt's trail were all open.  Early laps on Brambles and Semi Tough were some of the best natural snow runs this season.


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## WWF-VT (Feb 8, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> So why do they say in the same conditions report that the Castlerock chair is closed because it needs more snow yet the trails are listed as open? I thought this was a ski area, you know snow, not a rock climbing area.
> 
> God forbid they get a puff of wind. The lifts that are running will be put on wind hold. Happens all to frequently at Sugarbush while other mountains don't seem to have an issue.
> 
> Also they had qualifying today for the Jr. Castlerock Challenge. The qualifying runs were not taken at Castlerock (lower Birdland).



So where did you ski today?


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## steamboat1 (Feb 8, 2014)

WWF-VT said:


> So where did you ski today?



For the most part I don't ski weekends. I'll be up for several days during the week since you care so much. Might even ski Sugarbush if my friend who works there is not working his other job. I've already skied the Bush twice this season. Doesn't mean I can't call them out on their BS.


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## jimmywilson69 (Feb 8, 2014)

So are the lifts fixed and will they operate tomorrow?  Got a group of 55 that is scheduled to ski there tomorrow.

Any local help.is appreciated.

sent from AlpineZone Mobile App


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## Madroch (Feb 8, 2014)

Been here since thirs- disaster....bravo down most of thirs had Ellen busy, north ridge went down for a while-- skied Lincoln Friday- bravo went down again, gatehouse was mobbed- valley slow to start due to issues- huge line - except for heavens gate if you could get there-- today bravo down again Ellen was a madhouse- missed the summit chair going down- must have been waiting in line for something somewhere-


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## MadMadWorld (Feb 8, 2014)

Failure of epic proportion.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 8, 2014)

Madroch said:


> Been here since thirs- disaster....bravo down most of thirs had Ellen busy, north ridge went down for a while-- skied Lincoln Friday- bravo went down again, gatehouse was mobbed- valley slow to start due to issues- huge line - except for heavens gate if you could get there-- today bravo down again Ellen was a madhouse- missed the summit chair going down- must have been waiting in line for something somewhere-



That is just nuts.  One lift is bad enough; half the mountain is inexcusable


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## steamboat1 (Feb 8, 2014)

I heard the new Rice Brook homes are nice. Dinner in Timbers is to die for.


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## twinplanx (Feb 9, 2014)

Since no one has posted here yet today, may I assume everything is going alright? No news is good news, right? 

Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk


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## jimmywilson69 (Feb 9, 2014)

All lifts are operational at Lincoln Peak today

sent from AlpineZone Mobile App


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## sgottmann (Feb 9, 2014)

jimmywilson69 said:


> All lifts are operational at Lincoln Peak today
> 
> sent from AlpineZone Mobile App



Heaven's Gate was down for awhile but things were much better today.


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## skiNEwhere (Feb 9, 2014)

I am sensing a new lift mechanic supervisor in the future, that's just nuts.


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## jimmywilson69 (Feb 10, 2014)

sgottmann said:


> Heaven's Gate was down for awhile but things were much better today.



That must've been after I was done skiing over there.  We hit HG early, lapped a nicely groomed Ripcord, before it became an ice rink then moved on.

I heard from several people that Saturday was the busiest they had ever seen Lincoln Peak.  It's a shame that people had to experience the lift failures.  Which then forced all of those people to Mt. Ellen which then became a shit show as well from what I was told.


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## HowieT2 (Feb 10, 2014)

Rough day Saturday with the lift issues.
hiked over to castlerock twice and had 2 good runs.  The snow was light and dry and skied well.  But there was no base which is why they didn't run the lift.  Any traffic and it would have been bare quickly.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 10, 2014)

HowieT2 said:


> Rough day Saturday with the lift issues.
> hiked over to castlerock twice and had 2 good runs.  The snow was light and dry and skied well.  But there was no base which is why they didn't run the lift.  Any traffic and it would have been bare quickly.



I get that, but I think that Steamboat's point is that they want it both ways--closed to most of the world to save cover but report it open for trail count/reporting purposes. I get that point.


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## steamboat1 (Feb 10, 2014)

HowieT2 said:


> Rough day Saturday with the lift issues.
> hiked over to castlerock twice and had 2 good runs.  The snow was light and dry and skied well.  But there was no base which is why they didn't run the lift.  Any traffic and it would have been bare quickly.



Castlerock chair is listed as open today but the conditions report says it's delayed.

Reporting 7" at the summit last night.


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## shadyjay (Feb 10, 2014)

Castlerock chair was spinning today.  It opened shortly after 9am I believe.  I didn't hit it, but heard it was really good.

That 7" was great!  Hit up The Mall, Stein's, Lwr Birdland, Ripcord, Spills, among others.  Still a little thin on Lwr Birdland and The Mall but overall pretty good coverage.  Morning Star looked way too thin.


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## Nick (Feb 12, 2014)

Long email from Win today. 

I'm fairly certain posting this here wholesale is not a copyright issue but I thought it pertinent to hear about the situation right from his words.  If for some reason it is, I can certainly edit or summarize it or try to find it on the Sugarbush website to link to. 



> Dear Sugarbush Skiers and Riders,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## thetrailboss (Feb 12, 2014)

I was glad to see Win coming out with the real dirt.  He did not have to say anything, but he did.  Kudos for that.  He clearly is aware of the issues and I bet they will work to fix them.  They clearly understand that it was not a good thing to happen, but he manned-up and provided more than enough detail to explain what happened.  

And one legitimate point that he did not make was that his ownership group inherited A LOT of problems from ASC that they had to address--especially with lifts and snowmaking.  Lots of cut corners, deferred maintenance, and jerry-rigging by ASC. The problems reared their ugly heads a lot during Win's time.


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## timm (Feb 12, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> I was glad to see Win coming out with the real dirt.  He did not have to say anything, but he did.  Kudos for that.  He clearly is aware of the issues and I bet they will work to fix them.  They clearly understand that it was not a good thing to happen, but he manned-up and provided more than enough detail to explain what happened.



I wasn't at Sugarbush last weekend (only go there a few days a year) but got this email today anyways I guess because I have bought tickets online from them before. The depth and breadth of the explanation was impressive. I did chuckle at the cornball dog picture/signature though.


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## Nick (Feb 12, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> I was glad to see Win coming out with the real dirt.  He did not have to say anything, but he did.  Kudos for that.  He clearly is aware of the issues and I bet they will work to fix them.  They clearly understand that it was not a good thing to happen, but he manned-up and provided more than enough detail to explain what happened.
> 
> And one legitimate point that he did not make was that his ownership group inherited A LOT of problems from ASC that they had to address--especially with lifts and snowmaking.  Lots of cut corners, deferred maintenance, and jerry-rigging by ASC. The problems reared their ugly heads a lot during Win's time.



TB - 20k posts!


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## thetrailboss (Feb 12, 2014)

Nick said:


> TB - 20k posts!



I'm happy that it was a good post for Sugarbush.


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## xlr8r (Feb 12, 2014)

Good to see Win finally speak.  The skimrv.com forums have looked like a forum for QBurke instead of the Bush the past few weeks  Nobody should be emulating QBurke this year.


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## gostan (Feb 12, 2014)

Most normal folks have just stopped posting on Skimrv because of a few self-entitled uber critics.  Unfortunately, these critics are still not satisfied with Win's pretty detailed explanation and apology.


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## Nick (Feb 12, 2014)

I'll have to scope it out haven't been there in a bit. Has it derailed :/

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## gostan (Feb 13, 2014)

Nick, there are a few agenda driven folks who accept no reason or rationale, so some of us have simply refrained from posting because we have learned that it is not worth the effort.  check it out.


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## Plowboy (Feb 13, 2014)

SkiMRV has been a sleeper for awhile. The "self-entitled uber critics" have not waged any personal attacks on members, but the "normal"'s have. It is no where near the personal attack cluster it was years ago. Some are blinded....some are happy....some are neutral.....some are  unhappy.  Isn't that a big part of what forums are about??


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## bdfreetuna (Feb 13, 2014)

Yeah one guy over there called Angler seems to be dominating the discussions. I'm sure he brings up valid points, but it's over the top.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 15, 2014)

Bump.  Guess what is the main focus this summer?



> We did have some lift issues which I addressed in an earlier Win's Word, but I do understand everyone's frustration when a lift is down.  Lifts are always a top priority for us when we prepare our annual capital budget.  This year they will be the top priority.  Our lift maintenance team is reviewing every lift in consultation with our lift manufacturers.  In addition to the normal extensive preventative maintenance that we do each summer, we are evaluating which lifts to invest additional mechanical or electrical system upgrades.  We are also in the process of preparing to replace the Valley House lift with a fixed-grip quad.  This will give us more uphill capacity and also allow us to reshape the unloading area that will make that part of the mountain immensely more pleasant. We are currently getting bids from the lift manufacturers and proceeding with permitting.
> In the past several years, we have spent significantly on snowmaking, new groomers, roads, our base lodges and the SHARC.  This year the vast majority of our capital will be going into lifts to make sure that they operate reliably as well as safely.
> While our skier visits are down slightly from last year, this has still been a successful year for us, and we greatly appreciate your continued support.


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## steamboat1 (Mar 16, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> Bump.  Guess what is the main focus this summer?



Village double.


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## twinplanx (Mar 16, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Village double.



Well the village double is a beginner lift...  The Valley House Double, on the other hand does offer access to some fine terrain. And if they plan on "reshaping the unloading area" they might as well bring the loading area the extra 30' down to the base... 

Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk


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## steamboat1 (Mar 16, 2014)

twinplanx said:


> Well the village double is a beginner lift...  The Valley House Double, on the other hand does offer access to some fine terrain. And if they plan on "reshaping the unloading area" they might as well bring the loading area the extra 30' down to the base...
> 
> Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk


One problem with that plan for VH. There's a base lodge in the way. The village double has been already slated for replacement this year. Haven't heard anything about replacing VH this year except for a fixed grip quad sometime in the future but not this year..


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## slatham (Mar 16, 2014)

Friend of mine was a lift super back in the day. When they replaced the bottom drive terminal of the Valley House lift, they did so with a capacity for the lift to be a quad. If true, then having that in place already and not needing to replace it greatly changes the economics of replacing the lift where it is vs moving the base terminal down the mountain.

This past weekend there were issues with Heavens Gate. Mechanical and wind hold flipping back and forth. But yesterday afternoon wind hold (morning winds were bad) didn't seem to be justified by the winds I experienced. Call me a cynic. That said, the lift started on wind hold today and then ran. In any event, I hope they have a busy but productive summer and this becomes a thing of the past.


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## ss20 (Mar 16, 2014)

Skier visits down?  Haven't been to Sugarbush this year, but I'd think visits are up for the whole Northeast since we've gotten a lot of snow in the flatlands and a decent amount in ski country.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 16, 2014)

ss20 said:


> Skier visits down?  Haven't been to Sugarbush this year, but I'd think visits are up for the whole Northeast since we've gotten a lot of snow in the flatlands and a decent amount in ski country.



Hard to say that.  MLK weekend was a bust, which is huge for skier visits.  Hell, things were pretty crappy snow / weather wise from pretty much NYE until Valentine's Day.

This season is weird.  We had a good start and two significant events in February and March, but so many storms were followed up with warm ups and or rain.

All my non-skiing flatland friends have said, "wow, this must be an amazing ski season."  I still contend it's been barely average.  The snow pack is above average for this time of year, but the overall conditions this season don't reflect that abundance in my opinion.


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## steamboat1 (Mar 16, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> This season is weird.  We had a good start and two significant events in February and March, but so many storms were followed up with warm ups and or rain.



How is this different than any other year in New England?


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## deadheadskier (Mar 17, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> How is this different than any other year in New England?



New England winters do tend to be erratic.  All I'm saying is that this one has been more erratic than the average year.  

This years January thaw was one of the worst I can ever remember.  It's very rare that Smuggs looks like this http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php/127581-Smuggs-1-14-14  in January.


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## steamboat1 (Mar 17, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> New England winters do tend to be erratic.  All I'm saying is that this one has been more erratic than the average year.
> 
> This years January thaw was one of the worst I can ever remember.  It's very rare that Smuggs looks like this http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php/127581-Smuggs-1-14-14  in January.


Hey the place was open. I remember years when northern/central VT. areas closed in the middle of the season because of lack of snow & or ice. If not for snowmaking/grooming things would be pretty much the same. Just look at MRG for example. How many days have they lost this season? Heck the first year MRG was supposed to open they couldn't because of lack of snow. That was 1949 I believe. Nothings changed. Of course some years are better than others but all I'm saying is there's nothing unusual about this season. Happens all the time in the northeast.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 17, 2014)

So, what your saying is you're old and you're winning for remembering times that pre-date modern snowmaking?

Congrats!


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## steamboat1 (Mar 17, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> So, what your saying is you're old and you're winning for remembering times that pre-date modern snowmaking?
> 
> Congrats!



Whatever turns you on.


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## MommaBear (Mar 17, 2014)

deadheadskier said:


> All my non-skiing flatland friends have said, "wow, this must be an amazing ski season."  I still contend it's been barely average.



I am so sick of hearing that this year from clients.  I agree, this is not one of the better years.


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## Newpylong (Mar 17, 2014)

This absolutely is one of the better years, and I am sure the skier visit #'s will show it. There was only a short January thaw but otherwise it has been cold and from what I can see a decent amount of natural.

I have 2-3 feet in the woods here in the Upper Valley. We closed out Whaleback this weekend 100% open.


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## MommaBear (Mar 17, 2014)

Maybe its just my timing then this year. Less days on snow and quality wasnt there when I was.


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## steamboat1 (Mar 17, 2014)

MommaBear said:


> Maybe its just my timing then this year. Less days on snow and quality wasnt there when I was.



Timing is always important. Doesn't matter which year you're talking about.


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## 4aprice (Mar 17, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Timing is always important. Doesn't matter which year you're talking about.



Yea and I feel badly for MB, but this year its been harder to miss then hit.  I understand NNE has been feeling a little left out till recently but anything with snowmaking is piled deep with snow right now, and it doesn't look to be ending anytime soon.  I have heard from some others who have been disappointed but the seasons not over yet.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## billski (Mar 17, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> How is this different than any other year in New England?



We'll probably have good spring skiing , with lots more open trails than in the past, and close up with lots of still-ski-able terrain.


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## steamboat1 (Mar 17, 2014)

billski said:


> We'll probably have good spring skiing , with lots more open trails than in the past, and close up with lots of still-ski-able terrain.



Not necessarily, You'd be surprised how fast they can lose the snow with a prolonged warm up & rain. Then again I think you already know that. Lets just hope it doesn't happen, at least for awhile.


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## fbrissette (Mar 17, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Not necessarily, You'd be surprised how fast they can lose the snow with a prolonged warm up & rain. Then again I think you already know that. Lets just hope it doesn't happen, at least for awhile.



Agreed.  Extended spring skiing is only loosely correlated to snowpack depth.  A freakish 2 day period with high temperatures and rain can pretty much close all runs with natural snow in most resorts.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 17, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Timing is always important. Doesn't matter which year you're talking about.



Exactly.  The fact that there is a lot of snow now only means that they might lose less money.  Still probably a loss.  



steamboat1 said:


> Not necessarily, You'd be surprised how fast they can lose the snow with a prolonged warm up & rain. Then again I think you already know that. Lets just hope it doesn't happen, at least for awhile.



Right.


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## HowieT2 (Mar 17, 2014)

fwiw-Win said that as of last week, SB skier visits were down 5% year on year.  xmas through valentines day were as bad as it gets. brutally freezing temperatures tend to keep people inside.

this past storm included, n. vt is way below average snowfall.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 17, 2014)

HowieT2 said:


> fwiw-Win said that as of last week, SB skier visits were down 5% year on year.  xmas through valentines day were as bad as it gets. brutally freezing temperatures tend to keep people inside.
> 
> this past storm included, n. vt is way below average snowfall.



Sadly, again, timing is key.  They had no snow during two out of three key periods and lift problems on the third.  Sounds like focus on skiing infrastructure is back on the table.


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## steamboat1 (Mar 17, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> Sadly, again, timing is key.  They had no snow during two out of three key periods and lift problems on the third.  Sounds like focus on skiing infrastructure is back on the table.



Heavens Gate was closed for a good part of the week/weekend after the snow this week from what I've heard. Thurs., which was probably one of the best powder days of the year, Mt. Ellen was completely shut down.


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## HowieT2 (Mar 17, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Heavens Gate was closed for a good part of the week/weekend after the snow this week from what I've heard. Thurs., which was probably one of the best powder days of the year, Mt. Ellen was completely shut down.


 That's correct.  Wind holds Thursday. I skied lp Thursday and mt Ellen Friday for the freshiess. And Sunday they had a mechanical issue with heavens gate that shut it down for about an hour.  Worked out for me as I got all untouched at mt Ellen Friday and Saturday.  Also got a run on ripcord before the lift went down on Sunday.
heres a link to video of my first run Thursday morning at about 9:15.  The wind is obvious throughout, but when I stop about 2 minutes in, you can really see how strong it was.  But for the wind, it was great day, although the skin on my nose is peeling from frostbite/windburn.
http://youtu.be/wRDj6d01YJw


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## thetrailboss (Mar 17, 2014)

steamboat1 said:


> Heavens Gate was closed for a good part of the week/weekend after the snow this week from what I've heard. Thurs., which was probably one of the best powder days of the year, Mt. Ellen was completely shut down.



Yeah as you know ME gets its fair share of windholds....unfortunately.


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## HowieT2 (Mar 17, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> Yeah as you know ME gets its fair share of windholds....unfortunately.



Like I said, I skied lp Thursday and was not unhappy that me was closed, if you know what I mean. The winds Thursday were nothing short of brutal as they often are on the back end of strong storm.


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## 2knees (Mar 18, 2014)

HowieT2 said:


> Like I said, I skied lp Thursday and was not unhappy that me was closed, if you know what I mean. The winds Thursday were nothing short of brutal as they often are on the back end of strong storm.



Why argue when you skied North the day after and it was untouched?  I skied north on friday and it was infuckingcredible.


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## Euler (Mar 18, 2014)

HowieT2 said:


> fwiw-Win said that as of last week, SB skier visits were down 5% year on year.  xmas through valentines day were as bad as it gets. brutally freezing temperatures tend to keep people inside.
> 
> this past storm included, n. vt is way below average snowfall.



I just looked at the online data for the Mansfield stake yesterday and it had popped up to slightly above average.


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## HowieT2 (Mar 18, 2014)

Euler said:


> I just looked at the online data for the Mansfield stake yesterday and it had popped up to slightly above average.


  true but thats the snow depth, not the snowfall.  what been missing this season is the upslope events of super light Champlain powder.  While that stuff doesnt add much to the base because its so light, it usually provides consistent refreshes of the surface.  The seasonal snowfall is well below average.
also, the graph you are referring to is somewhat skewed.  too complicated for me to explain but there is an explanation on famousinternetskiers.com from last year.  The snow depth is actually a little below average.


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## ss20 (Mar 18, 2014)

howiet2 said:


> true but thats the snow depth, not the snowfall.  What been missing this season is the upslope events of super light champlain powder.  While that stuff doesnt add much to the base because its so light, it usually provides consistent refreshes of the surface.  The seasonal snowfall is well below average.
> Also, the graph you are referring to is somewhat skewed.  Too complicated for me to explain but there is an explanation on famousinternetskiers.com from last year.  The snow depth is actually a little below average.



Snowlover returns!!!


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## moresnow (Mar 18, 2014)

HowieT2 said:


> also, the graph you are referring to is somewhat skewed.  too complicated for me to explain but there is an explanation on famousinternetskiers.com from last year.  The snow depth is actually a little below average.



http://www.famousinternetskiers.com/on-maximum-average-snowdepth-at-the-mount-mansfield-stake/


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## slatham (Mar 19, 2014)

NWS reports BTV at 94% of normal snow FALL YTD. This was as of last week so after the storm. I would guess that the areas are more below average than that due to the before mentioned lack of upslope events. But averages and YTD totals don't tell the story. The problem was the rather large snow "hole" in January that happened to come after a thaw. So a core of the midwinter basically sucked.


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## HowieT2 (Mar 19, 2014)

slatham said:


> NWS reports BTV at 94% of normal snow FALL YTD. This was as of last week so after the storm. I would guess that the areas are more below average than that due to the before mentioned lack of upslope events. But averages and YTD totals don't tell the story. The problem was the rather large snow "hole" in January that happened to come after a thaw. So a core of the midwinter basically sucked.



true.  BTV is close to average, but not the mountains.


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## moguler6 (Mar 19, 2014)

N.Vt is below normal for the year, but catching up.  A good finish to march and most mountains will be approaching normal.  January did suck with the thaw and multiple NCP events which lead to late openings for a lot of terrain.  Last Thursday was the 1st day all season that everything at Killington was legitimately open, not sketchy open.  I'd put this season down as a very late starter.  Let's hope for a good finish.

Here's were Jay stands historically.  Currently at 268" on the season:
http://www.jaypeakresort.com/skiing-riding/the-mountain/snowfall-charts?view=alltime#charts

And Killington historically.  Currently at 177" on the season:
http://www.killington.com/winter/mountain/mountain_info/historical_weather


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## tumbler (Mar 25, 2014)

Back on topic:
***Heaven's Gate terrain will be open for hiking access only from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM through Thursday until a new lift motor is installed.  Heaven's Gate is schedule to spin by Friday.***


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## thetrailboss (Mar 25, 2014)

tumbler said:


> Back on topic:
> ***Heaven's Gate terrain will be open for hiking access only from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM through Thursday until a new lift motor is installed.  Heaven's Gate is schedule to spin by Friday.***



Wow.  Seriously?!  :blink:  Fire up the Lincoln Limo.  

What a terrible year for Sugarbush.


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## phin (Mar 25, 2014)

I'm glad the motor didn't shit the bed while I was on the lift this pass weekend.


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## WWF-VT (Mar 26, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> Wow.  Seriously?!  :blink:  Fire up the Lincoln Limo.
> 
> What a terrible year for Sugarbush.



"terrible year" ?  The lift has had issues and is getting a new motor. It's midweek in late March and not a lot of traffic on the mountain. It's better to fix it now and hopefully avoid issues through April.


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## tumbler (Mar 26, 2014)

It's the second motor this year for Heaven's Gate.  I'd say that's a terrible year.


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## drjeff (Mar 26, 2014)

tumbler said:


> It's the second motor this year for Heaven's Gate.  I'd say that's a terrible year.




If that's the 2nd motor of the year for that lift, combined with the other recent lift issues that SB has had, that's a terrible operational year for sure


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## mrvpilgrim (Mar 26, 2014)

I beleive that the issue earlier in the year was a drive shaft not the motor itself.


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## tumbler (Mar 26, 2014)

Yes, but the drive shaft is part of the motor. To repair, the motor needs to be completely removed and brought off the hill. Drive shafts breaking are not common either, I think that is what happened again. They say it will be open by Friday, I really hope so but not too optimistic.


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## drjeff (Mar 26, 2014)

tumbler said:


> Yes, but the drive shaft is part of the motor. To repair, the motor needs to be completely removed and brought off the hill. Drive shafts breaking are not common either, I think that is what happened again. They say it will be open by Friday, I really hope so but not too optimistic.



All depends on how quickly the replacement part(s) can be on site.  I know with respect to Mount Snow the past 10+ days or so, when the drive shaft on the Bluebird broke, it took them about a day for the tear down/removal of the broken one and about a day for the installation of the new one.  The problem was there was about a 5 day stretch in the middle where the replacement shaft, which had to be flown in from Europe, was held up in transit due to air traffic controller strikes in France  :smash:  So most of the week that the Bluebird was out of commission there wasn't any work going on as they were waiting for the parts to arrive.

If SB has quick access to the replacement parts for this problem, then I could see them having it back spinning by Friday


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## thetrailboss (Mar 26, 2014)

WWF-VT said:


> "terrible year" ?  The lift has had issues and is getting a new motor. It's midweek in late March and not a lot of traffic on the mountain. It's better to fix it now and hopefully avoid issues through April.



So I take it that the Presidents' Weekend lift fiasco did not impact your skiing?  

If I was still a passholder I'd be pissed to say the least.  Especially since the armchair resort managers here and on other forums have been saying for a long time that their skiing infrastructure was getting old and needed to be upgraded.  Now they have no choice.


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## WWF-VT (Mar 26, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> So I take it that the Presidents' Weekend lift fiasco did not impact your skiing?
> 
> If I was still a passholder I'd be pissed to say the least.  Especially since the armchair resort managers here and on other forums have been saying for a long time that their skiing infrastructure was getting old and needed to be upgraded.  Now they have no choice.



I avoid Lincoln Peak on most Saturdays and holiday weekends and the only issue that I had on Presidents' Weekend is that a lot more people wound up at Mt Ellen.  FWIW the lift issues at LP have allowed a lot more people to discover Mt Ellen this season.


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## HowieT2 (Mar 26, 2014)

thetrailboss said:


> So I take it that the Presidents' Weekend lift fiasco did not impact your skiing?
> 
> If I was still a passholder I'd be pissed to say the least.  Especially since the armchair resort managers here and on other forums have been saying for a long time that their skiing infrastructure was getting old and needed to be upgraded.  Now they have no choice.



As a regular, I can work around the problems.  It was only when castlerock was closed due to lack of snow, that it was really frustrating.  Also, like a sports team on a losing streak, fans tend to "pile on" such that every wind hold is a catastrophe, and its all the managements fault. While there were problems with a number of lifts on and off, the only one with recurring issues was Heavens Gate.  Complaints about the NRX are simply not based on fact (My son was working ski patrol at mt Ellen, so I know there hasnt been an issue with it since early in the season).  Dont get me wrong, HG is a vitally important lift, but its not that old, so I expect that it will be overhauled this offseason.  The only lift that needs to be replaced is the valley house double (which, of course, didnt have any mechanical problems), which is in the works.
That being said, rumor has it that the underlying issue, was the loss of a good part of the lift mechanic crew.  I dont know, but if I had to guess, and thats all this is, I would say the lift mechanics lacked the experience to promptly address minor issues that then became major.  That may also have to be addressed. 

 Win and Adam are there every day and so I can't imagine these issues were very pleasant for them to deal with and they'll get it addressed in the offseason.  and hopefully, they'll get the new quad in sooner rather than later.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 26, 2014)

HowieT2 said:


> As a regular, I can work around the problems.  It was only when castlerock was closed due to lack of snow, that it was really frustrating.  Also, like a sports team on a losing streak, fans tend to "pile on" such that every wind hold is a catastrophe, and its all the managements fault. While there were problems with a number of lifts on and off, the only one with recurring issues was Heavens Gate.  Complaints about the NRX are simply not based on fact (My son was working ski patrol at mt Ellen, so I know there hasnt been an issue with it since early in the season).  Dont get me wrong, HG is a vitally important lift, but its not that old, so I expect that it will be overhauled this offseason.  The only lift that needs to be replaced is the valley house double (which, of course, didnt have any mechanical problems), which is in the works.
> That being said, rumor has it that the underlying issue, was the loss of a good part of the lift mechanic crew.  I dont know, but if I had to guess, and thats all this is, I would say the lift mechanics lacked the experience to promptly address minor issues that then became major.  That may also have to be addressed.
> 
> Win and Adam are there every day and so I can't imagine these issues were very pleasant for them to deal with and they'll get it addressed in the offseason.  and hopefully, they'll get the new quad in sooner rather than later.



NRX:  that lift used to have TONS of problems, but I know that SB had Poma do a lot of work on it around 2002 or so and then again afterwards.  During my time from 2007-2011 it was fairly reliable.  

Lift ops:  that would not surprise me.  I recall that their lift ops crew was very good and they really took pride in their work.  While Super Bravo would go down every once in a while, it was rarely a major issue.  Certainly not having good experienced folks now could be an issue, but it could also be simply that things have a certain lifespan and they are pushing it with some things.  

HG:  it is circa 1984.  So at 30 years old some things are going to start coming to the end of their useful life.  I can't really think of too many lifts in Northern Vermont that are the same age and still operating daily.  Smuggs has a few....and maybe the Jet at Jay.  

And as to the "piling on", I would tend to agree, but does Sunday River have many mechanical issues with their lifts?  Killington (now)?  Stowe?  Jay?  I cite to these because these are major competitors with Sugarbush.  Maybe they do have issues that we don't hear about.


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## rocks860 (Mar 26, 2014)

phin said:


> I'm glad the motor didn't shit the bed while I was on the lift this pass weekend.



Yeah I rode it 5 or 6 times on Saturday 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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