Spring or Summer? You Decide!!!

So far this season, I have done an overnight campout and have gone swimming in the Mad River.  And its only mid April!

On March 20-21, myself and several friends embarked on an overnight campout near Bolton Valley, VT.  We ate, drank, had a fire, and reminised about the winter season.  We spent the night in a lodge that was built in the 1910s originally by the Long Trail patrol when it used to run through this site.  What was amazing is that it was March 20 and you were totally comfortable outside at night with shorts and a sweatshirt on.

There's just something about this picture I love. I think its the expressions on our faces, as if we're mourning the winter season.

As if camping out in March wasn’t enough, we have already made a couple treks to Warren Falls, a VERY popular summer swimming hole on the Mad River.  We were there on April 15 and got a group shot, with a couple of us returning the next day.  Yes, I jumped in.  Yes, the water was cold, from the remaining snow melt up on the mountains, but it felt really good.  Never in a million years did I think I’d be jumping into the Mad River in April.  But again, this has not been your average year.  What’s next…. a snowstorm in July?  It wouldn’t surprise me at this point!

April 15, the crew at Warren Falls

Amtrak trip to CT, April 6-11, 2012

After the realities of the end of winter had set in, I set my sights on seeing my family for the Easter weekend.  I booked my trip on Amtrak and on April 6, I departed Waterbury VT on the Vermonter, bound for New Haven CT.  It was my first trip on this route since the new rail had been laid in Vermont, and since Wi-Fi was introduced.  The Wi-Fi is sporadic in spots but works pretty descent.  The new rail gives the train a much smoother ride, and with completion of additional improvements to the rails this year, some 30 minutes is expected to be cut off the trip.  We were on time into New Haven and I transferred to a Shore Line East commuter train for the last leg of the journey to Old Saybrook.

On Sunday, I stopped by my old work place at the Valley Railroad in Essex, before driving my dad’s truck to New Haven to pick up my brother and his wife in from NYC, then headed to celebrate Easter with my family.

Engine 3025 at the Valley RR in Essex on Easter Sunday

My Grandmother and some of the grandchildren on Easter Sunday.

Unfortunately, the trip had a somber note as my great uncle passed away and attended his service on Tuesday, and returned back home to Vermont on Amtrak on Wednesday April 11.

Amtrak's NB Vermonter awaits departure time at New Haven

It was my first time seeing my family since September 2011 and it was great seeing everyone again, plus riding the train.

To see the rest of the train pictures from this weekend, CLICK HERE

That’s It… That’s All!

January 17 was the last post I made on this blog.  Maybe I jinxed the season by not posting regularly, but on March 27, I was relieved of my lift operator duties for the 2011/2012 season.  Why?  Well, let me explain a few things…

1/15/2012 - Top of Bravo

My snowmaking duties for the season concluded right about the time I made that last post.  The rest of the crew hung on for a short while, but by then, snowmaking had wrapped up at Mt Ellen and only a few more days were left at Lincoln Peak.  So I went back to just running lifts, and enjoying my 2 days off a week – something that hadn’t happened for 27 days.  The first thing I did when I finally had some time off was “unwind”, let’s say, with beers and friends.  That’s when I discovered the Blue Team, and the rest, as they say, is history.  I always had a crew to ride with and to celebrate with afterwards.

2-22-12 - Some of Blue Team riding GMX

What was the riding like from late January, on?  Well, it was good and bad.  We had some really good days and some really bad days.  The four letter word that begins with an “R” was almost a weekly occurance.  The epic dumps of February’s past didn’t really occur, and when it did snow, it was usually just in time for the weekend.  We remained just about 100% open, though, right up to the beginning of March.  I did have some pretty good days, and there was even one day in early March when I ventured into the woods, thanks to my friend Jessie.  I discovered why everyone loves the woods so much.  My next objective was Slide Brook, but it was just not to be.

Riding the woods at Mt Ellen, 2-29-12

As the calendar got deeper into March, something really bizarre happened.  The temperatures kept on creeping up and up and up.  On March 11, the temp hit 50.  The next day… 60.   On March 14, seeing the handwriting on the wall, I threw a “Screw the winter 0f 11/12 Party”.  Still managing to make it to the mountain the next day, we continued to ride.  Then, the bottom dropped out.  On March 18, the temperature went off the charts, hitting the 70s, and continued that way for most of the week.  The snow cover was taking a beating.  By the end of the week, we would lose everything but Stein’s and Snowball/Spring Fling.  This was way too early.  On March 18 & 19, I got assigned to North Lynx, and it would close for the season on March 19.  I did something I’ve never done before in March in Vermont.. ride shirtless and in shorts.

May? Nope... try March 22, 2012. Top of Spring Fling.

Now those who remember last year may recall us running Heaven’s Gate right up until May 1, while still maintaining a top-to-bottom route.  When I rode March 22 on my day off, I could see that was not to be this season, as you could get to Heaven’s Gate but there was no route from there, down.  The next day would dawn but Heaven’s Gate wouldn’t.  In fact, it was just Snowball, Spring Fling, and Stein’s.

While temps in the 40s did return, the damage was done.  The weekend saw me running Valley House (the first time I’ve run that lift for the public). Pond skimming was moved up a week, and my last runs of the season were taken on March 24 down an ever-shrinking Snowball to Spring Fling.  The next day, it was just Stein’s.

Regardless of how you slice it… when you have temps in the 70s on top of a lower-than-normal snow year (by 100″), coupled with so many freeze-thaw episodes, your snow isn’t going to last.  It was a problem that wasn’t just felt here at Sugarbush, but at resorts throughout the East.  We did all we could’ve done, but in the end, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature.  And she can be quite finicky.

So now we’re left with nothing but the memories of the Winter of 2011/2012 (if you want to call it a winter).  Personally, I have a lot of great memories of the season:  riding the woods, pushing myself to the next level, riding with a great group of friends, making new ones, the laughs, the PBRs, and, oh yeah, making snow.

So until the return to winter in November (when I’ll be making snow), I’ll leave you with a few shots from the season:

We did have a few powder days this season, like March 1, 2012, as this view on The Mall shows.

Thanks to Rambone, we had these stickers made up for us. In a season like this, the snowmakers and groomers were the heroes of the day. And I was proud to be a part of it!!!

“We held the day … In the palm … of our hand”

Snowmaking at Sugarbush – 2011/2012

Back in August of 2011 at the Sugarbush Golf Course, I was drafted from my regular cart duty to become part of the greens crew, due to lack of help.  This “double duty” lasted through the end of the season in mid October.  My winter plan was to move to snowmaking, but instead decided to stay on a 4^th year with lift operations.  Then in mid December, another opportunity arose.  After I talked with those in charge, I got 2 day shifts a week on the snowmaking crew, starting the week after Christmas.  Again, a shortage of hands was the reason.  I have snowmaking experience, having made snow at two other ski areas in the past, but nothing on this scale.

So on December 29, I reported to work at7am, was issued my jacket and hardhat, and an hour or so later, began my first gun run on Valley House Traverse, Snowball, and Spring Fling.  While my first day wasn’t much more than moving hoses and shoveling out Snow Logics, my second and third days (January 4 & 5) were much more productive, including moving guns, setting hoses, and firing up and adjusting guns.  We made a lot of great snow on Hot Shot, Waterfall, and Lower Hot Shot on January 4, and lit up Birdland for the first time on January 5.  Watching the trail go from thin cover/natural snow to piles of manmade snow in a matter of hours was really cool to see, and knowing I had a part of it.

The shift is pretty intense, running 12+ hours, starting at7am.  Usually the end-time is around 7, but can be later, depending on the task at hand.  Our mode of transportation up hill in the morning can be either via snowmobile, groomer, or chairlift.  And it’s a lot of walking, not just downhill, but also back up.  It’s one heck of a workout, and all the hiking I’ve done in the past year or so has trained me well.

Dec 29, first gun run. Snow logics in the sunlight on Spring Fling

Jan 4 morning gun run on Hot Shot, -10 at 7:30am

Jan 12, view from Jester

I’m going to continue snowmaking 2 days a week as long as I am needed, while still performing my regular lift operation duties the rest of the week.  Now that I have a taste of snowmaking at a real mountain, I know what I’m up against and will most likely do it full time next season.

At The Lift… And Now Under The Guns!

If my calculations are correct, you should receive this post right after you saw the DeLorean get struck by lightning.  First of all, let me assure you that I am alive and well.  I have been living happily these last few months in the year 1885.  The lightning bolt which struck the …..

Alright, I’ll stop!

But I do apologize for the lack of updates during these past 23 days.  I have been working a hectic schedule of “every single day since December 23″ at Sugarbush.  Not only am I still running lifts 5 days a week, but I am also (since December 29) making snow 2 days a week, 12 hours a day.  I’ll share more but that will have to wait until later.  We are right in the middle of MLK Weekend, one of our 3 biggest holiday periods of the winter season.  New snow over the past few days has allowed us to pretty much open 100% of our terrain, while still continuing to blast the trails with man-made snow.  Conditions are the best they’ve been all season and are only getting better.

I’ll post a full update along with some pretty cool pics in the days ahead.

Happy Holidays!

It seems odd to me that I sit here in the condo overlooking the slopes of Lincoln Peak on December 22.  In the past 3 years, I would be in my truck and headed down to Connecticut to spend my birthday (12/23) and Christmas with my family, with a truck load of presents.  However, this year I am spending the holidays with my Sugarbush family.

It has been a trying few weeks here at Sugarbush, and at resorts throughout Vermont.  Mother Nature has yet to deliver us bountiful amounts of snow, and when we do get cold, it only lasts a few days and is followed by that dreaded 4-letter word that we don’t like to say.  But there is not much we can do.  We are top-to-bottom at Lincoln Peak and have terrain available for all abilities.  At Mt Ellen, Inverness is open, along with the upper mountain, but downloading is still required.

Top of Bravo on a very cold Sunday morning, 12/18

Inverness at Mt Ellen, 12/22/2011

Snowmakers have been taking advtange of the cold temperatures and blowing as much snow as they can to coat and resurface the trails.  I took a few runs today on my day off and found some really nice conditions out there, especially on the Gate House side.  But the views from the top of the mountain, looking down at a brown Mad River Valley are more of something you’d find in April, rather than 3 days before Christmas.  But things WILL change.

I also found out today that I will be joining the snowmaking team for a couple days a week starting next week.  Instead of just running the lifts for the snowmakers, I’ll be one of the snowmakers, working hard to create the white stuff and give the trails at Sugarbush their winter coat.  That adventure for me begins Thursday December 29.  Needless to say… I’m pretty psyched about it.  It’s been a few years since I’ve made snow at Powder Ridge and Mount Southington, but this will be something completely different.

I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and have a safe and Happy Holiday!!!

It Takes TEAMWORK!

On Saturday December 3, Sugarbush reopened for skiing and riding.  Snowguns blasted for most of the day on Downspout, allowing it to be groomed that night for Sunday.  Our ride down to the base of Heaven’s Gate revealed some firm courdoroy, but we would be one of the only ones to ski/ride it, as our lifts never opened to the public on Sunday due to high winds.   The topsy-turvy weather pattern continued into early week, with Monday and Tuesday revealing spring-like conditions.  Tuesday I was able to get several runs in on Jester->Downspout and I had a blast shredding the well-covered Jester, and navigating down Downspout.

With the early-week warmth, us lift operators had quite the challenge on Monday and Tuesday… rebuilding our ramps, almost from scratch, with little snow to work with.  On Friday, the day before we reopened, this involved digging into a pile of snowmaking snow that was more frozen granular than anything else, then transporting it to where it was needed via pickup truck or ranger.  On Tuesday, a team of ski patrollers was on hand to give us additional assistance.  The Bravo base ramp went pretty quick, and by the time we came down Downspout, there was already another team of patrollers helping us out.  There was some snow to work with, but not only did we have to build a ramp, but also build a way to get from Downspout to the ramp.

A large part of the operation of a ski resort is the ability for not just teammates of a department to work together, but also inter-department cooperation.  And of course, the biggest teamwork of all comes from the snowmakers, as without them, we are nothing!  They make the snow so that we can build our ramps and have our trails covered with snow.

No doubt, it’s been a challenging early season, but as I look out the window there is hope.  3-4″ of new snow fell overnight, the snow guns are blasting on a route from base of Heaven’s Gate down to the base, and it looks like the cold is here to stay (fingers crossed!)

THINK SNOW!!!

 

Well… We WERE Open…

On Thursday November 24, Sugarbush Resort opened for the 2011/2012 winter season.  We opened with 3 trails (Jester, Allyn’s Traverse, Downspout) served by 2 lifts (Super Bravo Express and Heaven’s Gate chairs) providing one run of 1440′ vertical (and downloading on Super Bravo).  For the first two days, I returned to my role at Heaven’s Gate and for the weekend remained at the base of Super Bravo.   I didn’t hear any complaints over the 4-day weekend.  Conditions went from mid-winter on Thursday to spring-like by the weekend.

My first run of the season at Sugarbush on Downspout Thanksgiving morning reminded me of so many powder days from last season.  There was about 10-12″ of new snow which had fallen throughout the day on Wednesday and carving my way through it was like a dream.  It wouldn’t be long, however, before the 600 or so guests we had took that powder run and turned it into a mogul field.  Jester was bumped up by that afternoon, but was able to be groomed for Friday morning, leaving a very nice cruising run even at the end of the day.

By the time Saturday hit, the temps at the base area had risen to the 50s, taking a toll on our ramps and corral areas.  A shovel and toboggan party consisting of us lift operators and a large group of ski patrollers all assisted.  On Sunday, we had a pile of snow deposited within the corral itself, so the pile just needed to be distributed.

All throughout the weekend, however, the snow cover continued to diminish, especially on Downspout.  We all knew the handwriting was on the wall, and were surprised when we got the go-ahead to come in Monday morning.  An extremely warm wind had showed up overnight, however, and a snow-eating fog had taken its toll on Downspout.  The plug was pulled around 8am Monday morning, suspending operations until the return of cold and natural snow.

Thanks to everyone who came out to ski and ride over the Thanksgiving holiday.  A big thanks goes out to the snowmakers, who did the best that they could to get us open despite Mother Nature’s curveballs.  You just can’t make snow when its 50+ degrees and unfortunately in November, those days were plentiful.  We are all hoping for cold temperatures so that snowmaking can resume by midweek… and another snowstorm wouldn’t hurt, either!

 

We Open Thanksgiving Day – 11/24

On Tuesday November 22, I returned back to work at Sugarbush Resort, in preparation for opening day.  Things were looking a little marginal, until a storm on November 23 dropped 8-10″ of snow on us.  We worked hard today building ramps and shuttling crews up and down the mountain.  Opening day is a go for Thanksgiving Day, November 24 2011.  Downloading will again take place this year, and Downspout still has some thin spots that may get exposed as skier traffic takes its toll.  Hopefully it’ll hold up but (unfortunately) we have some warmer temps moving in for the weekend.  Hopefully temps stay in the lower 40s (or colder) up on the mountain and that more winter-like conditions will return next week.  THINK SNOW AND COLD!!!

Snowmaking on Downspout, 11/22

8-10" of new snow blankets Lincoln Peak on 11/23

Day 1: Snowboarding Season Underway

 

 

On Sunday November 13, I did something I haven’t done in 4 years…. go snowboarding at a mountain other than Sugarbush.  Eight of us, most of us being Sugarbush employees, descended upon the slopes of Killington, armed with 2-for-1 coupons to bring the early-season $49 rate down to $25/each.

We drove down Route 100 from the Mad River Valley to Killington, a route I haven’t travelled since before Irene hit late in August 2011.  There are still a lot of signs of devastation, especially in Pittsfield where several houses are uninhabitable, swept off their original locations.  Not just the landscape remains scarred, but two bridges on Route 100 are still being rebuilt.  Things are progressing, but there is much work to be done.  The state has done a great job getting the road passable, even if there are some restrictions.

We got to Killington base lodge, where construction continues in the base area next to the lodge on a new bar to replace the Superstar Pub, which got destroyed during Irene.  We boarded K-1 and at the top, descended down our first run, Great Northern to Rime.  Snowmaking had taken place yesterday and the snow was soft with great coverage.  The snow would soften up even more throughout the day, with temps pretty close to 50, if not over.

There was a pretty good sized line at the North Ridge Chair, but it wasn’t more than a 15 minute wait at the worst.  Because its early season, the only runs available were 3 off the North Ridge chair, and to get to the bottom you had to hike the Peak Walkway to the K-1 Gondola and download.  The run we did the most was Rime -> Great Northern -> Ridge Run, which the lower half opened today thanks to snowmaking.  Other runs we did were a t2b Rime, and Reason -> East Fall.

Heading up North Ridge Triple

My first couple runs felt a little strange.  After all, I haven’t ridden since May 1, 2011 and I was wearing my new boots for the first time.  They successfully passed the test and I was able to ride from 11am, till about 3:30 or so, with breaks thrown in between.  We probably did somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 runs.  As each run went by, I felt more comfortable with my gear and the snow.  It felt kind of like a spring day, especially when enjoying some brews at the beer garden set up at the base of the North Ridge chair.

Top of North Ridge, about to descend down Rime

Sometime around 3:30, we retreated to the Peak Walkway to download on the K-1.  The peak walkway was built a few years ago and is quite the staircase.  I counted some 250 stairs, give or take, so it’s quite a workout to end the day.   Back at the parking lot, we decided to get some 25 cent wings and some brews at Casey’s Caboose, before returning to the Mad River Valley.

It was a great way to start off my 2011/2012 snowboarding season.  Here’s to hoping the next time we go riding, it’ll be at home… at Sugarbush.