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