Sugarbush South 100% Open in April

After watching the weather last week it became apparent that New England was in for some exceptional skiing.

It was a fairly easy decision to head up to Sugarbush, VT on Thursday night. This year the resort moved their spring skiing operations from Mount Ellen (North) over to the Lincoln Basin (South). Besides some of the best terrain in the region the Lincoln Peak base area has a brand new lodge and hotel.

Why not take advantage of yet another powder day this ski season in April when the terrain is 100% open? It was absolutely worth taking yet another vacation day in the relentless pursuit of powder.

This is a rare occasion for New England this time of year.

Rumble on Castlerock, loaded with snow

Friday on the snow, actually buried in it…
Simple Fact: Sugarbush was reporting a over foot plus of fresh snow Friday morning (4/13).
untracked snow in the trees at an undisclosed location on the mountain

It was all about going downhill on skis and up uphill on chairlifts.
Out early. The only unexpected encounter before the first ride up the chairlift was a line at the ticket window. Honestly, Friday morning at nine o’clock on the button and there was a line to purchase tickets. The problem was the resort only had two people on staff to work the machines. I do not blame the area given it was midweek on April 13th. Not typically a very busy time for ski areas.
15 minutes and some good banter later the Super Bravo quad was in play. The tops of Castle Rock and Lincoln Peaks were shrouded in heavy gray clouds that were still puking snowflakes.
looking up at where the peaks should be from the Super Bravo chair

I opted for a warm up run that morning. Took the Valley House Traverse and stopped to look down The Mall.
• Only two sets of tracks
• Big bumps where everywhere
• A foot of snow on the seats of the still chairlift
• Deemed to be perfect, for a warm up run that is
Sweating and out of breath for the second lift ride, again up Super Bravo. I like to get a lap or two in on the high speed chair, especially if crowds are not an issue. And they were not this past Friday the 13th, the ticket window line was the only one I waited in.
After getting the heart pumping from the first run I always feel much better about…
• Getting on the slower upper mountain fixed grip lifts
• Having turns under you feet is always a good thing when tackling the terrain atop South Basin’s Peaks.
This day it was Heaven’s Gate before Castlerock. Hit Paradise.
Ventured into the trees to the skiers left of the trail on the high traffic line. Banked hard left skiing a few hundred yards downhill until things opened up a bit. From there I was in the business of taking down fresh 7 turn lines. Reconnected with the run below the huge rock (jump) located on the skier’s right of the lower section. Looking up at it you really get a feel for how awesome it is.
The S.G. in the air of the said rock jump

Met up with a friend back at the base area around 10:15 am and spent some more time on the lower mountain. The snow down there was beginning to get heavy by 10:30 am. Twist was in fine shape. The put a blade (groomed it) the day before. This made for powerful turns in a foot of dense snow.
Later back up top we found Spillsville which was completely legit. Bumped up just like The Mall with a few more tracks. Getting there from Organgrinder was a trick; visibility was poor to say the least and the wind had been working its magic making for some variable conditions.
From the top of the Super Bravo quad try Domino! It is always a fun run. Some good tree skiing also on the skiers left were you can venture deep in or stay in sight of the trail. Either way, it is not a bad few shots to take on your way to the Castlerock double or Heavens gate triple.
We were back on Paradise in the afternoon for a second helping of soft powder on one of the areas best runs, in my opinion. This time though it was all about the rock jump. I tried to get my friend to hit it so I could grab a shot. He suggested that he take the picture of me going off it instead.
Well, I got it alright. Huge wipeout! Best one of the season for the Ski Guru. I was close to keeping it together and skiing out, but no luck. I did not have enough speed and landed on the uphill side of a mogul. My waist broke and knees buckled form the impact. I managed to stay up for a moment. Gained more speed and then hit a steep trough that sent me forward into an enormous face plant.
I needed a few minutes to gather myself and my skiing was pretty much shot for the rest of the day. We did make it to Castlerock and I was able to ski Rumble, but it was actually more like just getting down.
Ouch! The edge was gone.

I rounded out the day (and possibly the season) with some groomed runs covered in 4 or 5 inches of powder followed by a few pints in the new Castlerock Pub in the lodge.
Sugarbush, VT had an exceptional season. They are still running this week and through this weekend (4/28) along with a handful of other ski areas. Check this LINK to find out who is still open and what they are still getting for new snowfall.
I will have a sign off from the Blog later this week, stay tuned.
Go get some more this spring,
photos ~ S.G.