Sugarbush South on Saturday
The S.G. muscled up to the Mad River Valley on Friday night.
The drive took 4 hours and some. Roads were not perfect. Overall, though, it was not a very difficult ride. I was not in a rush and missed the bulk of the Friday evening traffic by holding back my departure from the Hub until almost 8:00 pm.
heading to Paradise on Saturday morning atop Lincoln Peak
This will be the first of a 2 part series. Going to start with South on Saturday now, North on Sunday later. Here is how Saturday went down…
New Place to Sleep: It was last minute freak out time on Friday afternoon. I was locked into visiting Sugarbush, mentally at least. That resort did the best during the week picking up random “Sniper Snow” that totaled in feet.
Problem was that I had no place to sleep.
Then, finally at almost 5:00 pm, the Waitsfield Inn presented itself. The Innkeepers, Ronda and Mike are Bostonian transplants. Great people and their Inn was a real treat . It is easy to see why they fell in love with the place and chose to relocate to the Mad River Valley permanently. The property has grand great room, tons of history and doors that are always open to friends. The location is what you want in town, a short walk to everything.
Saturday Skiing: Lincoln Peak, or South Basin if for those of us longer in the tooth, is the heartbeat of Sugarbush. The new development is going up there (phase 2 should start this spring). The terrain is legendary. The mountains in front of you are enormous. All said – the Skiing is the Sweet Treat at Sugarbush!
As I got on the Super Bravo Quad for the first ride up the mountain, the sun was shining on Lincoln Peak. The decision was made to get up there in the light. Hit Paradise first run down. Soft bumps and stashes of powder were all over the place.
At the bottom of the slope the line was beginning to build at the Heavens Gate Triple. One and done, no appetite to wait on a day with conditions like Saturday. Down to Castlerock we go…
The line was long there also, but once down by the double you are kind of stuck riding the lift up once or walking out. Obviously, rode the lift once. Switched it up a little bit and took Castlerock Run. About a third of the way down checked out some lines of untouched powder in the woods. It was Spectacular!
trees up off Castlerock Run
There were many people in the valley. Moreover, the vast majority of them decided to make the mountain their home on Saturday. Cannot really blame any of them, I was doing the exact same thing. The conditions were outstanding. However, the snow surfaces did begin to suffer affects from the traffic as morning crept into afternoon.
The trick to skiing is being able to turn on snow. Once you figure that out it becomes a buy-low/sell-high proposition. Turn on the snow, not the ice or crud. So, as the scrapped off areas began to poke through form the traffic side slipping the troughs in-between the moguls staying on top became the drill. Alternatively, simply duck into the woods to get some real powder.
Tangent: Skiing at Mount Ellen on Sunday was as good as anything I have ever hit. Fantastic experience that will not be forgot. More on this later.
Getting Sat Done: On the fly adjustments to the game plan became necessary Saturday at South to cope with the other folks enjoying the experience.
I ended up spending pretty much the entire morning after hitting the peaks down on the lower mountain riding the Valley House Double (the Mall is the trail below). This lift is the oldest looking ride on the resort property and it services my favorite terrain at Lincoln Peak. Everything on either side of it is a legit sustained pitch. Trees, steeps, double fall lines, bumps, powder, groomers – everything goes. That one lift services more terrain than a lot of mountains even have at the disposal. It is the only place to be and where I spent Saturday.
No crowds + less traveled trails = wonderful skiing.
looking up the Valley House Double
After pounding out around a dozen runs off the double chair, it was half past noon. Time to leave some gas in the tank for tomorrow. Plus, there is a lot of off the mountain things to do in the Mad River Valley and it was going to be a busy night.
Sunday was another story all together, more on that in a few…
Pics ~ S.G.
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