Calling New Englanders (or at least those who ski in VT)

[sorcamc]

I am heading up to Sugarbush on Thursday from NJ. The hotel directions, Sugar Lodge, say to avoid using GPS and follow their directions taking rt. 100 up. My husband is telling me NO..THAT IS A CRAZY MOUNTAIN ROAD (I don't love driving in the dark, but I am going with a friend who usually travels at night because she works during the day). Can anyone share their experiences of 100. Is it a big deal? Thursday NIGHT is calling for freezing rain, but I am trying to leave my house in NJ by 12, so hoping I get there before the ice/freezing rain. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Mom of Redheads]

Can't remember the drive to Sugarbush exactly and we were coming north on I-87 or whatever it is heading up the side of NY, but I do know the reason you follow Sugarbush's recommended directions is that some of the passes that cross that mountain range are NOT OPEN in the winter! We tried to use directions from our GPS maybe 6 or more years ago - the pass they sent us over was closed - we then tried to just follow the "rerouting" and ended up in "non-mapped" area, and eventually had to back our way out and go back around the way we should have (according to Sugarbush) anyway. Took as at least an hour longer than it should have because we chose to follow the GPS over the resort's recommendation. Wish I could be more specific about which we we went and what was closed, but it's been too many years and I doubt even looking at a map would refresh my memory. So I can't say anything about 100, all I can say is, there's a reason they tell you to go the way they do...

 

[abc]

Rt 100 is NOT a mountain rd

 

[Ellen]

You really have no alternative to Rt 100 to Sugarbush. You need to take it coming from either the north or south. The roads that cross the mountain from east to west (like VT 125 at Middlebury) are much more the mountain roads. Rt 100 is an excellent road coming south (down from I 89) and it is a good road coming north from Rt 4. We've driven it tons of times.

 

[Lilgeorg]

All the roads in VT are dry right now. Vermont does a wonderful job of keeping the roads clear. You should have no problem.

 

[ski diva]

I am heading up to Sugarbush on Thursday from NJ. The hotel directions, Sugar Lodge, say to avoid using GPS and follow their directions taking rt. 100 up. My husband is telling me NO..THAT IS A CRAZY MOUNTAIN ROAD (I don't love driving in the dark, but I am going with a friend who usually travels at night because she works during the day). Can anyone share their experiences of 100. Is it a big deal? Thursday NIGHT is calling for freezing rain, but I am trying to leave my house in NJ by 12, so hoping I get there before the ice/freezing rain. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Where are you getting onto Route 100? South of Sugarbush (on Route 100) is the Granville Gulf, which is kind of windy and does go up as it heads north -- but it is not a crazy mountain road. It is, however, very dark. So if you're driving at night, please be careful and watch for moose. They are quite large and you definitely do NOT want to hit one.

Other than that, I live about half a mile from Route 100 (farther south than Sugarbush), and drive on it all the time. It's fine.

Oh, and make sure you have gas and use the bathroom somewhere before you get in state. Gas and rest stops are pretty rare, especially at night.

 

[sorcamc]

@skidiva…thanks for the tip..I wouldnt want to pee on a moose!

 

[ski diva]

@skidiva…thanks for the tip..I wouldnt want to pee on a moose!

Believe me, if you hit one, your bladder would definitely go!

 

[Serafina]

+1 on all that, especially the shortage of pit stops.

100 is a GORGEOUS road and it's the primary "tourist" drag that the leaf-peepers use in the fall and a major Ski Trail. It's got to be kept in reasonably good condition or the state's economy suffers. I drove it out to Woodstock this morning and it was in fine condition the entire way (we waved at you as we blew through Ludlow, Ski Diva - looked like it was a great day to be out on Okemo...). Clear and dry. It is steep in some places, and no, I would not want to be driving it at night in an ice storm.

I don't want any blasted ice storm, at night, or otherwise, come to think of it. I hope that forecast isn't right.

 

[maggie198]

You really have no alternative to Rt 100 to Sugarbush. You need to take it coming from either the north or south. The roads that cross the mountain from east to west (like VT 125 at Middlebury) are much more the mountain roads. Rt 100 is an excellent road coming south (down from I 89) and it is a good road coming north from Rt 4. We've driven it tons of times.

This ^^. You really have no choice, Rt 100 goes north and south, and Sugarbush is midway up Rt 100. Perhaps he is thinking of the west-to-east route (from the NY side) over the mountain pass to the Mad River Valley. I forget the route name, but I don't like this pass at night and certainly not in bad weather. Rt 100 isn't bad.

 

[sorcamc]

thanks all!

 

[Sami]

Rt 100 is fine, as everyone has said. But I'd personally try to get there before you find yourself on a dark road in bad weather. The roads do get cleared, but it's not like the instant frozen precipitation begins the trucks appear right in front of you on your exact road section. We were recently caught on 91 (a major highway, obviously) a bit south of White River Junction in a snowstorm that had been predicted. We were trying to beat it, but didn't leave quit early enough. The road was an instant snow-slick and every 100 yards there was a car off the road (Subarus included). We were driving 25mph and finally stopped in Hanover for a couple of hours to give the trucks a chance to do their job. When we got back on the road, everything had been plowed and salted, but the hour it took us to go 20 miles, being passed by fire trucks and ambulances with no plow trucks in sight, was pretty scary.
And I'd always go with a resort's directions over GPS.

 

[marta]

Can't remember the drive to Sugarbush exactly and we were coming north on I-87 or whatever it is heading up the side of NY, but I do know the reason you follow Sugarbush's recommended directions is that some of the passes that cross that mountain range are NOT OPEN in the winter! We tried to use directions from our GPS maybe 6 or more years ago - the pass they sent us over was closed - we then tried to just follow the "rerouting" and ended up in "non-mapped" area, and eventually had to back our way out and go back around the way we should have (according to Sugarbush) anyway. Took as at least an hour longer than it should have because we chose to follow the GPS over the resort's recommendation. Wish I could be more specific about which we we went and what was closed, but it's been too many years and I doubt even looking at a map would refresh my memory. So I can't say anything about 100, all I can say is, there's a reason they tell you to go the way they do...

Here, here. Same thing happened to us on the way home from Mad River area. GPS sent us down a steep unmarked farm road in unplowed snow. Totally lost off the grid eventually, and we thankfully safely weaved our way through tiny back roads into NYS. Go the hotel's recommended way. Route 100 is a popularly travelled road.