Sunday River, 10/3

[BackCountryGirl]

Hi, Divas. I went up to Sunday River today and watched the towers for the new Chondola lift being placed on the trail by helicopter. Very cool. I also saw snow on Mt. Washington. Even cooler. Here are some pics.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

So----you were there, too, eh?

 

[ski now work later]

Great photos Maine Divas!

 

[ski diva]

I have to get to Sunday River this year!

 

[ski&bfree]

How cool to be there and witness the event!

Btw, great photos!

 

[Solincia]

That's pretty cool. I've never been to a ski resort with gondola's.... Maybe time for some travel this year???

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Frankly, I find this to be a somewhat curious and questionable way to spend $7.3 mil (employees there said yesterday alone cost $1 mil) and just hope that the powers that be have carefully considered what the change in overall skier traffic patterns are going to be like this winter - specifically with regard to what happens after unloading..... the on-slope density, given this lift's capacity, is going to be greatly increased, at a resort that already has some serious slope-crowding problems.

Lest we not forget that increasing lift capacity has consequences elsewhere....ask anyone on ski patrol....

 

[Swamp Dog]

Anyone know if SR looking to open as early as last year?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Anyone know if SR looking to open as early as last year?

Completely temperature-dependent. Last year, pre-Halloween, they had half a run open, Locke-triple dry load to summit, then ski to mid-load. However, by the 2nd weekend in November, there's generally more than that open. Again, it's all contingent on how fast it gets cold. FWIW, things are really chilling off fast this year here - we haven't been past 60 in over a week. Daytime temps are generally around mid-50's here right now, with light frosts at night. No super-hard freezes yet. That's generally the Big Ticket. I can keep you posted.

 

[Swamp Dog]

I can keep you posted.

thanks!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Def keep your eye on Wildcat -- if there's an early season dump at Pinkham, there's a chance that they might open up like they did in 10/05. It was a blast.

Meanwhile, here's a quick vid of the helicopter in action. Interesting how the blade's rpm and my camera's fps rate make it look like the blade isn't spinning very fast!

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV4egw9WJmI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV4egw9WJmI[/ame]