Sunday River, ME, Mob Scene 1/27

[MaineSkiLady]

It was a chance to meet up and ski with 2 friends I don't often get to see, so it was Sunday or nothing. Wow, possibly a mistake. It's not that the lift lines were that awful - they weren't - but the trail density was beyond imagination. This was dodgeball with skiers.

Almost unimaginably, very little grooming had been done Saturday night, leaving the trails a skied off mess of mini-moguls and ice combination. It was challenging, but mostly because of the avoidance tactics that were required with regard to the myriads of intermediates who struggled with the hard pack and ice.

Eventually, we did find some peace in some of the more hidden, more difficult trails, but those had interesting conditions as well.

I counted off 6 near-collisions for myself - not sure how the other 3 I was with fared. Maybe, as my late dad always said with regard to traffic near-misses, "almost doesn't count," but it started to shake me up after the first few.

At one point, the congestion was so severe, I just wanted to take my darn skis off and walk :mad: . Possibly 2 or 3 good runs the whole day.

No more weekends for me.....not there....

 

[Quiver Queen]

I knew there was a reason I took a nap instead of going skiing!!

 

[ski now work later]

That sounds really scary to me. I would be so worried about my kids in that kind of crowd! I've only skied one weekend day in Vermont since mid-December, and that was a Sunday at Stratton earlier this month. The morning was WAY too crowded for my taste, scraped off snow, and more like dodge ball than skiing. Too expensive and too dangerous. The afternoon was much better and I found a long run with good snow, but all in all, it confirmed my decision to stay far away from weekend skiing except at my local hill, small though it is. www.berkshireeast.com

Today, I skied my local hill today which was super quiet - no lines, no crowds, no "vert" :D . It was a family day with DH and 2 of our kids and we all had a great time. It gave me a chance to work on my carving and 360 drills that my coach taught me last Tuesday at Okemo. My kids always see kids they know and it's safe for them to go off alone with them, and that feels good to me. That and the season passes are affordable especially since I bought them last May when they were at rock bottom prices. Sometimes less is more!

Hope you get some good mid-week skiing in this week MSL.

 

[liquidfeet]

Skied today (Jan 27) at Wildcat in New Hampshire while it was snowing very very light snow all day. It was not particularly cold so the moderate (20's) temps added to the delight, and although there were people there on the slopes I only had to stop and wait for the crowds to clear a few times. By 11:30 the intermediates were all in the bar or eating an early lunch with their kids, so the mountain was pretty much mine the whole time. The soft puffy light snow got chopped up and a bit more compact as people skied it, so by 10:00 I was no longer contacting the hard stuff beneath it much and the skiing became pure heaven. And since I'm still learning to ski I really appreciated the sky dropping this stuff because it's so different from what we usually get and this was one more opportunity to learn to ski something different. I love days like this, because if I stand still I can hear people shouting out for joy all over the mountain. Whereas usually here in the east if I stand still and listen all I hear is the scratching of snowboards or intermediate skiers scraping their way down on the hard stuff. It was sad that by 2:00 I was tired out and had to quit. After three days in a row I guess that's all right, though.

Sorry to hear that the River was such a mob scene. That happens everywhere around here sometimes, I guess. I think the snow at Wildcat was an anomaly today, with everyone else getting very little natural snow.

 

[Jilly]

Well we had a similar day here at Tremblant. Usually Sunday's are quieter. But with over 15 buses of university students, things were a little busy. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Well we had a similar day here at Tremblant. Usually Sunday's are quieter. But with over 15 buses of university students, things were a little busy. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

I took a brief count yesterday and stopped at 50 (FIFTY) buses....Glad to hear you had a good day at Wildcat, LF! Snowed where I was as well. But no, absolutely not an anomaly for it to be snowing at the Cat (and sometimes, nowhere else), as Pinkham Notch definitely has its "own" weather, thanks to Mt Washington and the surrounding high peaks. I recall skiing there in Oct 05 the weekend before HALLOWEEN - they'd gotten a 4 foot dump and opened up for 3-4 days. Then it all melted. It was absurd skiing in October with leaves changing color (some not even changed yet!!) and dropping onto the snow. What a ball. Love Wildcat.

 

[SueNJ]

Fifty (or more) buses?? That's insane! Is there such a thing as "full to capacity" at ski areas? I was at Okemo on Saturday and, while I had a great time, it was way more crowded than I like a ski area to be when I ski, and as we were leaving, I noticed the number of buses parked in the bus area. I didn't actually count them, but it was a lot!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Fifty (or more) buses?? That's insane! Is there such a thing as "full to capacity" at ski areas? I was at Okemo on Saturday and, while I had a great time, it was way more crowded than I like a ski area to be when I ski, and as we were leaving, I noticed the number of buses parked in the bus area. I didn't actually count them, but it was a lot!

Yep. I think that was approaching full to capacity. Sunday River's problem - if it can be considered one by the powers that be - is that it has TREMENDOUS uphill capacity when all lifts are operational - which in the case of Sunday, they were (17??). So the liftlines really weren't bad at all. But when that many people are being dumped onto the slopes.......yeah....and one of those days when NO ONE would get out of the unloading zone... ...or alternate heading into runs. Way too much cluelessness for my taste. So now people are talking about wanting MORE uphill capacity by replacing some of the fixed grip chairs with detachables. MORE uphill capacity????? Can't they do the math??

 

[playoutside]

I think last weekend may have been the perfect storm for crowding at mountains in the northeast...football fever, nicer weather, a touch of snow in Boston...people HAD to ski this past weekend because they won't next weekend with the SuperBowl and prob didn't the weekend before with the games.

I lucked out and skied Thurs/Fri in VT and it was plenty cold but so peaceful!

 

[SueNJ]

So now people are talking about wanting MORE uphill capacity by replacing some of the fixed grip chairs with detachables. MORE uphill capacity????? Can't they do the math??

Maybe they will, when they start to see the number of injuries going up. Or do they hang onto the liability release as a reason to not pay attention to that?

When I first heard about the plans that the new owners of Killington had for the resort--no longer honoring the ski council discount voucher program, eliminated many of the low-cost seasonal packages, among others--I was angry. Their philosophy, I guess, was that they'd rather have fewer people on the mountain at full-price than an overload of people that the discounts would bring. We heard from a few people at our ski club's lodge this past weekend who skied at Killington on Saturday, and they reported that it was actually enjoyable, because it wasn't overly crowded. And word has it that Killington is actually not losing any money with their new management ideas.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^ There was plenty of grumbling over this at Killington when the new owners took over. I don't know what their philosophy is: price the little guy out?? It will be interesting to see if same starts to happen at Sunday River, where they already have paid preferred parking (by the season, sticker required), valet parking (hey, this is NOT Deer Valley...), a private club/lodge for those who can afford it, rumors of a dedicated, PRIVATE lift from some of the new gated subdivisions (homes $800k-2mil) - and if they ever get to the point of offering line-cutting premium season passes, that's where I draw the line. I need a way more laid-back skiing experience.

 

[liquidfeet]

Not an anomaly for it to be snowing at the Cat (and sometimes, nowhere else), as Pinkham Notch definitely has its "own" weather, thanks to Mt Washington and the surrounding high peaks. I recall skiing there in Oct 05 the weekend before HALLOWEEN - they'd gotten a 4 foot dump and opened up for 3-4 days. Then it all melted. It was absurd skiing in October with leaves changing color (some not even changed yet!!) and dropping onto the snow. What a ball. Love Wildcat.

I was there!!!! It was two years ago. They didn't have the quad up and running because the insurance or some license hadn't been done, but other lifts were running and it was deep snow with autumn leaves all over the place. I didnt' know how to ski very well, but sure took advantage of that day. It was the first time some mountain beat Killington to be the first to open in New England, I do remember that.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I was there!!!! It was two years ago. They didn't have the quad up and running because the insurance or some license hadn't been done, but other lifts were running and it was deep snow with autumn leaves all over the place. I didnt' know how to ski very well, but sure took advantage of that day. It was the first time some mountain beat Killington to be the first to open in New England, I do remember that.

Fun!! - the quad, which as you know is a "chondola," (converts from chairs to gondola cars, used in summer only) hadn't yet been inspected/licensed for the upcoming ski season after converting from gondola to chairs, so the only chair running was the triple. So---you and I were able to check off another month in the year when we've skied - I have June, July & Aug left (but I waterski).

 

[Jilly]

It's amazing what a weekday does. There was hardly anybody at Tremblant today - Monday. But the weekend. And with 2 lifts going down on Sunday, it wasn't the place to be.

and if they ever get to the point of offering line-cutting premium season passes, that's where I draw the line.

Tremblant offers this pass to mountain home owners. They get this at every lift I understand, not just the village gondola. Too much!! We don't get enough perks with a season pass as it is, then home owners (who I hope pay more for this pass, than I do) get to cut lines

 

[atlantiqueen]

I was there!

What madness! Saturday wasn't as bad but Sunday was brutal. I refuse to pay $30 for valet parking so I hoofed it through 5 parking lots to get myself on a lift to discover that most runs were icy and ill-groomed if at all.

I decided a better course of action was to head home, stick my feet in a warm pair of slippers and read a book - left hubby and the stepsons to deal with the crowds. NO THANK YOU!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

What madness! Saturday wasn't as bad but Sunday was brutal. I refuse to pay $30 for valet parking so I hoofed it through 5 parking lots to get myself on a lift to discover that most runs were icy and ill-groomed if at all.

I decided a better course of action was to head home, stick my feet in a warm pair of slippers and read a book - left hubby and the stepsons to deal with the crowds. NO THANK YOU!

Wow, so you were there, too!! Welcome to the forum, by the way ! Where do you usually ski? I'm DONE with Sunday River for awhile - that day just did me in. Spent half of it going from some of the skier nonsense I saw - and I am SOOO glad that it was NOT my imagination that so little had been groomed -- wtf was THAT all about??? Punishing the lesser passholders for showing up the day after a blackout day? (Saturday was for Silver passes.)

Wish I'd had your option to just leave like you did, but I was with 3 others and had to tough it out. 3D was virtually deserted and wasn't bad (bumps). Do you BELIEVE that dumb valet parking they just started?

 

[atlantiqueen]

always at sunday river

well, we have season passes there (thank you mother-in-law and father-in-law) and a place to stay (again thank you in-laws who are in Utah for the winter)

Unfortunately, we have silver passes (12 blackout dates!) but I have a friend who has a shop and gives me freebies for blackout dates (

Besides Sunday River, I've only skied at Saddleback (loved the low-key atmosphere) and Big Rock in Maine. Here at home I've only skied itty bitty hills in New Brunswick (Crabbe and Poley)

We are skiing Park City for 8 days in March though

I'm a pretty new skier (blue and some black) so I'm a little apprehensive about days like Sunday when I thought some jack*@& with no control was going to clobber me!

 

[ski diva]

When are you in Utah? We're having a Diva gathering at Solitude from March 1-8. If you're around then, drop by!

 

[atlantiqueen]

later in the month

:(
Mar 15-23...would love to hook up with anyone then though!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

well, we have season passes there (thank you mother-in-law and father-in-law) and a place to stay (again thank you in-laws who are in Utah for the winter)

Unfortunately, we have silver passes (12 blackout dates!) but I have a friend who has a shop and gives me freebies for blackout dates (

Besides Sunday River, I've only skied at Saddleback (loved the low-key atmosphere) and Big Rock in Maine. Here at home I've only skied itty bitty hills in New Brunswick (Crabbe and Poley)

We are skiing Park City for 8 days in March though

I'm a pretty new skier (blue and some black) so I'm a little apprehensive about days like Sunday when I thought some jack*@& with no control was going to clobber me!

This is great - maybe, just maybe, we'll get a chance to ski together yet this winter???? Things will settle down at the River after Pres Week (though not much...) Listen, I'm not a pretty new skier (or pretty/new anything ) and I was terrified last Sunday. It was - well, the best comparison I had was the 405 in LA.

If you're going to Park City, definitely do at least one day at Deer Valley (among many other wonderful places in UT if possible) - I think you will greatly prefer it to PCMR, for layout and terrain. More $ but worth it.