Vermont Skiing 2018-2019

[marzNC]

we want to ski on skis that work for the area.

Take a look at this recent thread that mentions skis from a demo day in the northeast. Should give you some ideas about what works for the most common conditions.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/mt-tremblant-demo-day-dec-15-2018.23300/

 

[Serafina]

Hermit Thrush, from Brattleboro, specializes in sour beers - so if you can find some of that on tap, I'd definitely check it out. I'm more of an IPA Girl myself, but my ski bar at Mt. Snow usually has a good assortment of local sours, so you won't have to look far.

Demo-ing at the hill is going to be your best bet to making sure you're properly kitted out for whatever the conditions are on the mountain. Biggest adjustment is going to be that you will be skiing on stuff that might get roped off if you encountered it in the west. Your demo gear is going to be tuned with moderately sharp edges, though, which makes a huge difference. They probably won't have it REALLY well tuned, which means that you're not likely to slice yourself on your edges but you probably shouldn't handle your demo skis with your bare hands. Totally not joking about that. Anyone who skis here intensively tends to keep their edges sharp enough to take the skin right off if you brush up against them. Test the edges on the demo skis and if they don't feel like sliding your hand along them would be a bad idea, find out if you can get them sharpened up a bit. The people working them demo desk should not flick an eyelash at this request.

If you make Waitsfield (or Warren, etc.) your home base for Sugarbush, Killington is just a hop skip and jump down the road and would be an easy-peasy day trip from there if you want to mix it up. If you want to go to Killington, though, you should probably start a separate post with Killington in the title, because there's all kinds of secret intel about where to park, and how to access the ski area that can be a make-or-break in the quality of your day. I don't ski at Killington at all, but I know that there are a bunch of Divas who do, and they'll be able to advise you on this.

There are a lot of great restaurants in the Mad River Valley area (where Sugarbush is). That's also Beer Central for Vermont. Used to be mill towns up there, and when the jobs left they were becoming derelict until someone realized that all that industrial space would be perfectly suited for breweries and distilleries, the state sunk some real money into it, and now there's a whole Beer Tourism scene there. Also, it is absolutely gorgeous, classic New England scenery.

 

[newboots]

I can provide some limited but useful thoughts about parking (and drinking beer) at Killington.

 

[SqueakySnow]

@newboots, we would love to know your thoughts about those 2 most important Killington topics... bring it!

 

[ski diva]

@newboots, we would love to know your thoughts about those 2 most important Killington topics... bring it!

I'm no help with the beer, but I always park at the Bear Mountain lodge. It's the least crowded lot, the lodge is fine, and it's a nice place to start the day, too.

 

[SqueakySnow]

@ski diva Thanks! And, I must tell you, living in San Francisco makes you value a good parking place above just about everything else in life. Trust me, I'm not exaggerating ;)

 

[newboots]

My advice, too, is Bear Mountain! Earlier is better, of course, and Bear seems to be the least “popular” lodge. That’s probably the result of it being off the beaten track - you leave Rt 4 and go up a couple of miles (past an unmarked switchback. Go slowly both up and down! It’s marked if you’re going down.). If you park a little toward your right, you can enter on that side and leave your skis near the lift.

I will have to consult about the beer! I know that they now have Stella on tap, a big hit in our household.

 

[nopoleskier]

Definitely park at Bear Mt at Kton.. good food: all over. We went to "The Forge" was excellent higher end dinner but worth it. by Killington.
Just had great meal at "the Hideaway" by Sugarbush

Skis I agree, something in the 80's may be better for our much harder 'packed powder" although I've been skiing my Renoun Z-90's on everything w/no problem.

I hope we get buckets of snow for your trip!

 

[MissySki]

I haven't tried it myself, but plan to on my next visit.. a friend who is a big foodie was just saying how much he likes Chez Henri at Sugarbush. If you are into a French restaurant close to the base area, might be worth checking out the menu.

 

[marzNC]

For the Mad River Valley, I can heartily recommend the Mad River Barn for lodging and food. Bought and renovated by a young couple several years ago. Husband was a chef before they decided they wanted to move to MRV. Closer to Mad River Glen than Sugarbush but really only a few miles away.

 

[Serafina]

I haven't tried it myself, but plan to on my next visit.. a friend who is a big foodie was just saying how much he likes Chez Henri at Sugarbush. If you are into a French restaurant close to the base area, might be worth checking out the menu.

Chez Henri is AMAAAAAAZING. Need a reservation, made well in advance. Be sure to have a chat with Henri himself, he's absolutely fascinating.

 

[MissySki]

Chez Henri is AMAAAAAAZING. Need a reservation, made well in advance. Be sure to have a chat with Henri himself, he's absolutely fascinating.

Thanks for the tip on making a reservation I wouldn't normally think to do so, also glad to hear confirmation that it's worth chacking out!

I was reading about him yesterday in an article my friend sent over about the restaurant, the whole thing was really interesting!

 

[marzNC]

I gather that the South Ridge quad at Killington is behind schedule. The early snowstorms in November were good for building base before Thanksgiving but made ongoing construction projects a bit more complicated. I got to go thru one tunnel on Snowdon. Seemed like a good idea to me. Completing $25 million in major capital improvements in one year is pretty impressive.

https://www.killington.com/culture/social-blog/insider-blog/capital-project-south-ridge-quad

"The Snowdon Six Express is up and running, whisking skiers and snowboarders, six at a time, to the Snowdon summit in weather-protected comfort. New RFID gates at Killington and Pico lifts have eliminated the time consuming nuisance of individual ticket scanning. Three tunnels—two on Snowdon and one on Skye Peak—are shuttling skiers and snowboarders under, and over, what were once busy intersections, improving the flow and feel of the mountain.

Snowguns across the resort are now supplied by new snowmaking pipe—a whopping 44,000 feet of new snowmaking pipe. K-1 Gondola passengers are enjoying the view from new quieter and smoother riding gondola cabins carried by a brand new haul rope.

Ten months after Killington announced $25 million worth of capital improvement projects, the resort has a fresh feel and the skiing experience, especially in the Snowdon area, has been transformed. But there are a couple important pieces of the project yet to be completed, including one of the most highly anticipated—the new South Ridge Quad.

According to Jeff Temple, director of mountain operations for Killington and Pico, fans of the old South Ridge Triple, which was removed in 2011, won’t have to wait too much longer to see lift access to the popular area restored. The new South Ridge Quad is one of three projects on the capital improvements list still awaiting completion. The other two are the storage barn for the Snowdon Six Express bubble chairs and the relocation of the old Snowdon Poma surface lift to the Swirl trail on Ramshead.
. . ."

 

[marzNC]

From what I see on OpenSnow, it's good for the next week! At least for people willing to ski in single digit temperatures in VT.

 

[marzNC]

Another way of looking at the snow forecast for Vermont.

 

[SallyCat]

Aaaaaand, five days later: Rain.
This season

 

[marzNC]

Aaaaaand, five days later: Rain.
This season

I just think of that as typical northeast winter east of Lake Champlain and the Hudson Valley. It's the way the wind blows storms that go thru the mid-Atlantic. Difference in northern VA at my home mountain, Massanutten, is that most of the time there isn't a hard freeze or frigid weather immediately after rain, so end up with spring skiing conditions with temps in the 40s sooner rather than later.

 

[marzNC]

BRR
A double chairlift at Stowe had to be evacuated the hard way after a power failure.

01/29/2019
More than 150 evacuated from stuck chairlift at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont

" . . .
The Lookout Double lift stopped operating around 10:30 a.m. Sunday because of an interruption in the electrical system, Stowe Mountain Resort spokesman Jeff Wise said in a written statement. An auxiliary engine also did not work so the ski patrol started evacuating the lift at 10:45 a.m. using rope to rappel people down. All guests were safely off the lift by about 1 p.m., Wise said. Two people were treated for minor cold-related issues, he said.
. . ."

 

[SallyCat]

The snow that arrived last night was incredible. It was so light that after getting a run of pure powder, I went back on a work break a couple of hours later and thought I'd be working through and over chopped up piles. Instead, we just glided right through them; the "crud" stayed light and fluffy until about 3pm. And weirdly not that many people came out to ski, so even in the afternoon, there were fresh tracks to be had.

It was a really fun confidence boost. I ended up closing the office at 3 and getting in a solid hour of pure joy!

Here are some pics from my early-morning skin:

 

[marzNC]

Killington is hoping to spread out the crowd for Pres. Day weekend. South Ridge will have a quad chair that is replacing the old triple that was removed in 2011. The chairlift used to be the Snowdon quad, which was replaced by a new 6-seater for 2018-19. Sounds like the South Ridge quad will make starting from Bear Mountain more practical on weekends.

RETURN OF SOUTH RIDGE LIFT SERVICE

With the old Snowdon Quad being replaced with a brand new high-speed six person bubble chair we’re re-purposing this chair in the South Ridge Area. The old South Ridge triple was removed in 2011 and since then this area of the resort has been without lift service. Aside from providing another pod of excellent skiing and riding, the new South Ridge Quad serves another purpose—providing better connectivity between Bear Mountain and the north side of the resort. To understand how this is so, it helps to have a little background.

In 2008, with the addition of the new Skye Peak Express Quad, Killington removed a trail then known as the Snowshed Crossover, a green circle trail which shuttled guests from the top of Bear Mountain to Needle’s Eye and Snowshed. Snowshed Crossover was removed because of its intersection with Skyeburst, a positive move in many respects, but one that, combined with the 2011 removal of the South Ridge Triple, effectively made the Skye Peak Express the only way out of Bear Mountain. On busy days, the wait times at Skye Peak Express can be the longest at the resort.

Now, guests of any ability level will be able to use the Bear Mountain Quad to access the South Ridge Quad, and from there the entire resort.