Suggestion/Complaint

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Permalink Reply by THE BIG LEBOWSKI on November 26, 2008 at 3:13pm

i agree.....but would add to it, whats the deal with the plows today? at 10 am it was almost unwalkable around base lodge, gepettos and the bag. puddles over the ski boots..no snow having been removed? very unusual for up here. the timbers were not plowed out until almost 2pm today...brutal.

lets chalk it up to the first big storm but it MUST get better than this for future storms.

as far as leaving the mountain untouched, except for tote rd, i agree with it. i think... with the amount of rain that came, leaving the trails untouched gives the wqater a chance to drain and I think most trails will be better than tote rd tomorrow.

will be great to get other lifts and trails open soon...thanksgiving will be great here and hope the skiing matches the weather

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Permalink Reply by Sugarloaf on November 26, 2008 at 4:59pm

The philosophy behind leaving Hayburner and King's Landing ungroomed today was to allow the new snow time to drain. We had rain on the tail end of the storm which made the already wet snow extremely wet, and putting a groomer on the snow would only compact it and leave it very firm. The groomers had a difficult time with the snow this morning because it was so deep and so heavy, which is why they weren't able to groom Tote Road to full width. The dedication to grooming is no less than it has ever been, but to put a groomer on all of our trails today would have done more harm than good. I definitely agree that it was pretty tough skiing out there today.

In regards to this morning's snowphone, I did record it and I did say that Hayburner and King's Landing were left untouched, and I did say that we received a ton of snow which should make for some nice conditions. I didn't say it would be a powder day. In the mornings we have to base our reports on what the groomers and mountain ops folks tell us. It's just not possible for us to get up on the mountain and ski before the reports are posted, for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that it's still dark outside when we post our first reports. We are in contact with groomers, snowmakers and patrol in the mornings, and report what they tell us. This morning the reports we received were that we had more than 20 inches of snow at the top of the quad, and that it was pretty heavy, but skiable. I think it's fair to say that we were all surprised today by how tough the skiing turned out to be.

On a positive note, this snow is absolutely perfect for building a good long term base, and by letting it drain for a day the quality of the groomed terrain for this weekend should be much higher. With this base down snowmaking will be able to progress more quickly, and we can expect terrain to open up faster than it would have otherwise. Aside from some tough skiing today, this storm worked out beautifully for us.

Ethan

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Permalink Reply by coveman on November 26, 2008 at 5:30pm

I’m glad I didn’t ski today by the sound of it. It was also very interesting to see in print>

“There were people that could barely ski crawling along, and then people going 40 mph down the hill flying by them. This is not safe”

This has been a major problem at the Loaf for a long time and it certainly seems that the management has ignored the safety of the skier on the mountain. Why weren’t there people on the trail taking care of this unsafe condition? The management seems to tell everyone about the skiers’ safety code (Which is good) but the mountain also has to take some responsibility. Another Sunday River? They need to put responsible people on the slopes and pull tickets! After awhile maybe the fast skiers will get the message.

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Permalink Reply by King of Sugarloaf on November 26, 2008 at 6:35pm

it certainly was a hazard today but it was not so much due to a lack of respect by skiers/riders on the mountain. there was only one groomed trail, which was only partially groomed, and the conditions were hard and fast. people who could "barely ski" should have been better informed by the mountain of just how advanced the conditions were. i saw a lot of unhappy faces along the one strip groom lines along boardwalk and chicken pitch who were having trouble just staying on the trail without the rush of traffic flowing by.

coveman said:

I’m glad I didn’t ski today by the sound of it. It was also very interesting to see in print>

“There were people that could barely ski crawling along, and then people going 40 mph down the hill flying by them. This is not safe”

This has been a major problem at the Loaf for a long time and it certainly seems that the management has ignored the safety of the skier on the mountain. Why weren’t there people on the trail taking care of this unsafe condition? The management seems to tell everyone about the skiers’ safety code (Which is good) but the mountain also has to take some responsibility. Another Sunday River? They need to put responsible people on the slopes and pull tickets! After awhile maybe the fast skiers will get the message.

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Permalink Reply by Kris on November 26, 2008 at 7:28pm

Ethan/Lizzy,

Thank you for your honesty here, and I understand and agree with the decisions made. There is no way you can make everyone happy about the skiing conditions. Still, I would like to make a request that you put this honesty in the Daily Report/during the day. Today's report at 1:30p didn't lie, but it didn't say "...pretty tough skiing out there today." Just my 2 cents.

Sugarloaf said:

The philosophy behind leaving Hayburner and King's Landing ungroomed today was to allow the new snow time to drain. We had rain on the tail end of the storm which made the already wet snow extremely wet, and putting a groomer on the snow would only compact it and leave it very firm. The groomers had a difficult time with the snow this morning because it was so deep and so heavy, which is why they weren't able to groom Tote Road to full width. The dedication to grooming is no less than it has ever been, but to put a groomer on all of our trails today would have done more harm than good. I definitely agree that it was pretty tough skiing out there today.

In regards to this morning's snowphone, I did record it and I did say that Hayburner and King's Landing were left untouched, and I did say that we received a ton of snow which should make for some nice conditions. I didn't say it would be a powder day. In the mornings we have to base our reports on what the groomers and mountain ops folks tell us. It's just not possible for us to get up on the mountain and ski before the reports are posted, for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that it's still dark outside when we post our first reports. We are in contact with groomers, snowmakers and patrol in the mornings, and report what they tell us. This morning the reports we received were that we had more than 20 inches of snow at the top of the quad, and that it was pretty heavy, but skiable. I think it's fair to say that we were all surprised today by how tough the skiing turned out to be.

On a positive note, this snow is absolutely perfect for building a good long term base, and by letting it drain for a day the quality of the groomed terrain for this weekend should be much higher. With this base down snowmaking will be able to progress more quickly, and we can expect terrain to open up faster than it would have otherwise. Aside from some tough skiing today, this storm worked out beautifully for us.

Ethan

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Permalink Reply by Matt Rolfson on November 27, 2008 at 8:45am

Those conditions were unsafe. I saw some one being taken down from kings landing on a sled by ski patrol and i wouldnt be surprised if more people were injuryed.

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Permalink Reply by SueMcG on November 27, 2008 at 8:47am

Thanks Ethan. I totally understand about the need to let heavy, wet snow snow set up before grooming. It's also hard to keep from getting carried away with enthusiasm when reporting on a heavy, early-season snowfall, even when you haven't been out on it yourself.

Adding a few words of perspective to your reports would really be appreciated -- and of course you need to keep them positive, since that's part of your job. Kris's suggestion is excellent. As another example, when I read these words in Wednesday morning's report -- "The rest of the mountain is being left alone after yesterday's snowfall" -- my thought also was that it was being left to keep a "natural" skiing experience, and I should have known better! Adding "to let the snow set up for grooming tonight" would have clarified the situation, saved a few folks from a frustrating experience and earned a lot of appreciation for honesty!

Thanks for your hard work -- and one of the hardest parts will be keeping this very invested community of Sugarloafers happy! ;-)

Looking forward to some great skiing tomorrow!!

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Permalink Reply by Jake Carlton on November 27, 2008 at 9:05am

first of all the mountain just spent a huge amount of money on new snowmaking....so dont complain about things that you dont know the answer too.And second if they had tried to groom ings and hayburner then they would have destroyed the snow, you cant groom it when its that warm and wet.

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Permalink Reply by cancel on November 27, 2008 at 12:21pm

The plowing of the side roads on West Mt and Village on the Green were not plowed!! If someone living off one of the side roads in these area needed an Ambulance or Firetruck neither would have been able to get through........................NOT GOOD!

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Permalink Reply by Yardsale on November 27, 2008 at 2:47pm

Thurston & Lovey not getting their Timbers condo plowed until 2pm AND Dr Zipe going at Mt Ops in the same thread - thats Pure Sugarloaf.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI said:

the timbers were not plowed out until almost 2pm today...brutal.

Dr. Zipe - Director of Reality said:

Stavropol Secret Police here...

What are you people KIDDING?!!?!

The Mother Ship will NEVER offer you full disclosure. I drove up Sunday AM to what I was told @ 5:30 would be the 'day of the season'

hmmmm..... well at least for me the Michelob was being served at 9:10 becase the frigging lift's weren't!

However, reading the reports above as compared to the ski report I read all day makes me loff and loff....

THANK YOU - real humans, for posting the reality. I was tempted to waste another 9 gallons of 93 driving through East Bent Armpit (farmington).

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Permalink Reply by Yardsale on November 27, 2008 at 3:07pm

Why close the other thread??

You did not address the fact that Lizzy claimed she skied down Hayburner Wed. morning. Hogwash.

2 similar, but different topics. Come on, you can do better than that...We need the unofficial site back!

Come on, you can do better than that...
Posted by Timberliner on November 26, 2008 at 8:27pm in General Discussion
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Lizzy says: Hey you guys, last night we were DUMPED on! We got 14 inches at the base and 24 inches at the top! It's incredible! I went down Hayburner this morning and it was unreal! I was in above my knees!

What? Come on guys. I thought Sugarloaf was better than this. First of all, how come it was 20 inches this morning, and now it's 24? It didn't snow during the day. And going down Hayburner this morning? pfft. Lizzy, if you got down Hayburner while the snow was above your knees, you're going to have some awfully big bruises from that ice. And I don't get how you got that deep, the person I was skiing with weighs more than 200 lbs, and they got just above their ankles at the very deepest, and fell because they couldn't turn. If you guys keep making the conditions sound 10 times better than they are, you are going to lose customers, and a lot of people will just not trust you. It looks an awful lot like you are just trying to attract people to Sugarloaf to waste their money. I suggest that you start telling the truth, it will make Sugarloaf a more enjoyable place, not just a money-magnet that sucks the dollars out of our pockets.

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Permalink Reply by Sugarloaf 15 hours ago
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this topic is already being discussed here. thanx

Sugarloaf said:

The philosophy behind leaving Hayburner and King's Landing ungroomed today was to allow the new snow time to drain. We had rain on the tail end of the storm which made the already wet snow extremely wet, and putting a groomer on the snow would only compact it and leave it very firm. The groomers had a difficult time with the snow this morning because it was so deep and so heavy, which is why they weren't able to groom Tote Road to full width. The dedication to grooming is no less than it has ever been, but to put a groomer on all of our trails today would have done more harm than good. I definitely agree that it was pretty tough skiing out there today.

In regards to this morning's snowphone, I did record it and I did say that Hayburner and King's Landing were left untouched, and I did say that we received a ton of snow which should make for some nice conditions. I didn't say it would be a powder day. In the mornings we have to base our reports on what the groomers and mountain ops folks tell us. It's just not possible for us to get up on the mountain and ski before the reports are posted, for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that it's still dark outside when we post our first reports. We are in contact with groomers, snowmakers and patrol in the mornings, and report what they tell us. This morning the reports we received were that we had more than 20 inches of snow at the top of the quad, and that it was pretty heavy, but skiable. I think it's fair to say that we were all surprised today by how tough the skiing turned out to be.

On a positive note, this snow is absolutely perfect for building a good long term base, and by letting it drain for a day the quality of the groomed terrain for this weekend should be much higher. With this base down snowmaking will be able to progress more quickly, and we can expect terrain to open up faster than it would have otherwise. Aside from some tough skiing today, this storm worked out beautifully for us.

Ethan

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Permalink Reply by Timberliner on November 27, 2008 at 3:30pm

"it becomes more difficult to respond appropriately to them [my comments and suggestions] in the forum setting."

Thats why Ethan closed it.

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