Ride Delaware ?

They proposed it in 2005, then put it on hold in 2008 when the economy tanked. Now that it is coming back, they seem to think that a 453 room hotel and 120,000 sq ft indoor waterpark costing $145 million will work. They are moving ahead. They seem to have all the necessary approvals, but are having trouble finding that kind of financing (shocker).

Blue has a waterpark, a new sign, and eyes on a valley hotel. Barb is making this place camelback style legit.

How big is the community? Who owns the ski area?

I guess I don't know the specifics of the mountain/resort? I just thought it was your standard run of the mill mountain.

I would imagine that they took it private because they financially believed they could pull it off. I am sure that the homeowners who rent their homes during ski season will be very quick to change their mind about the exclusivity if their rentals start to decrease. I wouldn't be surprised if it opens to the public again sometime in the future.

It's a long drive for a WROD shitshow on 600' vertical ft of Rime + ridiculous weekend lift line + walking the stairway to heaven (at a decent pace, you will actually be able to get back to the Gondi in about 6.5 minutes. I let the Led out on the way, just to test it, and I easily beat the end of the 8 minute song). I went 3 days, logged 3 hours ish a day, and they had the whole NRT setup open. That would have been worth the drive, but after the 12th run, it's starts getting real repetitive. No reason to complain now, they are t2b, SR opens for the season Thursday t2b, and Loon/Bretton Woods opened this past weekend t2b. If Boulder should make snow, I would imagine they would crank it, leave it in piles, and wait until after this next warmup to push it out and open.

Interesting. That would be an awesome "Pocono" pass for those in the area.

About as classy as parking lot pimping at Wegman's...

GSS, the guy who forgot the DeLorean stops in 1985, not 1995...

Shows how old you are...

I've seen increasing confidence of this happening, but there are still a bunch of variables in play. It would be nice to jumpstart the season.

It's raining up here in the MRV right now, but temps are supposed to plummet by the end of the afternoon. Looks pretty cold next week. I would imagine t2b at KMart. My inside sources at SR tell me they have a really good shot at t2b on Saturday. They blew a good amount during the last cold snap, so they've got a good head start.

Probably a college rep trying to get his pass for free.

It was an even $99.99 with no tax. A little more than I wanted to pay, but I needed something solid, and it fit the bill. Our condo is being renovated and is a disaster area. Not livable at all. Soon.

I had to be up here Thursday to help with some things at the condo, so I decided to come up a couple days early to get some early season riding in at Killington. My previous earliest day was November 8, so I was pretty excited to get out so early. They had a three day stretch of around the clock snowmaking last week that allowed them to open in October and quickly open 10 trails off the North Ridge Triple. Unfortunately, a three day stretch of 55 degree weather bring 1.5" of rain came through shortly after. The snow took a big hit. The trail count dropped from 10 to 4, and the route from the gondola, Great Northern, required walking. I was a little skeptical, but they had already had 24 hours to recover, and forecasted temps looked as if they could go around the clock today, so I decided to go for it. Several things happened that caused me to get a late jump on the day. First, I decided to stay at a motel in the MRV since my board and boots were at the condo. Second, I forgot a jacket at home, and most shops didn't open until 9. Lastly, free breakfast came with the motel room, but didn't start until 8. I decided to stay and have breakfast to give me time for the shops to open. I got to Killington sports at the intersection of the access road and rt 4 at about 10:30. I found an Under Armour shell from last year on clearance and snagged it. I got to the base of the K1 at 11:00, and was on the lift at 11:20. It was 26 degrees at the base. I got off the lift around 11:30 and was instantly greeted to snowmaking. Snowmaking was in full force all over the open terrain. The snow conditions were variable depending on time, location, and water content. Guns were on all open terrain except for Rime below GN. Almost all guns above GN were running dry and the snow was powdery, chalky, and not sticky. Lower Rime got skied off by 2:30 or so, but they moved the capacity from Powerline (closed) to lower Rime about that time, which also coincided with the sun going behind the mountain. Before the sun dropped, there was a 50/50 chance that the guns were running wet below GN. After the sun dropped, which also coincided with them tweaking the inputs, everything was running dry. There were no lines to speak of, but each chair had at least one person on it. The RotD for me was Double Dipper to East Fall. They left East Fall ungroomed with some pretty fun bumps. Some were scraped off, but the upper portion had snowmaking, so it kept a big portion of the trail very edgeable. They were definitely getting good output, because it was like a good snowstorm, freshies all day. I decided to call it a day 3 hours and 18 runs later. Great first day. It's always a buzzkill having to walk the Stairway to Heaven after a tiring first day, but it wasn't as taxing as I remembered, and it was totally worth it. They have started the fan guns at the wide intersections on Mouse Trap leading to Bunny Buster, but there are no guns connecting that to the North Ridge area or the Base area. Word on the street is that they are going to try to make those connections on Friday after the warmup comes through on Wed/Thurs. They are getting a jump on those wide intersections because they wouldn't be able to get the amount of snow they needed onto it by Saturday if they didn't start early. I'm a little skeptical that they will make Saturday t2b, but if temps drop early enough Thursday night, they may have a chance at it. Sometimes they will open it "at your own risk" style but still suggest you take the Stairway to Heaven. They are currently installing a heated K1 queue, but only the piping is in place and the final concrete has not been poured. That will make the walk around a pain in the ass, but it looks to be done soon. Now, what your all looking for, pictures:

No lights on the cams, but it looks like they took away the Freedom cam, so no definitive answer.

I'm up in the Sugarbush area right now. I stopped at K-Mart before I hopped on 100 N to see if they were making snow t2b yet. It was a balmy 24 degrees at the base of the K1 Gondola. I could hear muffled snowmaking, but no guns anywhere near the base. Came up to the Bush, grabbed my board and boots from the condo, and then went over to the base. I could hear snowmaking from the condo, but it was much louder than Killington's, which means it should be lower on the mountain unless the acoustics are different. There was no snowmaking at the base there either, but they were moving a groomer around in the bully yard. It was also 24 degrees at the base there also. I'll have a KMart trip report tomorrow.

I'm always skeptical of accuweather. They are pretty optimistic to me. I am fairly confident with TWCs, but each to his own. Whatever gets the stoke rising and the mountain open earlier.

I'm really kicking myself for not going this past week Mon-Wed. However, I'm leaving tomorrow for a couple days up there to oversee some things at the condo. I'll be getting some days in at K-Mart, but trail count took a big hit with 1.5 inches of rain and 3 days of 50 plus. Hopefully they can make snow tonight through Tuesday morning, so hopefully they can rebound quickly. As usual, a trip report with pics will likely occur.

I hear there is big money in class action tombstone suits. People hate when you get their names wrong.

Haven't seen her around here lately. Probably too busy making bank off class action lawsuits...

Very true. Not what I like to drink either, but a $20 Elk ticket is a decent bonus lol

I would also be interested in finding said case of beer. What a great deal; buy a case of parking lot tinnies, ski for $20.

I like your reports because they are optimistic. Can you give me a Sugarbush Thanksgiving report?

I think he was looking for something a little closer and more cost effective. He probably wants to day trip or use the place they have for the season. I'd also imagine that he wants to take his family with him. Since he is spending $500 a month on gas to heat the house and outdoor pool, I would imagine those kind of travel expenses make it cost ineffective.