Sugarbush 12-4-24

[Ride Delaware ?]

It’s a little weird being back at the mountain and not patrolling this year, and I fully expected my first day to be at Sunday River, but a cold and other circumstances led me over to Sugarbush, and it just so happens it was opening day.  It was a 3 hour drive from the in-laws in NH, and I had some family obligations to take care of, so I didn’t get into the parking lot and PLB until about 1:30.  Crowds had either cleared out or were non existent.

I hopped on the lift and ran into an old ski patrol buddy at the top, so we took a couple runs together.  There were only 2 distinct runs with a third side run.  All skiing was off the Gatehouse lift, so in reality, both trails that were open share the same starting trail and same ending trail.  Regardless, conditions were excellent for late in the day on opening day.  I expected similar conditions to previous years where it’s basically glacial ice with some granular bumps and icy troughs on the side.  Surprisingly, only about 10 feet right in the middle was iced up.  The rest was a mix of packed powder and groomed snowmaking.  I guess the snow last week, combined with consistent below freezing temps and no warmup really paid off.  I took 6 runs, going with a 66%/34% split on the two trails.  It was great getting the legs warmed up and catching up with an old friend.  Looks like 3” or more tomorrow at opening, so I’ll be looking to get after it before I head back to NH.