Sugarbush Resort on Saturday, January 4, 2025

		Sugarbush Resort Saturday, January 4, 2025
		Submitted on January 4, 2025 by rocket21 (1461)
	Session	Morning
	Ticket Type	Ikon Pass
	Lift Lines	1 to 2 minutes
	Trail Conditions	90% open; Packed Powder, Variable Conditions
	Glades	Did not go in, but in play.
	Moguls	Mostly on natural trails. Thin/bare troughs on Sugarbush South, but much better on the Mt. Ellen side.
	Terrain Park(s)
	Run of the Day	FIS
	Food and Beverage	They have proudly gone cashless, so I did not spend my cash there.
	Comments	Most of the trails were open today, but pretty much everything natural I saw on Sugarbush South was rock skiing. Spotty, icy base with lots of rocks and then an inch or two of new natural, windblown in places. Typical fare for groomers off Super Bravo. Generally decent first thing this morning, though Snowball was scratchy. Stein's has not seen snowmaking yet, but was open, despite looking like a minefield of rocks and ice. Two groomed ways off Gatehouse - Pushover to Slowpoke with Pushover Chute and Lower Pushover as the other options. Some snowmaking in progress on lower Sleeper. Thin looking on the rest (natural at the moment). North Lynx closed with snowmaking hammering Birch Run. Slidebrook also closed; runs about as much as Chris Christie. Castlerock chair closed, but folks accessing it from Heaven's Gate. Heaven's Gate lift ran fairly smoothly. Steep offramp (watched an experienced boarder eat it), but the catwalk is much better without the uphill. Only Jester groomed with snowmaking from the top. Ripcord looked awful on top - a good 100+ foot stretch with virtually nothing down the middle. Every skier I saw was hitting rocks. Went over to North at 10 as the crowds built on South. MUCH better snow on North. Unfortunately, the lifts are a disaster. Sunshine Quad is still down. GMX was finally running, but had some long stops (observed a lift mechanic remedying one of the stops). North Ridge went down just before lunch. Prior to that, they had a lifty pushing chairs through the base terminal and were limiting it to 2 people per chair. Inverness Quad was open, but only the catwalk was open to the public/groomed. Portions of Walt's and Semi-Tough looked good, but the entrances did not, so I skipped. From the top of Mt. Ellen, snowmaking on FIS wrapped just before lunch, dropping the rope. Some very nice turns and a few weird ones where the fresh manmade was wetter. Looking Good was quite good, and Elbow was good too. Heard Exterminator was good on natural, but I called it quits due to the lift issues prior to trying it. Lower FIS was open, but did not venture out that way. Whichway was ungroomed but had manmade base and was good. Lower Northstar was natural and good. Joe's Cruiser was fine. Guns just started on the Cliffs. Was able to largely avoid the lines by starting at 8, hitting Gatehouse at 9, and leaving South at 10, doing the one-boot drive to Ellen. Ellen's lines weren't too bad when the lifts were running, but no idea what it was like this afternoon without North Ridge and the parking lots just about full.
	URL	https://www.franklinsites.com/temp/ski/sugarbush-2025-0104a.jpg
	Report Rating	4