Opening weekend, part deux

It was actually the second weekend Sugar Bowl was open, but with the midweek closure and a big storm, it sure felt like deja vu all over again.

Saturday had one of the biggest crowds that I’ve seen in a good while waiting for Disney to open .  To say there was a lot of pent-up excitement would be an understatement.  Still, by “biggest” I mean big for our little fishbowl — it was still just a few minutes even though it looked like a lot of people to this mid-week skier, and thinned out by mid-day.  The snow was solid but tons of fun to slice buttery turns through, and there was lots of it.  This was a weird storm that dumped lots of snow on us, but less on everyone else.  Sugar had two feet up top, other mountains in the west had between a foot and two, and some of the Eastern mountains had almost nothing (Mt. Rose reported an inch!).

Sunday was nice in the morning, and brought a surprise snow shower in the afternoon.  Conditions were generally good on and off-piste, high-traffic areas got scraped off as usual, but what are you going to do?  Crow’s chair didn’t open, but everything out there is open with a traverse back to Disney.  For those of you who are nostalgic for the old Crow’s experience, get on out there and get hiking!

Sugar is open for the season (7 days a week now), and there’s some small storms predicted for early in the week to fill things in.  Enjoy it while you can.  I know I will!

-J snow

Opening weekend report

It was great to hit the slopes again!  Last week’s storm left more on the mountain than I expected to see, and Lincoln was spinning.

The bad news was that overall, conditions were kind of iffy.  Saturday was heavy, wet snow reminiscent of a smoothie, and dense fog with very little visibility.  Sunday greeted us with a surprisingly hard freeze overnight.  Groomers softened up a bit during the day but also got scraped up quick.

Nevertheless I had a blast.  Met some new friends, saw some old buddies and kept it positive.  I was a bit bummed out after the rain last week, but coverage was actually really good for so early in the season.

Of course everyone is abuzz about the storm coming in on Thursday and Friday.  Temperature and snow levels are still wavering a bit, but it looks promising for Sugar Bowl.  Saturday could be a good one!

Thursday Tease

A little storm for us this Thursday.  No snow in town yet, but Sugar Bowl is getting a little dusting.

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Sugar bowl sure looks nice with a fresh coat.

Another one still looks on track for Saturday , but it might be a bit too warm.  Keeping my skis crossed it stays cold enough to snow the whole storm.  A layer of our good old Sierra cement for a base would be perfect.

-JS

Fake snow and real snow

Looks like Sugar is serious about their opening date.  Snowmaking is underway!  Here’s some pictures from their web cams yesterday afternoon.

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For those of you who aren’t satisfied unless its the real deal, it looks like we might be getting a decent storm in the Thursday night to Saturday range.  Keeping a close eye on this one and thinking positive!

 

Thanksgiving bowl

Sugar Bowl has announced an opening date!  November 26th.  That’s right, just 15 short days away.

After a sunny week bicycling and worrying over the forecast, I was totally prepared for a December opening like last year, but it seems Sugar is stepping up their game.

See you soon!  -JS