Category: Sugar Bowl

Monday was sunny and surprisingly empty for a holiday.  Great times and great company!  😉

And then Thursday was a stormy powder day, and also surprisingly empty.  Crow’s didn’t open, but Disney and Lincoln did, including Sugar Bowl and Silver Belt & the Sisters.  Skied fresh lines all day until I couldn’t anymore.

Hey Sugar, what was up with no Gondola lots on Thursday?  Parking was a small disaster and there was barely anyone there!  You have giant snow clearing machines… why aren’t you using them?

– J Snow

Lincoln opened at 3pm on Friday.  Simply amazing!  Props to Sugar Bowl for keeping it real and especially to the hard working Patrollers.

Like other Slightly Restricted passholders, I’m blacked out for the holiday weekend.  Enjoy the new snow, see you Monday!

Finally Sugar opened up Thursday, after teasing us Tuesday and Wednesday.  And what a day!  Ten feet of fresh has filled in the mountain and transformed things more than I’ve ever seen in such a short time.

A big Disney line in the morning thinned out quickly.  Nancy’s and Sugar Bowl opened up in the afternoon, thanks to some heroic effort by the Patrol!  The kids were getting huge air off wind lips in Market Street.  Saw someone huck Bacon’s and folks go big in the Palasades.  Yeah!  And just when I thought there was no more fresh to be had, the sky opened up and gifted us with afternoon refills.

Lincoln and Judah opening today!  Go out there and get some!

– J Snow

I thought Wednesday was going to be calmer, but it brought super intense wind.  80 was closed in the morning and Sugar’s site initially wasn’t sure if there would be any operations.  Nob and Christmas Tree wound up opening around 10:30am.  It was a wonder they were even running those – the wind at the top of Christmas Tree was intense!

Thursday Sugar is calling for a late opening at noon.  I can’t fault them, they have tons of avalanche control to do with the heavy snow, and their staff couldn’t be there early because 80 was closed again for most of the evening.

See you in the big noon line!

– J Snow

The year’s arrival has certainly brought us a present!  Powder and more powder!

Monday was a brutal, windy storm day, but the snow was great, and there’s more on the way Tuesday and Wednesday!  If you like storm conditions, hope to see you out there… if not, these aren’t the days for you..  bluebird it is not.

– J Snow

Winter’s arrival brought us a storm.  Of actual snow this time!

I woke up Friday to a couple inches of new snow and motivated to make it to Sugar early.  I hadn’t been since Monday, which was sunny and nice but not the best snow conditions.

Given the modest crowds last weekend, I expected the day to be busier, but it was surprisingly empty.  The storm conditions must heave kept everyone away.  Morning wasn’t the deepest powder day ever, but a couple inches were amazing to lap on the groomed after so much questionable weather.

Afternoon brought more interesting possibilities.  Patrol didn’t open anything new (and even closed off Steilhang by moving Lincoln’s closed line lower), but the snow piled up and made for enjoyable lines and free refills all over.  I hadn’t been on Judah chair all season and had many fresh laps there in the last couple hours of the day.

Like other “slightly restricted” passholders, your humble editor is blacked out until next year.  Sugar usually gives us up to and including Christmas day, but this year they were a grinch and thought the weekend more important than their loyal passholders.  Bah humbug!

I’ll see if any of my contributors with unrestricted passes can write about things for the rest of 2016.  Until then I’ll still write the occasional article about things other than current mountain conditions, and look forward to seeing you all on the mountain on Monday the 2nd. 😉

– John S

Wow.  It has not an easy December for this snow addict.  The 2-3 feet we were promised fell as mostly rain, with some snow at the end.

After I got over the disappointment, I admit, Friday was a fun day.  Even though it was heartbreaking to see how much of the base washed away, there was some fresh snow to push around and hardly anyone else there to doing it.  Free refills at 3 o’clock?  I’ll take it.

Snow guns were going from Judah to Disney.  I’m guessing Sugar Bowl is pushing to get Judah open for the holidays.

Disney opens back up Saturday!  See you in the cave…

– J Snow

Raining again now…. but predictions are still on track for a switch over to snow later today and some significant accumulation by Friday morning.  Doing my snow dance!

It sure has been a tough early-season.  The last few storms have been pretty disappointing, so I am hesitant to get my hopes up too much.

Waiting anxiously for Friday morning…

Disney is closed, just Lincoln running (and Nob, Christmas, Gondola).  I didn’t make it out today, but I hear the post-rain conditions described as “questionable”.  Sugar bowl’s own site even says “a bit rough”.

Let’s hope the incoming precipitation is colder and makes for better times!

It sure has been quite the early season ride!

Your good editor finally made it out to Sugar for some turns first thing in December.  Trails were skied again like the old friends they area, and favorite chill spots were visited and inaugurated for the season.  Steilhang, Disney cave, Hari-Kari, the Tippy Top, the eponymous Sugar Bowl and the Office too!  No Sisters for me yet – saw folks picking their way down but I’ll be waiting for a little more coverage personally.

Everyone was stoked for the precipitation arriving this week, but alas… just a little too warm, and it has been almost entirely rain.

Lincoln and Disney have been open (plus Nob and Christmas Tree).  Village only / gondola access most days of the season so far.  J side was open the first weekend in December, but with the rain this weekend, Sugar was closed entirely on Saturday and then just the Village today.

At least on the bright side, there’s more precipitation arriving.  If temps stay cold this time, that could erase all those frowns quickly!

– John S