Seasonal Programs Family Page

Seasonal Program Report Welcome to the Seasonal Programs Family Page. Here you’ll find what every parent and child should know about their seasonal program, including weekend weather and snow forecasts, updates from coaches and supervisors, observations from our new Seasonal Program Parent Committee, upcoming events, and more.

To stay tuned bookmark this page and click this link to subscribe to the Seasonal Program Report email that will be sent every week during the winter season.

Click here for Seasonal Programs Page

Program Update

End of the Season Update April 1, 2010

Hard to believe the season is over – while we do hopefully have many great spring skiing and riding days ahead of us, I know many of you are already moving on to soccer, lacrosse, baseball and the many activities that kids are involved in. As you change gears keep in mind what a great place Sugarbush is over the summer! People often ask me what there is to do in the summer and I laugh because the Mad River Valley is even better in the summer. What isn’t there to do is the real question! Hiking, road biking, mountain biking, horseback riding, kayaking, swimming, golfing, tubing down the river--not to mention the farmer’s markets and art festivals--are all great summer activities available in the Mad River Valley. If you haven’t already experienced it, spend a week here this summer and see for yourselves. We’ve got lots of great camps for kids of all ages. Sign up before April 17th and save 10%. The camps are a great way for the kids to connect with their Blazer buddies over the summer!

Also wanted to remind everyone to get their season passes now before the May 2nd deadline.

Lastly I wanted to thank everyone for a fabulous season. The seasonal community is such a special group of skiers and riders and it’s been a joy to get to know so many of you over the years. Really, you are the Sugarbush family and I hope to get out there next season and meet more of you in person and not just over the phone and through e-mail! I also want to thank all the instructors and supervisors who make this program run. With over 300 kids every weekend, it’s no easy task. All the instructors deserve special kudos especially Sara Oleksa (Micros) Tracy Wright and Steve May (Minis) Mickey Stone (Snow, Race, Egan’s, and Mountaineering), Milo Fischer (Mt. Ellen) and Jon “Smitty” Smith (Diamond Dogs)!!

I will be in touch in the spring with a formal survey to give you the opportunity to share your feedback. If you have any questions or ideas that you want to share now please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks again and hope to see you over the summer!!

Gretchen Browe
gbrowe@sugarbush.com

Weekend Forecast and Conditions

Spring is here! Time to work on your goggle tans as we’re looking at sunny skies with a high of 75 on both Saturday and Sunday! For up-to-date weather click here.

Upcoming Events

The 32nd Annual Adventure Games are next weekend, April 10 and 11th. For anyone over 12, get a team together and compete in Sunday’s 4-event triathlon. You can kayak, bike, run, or cross-country ski as a team, or do all four events yourself. On Saturday, there is a kid’s triathlon for those 12 and under, run by Sugarbush favorites John Egan and John Atkinson. Come join the fun!

Click here for the full events calendar.

Micro Blazers

Update by Sara Oleksa

To all the Micro Blazers of the 2009/10 season: I want to thank all of you for such a great season. From beginning to end, you all have been so supportive of our coaches and we have all loved teaching your children. I hope that you have enjoyed your season on the hill and we hope to see many of you this summer in our Mini Campers program. All the kids made such terrific progress over the season. For many children, it was their first time ever on skis, and to have them turning, stopping, truly skiing this mountain makes us really proud! I hope you have a fantastic summer and we hope to see you on the hill next season. Please keep checking your email, as we will be sending out our Micro Blazer slide show for all of you to see with great pictures of your children and their coaches.

Thanks!

Mini Blazers

Update by Tracy Wright

The Mini Blazer Program lesson plan this year was about skill improvement, safety on the mountain and making those lasting friendships. Starting children at a young age helps reinforce their confidence, skills and a life-long love for the sport. For many of us, being part of the blazers connects us to Sugarbush and the wonderful and unique community we have here.

The season ended on a positive note with a weekend filled with fun activities including Pond Skimming and the Hot Dog Race. Throughout the year we have watched you improve. At the Hot Dog race we were very impressed to see you all maintain parallel skiing down through the course!
At this time we would like to hear any comments (email link to GAB) or input that you may have about the Mini Blazer programs for the upcoming season. As with all our programs that we offer here at Sugarbush, we hope to improve and grow with our guest’s needs.

It has been a pleasure to work with you this season and we hope to welcome you back next season. Thank you for a great season and wishing you all a healthy and happy summer!

Tracy, Piper, and the Mini Blazer Team

Snow Blazers and Riders

Update by Mickey Stone

It was a fun, festive time watching Pond Skimming, skiing back on-piste, and using the Nastar course for the last time on Saturday. Sunday, the soft snow was just what we needed to ski a few woods runs (like Eden) and to hit the bumps on Domino, Moonshine and Twist. The kids learned a lot this season and improved their skills immensely. Thank you to our coaches for your dedication, and thank you to our in-house Blazer trainer Mark Woolley. And thank you to all the families. Have a great summer and I hope to see you next season.

Mickey Stone

Race Blazers

Update by Mickey Stone

I think the Race Blazers was the only group that truly enjoyed the hard, fast conditions on Saturday! They got to race in Nastar one last time. Unfortunately, Dave could not finish his last day with the racers due to stubbing his toe in the weee hours of the night. Thank you, Ed Brennan, for filling in.

And speaking of Nastar, a big congratulations to Race Blazer Zach Jacobs-Wolmering, who traveled out to Winter Park, Colorado, and took a GOLD in the Nastar Nationals!

Thank you, parents, for your support and feedback. And thank you, Patty, for organizing the helmet purchases. I look forward to seeing you all next season.

Mickey Stone

Egan’s Adventure Blazers

Update by Mickey Stone

We searched all day for soft snow on Saturday but there was none to be found. But it was enjoyable watching Pond Skimming, and hats off to Andy McMann and Dave Richard who made it across the pond. Sunday faired better for snow conditions and, believe it or not, the woods off Ripdice, 21, 22, Spillsway woods, Lew’s Line and Eagan’s all skied well. It was nice to be able to ski the woods on the last day. Despite the low snow year, we still had a great time and did a lot of exploring, dug snow pits, learned to make proper decisions and protocols out back, built shelters and learned a lot of off-piste tactics with the unique snow conditions. A big thanks to all the parents for their support and feedback through the year. Also, thanks to all the coaches for all they do each and every day. We know some of you are moving on to other programs--competition and race--so good luck to you. Happy healing, Hunter, and I look forward to seeing all of you next season.

Mickey Stone

Mountaineering Blazers

Update by Mickey Stone

We finished up the season by doing an overnight on the mountain. The gang skied all day and cooked dinner and hung out at the Gables, and then made their way to Allyn’s Lodge. Some of the injured took the cat up to the lodge with a few parents. All had a great time. Not sure who the loudest snorer was, but I did hear there wasn’t much sleeping going on! The next day was pretty low-key, enjoying what snow finally softened up. Rick and Diggity conducted an awards ceremony on Saturday night for all. Thanks so much to all the parents who supported this program, made food, delivered the kids each morning, and outfitted their children with the appropriate gear. A big round of applause goes to the coaches Rick and Diggity for their guidance, leadership and friendship. Thanks to our intern who helped out for several weeks. Happy healing to Kyle and Chad. We look forward to seeing you all next season.

Mickey Stone

Mt. Ellen Sunday Snow Blazers

Update by Milo Fischer

Let me start by thanking everyone--coaches, parents and Blazers--for a great season! Things may have started off with some challenging snow conditions. But once everyone got rolling, the program felt very successful.

The Mt. Ellen Spring Bump Contest was a little bit of a throw-back to icy cold January--but we still had a couple of Mt. Ellen Blazers braving what was a very hard and icy course. Congratulations to Campbell Whalen and Erin Zubarik who finished 2nd and 3rd in their class!!

As I wrap things up here at Mt Ellen, I appreciate the input I have received from many of you regarding the program. If you have some some thoughts you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to pass them along. This is how we make improvements to the program to better meet your needs. Thanks for a great season.

Milo Fischer
mfischer@sugarbush.com

Diamond Dogs

Updated by Jonathan Smith

Sugarbush Freestyle swept the podium at the 12th annual Sugarbush spring mogul competition on Sunday March 28th. SJ Grundon: 1st; Liana Sideli: 2nd; Emily Tewksbury: 3rd. Sam Greshin: 1st; Dave O'Brien: 2nd; and Cam Robinson: 3rd.

Most of us, but not all, are finished for the 2009-2010 season. Good luck to our athletes competing at USASA nationals at Copper Resort in Colorado next week, and also to those competing at Killington in 2 weeks.

Thanks for a great season!

Smitty