SugarBlog

Over the past few months, we’ve been working on a new way to help share some of our awesome content with you. We’re pretty excited about this new format, so let’s dig into what it means...

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Moth Radio Hour: the great storytelling NPR program. This year it’s coming to Sugarbush. I’m hoping I get on. Here’s my story in case I don’t. My apologies ahead of time for the length...

We are still two weeks away from the official start of winter – and we are already seeing mid-winter conditions on the mountain. If you are looking to get out of the cold – we are ready for you here at the SHaRC!

Last Saturday I was down in Boston as Lili’s late brother, Billy, was being honored by having a square in Cambridge named after him. Billy was a music aficionado and an incredibly generous person who helped many musicians in the Boston area get their start.

When a sweet stretch of snow comes to an end, there is a common let-down and hope for a quick return to tasty turns. November set some impressive records and it was difficult to see the unfrozen precipitation dripping off the trees earlier this week.

Despite forecasts that suggested no real snow was going to follow the warm-up, we've seen several inches since Tuesday and conditions have bounced back pretty quickly. While the snowmakers and groomers are certainly doing their part, the rebound snow has been impressive. Typical of this part in the season, unexpected micro-storms are common, due to Lake Champlain being unfrozen, prevailing west-to-east winds and our mountains' heavy orographic lifting.

I’m feeling thankful. Of course, we’ve had two feet of snow fall this week, so maybe it’s easy to say that, but there are a number of reasons we should all be feeling thankful heading into the holiday season (and it’s not all snow-based)...

Yes, as hard as it is to fathom, it is still autumn. With the best November turns that anyone can remember, we can be forgiven for thinking it is mid-winter already. One of our long-term guests remarked today that we've had a season's worth of great days in the first 2 weeks. This is maybe a stretch, but the quantity and quality have been remarkable, especially for late fall.

Wednesday was my 13^th day of skiing here at Sugarbush so far this season.  I am really thankful that I got into decent shape before the start of the season or my quads would be on fire.  We have only completed 8% of the season, but what a start it has been!

Our 60^th Anniversary got off to a great start on Friday, November 16^th.  We opened a day early for passholders and in addition to skiing and riding on Snowball and Spring Fling where we had made a ton of snow, we were able to drop the rope on The Mall, Stein’s Run, Lixi’s Twist and Moonshine...

Boom ... the wait is over! We're opening this Friday with Valley House Quad and hoping to greatly expand terrain and lifts for the weekend. Expect ungroomed terrain on Friday, with fresh corduroy planned for Saturday.

Winter was right on time this November, with lots of cold air for good snowmaking. Mother Nature has been adding significant accumulation to the mix too. We've gotten over a foot recently and there is more in the forecast. Opening Day may be a powder day, which is always a great way to kick off the season.

It’s official, thanks to the incredible efforts of our snowmakers and over a foot of snow from Mother Nature, we’ll be opening a day early for Passholder Appreciation Day this Friday, November 16^th...

Do you hear that quiet "sssscccchhhhhhhhhhhh" in the air? Music to your ears, too? Yes, Mother Nature's Helper got fired up last night! It might look like we're making snow, but at the core, that's the sound of fun being made. 

Our early winter kept delivering October snow last week, with decent accumulations at higher elevations. While we are ready to roll right into the cold, November is fickle, the mercury is heading up and we're seeing warm temps to start the month. This has reset the snowmaking countdown, but we're still shooting for a November 17th Opening Day.

While fall is back for a few more days at least, it's time to enjoy the stark beauty of stick season. This is the best time of year for scouting ski and bike terrain, as the vegetation and foliage have settled down and you can see much more widely in the woods.

Win’s right: November is a tough month here in the ski industry. The weather’s up and down, we’re usually slammed with getting ready for the season, and many of us are on the road for ski shows and the Warren Miller Tour...

November has always been my least favorite month of the year. The days are often wet or damp and daylight hours are short. It is no longer light when I get up in the morning and the sun sets before the workday is finished...

The switch from peak foliage to winter can be a gentle slide, like last year, where it stayed warm and sunny into the beginning of November. That is not the progression we are currently experiencing. 

This fall has plunged into cold wet weather quickly, with a couple shots of snow and extended cool temps next week. While not a guarantee, this bodes well for snowmaking starting on-time November 1st and for meeting Opening Day plans for November 17th.

It was great to see so many members of our community at Sugarbush over the Columbus Day weekend. While the weather was not ideal, that did not deter people from enjoying golf and our mountain activities on Saturday and Oktoberfest on Sunday...

Thank you to the entire Sugarbush community for a great weekend of peak foliage, friendly adventures, celebrity celebrations and hearty harvest feasts. Hearing the old stories from some of the original folks who helped get the mountain rolling back in the day was a real highlight.