Upstaging perennial rival and "family member," Sugarloaf/USA, Sunday River Resort, Maine, officially opened full time for the 2007-2008 season at 11:30 today.
While Sunday River had opened for one day on Halloween, most don't consider a resort to be open for the season unless they stay continuously open, therefore, the Halloween opening doesn't really count as Sunday River's opening. Why is this important? Quite frankly, it really isn't in the grand scheme of things, but bragging rights are always the banter of forums and bar stools.
After a long period as king of early openings and late closings, Killington, VT - now operated by POWDR Corp, decided to not even attempt an early opening this year, which is the first time in decades. While this opened the door for Sunday River, who had all along intended to open no later than November 9th, it was recently announced that Sugarloaf would also open on the 9th, bumping up their opening by a week. Not to be outdone by its' sister resort, the mountain operations crew at Sunday River resume snowmaking operations yesterday afternoon and were able to lay down enough snow for today's opening on one trail and one lift.
For the time being, skiing and riding is for advanced only and downloading is required on the Locke triple. So if you're not an expert, please think twice about getting on the lift. No, the terrain is not normally overwhelming, but early season skiing and riding is not easy and a lot of people end up walking down slopes and getting injured. For the full story on this and other alpine news, check out the good folks at Alpine Zone for the lastest updates.
Showing posts with label killington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label killington. Show all posts
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
And more from SKI Magazine
Okay, so I've already covered how I feel about SKI's "reader's poll" results from the west, but I'm not done. Who knows? This may be ongoing, but quite frankly, it's taken me longer to sift through the pages as other ski magazines that have come out with their own rankings and ratings have MUCH more viability.
Nonetheless, I think we should talk about the rankings for the east. I guess I don't have too much of a problem with Mont Tremblant at number 1. They've got great lifts, over 2K in vert, and Intrawest has poured a ton of money into making this a destination resort, but the rest of the rankings are seemingly meant to be pleasing to a wide audience instead of catching the vibe of the skiers and riders.
Don't get me wrong, Smuggler's Notch is a great resort with good trees, out-of-bounds, vert, and their famous family program, but #2 in the east? Apparently the voters skipped skiing anywhere that has been updated in the last 30 years. I'm not saying that new is better and quite frankly don't like over-crowded slopes, but with that much vert, you can't rely on old double-chairs - Too slow and too cold. Having these types of lifts serving expert terrain is great, but when they are your primary people movers... Yikes!
Second, I think it's pitiful that Holiday Valley, NJ was included. Is there a really good reason why they have to throw a mid-Atlantic area in there each year and put it above places like Sugarloaf and Killington? No. It's absurd. I don't care how good your nightlife is, 750 feet of vert doesn't compare and it doesn't matter how far you spread it out.
As for the other areas that were included, you can probably mix them around each year as favorites are subjective, but they have to make some sense. The Bretton Woods golf course doesn't cut unless you are a beginner or intermediate. It's great if you are, but variety is key and BW doesn't have it. They do get props for lifts and views though.
And now to get really subjective. Yes, I'm from Maine and grew up skiing Sugarloaf and Sunday River, but I ski everywhere and that being said, have a really hard time with Sunday River being left off when places like Holiday Valley and Bretton Woods are considered the best. To rank Holiday Valley higher than Sugarloaf is basically spitting in the face of people who actually go to a place to ski or ride. And Sunday River's variety, snow making, and grooming can't be ignored.
That's all for now, but check back after I've read a few more pages.
Think Snow!!!
Nonetheless, I think we should talk about the rankings for the east. I guess I don't have too much of a problem with Mont Tremblant at number 1. They've got great lifts, over 2K in vert, and Intrawest has poured a ton of money into making this a destination resort, but the rest of the rankings are seemingly meant to be pleasing to a wide audience instead of catching the vibe of the skiers and riders.
Don't get me wrong, Smuggler's Notch is a great resort with good trees, out-of-bounds, vert, and their famous family program, but #2 in the east? Apparently the voters skipped skiing anywhere that has been updated in the last 30 years. I'm not saying that new is better and quite frankly don't like over-crowded slopes, but with that much vert, you can't rely on old double-chairs - Too slow and too cold. Having these types of lifts serving expert terrain is great, but when they are your primary people movers... Yikes!
Second, I think it's pitiful that Holiday Valley, NJ was included. Is there a really good reason why they have to throw a mid-Atlantic area in there each year and put it above places like Sugarloaf and Killington? No. It's absurd. I don't care how good your nightlife is, 750 feet of vert doesn't compare and it doesn't matter how far you spread it out.
As for the other areas that were included, you can probably mix them around each year as favorites are subjective, but they have to make some sense. The Bretton Woods golf course doesn't cut unless you are a beginner or intermediate. It's great if you are, but variety is key and BW doesn't have it. They do get props for lifts and views though.
And now to get really subjective. Yes, I'm from Maine and grew up skiing Sugarloaf and Sunday River, but I ski everywhere and that being said, have a really hard time with Sunday River being left off when places like Holiday Valley and Bretton Woods are considered the best. To rank Holiday Valley higher than Sugarloaf is basically spitting in the face of people who actually go to a place to ski or ride. And Sunday River's variety, snow making, and grooming can't be ignored.
That's all for now, but check back after I've read a few more pages.
Think Snow!!!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Bring on the snow guns!
The crisp, autumn air that hovered over New England will subside for a few days as less seasonable temps take over, but with the ski season so close, resort all across the country are getting ready to fire up their sun guns and fans and start laying down the white stuff, as soon as Mother Nature permits.
With the recent announcement from Sugarloaf/USA that they will go for an October 26th opening, they will try to stake claim to a prize that for many years had been held by Killington.
In the 1990's, both Sunday River and Sugarloaf tried competing with Killington each year for the first to open. Each were successful couple of times, but the reigns quickly were handed back to Killington as ASC got into financial trouble.
And yet the big surprise came a few year back when Killington again got beaten to the punch. This time is wasn't another eastern giant, but a hill in Connecticut called Ski Woodbury. Woodbury had flown under the radar and was able to surprise everyone in the industry. The same mistake would certainty not happen again, until the very next year.
Some don't count such openings are Woodbury's due to the fact they are not able to sustain warm November spells and almost always end up closing. This was the case last year when Ski Cataloochee in North Carolina was the first to turn it's rope tow for skiing. Like most others, this small, but high altitude ski area had to close before re-opening for the season, but for a couple of weeks, "The Cat" was the buzz of the eastern ski world.
In a few short weeks, the guns and fans around the east will start to roar. Powdr Corp, the new operator of Killington and Pico, have said that early skiing and riding is not an option for their them, but one wonders if this is just a ploy to get Killington back on top. Or maybe Boyne really will deliver the goods in western Maine and having us skiing Tote Road on Halloween.
With the recent announcement from Sugarloaf/USA that they will go for an October 26th opening, they will try to stake claim to a prize that for many years had been held by Killington.
In the 1990's, both Sunday River and Sugarloaf tried competing with Killington each year for the first to open. Each were successful couple of times, but the reigns quickly were handed back to Killington as ASC got into financial trouble.
And yet the big surprise came a few year back when Killington again got beaten to the punch. This time is wasn't another eastern giant, but a hill in Connecticut called Ski Woodbury. Woodbury had flown under the radar and was able to surprise everyone in the industry. The same mistake would certainty not happen again, until the very next year.
Some don't count such openings are Woodbury's due to the fact they are not able to sustain warm November spells and almost always end up closing. This was the case last year when Ski Cataloochee in North Carolina was the first to turn it's rope tow for skiing. Like most others, this small, but high altitude ski area had to close before re-opening for the season, but for a couple of weeks, "The Cat" was the buzz of the eastern ski world.
In a few short weeks, the guns and fans around the east will start to roar. Powdr Corp, the new operator of Killington and Pico, have said that early skiing and riding is not an option for their them, but one wonders if this is just a ploy to get Killington back on top. Or maybe Boyne really will deliver the goods in western Maine and having us skiing Tote Road on Halloween.
My StumbleUpon Page
