PowderBeard Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 2 hours ago, radarman said: Monday Dec 14th? Only took a couple hours to shut most things down lol https://vtdigger.org/2020/11/13/scott-bans-multi-family-gatherings-in-vermont-closes-bars-and-clubs/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 35 minutes ago, PowderBeard said: Only took a couple hours to shut most things down lol https://vtdigger.org/2020/11/13/scott-bans-multi-family-gatherings-in-vermont-closes-bars-and-clubs/ Ha, it’s really only clubs/bars and restaurants after 10pm. The sports leagues make sense as those have been huge sources of spread in VT. Hockey leagues, bowling leagues, etc. I think they need a more pointed/isolated closure of activities that lead to spread like that rather than a blanket stay at home order. Hopefully ski areas don’t get blamed or we are done too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderBeard Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 40 minutes ago, powderfreak said: Ha, it’s really only clubs/bars and restaurants after 10pm. The sports leagues make sense as those have been huge sources of spread in VT. Hockey leagues, bowling leagues, etc. I think they need a more pointed/isolated closure of activities that lead to spread like that rather than a blanket stay at home order. Hopefully ski areas don’t get blamed or we are done too. Makes sense. It's amazing what we could have learned if we paid attention elsewhere. There have been several super-spreader hockey events over the summer. Some excerpts from two... In its most recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC documented the case of a recreational hockey game in Tampa Bay, Fla., back in June, in which 14 players and one arena staff member became ill within five days after the game. Of the 15 people, 13 later tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while the other two were not tested. Some teenagers who play hockey for the North Carolina Junior Hurricanes tested positive for COVID-19 in late September. Those who tested negative got on a bus to Georgia for weekend play in Marietta. Within days it was clear that that was a mistake. Coronavirus outbreaks now rage among players in both states, as the games apparently turned into a super-spreader event. The Georgia club now has infections among 23 players and one parent, according to team officials and associates. The North Carolina club would not disclose a number. Reports to media outlets have varied from just three there, reported by the league, to unofficial reports of up to 17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderBeard Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 7 minutes ago, radarman said: FWIW Berkshire East purchased the Hermitage out of bankruptcy this year and they are going to reopen as a non-profit. But the deed requires them to remain private, which presumably was a condition of the original sale from Mt Snow. At any rate, the country club demand can't be too high considering that's basically the only one and they were broke. That said, put a country club on Mansfield and you might have something. Release the hounds on the riff raff. Moved it over here given its more ski based. Did they ever sell any of the lifts or all still in place? I know that was discussed a lot. When they built Haystack they should have put it on the western slope, straight gnar on that side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 6 minutes ago, PowderBeard said: Moved it over here given its more ski based. Did they ever sell any of the lifts or all still in place? I know that was discussed a lot. When they built Haystack they should have put it on the western slope, straight gnar on that side. Western slope is tough for retention. Esp if it's steep. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 24 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said: Western slope is tough for retention. Esp if it's steep. Western side of Mansfield melts out to 3,500ft well before it melts at 1,500ft on the east side lol. Getting direct sun during the warmest diurnal time of day is a killer in the spring. Afternoon shadow FTW when it comes to depth... that’s why I find natural snow on this high east side in like June. Can suck though for spring skiing sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 31 minutes ago, PowderBeard said: Moved it over here given its more ski based. Did they ever sell any of the lifts or all still in place? I know that was discussed a lot. When they built Haystack they should have put it on the western slope, straight gnar on that side. It's not totally clear to me what happened. It seems like from the FB page they may have reopened as a member owned coop, but retained Milltown to manage the mountain ops. It does sound like they intend to reopen this year. Good for them. Much as I love Nelsap, I'd rather not see it updated with anything other than memories and recent trail pics. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderBeard Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 Just now, powderfreak said: Western side of Mansfield melts out to 3,500ft well before it melts at 1,500ft on the east side lol. Getting direct sun during the warmest diurnal time of day is a killer in the spring. Wow. I never made that western facing connection. Makes sense because Magic melts out and natural stuff can still be skied on Timber Ridge side if it was a good year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderBeard Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 2 minutes ago, radarman said: It's not totally clear to me what happened. It seems like from the FB page they may have reopened as a member owned coop, but retained Milltown to manage the mountain ops. It does sound like they intend to reopen this year. Good for them. Much as I love Nelsap, I'd rather not see it updated with anything other than memories and recent trail pics. Absolutely, I remember The Witches pod being pretty fun. I was actually checking out Ascutney this morning on NE Ski History and didn't realize how big it was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 6 minutes ago, PowderBeard said: Absolutely, I remember The Witches pod being pretty fun. I was actually checking out Ascutney this morning on NE Ski History and didn't realize how big it was. Ascutney has been running a non-profit ski area the last few years also, open to the public, with a rope tow and a tbar as of last year I think. Also does some trail maintenance above it for the skin crowd. Love that they do that, they'll probably get a lot of traffic this year if they have snow. Some good terrain too, particularly skiers left in the woods out to the cabin. Gets cliffy over there if you go too far though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 43 minutes ago, PowderBeard said: Wow. I never made that western facing connection. Makes sense because Magic melts out and natural stuff can still be skied on Timber Ridge side if it was a good year. Yeah haha, once you get it, it clicks hard. I think way back in the day (1930s) they were looking at Mansfield and figured out that the East side had a shitload more snowpack than the west side, so that’s where they started cutting the first trails. They cut the original and fabled Nosedive in what is the deepest most consistent snowpack on the NE aspect. They weren’t dumb lol. Like someone probably went around in March and was like this side has 8 feet on the ground while the other side is melting out. Let’s put the trail here. To me it is the perfect combo... get bright sunny mornings to ski during the coldest part of the day, then the ridge shadow protects the snow from direct sunlight during the warmest time of the day in the afternoon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 Whenever I see Ascutney, I can't help tell an important lesson I learned there sometime in mid-late '70s. Probably 10th grade. Day trip on a bus from Boston, knowing it was my last day of skiing for season and my friends and I didn't go in for lunch. It was beautiful Spring day, blue sky and warm. I remember being tired and hungry and probably a bit dehydrated...a skier cut in front of me, I had to turn quickly, hit a bump and next thing I was flying thru the air like a bird! At last second, I got my skis up in front of me before I crashed into a big tree. My friends thought I was dead. I came crawling out of woods with my face all scratched up and a broken ski. I liked the mountain though and always wanted to get back there! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 I'm sure there will be a handful of mountains opening next weekend, maybe sooner. https://www.killington.com/the-mountain/webcams/mountain/north-ridge-cam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Skiing in the age of Covid https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/16/business/new-england-ski-resorts-expect-huge-demand-this-season-capacity-will-be-limited/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Good snowmaking window coming up, but 50s again next week? Gross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bch2014 Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHq9JGpjuoI/?igshid=eebru6b3kuzt Covid closes Taos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 15 hours ago, Lava Rock said: Good snowmaking window coming up, but 50s again next week? Gross Stowe just delayed opening until at least the 25th. Will get a good 48-hour run now but the extended doesn’t inspire confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 11 hours ago, bch2014 said: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHq9JGpjuoI/?igshid=eebru6b3kuzt Covid closes Taos. For the record, at the moment, the virus is much more prevalent in NM (62.4/100k) than VT (13.6/100k). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Stowe just delayed opening until at least the 25th. Will get a good 48-hour run now but the extended doesn’t inspire confidence.When was the last time they didn't open by tday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChasingFlakes Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 I remember being at Smuggs around Christmas 2011 and there being no snow aside from man made. Not sure when resorts opened that year, but I assume that was the most recent season to startup late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 38 minutes ago, Lava Rock said: 1 hour ago, powderfreak said: Stowe just delayed opening until at least the 25th. Will get a good 48-hour run now but the extended doesn’t inspire confidence. When was the last time they didn't open by tday? Hmm 2011? 2006 wasn’t until December sometime. 2015 was actually a good opening after a cold snap but then it went downhill fast. Several years have gone to the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. We do think we can get next Wednesday. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCWarrior Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 54 minutes ago, powderfreak said: Hmm 2011? 2006 wasn’t until December sometime. 2015 was actually a good opening after a cold snap but then it went downhill fast. Several years have gone to the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. We do think we can get next Wednesday. Berkshire East opened on New Years day 2012! That was a nice winter for golf! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 Not looking good right now in Vermont for skiing. Watch the governors press conferences through the week. Lots of food on edge right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 25 minutes ago, Skivt2 said: Not looking good right now in Vermont for skiing. Watch the governors press conferences through the week. Lots of food on edge right now. I was just going thinking this AM if no nearby (NH) mountains open for Thanksgiving, I still couldn't to to Vermont even from Grafton County, NH. I wonder if it's even worth opening for VT resorts if only Vermonter's are allowed to ski? Particularly with little/no income from F/B. Between the $hit weather and Covid, 20-21 is off to a terrible start. Looking like I'll be getting a lot of bony back country exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 25 minutes ago, Skivt2 said: Not looking good right now in Vermont for skiing. Watch the governors press conferences through the week. Lots of food on edge right now. That edgy food tastes great though. I don't see how the whole industry can be shut down. Going to be a tough year for many resorts. Just go bare minimum and hope for a good year next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 You think there's a lot of food on the edge now, just wait a couple weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 15 minutes ago, MarkO said: I was just going thinking this AM if no nearby (NH) mountains open for Thanksgiving, I still couldn't to to Vermont even from Grafton County, NH. I wonder if it's even worth opening for VT resorts if only Vermonter's are allowed to ski? Particularly with little/no income from F/B. Between the $hit weather and Covid, 20-21 is off to a terrible start. Looking like I'll be getting a lot of bony back country exercise. I can safely say without the Gov't shutting them down, that Stowe will be open. Too much money has been put into it already in planning, hiring, protocols, buying PPE and making infrastructure changes to help social distancing, etc that there's no way the company will just close it. Too many season passes sold, etc. But again, it's all geared towards like 30-50% normal business... these ski areas cannot operate within COVID procedure parameters and get 75% or more of their normal visitations... the guest experience would be absolutely horrible. That's why reservations and such will work to control crowd levels so as to not degrade the experience to just waiting in lines to do everything from using the lift to getting inside to go to the bathrooms. I mean you're still waiting in lines everywhere, but hopefully not like 30 minutes or longer lines. Personally I still think weather is going to dictate this to start a lot more than COVID. Pattern is not very favorable into December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 51 minutes ago, powderfreak said: I can safely say without the Gov't shutting them down, that Stowe will be open. Too much money has been put into it already in planning, hiring, protocols, buying PPE and making infrastructure changes to help social distancing, etc that there's no way the company will just close it. Too many season passes sold, etc. But again, it's all geared towards like 30-50% normal business... these ski areas cannot operate within COVID procedure parameters and get 75% or more of their normal visitations... the guest experience would be absolutely horrible. That's why reservations and such will work to control crowd levels so as to not degrade the experience to just waiting in lines to do everything from using the lift to getting inside to go to the bathrooms. I mean you're still waiting in lines everywhere, but hopefully not like 30 minutes or longer lines. Personally I still think weather is going to dictate this to start a lot more than COVID. Pattern is not very favorable into December. I’m on day 15 of quarantine hoping to ski Killington sometime in the next week for a week. Had planned to come back for two weeks but continue to quarantine so that we can go back after that for a while. Starting today CT requires a 14 day quarantine for anyone traveling to VT and staying more than 24 hours in CT so it’s just getting tighter. CT does allow grocery shopping and picking up medications during quarantine but that won’t be an option for us because Vermont does not. Won’t be hard to quarantine in VT now since socializing with anyone outside of your household in VT is forbidden. We won’t be going anywhere while in VT except the lifts. That is if the VT governor does not shut them down. Interesting article by skiology Matt on Northeast skiology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Will VT allow folks from other states to even buy lift tickets? That's really the only way I could see them having any control of out of state skiers if they want to enforce it. I agree ski areas will be open, certainly in NH where I see no way a former ski resort owner is current governor. NH was also the last to shut down last winter. Live Free or Die, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderBeard Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Killington is hammering Snowdon now. I bet they open up Thursday/Fri. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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