Sugarbush Experience: Whats Good & Whats Bad

[Spin & Win]

Went to Sugarbush this weekend for a kid event. Got to check out Sugarbush for the first time in a few years since I have been there last. Here is what I observed on how they run their mountain compared to POWDR:

Customer Service: Far superior to Killington. I noticed the vast majority of employees are locals from the community. They say please and thank you. The employees seemed to have a stake in what was going on around them. They had a security guard patrolling the lodge and the ski racks. The guard was very visible, and it was reassuring to see them keeping an eye on things and your equipment. They also had jug of hot cider and cups ready for you at the end of the day as you exit the lodge. The cider guy was polite and said "thank you for skiing with us today". I dont think POWDR could even conceive of this idea. Wow! In this department, its obvious that Sugarbush is a mountain owned and run by locals. They even had a picture in the lodge of the team with a winners sign. They care, its obvious.

Quality of Skiing: Here, POWDR kills Sugarbush. Its not even close. Sugarbush clearly struggles to recover from weather events. The slopes were poorly groomed, and what was groomed was a sheet of ice and scary as hell to ski. The snowmaking was next to non existent. Only a couple of trails here and there, and the effort was lame with less modern equipment. Unless you get lots of natural snow, its very clear that Killington recovers much better and faster than Sugarbush. After experiencing both mountains, I wont complain anymore about the way Killington recovers from a weather event. I have skiied the Bush on a powder day and their terrain is amazing, like their trees and Castlrock. But I talking about what their mountain is like after the weather turns ugly. Here, Killington really is much better.

Is Killington perfect? No, far from it. Does their customer service suck? Yep, sure does. Do they seem disconnected from their customers and the community? Yep, they are. Are they truly utilizing all their resources to recover better and faster like they REALLY can? Nope.

But, after experiencing just how bad the skiing at Sugarbush was this weekend, it makes realize that Killington isnt THAT bad after all. I just wish they could get with the program on customer service and community involvement like Sugarbush. Thats my take, for what its worth.

S&W

[tyrolean_skier]

Went to Sugarbush this weekend for a kid event. Got to check out Sugarbush for the first time in a few years since I have been there last. Here is what I observed on how they run their mountain compared to POWDR:

Customer Service: Far superior to Killington. I noticed the vast majority of employees are locals from the community. They say please and thank you. The employees seemed to have a stake in what was going on around them. They had a security guard patrolling the lodge and the ski racks. The guard was very visible, and it was reassuring to see them keeping an eye on things and your equipment. They also had jug of hot cider and cups ready for you at the end of the day as you exit the lodge. The cider guy was polite and said "thank you for skiing with us today". I dont think POWDR could even conceive of this idea. Wow! In this department, its obvious that Sugarbush is a mountain owned and run by locals. They even had a picture in the lodge of the team with a winners sign. They care, its obvious.

Quality of Skiing: Here, POWDR kills Sugarbush. Its not even close. Sugarbush clearly struggles to recover from weather events. The slopes were poorly groomed, and what was groomed was a sheet of ice and scary as hell to ski. The snowmaking was next to non existent. Only a couple of trails here and there, and the effort was lame with less modern equipment. Unless you get lots of natural snow, its very clear that Killington recovers much better and faster than Sugarbush. After experiencing both mountains, I wont complain anymore about the way Killington recovers from a weather event. I have skiied the Bush on a powder day and their terrain is amazing, like their trees and Castlrock. But I talking about what their mountain is like after the weather turns ugly. Here, Killington really is much better.

Is Killington perfect? No, far from it. Does their customer service suck? Yep, sure does. Do they seem disconnected from their customers and the community? Yep, they are. Are they truly utilizing all their resources to recover better and faster like they REALLY can? Nope.

But, after experiencing just how bad the skiing at Sugarbush was this weekend, it makes realize that Killington isnt THAT bad after all. I just wish they could get with the program on customer service and community involvement like Sugarbush. Thats my take, for what its worth.

S&W

Sounds like the experience that Dork had as far as skiing goes at Sugarbush yesterday.

BTW, welcome to the forum. Good input.

[SkiDork]

Welcome S&W. That huge ice patch was downright frightful coming down after the comp yesterday. See ya in 2

[Spin & Win]

Welcome S&W. That huge ice patch was downright frightful coming down after the comp yesterday. See ya in 2

Yeah it was. Happy to be aboard! :)

[RustyK]

Welcome S&W. That huge ice patch was downright frightful coming down after the comp yesterday. See ya in 2

Yeah it was. Happy to be aboard! :)

Winn? Is that you?

[Highway Star]

Quality of Skiing: Here, POWDR kills Sugarbush. Its not even close. Sugarbush clearly struggles to recover from weather events. The slopes were poorly groomed, and what was groomed was a sheet of ice and scary as hell to ski. The snowmaking was next to non existent. Only a couple of trails here and there, and the effort was lame with less modern equipment. Unless you get lots of natural snow, its very clear that Killington recovers much better and faster than Sugarbush. After experiencing both mountains, I wont complain anymore about the way Killington recovers from a weather event. I have skiied the Bush on a powder day and their terrain is amazing, like their trees and Castlrock. But I talking about what their mountain is like after the weather turns ugly. Here, Killington really is much better.

The further north you go the worse recoveries and snowmaking get. Jay, Stowe and Sugarbush struggle in bad weather.

If you go further south, grooming and snowmaking become better....

[sLoPeS]

The further north you go the worse recoveries and snowmaking get. Jay, Stowe and Sugarbush struggle in bad weather.

If you go further south, grooming and snowmaking become better....

oh.....the Ups and Downs of skiing, hahaha.

[Win]

Spin and Win,

I am not sure when you were here, at what time and when you were on the slopes, but I have to respectfully disagree. There is no question that the snowmaking system at Killington that Press Smith installed and the unlimited access to water makes Killington's snowmaking system terrific. I skied every day these past 10 days at Sugarbush. After a terrible weather event, I was really pleased with our mountain crew. It takes several days for a mountain like ours to recover from a thaw/freeze. The grooming in the morning on most trails was very good in my opinion. Traffic does deteriorate trails later in the day. Where we had high winds and trails were windswept over night after they were groomed does create challenging and poor conditions. Had you skied a trail like Stein's or Murphy's Glades at Lincoln Peak after three days of snowmaking, I can't imagine that you would have given them anything but an A+.

It sounds like you must have been at Mount Ellen for the B-level mogul competition. ME faces North and the winds were out of the NW for the past several days and that did scour and harden the trails, especially high up. Upper Rim Run was terrible. No amount of grooming or snowmaking would have made it any better given the winds.

Anyways, that it my opinion.

Come up again and see what you think.

Thanks for the comment on guest service. My team appreciates that a lot.

[Crippity]

It is always relative to the individual. Reading everyone's individual recount from what they experienced is great, in my opinion. I lurk on here daily because i find it very useful and entertaining. I ride at Sugarbush probably around 6 to 8 times a year and K about 4 times a year. I think Sugarbush, next to Stowe is the best mtn in VT hands down, just my opinion, great job Win. Keep on with the folly!

[tyrolean_skier]

Spin and Win,

I am not sure when you were here, at what time and when you were on the slopes, but I have to respectfully disagree. There is no question that the snowmaking system at Killington that Press Smith installed and the unlimited access to water makes Killington's snowmaking system terrific. I skied every day these past 10 days at Sugarbush. After a terrible weather event, I was really pleased with our mountain crew. It takes several days for a mountain like ours to recover from a thaw/freeze. The grooming in the morning on most trails was very good in my opinion. Traffic does deteriorate trails later in the day. Where we had high winds and trails were windswept over night after they were groomed does create challenging and poor conditions. Had you skied a trail like Stein's or Murphy's Glades at Lincoln Peak after three days of snowmaking, I can't imagine that you would have given them anything but an A+.

It sounds like you must have been at Mount Ellen for the B-level mogul competition. ME faces North and the winds were out of the NW for the past several days and that did scour and harden the trails, especially high up. Upper Rim Run was terrible. No amount of grooming or snowmaking would have made it any better given the winds.

Anyways, that it my opinion.

Come up again and see what you think.

Thanks for the comment on guest service. My team appreciates that a lot.

Win,

Both Spin & Win and my husband, Skidork, were at Mt. Ellen for the B-level mogul competition as you guessed. It was scary for Skidork to ski in those conditions because he has bad knees and I even advised him not to ski one day at K last week since the conditions had deteriorated and a lot of icy patches were showing up. They could not ski at Lincoln Peak since the competition was at Mt. Ellen and they wanted to be there to see our children compete. We do plan on coming up another time when conditions will be much better.

[SkiDork]

Win: Please Please Please allow them to have the B comp back on Spring Fling next year. Having it on Elbow was quite disappointing, seeing as how its practically at the top of the mountain and makes it virtually impossible for non-skiers to view the comp. Thanks for your time.

Oh, one other thing - you're right, It looks like Mt Ellen is a tougher mountain to maintain. I skied down one of the blues after the comp was over and I was scared for my life. There was a patch of ice the size of Rhode Island, edge to edge, nowhere to hide. IMHO that trail and any others like it should definitely have been roped off.

Thanks again.

Edit: Spin & Win is correct - the staff is tremendous. One example: On Sunday, when we dropped off at the temporary lot the attendant came over and informed us of the wind hold situation. Also when I went to park in Bay 2 the same thing. I've never seen that happen at K. Kudos to your staff.

[BoozeTan]

Edit: Spin & Win is correct - the staff is tremendous. One example: On Sunday, when we dropped off at the temporary lot the attendant came over and informed us of the wind hold situation. Also when I went to park in Bay 2 the same thing. I've never seen that happen at K. Kudos to your staff.

After the debacle that was the 50th anniversary celebration, I would assume that POWDR will just take your money regardless of conditions (like having only 2 lifts running with a 40 minute wait). They will never have someone in the lots saying, lifts are down, conditions are bad.

[MrsG]

It is always relative to the individual. Reading everyone's individual recount from what they experienced is great, in my opinion. I lurk on here daily because i find it very useful and entertaining. I ride at Sugarbush probably around 6 to 8 times a year and K about 4 times a year. I think Sugarbush, next to Stowe is the best mtn in VT hands down, just my opinion, great job Win. Keep on with the folly!

What the hey is that supposed to mean!?!?!?! As far as I'm concerned, Win's one of the best

Merriam-Webster definition:

folly
One entry found.
Main Entry: fol·ly
Pronunciation: \ˈfä-lē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural follies
Etymology: Middle English folie, from Anglo-French, from fol fool
Date: 13th century
1: lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight
2 a: criminally or tragically foolish actions or conduct bobsolete : evil , wickedness ; especially : lewd behavior
3: a foolish act or idea
4: an excessively costly or unprofitable undertaking
5: an often extravagant picturesque building erected to suit a fanciful taste

[Win]

I agree with you about Spring Fling. I will speak with the event organizer about next year.

[Bubba]

Win posts here and elsewhere and listens to comments both good and bad.

Okemo opens up about their numbers, including how many burgers and fries they sold.

Oh to imagine such open and honest communication here at Killington......