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11.20.09
In With The New
With a new season comes new goodies.
Here's a rundown of what's new at some of your
favorite resorts. (For a complete listing of New England ski resorts,
check out our page of
snowsports links.)
(Photo Courtesy of Mount Sunapee)
SADDLEBACK MOUNTAIN
(Rangeley, Maine) – Saddleback has added the largest glade in the
Northeast, the 44-acre double black diamond Casablanca. There is also a
new black diamond trail, Family Secret, Saddleback’s 66th trail. This
season, two new Pisten Bully Snow Groomers were added to the mountain’s
arsenal of machines to make the Saddleback snow surface better than
ever.
SUGARLOAF USA (Carrabassett
Valley, Maine) – Upgrades include a new snowmaking line, hydrants, and
guns on Gondola Line Extension, which will allow Sugarloaf to open a
signature expert trail covering more than 1,500 vertical feet from the
summit early in the season.
MOUNT
SUNAPEE (Newbury, New Hampshire) – High-tech snow guns,
new glades, and park changes are what’s new at Mount Sunapee Resort.
Mount Sunapee purchased 10 more energy efficient snow guns. A new gladed
trail has been cut on Mount Sunapee’s South Peak Learning Area. The new
Paradise Glades will add yet another dimension for novice skiers and
riders on South Peak. South Peak has its own beginner terrain park, 13
trails and five lifts. Mount Sunapee’s main terrain park will have a new
look as it expands to incorporate part of a third trail. This year the
main terrain park will offer at least four progression lines featuring
small, medium, large and extra large elements. Progression lines are a
series of elements sized for a particular ability level of park rider
that increase in size and difficulty as the rider progresses down the
slope. This new park layout will also be accompanied with a new name for
the terrain park: “603”.
WATERVILLE VALLEY RESORT
(Waterville Valley, New Hampshire) – Forty new low energy tower
guns have been installed on White Caps and the Chute to ensure earlier
and more expansive snowmaking in the early season. Snowboarders will
find a new line-up of rails and boxes in Exhibition Park created by Luke
Mathison. The resort will continue its popular signature features
program including the Oakley Hubba and new Fuel-TV Skateledge.
MOUNT SNOW (West Dover,
Vermont) – Mount Snow has gone from 104 trails to 80. Basically they
removed the old upper’s and lowers that were added back in the day to
increase trail count. The goal is transparency, as they want the guest
to know that what they say is always the truth. They've started
the Skis on Demand rental delivery program, where they come to the guest
wherever they are, day or night, and deliver their equipment. The idea
is to take the hassle out of renting and waiting in line at a shop.
Also, to improve Carinthia - the all terrain park mountain face -
they've added a 12-foot-high manmade cliff, curved steel features and
Nitro has been widened by 25 feet for better spectator flow.
OKEMO MOUNTAIN RESORT
(Ludlow, Vermont) – The Ross Powers Superpipe will be getting a
makeover for the 2009/2010 season. At Powers’ recommendation, the
longest superpipe in the East will increase its vertical pitch by 12
feet. That means that the steepness of Okemo’s superpipe will become 16
degrees – allowing the resort to attract high-caliber pipe events and
top athletes. Snowboarders and twin-tippers will enjoy the 450-foot long
Ross Powers Superpipe with decks spaced 50 feet apart and walls
measuring 18 feet high. Okemo operations crews have also been busy
during the summer months with trail maintenance. New growth on trail
edges has been noticeably trimmed back to make trails feel more open.
Some highly traveled routes like Mountain Road have been widened in
places to accommodate the increase in their popularity. Okemo continues
its commitment to grooming with the addition of a second Prinoth BR500
grooming machine. They've added 30 new HKD Ranger snow guns to their
arsenal and reconfigured their entire HKD tower gun snowmaking system
with a focus on enhanced resurfacing response time.
SMUGGLER’S NOTCH RESORT (Smuggler’s Notch,
Vermont) – Smugglers’ has added to a challenging and classic New
England-style trail by extending Full Nelson from above mid-point to the
base on Sterling Mountain. Sterling offers skiers and riders a mix of
intermediate and advanced terrain including gentle cruisers, narrow
steeps, and glades.
SUGARBUSH (Warren,
Vermont) - Sugarbush has added 75 acres of new wooded terrain at
both Mt. Ellen and Lincoln Peak. The expansion is part of their
continuing effort to create new challenges and experiences for guests as
well as removing the “fear factor” from wooded skiing and riding; some
of the new areas have a gentle slope and more space between trees.
WOODBURY SKI
AREA (Woodbury, Connecticut) – Woodbury's new lodge and
improved services include a new full-service base lodge located at the
tubing park on the East side. The lodge is complete with restrooms,
snack bar, private rooms for parties and corporate functions, lockers,
and a fireplace & warming area to relax in. The tubing runs are now
increased to 12 runs, and all three of the tubing parks are lighted for
night tubing. They have four new tubing runs including two new beginner
runs that are each over 1,000 feet long. There is a new kiddie learning
area serviced by a magic carpet. The Boob Toob run is serviced by a
redesigned longer handle tow and includes two additional turns. They
have quadrupled their ski & snowboard rentals and have over 200 new
Rossignol helmets available for purchase or rent. There's a newly
designed terrain park for beginner snowboarders and skiers including
rails, hits, jumps, quarter pipes, rainbows, grinds, hips and other
features.
[TALK SKIING & BOARDING IN THE SIX
STATES FORUM] |
