Today was a complete ski day at Sugarbush. We skied Mount Ellen, we rode the Slide Brook Express, and then we skied Lincoln Peak. We skied a lot of bumped runs, a lot of trees and a fair amount of groomers. We were up on Castlerock, we were in Paradise, and we were on F.I.S. and Lower F.I.S. I’d keep going, but I think you get the point. It was a terrific day of skiing in the Mad River Valley.

You may have noticed I repeatedly said “we” in that opening paragraph. That’s because I skied with none other than Pro Skier Darren White, Wild Bill and Chris, who sadly still doesn't have a nickname in the Never Quit Skiing universe, although it will come sooner or later. Pro Skier Darren White and I have skied Sugarbush a few times this season together, but it was both Wild Bill and Chris’ first time there this season. It was also the first time the four of us were together at this mountain since the day I broke six ribs and left in an ambulance, and I made sure we all stopped at the scene of the accident.

The four of us standing in the area I got hurt. From left to right: Pro Skier Darren White, myself, Wild Bill, and Chris. Photo credit: Chris Cover.

For those unfamiliar with the resort, Sugarbush is split up in to two mountains: Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen. Mount Ellen makes up the northern side of the resort. The two mountains are actually several miles a part and are connected by the Slide Brook Express, which is a really long high speed quad.

Across both peaks, conditions were great mostly everywhere. The groomers were in great shape, the natural snow only terrain was full of mostly soft bumps, some of them large, and the coverage in the trees was awesome. We even managed to find some powder in a few places in the woods.

We started our day at Mount Ellen and skied a bunch of terrain, including Tumbler, Hammerhead, The Cliffs, Semi-Tough, Exterminator, and F.I.S. and Lower F.I.S. before making our way to Lincoln Peak. Aside from The Cliffs, and Semi-Tough, every run I just listed was bumped up. We also got in to some woods between the Summit Quad and Lower Rim Run. The coverage was great, but the trees were a little tight at the start. They did open up as we maneuvered through them. I’d ski them again.

After a few hours at Mount Ellen, we hopped on the Slide Brook Express and headed south. Crowds weren’t an issue at all today, but Lincoln Peak was definitely the more busy side. Mount Ellen was practically empty. Regardless, we never waited to ride the lifts at Lincoln Peak, and the trails themselves weren’t crowded either, aside from the Valley House Traverse and Snowball.

At Lincoln Peak, we started off with a run down Sleeper, which is where I got hurt. From there, we headed up the Super Bravo lift, and made our way to Domino, where we ended up not skiing Domino. Instead, we got into the tree’s next to it, which are Lew’s Line and Ruffed Up. Both were awesome today, with really soft powdery snow and great coverage. After getting into those, we then entered Big Birch, and it was a ton of fun. The snow was great, and the trees in there are just so nicely spaced.

From there, we headed up Castlerock and skied Castlerock Run, before making our way to Heaven’s Gate. Off Heaven’s Gate, we skied Sigi’s Ripcord, Jester, Paradise, Lower Paradise, and some trees next to Paradise. Sigi’s Ripcord and Jester were both groomed and were fun, but there’s no doubt that the run of the day was the trees next to Paradise. The snow in there was fantastic, with some powder still to be found. The trees were a little tight at times, but manageable.

After that, we continued skiing around Lincoln Peak. We checked out Eden, which is a big open glade next to Spring Fling, and even Birch Run and Sunrise off the North Lynx Triple. Eden was awesome, though there were a few areas of thin cover, but all were easily avoidable. Birch Run was nice, while Sunrise was the worst run we skied all day. Despite there being powdery bumps all over it, what lied in between was some pretty firm snow. From Sunrise, we hopped back on the Slide Brook Express and made our way back to Mount Ellen, where we wrapped the day up with some fast runs down Inverness and Brambles.

Like I said, it was a complete day. Perhaps the one thing missing was a trip down Stein’s Run, but we ran out of time. We covered a lot of ground today at Sugarbush and we’re looking to do the same thing again tomorrow at Stowe.

Never Quit Skiing,

Lincoln

AN EPIC DAY SKIING SUGARBUSH IN VERMONT

THE SMALLEST VERTICAL SKI AREA I’VE EVER SKIED