Sunday River 12/15/2023

NewEnglandSkier13

Today, we used our Ski Maine Pass for the first time of the season at Sunday River. Upon arrival at the Barker Mountain Lodge, we found it odd that they had not begun prepping any lifts to open, and the chairs for the Barker 6 were not on the line. The snow report didn't say anything, but it was a bit windy, so we assumed some lifts were starting on hold. After booting up, we skied over to South Ridge to at least ride the South Ridge Express, but nothing was happening there either. A few minutes before opening, the snow report was finally updated, and a ski patroller informed us that every lift, except the T-bar, out of the Barker and South Ridge Base areas were on hold. However, the Jordan and Aurora lifts were open. This started a mass exodus towards the shuttle bus station to Jordan. We arrived at the shuttle stop and joined the quickly growing line waiting for the bus. We finally made it on one of the mini-buses which was standing room only in the back of the bus for the 15 minute ride to Jordan.

Once at Jordan, we finally got on snow and took some laps on the Jordan 8 and the Aurora Quad. Eventually other lifts started opening up, and, by the end of the day, the South Ridge Express, Chondola, Spruce Triple, and Barker 6 had also opened. Although it was a chaotic start to the day, it ended up working to our advantage, as many people decided to go home early. It also meant that there was fresh terrain opening throughout the day, and, best of all, it meant that we were able to ride the T-bar! Yes, out of all the variety of lifts at Sunday River, the T-bar was absolutely what I was most excited about being able to ride.

Most of the lifts only had a handful of routes down, as it seems like they have tried to open as many lifts as possible, instead of expanding terrain on each lift. This made for some very chaotic and scraped off trails in more popular areas. However, it wasn't a very busy day by Sunday River standards, and there were rarely lines at any lifts. The trails in less busy areas stayed in quite good shape throughout the day, and Barker Mountain was in especially good condition, as the six-pack didn't open until mid-day.

One thing they really need to work on is the line management on the two new chairlifts. Even with the minimal crowds today, loading and uploading was very chaotic on both the Barker 6 and Jordan 8. I can't imagine what it would be like on a busy day. The RFID gates are right before the load area, so groups get broken up when the gates don't read someone's pass and this causes significant issues with so many people grouped up for each chair. There is also a huge potential for collisions with 8 people unloading at once who many all want to go in opposite directions at the top of Jordan.

Thanks to the lack of crowds and relatively good snow conditions, today was actually one of the most enjoyable days that I've had at Sunday River. I can't think of another day when I've been able to have as many lifts rides to myself as today. It's quite odd having an entire 8 person chair or 8 person gondola to yourself! I also ran into Peter from Lift Blog today, and it was great to finally meet him in person.

Barker Base Area

South Ridge Base Area

In the crowded shuttle bus

Boots Off

Jordan 8

Riding the Jordan 8

Lollapalooza

Aurora Quad

Alera Group T-Bar crossing under the Locke Triple

Alera Group T-Bar

South Ridge Express

Chondola

Barker 6

ciscokid

Nice report Sam. Never knew there was “still” a t bar at SR.
Wonder why Peter is at SR, thought he worked at JH.( well you know some of us peons want to know what the stars are up to)
Between his and Stuart’s reports there’s never been so much “insider ski info “ as there is today. Don’t know how we did it 30 years ago living off hard copy mags.
IDK about that shuttle bus business, maybe at Bohemia or PowMow but not for mass transit.

TomWhite

Cisco, the T bar was put in a few years ago in a joint venture with Gould Academy and SR. If I recall, Gould raised $1M for the project. It is open to the public only when chairlifts are on wind hold. Thus, Sam used it.

Peter (who is on this blog) does work at JH but of course is love is to travel far and wide to document lifts. SR has two new super lifts. Perhaps that's why he was there.

I was at SR the day before Sam. Interesting, it was Jordan that was breezy. They asked people to lower bubbles for better wind resistance. Bubbles on Jordan and Barker are manual down. The footrest/safety bar on Barker is auto down. It seems odd that Jordan is manual. Bubbles n footrests are auto up on both lifts. They go up rather late n forcefully. I never thought going over the center of the pond was a good idea on the old Barker chair. The new one has riders at the right edge. No water below while the pond isn't completely full.

By the way, the Igloo is beside the Barker base. I didn't try to walk over to go in.

NewEnglandSkier13

Yes, Peter was there to document the two new chairlifts (Merrill Hill 2 and Barker 6).

obienick

TomWhite;c-62905 wroteThey go up rather late n forcefully.

Now if you want to see *really* forceful raising, check out the 6 pack at Waterville Valley.

ciscokid

Yeah all makes sense, except for how someone has the time,$,(and insatiable desire) to ride EVERY lift in the country. Lol None of my biz,Makes me queasy just thinking about it.

Ok now, about these big bubbles, I would estimate Sam about 6 foot tall. Do you think a big galute like myself would fit in one of these units?(6’8”)
I rarely if ever have found a footrest/ safety bar my legs fit on.
Is there a “claustrophobic “ feel to the bubbles?

NewEnglandSkier13

ciscokid;c-62912 wroteYeah all makes sense, except for how someone has the time,$,(and insatiable desire) to ride EVERY lift in the country. Lol None of my biz,Makes me queasy just thinking about it.

Ok now, about these big bubbles, I would estimate Sam about 6 foot tall. Do you think a big galute like myself would fit in one of these units?(6’8”)
I rarely if ever have found a footrest/ safety bar my legs fit under.
Is there a “claustrophobic “ feel to the bubbles?

Yes, I am 6 foot. I do think you would fit in the bubbles, as there is plenty of head room. They do feel somewhat claustrophobic, and the tint really affects your view of the scenery. They would be better if the bubbles were clear, like the older bubble lifts. It's also a strange dynamic getting a whole chair of strangers to agree whether to have it up or down. I only rode with it down one time yesterday because someone else on the chair wanted it down.

newpylong

I also can't stand the tint. Clear would be the way to go but I'm guessing the colors are done more to hide scratches than anything else.

NewEnglandSkier13

newpylong;c-62917 wroteI also can't stand the tint. Clear would be the way to go but I'm guessing the colors are done more to hide scratches than anything else.

The Jordan 8 bubbles are already getting pretty beat up and some have stickers too.

ciscokid

👍 btw, love them t bar pics, the ride under the lift reminds me of Black NH

TomWhite

Cisco, you would fit under the bubble. You are ‘bigger’ than me and Sam. But one of my friends is 6’2”, I think. He had no footrest or bubble issues. However, poles are an issue. You can’t sit on them since the bubble goes below the seat. Fully occupied, riders must just hold their poles. I think footrest between the legs is safer, especially for kids. I doubt snowboarders like them. The one riding with me didn’t seem to even attempt to get his board on it.

We had an interesting experience on our 3rd in a row ride on Jordan. I said, “This bubble is clear.” My two friends thought it was certainly less tinted. No, it wasn’t. Apparently, our eyes were adapting to the tint. They had a sign asking riders to use the bubble because it was windy. So we used it for our 3 rides. We didn’t use the bubble much on Barker. When we did, there was no “it’s clear” experience.

ciscokid

Well I got 6” on your friend Tom ( and probably 100 lbs or more) so if and when I do Boyne mtn’s 8 pack probably on a weekday I’ll look for a few funky folks like myself and see for myself.
My brother is about 6’4”( 100 lbs less) and has snowboarded since the late ‘80s and loved the Kanc 8 at Loon.

Sorry for hijacking your fine report Sam.

rickbolger

great report thanks