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Sunday River Friday, December 15, 2023 | |
Submitted on December 15, 2023 by newenglandskier13 ( 716) | ||
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Session | Full Day |
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Ticket Type | Discount from Third Party |
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Lift Lines | 0 minutes |
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Trail Conditions | 25% open; Packed Powder, Variable Conditions |
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Glades | Not open |
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Moguls | None |
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Terrain Park(s) | Two small parks open |
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Run of the Day | Sunday Punch |
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Food and Beverage | I made the mistake of forgetting the lunch we packed at home. We tried to get the cheapest lunch possible. Two cheeseburgers ($13 each) and a thing of veggies with hummus ($9) came to $35! Salads were $13-$17 and a chicken burger was $17. These are some of the most insane prices I've seen anywhere! |
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Comments | Today, we used our Ski Maine Pass (Maybe this can be added as a "ticket purchase" type on this website?) 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! |
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URL | http://snowjournal.com/discussion/4135/sunday-river-12-15-2023 |
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Report Rating | 4
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