Shuttle Sugar?

[manimal]

I thought the lifts opened on the weekends after memorial day but i just looked on their site and it says July 4th....so, i want to get in some runs and let the man-child try out the beginner DH course to see if he wants to race it this year, but i don't want to wait until July to do it. can we shuttle it? i know where my wife dropped us off two years ago by some condo's that put us up above the beginner start but is there a way to shuttle to the very top where the start of last year's sport/ex course was?
i'm thinking maybe a morning shuttle session with 2-3 runs and then hitting up some of the boone stuff??? :D

[JeffD]

Oh boy, why doncha ask about shuttling Pisgah en masse while you're at it?

(J/K...kind of).

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

Residents on top of Beech Mountain's elite might snipe your truck with a 50 cal from Beech mtn...!

[manimal]

Residents on top of Beech Mountain's elite might snipe your truck with a 50 cal from Beech mtn...!

my truck is disguised as a hippy/lesbian mobile so perhaps i can sneak in as a "local" ;)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/sempertubby2/P1020229.jpg

[Jeremy R]

Cool. You can arrest yourself for trespassing.:busted:

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

Good one Manimal !!!
LOL !!!

[ridefast]

well i was shuttled to the condo spot at the 3/4 station last weekend by someone that ranks fairly high in the whole whats-happening-on-sugar-mountain scheme of things

we hiked the rest of the way to the top and did full runs

twice, two different sugar mtn employees stopped to watch us and then chatted with us about the course, bikes, etc

tubby, go ahead and take noah, the course was hooking up amazing and is exactly the same, save for a few things taken out for winter safety issues

the rest of you....ask if the xc fags have lift tickets, which if you do not have you are "technically" tresspassing....hell, they even have trail maps at the lodge

[manimal]

Cool. You can arrest yourself for trespassing.:busted:

how so? from skisugar.com

Hiking and biking trails intertwine throughout the Village of Sugar Mountain and are open and free of charge from dawn until dusk. Trail maps are located in a black, marked mailbox at the base of the Flying Mile slope. Trails are constantly being maintained so please be cautious. Also keep in mind that weather and other variables can change the condition of any trail. While riding a bike within the Village limits helmets are required.

seem okay to me.

[Jeremy R]

how so? from skisugar.com



seem okay to me.

I was just screwing around.
Years ago, we did get hassled by the actual owner.
All yelling at us in a foreign accent and stuff.
Sounded like Hitler. Good times.
We told him we would still buy a lift ticket, if he would just let us shuttle anyway, and not have to sit on the time machine that is the sugar lift.

[manimal]

I was just screwing around.
Years ago, we did get hassled by the actual owner.
All yelling at us in a foreign accent and stuff.
Sounded like Hitler. Good times.
We told him we would still buy a lift ticket, if he would just let us shuttle anyway, and not have to sit on the time machine that is the sugar lift.

i know you were :cupidarrow:

my point is this. if they say we can ride the trails and the lifts aren't up and running, then why not shuttle? if the lifts were running i'd buy a ticket, it's slow but noah loves the ride up. i THOUGHT they'd be open after this weekend but i guess i thunk'd wrong.
now..i just need to teach noah how to drive a manual so he can be utilized as a shuttle driver :think:

[frznnomad]

okay so sugar can legally be shuttled. that is excellent i see a trip to banner elk and boone very soon. ohh and manimal there is no way to shuttle to the very top of the mountain unless your gonna be taking a four wheeler man. sorry.

[manimal]

ohh and manimal there is no way to shuttle to the very top of the mountain unless your gonna be taking a four wheeler man. sorry.

dude..didn't you see my truck ;) lightweight AWD beater that climbs like a squirrel on crack! ;)

[frznnomad]

damn i would have never guessed. so i think we found our replacement for the lift this year.

[manimal]

damn i would have never guessed. so i think we found our replacement for the lift this year.

i've heard rumors of a baja kit for it, although i haven't been able to substantiate that claim as of yet.
any car buffs wanna do the research for me? :lighten: i'm an idiot when it comes to looking at car part stuff. baja kit for a '94 subaru legacy wagon.

[bizutch]

Shuttling it is fine with Ski Sugar in a sense. What you have to be aware of is that the condos you pull into are privately owned and it's their lot. So if you park your car, it will get towed. This happened last year. Granted, the guy left it there for a long time that day...but it happens. If you go driving in that lot being either loud, chatty, driving more than 2 mph or anything less than retired looking, you can get flack.

As for getting to the top in a car, no can do. I even was given a key to the gate when I was cutting in the top stuff and she warned me not to shuttle from 3/4 to the top, only drive up to work.

[bizutch]

I was just screwing around.
Years ago, we did get hassled by the actual owner.
All yelling at us in a foreign accent and stuff.
Sounded like Hitler. Good times.
We told him we would still buy a lift ticket, if he would just let us shuttle anyway, and not have to sit on the time machine that is the sugar lift.

Oh..and the reason Gunter had gotten mad at us was because that was the year they finally started running the lifts June 1st through August and made the commitment to let bikes ride the lift. He got pissed b/c he felt like he was going out of his way to accomadate bikers and we were basicly skirting the system for free. I could understand his position.

Even asked Kim about it to see what she felt, and she said he cooled down within 10 minutes of the incident and felt bad for yelling at us.

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

Wait for the weekends & ride the lift.....!
I would not shuttle there. It would f*** up everything..

.02

[motomike]

so does the lift start this weekend?!

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

http://www.skisugar.com/liftrides/

July 4 – September 2, 2007
Weekend Scenic Lift Rides
Lift rides are available every Saturday and Sunday from 10 am until 5:30 pm. Bring the whole family, a picnic lunch, your mountain bike, or just a friend and enjoy a breathtaking 45 minute roundtrip lift-ride to Sugar 5,300 foot peak. The majestic scenery is worth it. Special weekday lift ride dates include July 4th, 5th, 6th, 26th & 27th.

For bike riders, specially made hooks on the backs of the chairs carry your bike to the top. Just hand your bike to the lift attendants at the bottom of the Gray lift, jump on the chair and enjoy the ride. The attendants will hang your bikes on the hook, and when you get off the lift another attendant will get your bike down for you, either at the 3/4 station, or at the top. The Village of Sugar Mountain town ordinance requires helmets to be worn by all bikers.

Lift hours are 10am - 5:30pm (weekends ONLY: July 4th through September 2, 2007). Lift ticket prices are $10 for a one-time ride, and $22 for an all day ticket. Kids 4 and under ride free with an adult.

Groups of 20 or more can buy one-time ride tickets for only $5. Advanced reservations required. Please call 828-898-4521 x 261.

[motomike]

great, so they'll be officially "open" for dh bikes for what, 2 weeks before the big race there? here we go again!

[JeffKill]

enjoy a breathtaking 45 minute roundtrip lift-ride to Sugar 5,300 foot peak.



45 minute round trip huh? Thats funny, cause it normally took 45 minutes or more just to get to the top every time I've been there.

[bizutch]

45 minute round trip huh? Thats funny, cause it normally took 45 minutes or more just to get to the top every time I've been there.

"cough" "cough" ..bullsheet.
yeah..it sucks..but don't blow it out of proportion. It takes 25 minutes tops to get to the top. Oh yeah, it's a long time..but not 45 minutes.

[JeffKill]

"cough" "cough" ..bullsheet.
yeah..it sucks..but don't blow it out of proportion. It takes 25 minutes tops to get to the top. Oh yeah, it's a long time..but not 45 minutes.

Bullsh!t. We timed it. I've NEVER made it to the top of that lift in 25 minutes. If thats all it took, people wouldnt complain.

[FCLinder]

Bullsh!t. We timed it.

Yep, last year we were getting in 1 run per hour. It took us 40+ mins to ride up that day each time. But then again there were a lot of tree watchers that day too. It sucked balls!!!!

[JohnBoy]

Yeah 25 minutes, thats more of an exageration, thats only if the lift doesnt stop 6 times on the way up, and that sh!t never happens. You may make it to the top in 25min on a rare occasion, I know I've timed it myself and the longest I've sat is 52 minutes, and that sucks. 25 min., is very wishfull thinking, to be consistant anyway.

[Jeremy R]

Sometimes they get tired.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d174/bikeryder007/hamster.jpg

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

Yep, last year we were getting in 1 run per hour. It took us 40+ mins to ride up that day each time. But then again there were a lot of tree watchers that day too. It sucked balls!!!!

That must have been when i got a bad suntan/burn !:disgust1:

[JohnBoy]

Thats how I remember taking 52 min. to the top, thats the day my face and head got sunburn, my face hurt all week after that day. :disgust:

[FCLinder]

Its more like a 10 min to shuttle the road up to the 3/4 lift station and thats doing the speed limit. :lighten: My thoughts are buy a lift pass and shuttle up to the 3/4 station and get on the lift there. 5 to 10 min ride to the top from there. You have about 20+ mins in getting to the top. You would have to do 1 man outs on the shuttle though.

[profro]

My thought are go support someone else.

[bizutch]

My thought are go support someone else.

my thoughts are that it it's easy to say that when Windrock is your backyard. :redface:

And besides, even all you brake draggers need "pedally" stuff here and there :thumb:

[Dartman]

Yep, last year we were getting in 1 run per hour. It took us 40+ mins to ride up that day each time. But then again there were a lot of tree watchers that day too. It sucked balls!!!!

At least they're running the lift. :think:

[JohnBoy]

At least they're running the lift. :think:
Sh!t the shuttle bus at SS, is quicker than the lift at Sugar. :shocked:

[untitledsince89]

Sh!t the shuttle bus at SS, is quicker than the lift at Sugar. :shocked:

true that, I'm buying a season pass, although SS is another 2 hours farther, staying up there for a weekend makes it worth while

[TCP21]

true that, I'm buying a season pass, although SS is another 2 hours farther, staying up there for a weekend makes it worth while

hell yet it is. this past weekend was a ****ing blast

[slim]

just for the record.....i lived on sugar for 5 years, and you can drive to the top and you don't have to go through a gate, you just have to know how to get there. you do need 4 wheel drive, but it's more than do-able for a subaru. and yeah, hitler.......that's gunther and he's the mountain manager. he will yell at you for fun. not that nice of a guy. you are allowed to pedal wherever you want on the resort, no trespassing issues that i ever encountered. it's actually very friendly in that regard. just don't go rolling through condo flower beds and stuff.

there's some new development up there that can be utilized for shuttling......but it's all private land. best bet is the condo drop off. never had a problem there, as long as you're polite and quiet, as mentioned. only takes a few minutes to push/pedal to the top. if the lift is opened, it usually opens on or about the 4th, it's the fastest way to get up the mtn, unless you have a designated shuttle driver. shuttles have been going on there for years......

[drkenan]

^^ Ben???

[T-Pirate]

i'm thinking maybe a morning shuttle session with 2-3 runs and then hitting up some of the boone stuff??? :D


What boone stuff??;)

[T-Pirate]

I rode out there today and got 3 runs in a little under two hours. I could have ridden a lot more but I just didn't want to sit on that lift by myself any more. It was definitely worth it to ride lifts 15 minutes away, but it certainly is slow. The course is pretty much pinned.

[manimal]

sweet! i think noah and i will be out there on sunday.

[manimal]

so.....we went to sugar yesterday. apparently the beginner course is the xc course down and it's waaaaay to tech for a beginner, especially one riding a 20" hardtail. noah had a serious case of arm pump on the steep sections, mainly due to his lack of practice with the new front brake. he took the nastiest spill i've ever seen and managed to bruise/cut up his face inside of his fullface helmet.
i'm guesstimating that he was probably doing 20+mph when he tried to pass me on the lower slope and found a hole big enough to bury him in.....all i saw was him going OTB and skidding/tumbling past me.
i'll post the pics of his face later when i have the camera with me.

he was a trooper though and vowed to attack the mountain again some other time but we both decided that he doesn't need to race DH there this year....so sugar DS...here we come :thumb:


and ditto on what TP said, the course was nice. the pro/ex entrance into donovans dungeon is much smoother and has a nice line through it. the sport line into the old donovans dungeon is the nastiest i've ever seen it. the old right handed drop off the rock is now a 90 degree 3' root drop followed by a 2' root drop, it's all washed out and will catch people by surprise if they're used to othe old corner there. i only had one run on the big course so i skipped lizards lane but everthing else is dialed for sure.

[bizutch]

Manimal...I'm not sure what you mean about the rock drop to the right?

As for the rest of the course, it is dialed. Top waterfall drop has a completely new entrance that gives you a good 15-20 foot straight shot right at the drop..no turning. Nice and wide too.

The boulder face is screaming fast...a no braker all the way. Everything in great shape. Just watch out for the entrance to lizards lane...it is still a bear to stay on line in.

I started to fill in that massive water hole in Lizards lane on the flat area with rocks to build a bridge on my final run. A guy who goes by Necker stopped and we filled it in pretty well with big rocks. so you don't sink and soak anymore.

[manimal]

Manimal...I'm not sure what you mean about the rock drop to the right?



old sport/ex entrance to donovans dungeon that sport takes now. you drop in to the left from the fire road (used to be right near the start when we started at 3/4 station). you drop in the chute and you had to make a right turn at the bottom of the chute. there was once a line where you could go left, over a big rock and round out the turn but now you're forced to go straight in between some nasty rocks that are at h-bar level and it drops about 2-3' in the middle of the right turn, then does another smaller rolling drop once you've started the turn. nothing crazy but definitely much different than last year, caught me by suprise.

[bizutch]

gotcha

[JeffD]

i'm guesstimating that he was probably doing 20+mph when he tried to pass me on the lower slope and found a hole big enough to bury him in.....all i saw was him going OTB and skidding/tumbling past me.


Brady Jeremy and I witnessed a teenage kid in the XC race do the exact same thing with more speed and less pads. He ragdolled a few times and after his body settled, started screaming "FvCK!" several times then segued in to - no joke - "I don't wanna die...I don't wanna die!" over and over again. Great times...for everybody but the kid.

[manimal]

Brady Jeremy and I witnessed a teenage kid in the XC race do the exact same thing with more speed and less pads. He ragdolled a few times and after his body settled, started screaming "FvCK!" several times then segued in to - no joke - "I don't wanna die...I don't wanna die!" over and over again. Great times...for everybody but the kid.

lol!!!!! that's classic.

they need to spraypaint those holes like they do the bad rocks at massanutten so that the bright colors draw you to it. ;)

[Jeremy R]

lol!!!!! that's classic.

they need to spraypaint those holes like they do the bad rocks at massanutten so that the bright colors draw you to it. ;)

It was unreal to see.
The kid was tucked behind another rider all aero roadie style going full tilt down the slope, he drifted out beside him and hit the water bar he did not see. It threw him up off his bike and he was hovering over it going like 35.:rofl:
He then came down on his bike and ragdolled all the way down the slope. It was the worst crash I had seen in years.
It wasn't even funny at all until after your realized he was OK, but was still screaming, "I don't want to die" over and over.
Sometimes I can still hear him scream....sometimes.;)

I am glad Noah is OK.

[manimal]

i just read the "edited" version of that story to noah...he thought it was hilarious and said, "that kid must be a roadie"

lol!!!!!

[dhchix]

I'm glad to hear Noah is okay after his crash. He is one touch little man. I can't wait to see him blast down the DS course.