Still a good base but I sunk in a few spots. Snow is getting honeycombed but I mostly skied on the surface. 49° There was a lot of blown down needles in pines from yesterday's winds but maples were fairly open. I used good/older fishscales which worked well. I skied to N on the Picnic Loop from Oberg Lot. Probably last day skiing this year.

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(Steve Langenbrunner)

I skied out to summit view and back today. Good crust set up, plenty firm. All the wind has brought down lots of pine needles to the point that there was hardly any glide in spots. The areas where there weren't conifers was great skiing so I'm guessing there's better glide on the main trail segments in the maple stands. There were two short sections I took my skis off to walk across bare ground. Looking cold enough tonight for more curst tomorrow.

(Jason Mozol)

I skied from Onion River Road parking up the road 2k to X, to M and almost to N on Picnic Loop. I backtracked to M and then skied to L and parking lot. I sank about 1-1 1/2" in wet granular snow but base was firm underneath and fairly deep, even though surrounding woods and hillsides are starting to melt. The bridge at M in picture still has about 22-24" of snow on it.

Photos:

(Steve Langenbrunner)

Not groomed but great crust skiing this morning. Full coverage, the edges are melting out a bit so the trail is crowned in places. Not sure if we'll have many more mornings like today!

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(Jason Mozol)

Spectacular on-trail crust skiing at Sugarbush this morning. Upper Picnic was absolutely amazing: I was able to ski right on top; surface was fast but easy to control; just a few embedded sticks and limbs to avoid; and a one to two foot base with no washouts. There were no other ski tracks on this segment and up into the Moosefence area, and no way to even tell it was a groomed system, which made for an "otherworldly" experience. It was full overcast, no breeze and 34 degrees at 8:00 am. I skied parts of the Oberg loop, but would say it's not worth the effort as water flows down the trail in many places causing quite a lot of snowpack erosion. Hogback and Homestead were great but starting to soften slightly and slow down by 11:00, so I headed back to the Britton Peak lot. Conditions may be good again tomorrow, but get there early.

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(Todd Campbell)

It was 37° when I started at Oberg Parking lot. The snow had really set up since 2 days ago. I skied right on top with a decent glide. Red hard Swix worked for kick. A skater had gone ahead of me and also was on surface. I skied the connector to J and did upper Homestead, which was all good. There was a lot of snow and full coverage except on southern exposure from I to J on connector trail coming back. This 2k section has melting/bare washouts. From J on return it was good again though softening a little.

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(Steve Langenbrunner)

Grooming has stopped but they got about 6 inches of wet snow since Tuesday. I skied to end of Onion River Road. The front half of my skis glided right on top, with some sinking on tail section. Fresh snow with almost no debris, so I could have used good skis, except for no track set. There is a lot of snow yet on top of hill at end of Onion River Road, though it has not been plowed. All wheel drive worked fine.

Photos:

(Steve Langenbrunner)

Full coverage, but not groomed (and the lot is not plowed). I skied from Britton Peak (Summit View, Britton Loop, Wood Duck, and Piece of Cake). There were a couple of inches of powder over a deep base. The base varies in how solid the crust is. In areas with more exposure, the crust was pretty fragile. (For example, on parts of Summit View, it felt a bit more like I was snowshoeing than skiing, given that my skis were sinking in such that the glide didn't happen). In other places, the crust had more resilience and there was a nice glide. Backcountry (wider) skis may give a bit more flotation. There are some branches down--the largest was across the trail on the upper part of the first loop (lot to A) and there was one each on the lower parts of Wood Duck and Cake. Scenery was gorgeous with the fresh snow.

(Erik Larson)

Onion River Road was not plowed from highway to parking lot, since it was still snowing hard. About 5-6" fresh snow was in parking lot when I finished at 5 p.m. It was a slow ski of course but enjoyable workout at 28°. Coming back in my tracks was better. I headed toward Britton parking and skied to the J intersection. The base is solid underneath still, so there is possibility of some skiing yet.

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(Steve Langenbrunner)

It definitely was Spring skiing, but still fun at 53° start, sunny and in my short sleeves. The snow still looks like the middle of winter in the trees. Though 1/2" of softness on top, the base is still firm. No one had skated or classic skied since whole width of trail was rolled/packed, and I was able ski in the tracks. I went from Oberg parking to the right and N on Picnic Loop, then on the connector to P at Moose Fence. The trail is littered with sticks and needles but no rocks, ice or bare spots, so use your judgement on B skis.

Photos:

(Steve Langenbrunner)