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It was a pretty wild day on top of the Sugarloaf Mountain today. The communications tower on the summit was blown over in a gust of wind.
The anemometer broke before the max wind gust was reached, but it was speculated that the winds were gusting to 130MPH. Sugarloaf Mountain confirmed that the summit was closed today, so nobody was up there when this happened.
Here is a before picture of the tower standing front and centre on the mountain summit.
Christian Townsend commented on Facebook, “That’s why we rip the Loaf – the most badass ski MTN yields the most badass skiers in the USA – Been on the lifts a 1000 times with people ‘from away’ and they all think we are cray cray with the frigid cold, eastern blue powder & hurricane winds.”
Sugarloaf doesn’t own or operate any of the communication towers on their summit — they lease space out to various companies who manage a number of towers. They don’t use them in any operational capacity, so this shouldn’t affect mountain operations in any noticeable way.
It’s a good reminder though of how intense conditions summit can get sometimes, and why it’s always best to heed ski patrol closures on the summit at all times.
About Sugarloaf
Since opening in 1950, Sugarloaf has grown into the second largest ski area in the East, after Killington, with 1,240 acres of skiable terrain and the third highest vertical drop at 2,820 ft. Up at the 4,237 ft summit, you’ll have The Snowfields ahead of you, a collection of double black diamond runs all above the tree-line. There’s also the new Brackett Basin backcountry area, serving up steep chutes and powder tree skiing. For the truly adventurous, take the snow cat up Burnt Mountain to access Sugarloaf’s side country featuring over 100 ac of powder-filled fun including rugged terrain. You’ll also find the only lift-serviced above tree line skiing in the Eastern US here.
Content from Facebook and Sugarloaf Mountain
