The Barker Quad attempted to debut today at Sunday River. But the lift was plagued with mechanical issues and closed after only two hours of stop-and-go operation. After an extended stoppage with guests on the lift, operations pulled the plug. I was able to ski Ecstasy twice before Barker went off line and it was the run of the day. Conditions on Ecstasy were soft fresh man made amongst ungroomed mounds. Not normally my favorite conditions but it skied very well.

The Locke Mountain Triple provided service for the remainder of the day. The lift provided access to T2 and Upper Sunday Punch filtering down to Sunday Punch below the mid-station. Upper Punch was delightful and Punch below the mid-station was firm hard pack. But the Locke Triple offered top to bottom without anyone downloading, so I was a happy skier regardless of conditions.

Sunday River attempted a different early season strategy this year by focusing snowmaking efforts on Aurora Peak and North Peak despite no possibility of connecting them to Barker before Thanksgiving. The snowmaking was focused on the long term rather than expanding terrain already open pre-Thanksgiving. Normally, Right Stuff would have been a second route off Barker by now, but not this year.

The plan seems too spread out. Better to focus on the core peaks of Locke, Barker, and North before trying to connect peaks even further away from the main base areas. I heard rumor that Aurora Basin records the lowest temperatures across the resort (ideal for early season snowmaking) and that Jordan Bowl timeshare owners want to be connected sooner. Whether Sunday River tries this plan again next year or not will suggest if the new plan worked.