A Family Skiing in Maine

March 9-11 Mad River Valley Odyssey

2012-03-11T20:30:00.000-04:00

@MaineSkiFamily became @VermontSkiFamily for a weekend. We had not visited a new mountain in a long time so we decided to make a long weekend trip to Vermont to hit up Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. For those of you that read this blog, you know we are big Saddleback skiers and we wanted to hit some mountains in Vermont that had a reputation for being a 'Skiers Mountain'. Seemed like these two mountains would fit the bill.

Thursday, March 8
We picked up the boyz after school and headed to Vermont. First our car thermometer hit 70 degrees. Bogus. Then when we crossed the border into Vermont and it dropped all the way down into the 60's and pouring rain. Double-bogus. We shrugged and decided we would make the best of it. It would be nice to spend time together as a family as we had reservations for the Snow Creek slope side condo's.

Travel Note: Sugarbush website lists two ways to get to Sugarbush from the south. You can get off Exit 3 off I-89, take 107 to 100 north. This route is pretty up and down and round and round as it follows the river up from the valley. It is still in pretty rough shape from Hurricane Irene flooding as well. It is better to keep on 89 to Exit 9 and come at Sugarbush from the North going down 100 south.

Friday, March 9

Friday Ripcord Fluff

Weather report indicated a possibility of some snow on the backside of the rain. We had a nice 2"-4" snow overnight to cover up the soggy now frozen snow. Sugarbush didn't groom much overnight so it some powder over some hard frozen snow. However it really didn't ski too bad. You just had to stay on your toes for the varying conditions. We spent the morning exploring 3 of the 4 peaks of the mountain. We stayed away from the expert Castlerock area as we heard it was pretty bony. The North Lincoln and Gadd peaks skied well. We hopped into a couple of glades with Racers Edge and Eden being fun. The more southerly facing Lynx peak held manky snow in the afternoon. Overall a very pleasant day and we felt very blessed to have some decent conditions.

Saturday, March 10

Vermont Powder is FUN

Weather report said a couple of inches overnight was possible. There was some buzz in the lift lines on Friday for a bit more. We rolled out of bed and checked the snow report. They were saying 4 at the bottom and 10-11 inches up high. Alec went out and measured on the car. A good 5 inches. GAME TIME. We gobbled down some pancakes, geared up and joined the powder hounds for the 8AM opening of the SUPER BRAVO EXPRESS lift.

Ker-Pow! Alec on Lower Paradise

We knew this was not like Saddleback where we could kind of take our time with getting the snow. The super-quad would be dumping tons of people on the trails and the time to get it was NOW. We made a dash for Moonshine which was a fun bump / glade trail we found on Friday. First tracks of 6"-8" fluff. It was not perfect as we still hit hard snow underneath but it was wonderfully good. We made another lap on the Eden glade which was a ton of fun as well.

Isaac needed a Snorkle during this run

The best was yet to come. We picked up Mom and set off for the upper Heaven's gate lift which opened at 9AM. Skiing to the lift Alec and I took Lew's line glade. Pretty steep and Alec found some un-tracked. Very nice. Alec ended up losing his ski in the glade for a bit so Juley and Isaac got on the lift ahead of us. About 2/3rds of the way up the lift we see Juley and Isaac bombing down Rip Cord under the chair saying "See you at the bottom". There is no waiting for friends or family on a powder day of course. Isaac reported it was one of his best powder runs ever and he elicited 3 hoots from the chairs for his skiing heroics. Alec and I decided to take in the Glades around the Paradise trail. Deep and fluffy. Really good skiing in a foot of snow.

Alec on Spring Fling Fluff

We lapped Heaven's gate a couple of times and Ripcord still delivered deep turns and got one more run off Super Bravo before lunch and were rewarded with some nice fluff on Spring Fling. After lunch we headed over to the Mt. Ellen side by taking a two mile inter-mountain chairlift. A little odd going down on a chairlift. Mt. Ellen is really fun and has some serious vertical. FIS at the top is steep and held great snow. All the cruisers were a blast and Isaac got to bonk around in the terrain park a bit. It was really a fabulous day and we capped it off with a very nice dinner at Easy Street Cafe in Waitsfield and a fire back and the condo.

Sunday, March 11

Thrashing down Lynx at MRG

We packed up and headed over to Mad River Glen. This is a really fun, throwback place. It was a beautiful spring day with temps getting into the 50's by afternoon. The single chair is great to ride in and gets you access to some unbelievable tree and expert skiing. We tried Lynx and Beaver but the combination of them being skied out a bit exposing the frozen stuff underneath plus our legs just being beat from two days of skiing powder made us stick mostly to the groomers. Upper Antelope is a great cruiser from the top of the single chair.

We spent the rest of the day bouncing around the more southerly facing slopes basking in the sun shine. MRG offers a lot of great green and blue cruiser terrain. There marketing slogan is 'ski it if you can' but there is something for everyone here but no snow boarders allowed... although they did have a couple of terrain features made out of natural logs with a plastic upper to slide on that Isaac had fun on.

The Old Man Grabbing some sun soaked bumps on Grand Canyon

The warm spring sun brought out the masses so it got very busy with long lines so we made one last run bouncing down some springtime corn bumps of Upper Grand Canyon and Lower Grand Canyon. Great fun and a great way to end the trip.

We had a really good time and really liked Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. They offer some tremendous skiing, the vibe is good and the people are friendly. I felt like skiing came first at these resorts which is what we like. At the end though, we are still big Saddleback fans. There is something different and unique about Saddleback trees that we spend a lot of time talking about... another blog post to come on this topic.

Regardless, we highly recommend both places!

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More Saddleback Snow - March 2, 2012

2012-03-03T07:07:00.000-05:00

I called an audible and @MaineSkiFamilyDad took a day off from work and headed up to Saddleback Maine with a friend for a great day of skiing. The drive up was a bit greasy due to all the overnight snow. The mountain reports were saying a foot of snow had fallen so we were pretty pumped to get into the goods.

Saddleback Glades were spot-on

It was pretty windy on Thursday when all the snow fell so on the chairlift ride up the Rangeley double I was checking out where the snow was on the trails. Looking at Royal Coachman we could tell there was a east wind as the skier right of the trails seem to hold a lot of snow that had blown out of the woods. While skiers left looked a bit wind scoured. Lots of snow still, but it was that firm, harder packed wind blown snow.

After getting off the Rangeley double we made a bee-line to the quad and headed to the top. Black Beauty is a powder day favorite of mine so we headed there first thinking some big powder was on the right side. (See my definitive guide to all 66 Saddleback trails). There were pockets of powder skiers right but it wasn't what we were expecting. Where was all the snow? The trail was just too wide to handle that east wind so it had all blown somewhere.

Next right up the quad we eyed the Dark Wizard Glade and it looked pretty fluffy. Bingo. That is where the snow was. Wow it was it deep and fun. Un-tracked lines everywhere and a legit foot with deeper drifts. It was the type of day where snow was getting in all sorts of places. (goggles, up the back of jackets etc). Really, Really good skiing. The rest of our morning went like this.

Dark Wizard Glade
Initimidator Glade
Nightmare Glade
Intimidator Glade
Dark Wizard Glade
Casablanca Glade #1
Upper Jane Craig to Lower Jane Craig. (The Jane Craig head wall was really deep).

One of the interesting things since they opened Casablanca is that it has taken pressure off the other glades on the mountain. They snow stays fresh much longer. I love Casablanca, but I really have a blast in the other glades Saddleback has to offer.

The Black Beauty, Frost Bite, Wardens Worry were the only trails that didn't ski as well. Everything else was great. All the super narrow winding trails Saddleback has to offer were superb particularly skiers right. Governor was really good. (Those of you that follow my blog know we get lots of pictures of the kids hucking off the Governor rock jump. It was so soft I even got old-man air on that same rock.) I got over to Casablanca #4 and that was awesome. Golden Smelt and Parmacheenee Bell were outstanding as usual. All the groomers had lots of snow. They got bumped up in places but good overall.

Not a bad crowd on the mountain for a Friday. It was a different crowd mid-week. It was older (senior citizens skiing on a weekday), Younger (families with really young skiers) and then all the hard core skiers taking a day off from work.

We are off to Sugarbush next weekend and we will be @VermontSkiFamily for a few days. Enjoy the snow everyone!

Powder Alert at Saddleback!

2012-02-25T11:47:00.002-05:00

Isaac dominating a huge powder drift at Saddleback

@MaineSkiFamily had three really good days at Saddleback. The new snow on Saturday made the skiing outstanding.

Friday the 24th was the calm before the storm. It was warm on Thursday so some of the groomer trails were a bit chunky but everything had very good coverage.

Saturday the 25th brought the snow. We woke up to 10 inches of fresh new snow. It was windy, but not windy enough to close the lifts. Everything skied really really well. Groomers, natural trails, woods... it was all Outstanding. One of our better days we have had in a long, long time.

Sunday the 26th brought a very strong, cold wind but the winds subsided by mid-day getting all the lifts turning. The groomers were wind swept, but one could find pockets of wind blown powder on skiers left of trails. You had to ski these a bit carefully as the wind blown snow is grabby and slows you down quickly, but it was still loads of fun,

Looks like maybe some more mid-week snow! Keep it coming!

Upper Dark Wizard Glade Goodness

Juley hopping into Dark Wizard Glade

Alec finding loads of fresh in the Saddleback glades

We were very happy campers on Saturday!

Ski Trip Report - Saddleback - February 11, 2012

2012-02-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

Green Weaver and the View...

Another great day at Saddleback today. It is full on winter here in the Rangeley lakes region. We even got an inch of snow after lunch to freshen things up a bit. Pretty sad when we get excited about one whole inch of snow but still it was something!

Saddleback has awesome coverage on its groomers and legit coverage on the natural trails. They are so very close still to being MINT. Just 6 inches is all I ask! C'mon Ullr!

Folks enjoying Saddleback

We thought the upper nightmare glade was the best on the mountain. There was some serious jumps and I even got some "old man air" trying to keep up with the teenagers. Our first early morning runs down Gray Ghost, Supervisor and Tight Line were dreamy smooth. Learn about all 66 Saddleback trails on my definitive Saddleback trail guide.

Governor Rock Huck by the Young One

Saddleback is the place to go if you want to ski some very good ski conditions. They are set up nicely to deliver the goods well into the season. Get on up here!

Ski Trip Report - Saddleback - February 4, 2012

2012-02-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

Peachy's Peril held some Fluff

@MaineSkiFamily was back at Saddleback today. Another very good day in this winter of seemingly no snow. But don't be fooled - Saddleback has awesome coverage and is putting out a very good product!

They are one decent snowstorm away from being MINT. The woods and natural trails are covered very well. They are a bit firm but very little rocks and other obstacles poking through. 6-12 inches of new snow and they are going to be golden!

Saddleback groomed product was outstanding today. Tight Line from the top held up well all day. Blue Devil and Gray Ghost skied extremely well as did Silver Doctor. Learn all about the Saddleback trail system on my Definitive Saddleback Trail Guide.

Plenty of snow in Intimidator Glade!

We did venture into the Intimidator glade and it skied very well. That is probably my favorite glade on the mountain. For whatever reason the pitch and tree spacing is just right for me. It held very nice snow and was very skiable. The other glades were a bit more firm but you could get an edge in.

My oldest son Alec has a Giant Slalom race Monday so he stayed on his GS skis all day. I was going to get a couple of pictures of him but he was going to fast for me to catch up!

Juley ripping up Blue Devil

Overall a very good day. It was a bit cold, but once we numbed up we were fine. :-) If you are not skiing this winter because you think there is no snow in the mountains you are WRONG. Go out and ski! The time is now!

Can't beat the Saddleback view!

Ski Trip Report - Lost Valley - January 29, 2012

2012-01-31T05:40:00.000-05:00

They boys took a quick hitter to Lost Valley ski area in Auburn, Maine Sunday afternoon. We were thinking about Saddleback but we are going to be hitting Saddleback hard over the next few weekends so decided to get some stuff done around the house and the boys got a chance to bonk the park at Lost Valley.

This is a community hill in Auburn that can be a lot of fun. There terrain park setup is typically pretty good and it is a great place to learn how to ski. Both the boys school alpine race teams train there. Check out their website at Lostvalleyski.com.

Here is a short video of Isaac in the terrain park.

Ski Trip Report - Saddleback - January 21, 2012

2012-01-21T20:34:00.004-05:00

Lower Jane Craig Freshies

Winter has arrived! We had a very nice day at Saddleback Maine today! The 6-8 inches they picked up early Friday really freshened up the mountain. Enough so that they pushed their open trail count into the 60's. Cold temps but no wind to speak of which was great. All 5 lifts spinning kept a modest crowd happy with no lift lines.

Lower Nightmare glade was very good!

Made our first glade runs of the season today. I thought the Lower Nightmare glade had very good snow. Saddleback opened their massive glade Casablanca today. The boys took a scouting mission - it was good but there was quite a bit of obstacles underfoot still. Need another 6-12 to really make them mint. The natural trails off the Kennabago quad were a bit challenging in spots with lots of obstacles to ski around but we got rewarded with some very nice powder runs.

Probably the natural trail run of the day for us was Family Secret which is the trail directly under the Kennebago quad. It held loads of snow and was really fun. Governor did not disappoint either!

We finished the day with a few runs off the T-bar. Blue Devil, Silver Doctor and Gray Ghost held awesome snow late in the day. Pure Saddleback!

Early week forecast is looking a bit wet but lets hope Saddleback elevation wins out with frozen precip. I would recommend go getting it tomorrow. The skiing is good!

Lots of fun powder to play in today!

After some rocky / stumpy skiing on Black Beauty we got some really good powder

Ski Trip Report - Shawnee Peak - January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T19:02:00.000-05:00

Good Shot of the Mominator and the Nice View

Today's guest post writer is my son Isaac. He went up with his mother and brother to Shawnee Peak to ski and watch the high school team race. Alec is still recovering from his New Year's Day injury to his shoulder so he was not able to ski or race today but he is on the mend...

My Mom and I went up to Shawnee Peak for a day of skiing on M.L.K day. My brother Alec is still on the DL but came to the race to take pictures for the team. Today at Shawnee Peak was a terrain park day where the skiing is mostly dust on crust and glades are no good. So I just was in the terrain park bonking some rails most of the day. No lift lines all day which was good.

A little late with the picture MOM

We arrived at 10:00 so conditions were loose granular but if you stayed on the sides it was OK. If you are a powder hound and like terrain parks as I do this was a day you would just want to be in the park...

-Isaac

Thanks Isaac!

January 12, 2012 - Snowstorm Recap

2012-01-13T06:49:00.002-05:00

@MaineSkiFamily deck

Looks like most Maine ski areas picked up around 6-8" in this last storm. This storm over-performed at the coast (Portland North) as it stayed almost all snow with a little sleet at the end. Inland we were hoping for double-digits in the inches department but it looks like that was not the case. We will take it however! It all helps! I feel especially good for nordic skiers as they finally have a base to work with at the cross country centers.

Today's forecast is kind of goofy with freezing rain even up north??? Hopefully this event is light and does not lock up the snow in a layer of crust. The groomed trails will be fine however as the groomers will chew any crust right up. Maybe we will luck out up high and it will stay snow or sleet.

Looking at the weather forecasts for the weekend it looks like it is going to be cold and windy. If you are heading to one of the big three (Sugarloaf, Saddleback, Sunday River) make sure you check the wind forecasts and mountain reports before you go. There could be a few wind holds this weekend but I don't think the winds are going to be strong enough to shut down entire mountains. Likely a few higher lifts could be impacted.

There was some sad news from Sugarloaf yesterday where a skier died on the green circle Timberline trail after hitting a tree. Our heartfelt condolences to the family. When you think about it, there are millions of runs of skiers each year but unfortunately a few tragic accidents happen. I bet it is safer skiing than driving in a car but that does not diminish the tragedy for this person's family. It does stop and make you think a bit...

Bundle up this weekend and enjoy the snow everyone!

Ski Trip Report - Saddleback - January 7, 2012

2012-01-07T19:51:00.001-05:00

Early Turns down Green Weaver

What a difference a week makes! Saddleback has been picking up an inch or two every day over the past week and it all added up to much improved conditions at Saddleback when compared to the previous weekend. They even started to get some of their natural snow trails open including Peachys Peril and Golden Smelt. They have two new groomed runs down the mountain in Blue Devil and Silver Doctor.

You can check out my guide to all 66 Saddleback Trails here.

Overall conditions were very good. Grey Ghost, Green Weaver and Blue Devil skied great. Silver Doctor just opened so it had that 'brand new snowmade" feel to it. A bit wet and stiff underfoot but definitely very skiable.

Early snow on Peachys Peril

The natural trails offered adequate cover early in the day. Peachy's Peril held lots of new snow and Golden Smelt was good too. You had to ski around some scrub but there was enough snow to make confident turns. Later in the day these trails wore down with skier traffic exposing more obstacles but good on Saddleback for providing new ways down the mountain.

There was a decent crowd there. With only the Rangeley chair open (no T-Bar or upper Quad yet) it put a lot of pressure on this double chair. So lines were 10-15 minutes most of the day. The lower beginner Quad and the terrain park double was ski-on all day. With $29 Maine day tickets tomorrow, I bet they will have a bigger crowd and potentially longer lines.

The terrain park was set up very nicely offering a nice diversion for my youngest in between rides up the Rangeley.

Nice to see winter back on the mountain! They had a snow dance outside the lodge to bring us more snow! Dance hard cause the upcoming mid-week storm looks too warm for my liking but there is still time to convince the snow gods otherwise!

Golden Smelt Freshies

Catching some Great Air on Lower Professor

More Lower Professor Air

Ski Trip Report - Saddleback - January 1, 2012

2012-01-01T20:03:00.002-05:00

Another good day at Saddleback Maine. Pretty much the same as yesterday less the rain. The open trails skied well early but got scraped off towards mid-day. Overall Saddleback is putting out a very good product considering this horrid start to winter we have had. They had a decent crowd their today which was good to see.

Alec took a pretty good hit on his shoulder today. It is pretty sore and we will see what the new day brings. Hopefully it is not too serious but he is probably out of action for a while. Not great timing with the start of the high school Alpine racing this week but hopefully his young body will heal quickly!

On New Years Eve the Saddleback fireworks were cancelled due to fog (Fog on New Years Eve???) but Alec shot this cool picture with our glow rings Saddleback passed out. Happy New Year everyone! Lets hope 2012 brings us some big snow dumps!

Ski Trip Report - Saddleback - December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T16:15:00.001-05:00

In what started as a very wet day turned into a very enjoyable afternoon at Saddleback Maine.

@MaineSkiFamily is staying with friends at a condo in Saddleback and it was very handy today. The boys got out on the slope around 9AM in a fairly steady rain. It was 36 degrees at the base so freezing rain was not a problem up high like it was in the valleys. The snow was actually pretty good, but we got kinda wet. My new gore text gloves I got for Christmas kept my hands nice and dry however. We called it good for the morning around10AM and got back to the condo to dry out by the fire and warm up.

We got back on the hill about 1:30 and it had stopped raining and we had a very enjoyable afternoon! Saddleback is offering 3 ways down from the top of the Rangeley chair. The snow was wet, and it was getting scrapped off a bit in the middle of the trail, but you could still get an edge in and the skiing was pretty good. The cover is still very good and no rocks or anything showing. We found the left side of Green Weaver quite enjoyable hopping in and out of the side of the trail where all the loose snow was.

No pictures this trip. I have seem to have lost my camera unfortunately. I may have to resort to a backup next trip.

I think the skiing is going to be OK tomorrow. Temps in the 30's and some sun hopefully. The snow should be soft and carveable... and it is always fun to ski with friends. Get out there and support your local ski mountain! You can't do anything about the weather and conditions so you might as well make the best of it and have fun!

Anticipating Ski Lift Wind Holds

2011-12-29T11:19:00.000-05:00

A couple of years back we made a trip to Sugarloaf early-season and unfortunately could not ski due to all the ski lifts being on wind-hold. We absolutely understand safety is the #1 concern but it was frustrating to make the two hour drive up and back and not be able to ski.

I started to wonder if there was a way to anticipate wind-holds better and how mountains fare depending on wind speed and direction. Here are my unscientific thoughts and observations.

Informational Web Sites
There are three websites I check for wind forecasts and observations:

Higher Summit Forecasts from the National Weather Service
This will give wind forecasts under 4000 feet and over 4000 feet. The under 4000 feet applies to most lifts at Maine Mountains. The Timberline lift at Sugarloaf and the Kennebago Quad lift at Saddleback are the ones that will be impacted the most at over 4000 feet.

Mount Washington Observatory Summit Conditions

This give live readings on wind speeds and direction at the top of Mount Washington. See below, but if it is blowing over 50mph be on the lookout for wind holds.

Point Forecasts from the National Weather Service
Using the map, you can click on top of the mountains and get wind speed forecasts at elevation as well. Here is the link for Saddleback and Sugarloaf.

So what do you do with this information? Here are my general guidelines:

For Saddleback and Sugarloaf - If it is blowing over 40-60mph at the top of Mount Washington, the higher level lifts may be impacted. 60-80mph the entire mountain lift system could be impacted. Over 80mph its a good bet of a severe wind-hold day.

We find that a Northwest wind tends to impact Sugarloaf more due to the generally Northeast lift orientation.
We find that a Northeast wind tends to impact Saddleback more due to the generally Northwest lift orientation.
Any other direction impacts each mountain equally.
It looks like the new upper mountain Skyline lift at Sugarloaf will be much better with winds which is great for Sugarloaf!

For Sunday River, I don't have a lot of data points as we don't ski there a whole lot and their lifts go in a lot of different directions. Judging by trail reports, they generally are able to get most lifts spinning on moderately windy days.
Mt. Abram and Shawnee Peak (and all the other smaller Maine mountains) are great options on windy days. Their lifts are generally sheltered and they don't get that high in elevation. It really takes an extremely strong gale to put these mountains on wind holds.

Before heading out, check the forecast the night before then check the mountain web site condition report the morning of. The major mountains are pretty good about getting the information up early in the morning and they will generally say if there is a danger of wind holds. Most mountains also post to their twitter feeds and condition report pages as lifts close and open due to wind.

Hopefully this helps you out! Feel free to comment if you have your own observations about anticipating wind holds and Maine ski mountains.

The Holiday Week Pricing vs. Terrain Open Debate

2011-12-27T09:46:00.000-05:00

What a tough Christmas week for Maine ski mountains! With limited terrain open and an impending mid-week liquid weather event this is going to hurt the holiday week revenue for sure.

Weather Update: As of 12PM Tuesday - Forecasters are starting to indicate a nice upslope snow event after the liquid precipitation. 2-5 inches maybe more. Possible fast recovery for Maine ski mountains. Fingers crossed!

Ski resorts basically have two weeks that make or break their season. Christmas week and school vacation week in February. Mid-winter weekends are profitable but they need strong holiday weeks to really get into the black on the bottom line.

In some of the ski forums I participate in, there is quite a debate on what resorts should be charging for walk-up lift ticket prices. Most resorts are charging the full holiday rate. From what I could find out from their websites, this is what is happening in Maine:

Pricing and Terrain Open - December 27, 2011

Here are some random questions, thoughts and observations:

As a consumer, it is hard to justify purchasing a full-price lift ticket when less than 20% of the mountain is open.
I can certainly understand that a ski mountain expense profile does not change if the resort is 100% open or 10% open. They need to turn a profit like any business.
It seems like resorts can at least acknowledge the lack of terrain open and knock something off their price... at least 10%. Mt. Abram, Lost Valley and Big Rock are doing this.
You often don't have to pay full retail price for lift tickets. See my blog post on how to save money on lift tickets. It is tough to do on a holiday week though.
I don't think I will be entering the ski business anytime soon.
Maybe the typical vacation week consumer is going to show up no matter what. Perhaps vacation weeks are the only times they will ski all year and they will and expect to pay full price?
I am glad I have a season-pass at Saddleback. It totally changes your mindset. If you ski 1/2 day on limited terrain, you feel like it is worth it. When you pay full lift ticket prices for limited terrain, you feel like it is not worth it. It is interesting the psychology of this as it is still money in the end.
This type of season last happened in ~~2007-08~~ 2006-07. It was bad right until February break then it was loads of snow and fantastic skiing right through the end of April.
Shawnee Peak has done a remarkable job getting terrain open. We skied there December 26 and their open terrain is legit. Check out our trip report.

Hopefully Winter and Snow will show up soon! What do you think of the Maine ski resort pricing strategy to date? Feel free to comment below.

Ski Trip Report - Shawnee Peak - December 26, 2011

2011-12-26T21:56:00.001-05:00

A quick report our our night skiing trip to Shawnee Peak. A very nice evening. Temps in the upper 20's and Shawnee has done a very good job getting its slopes open. Most of the night terrain was open and offered good cover. It got icy in spots but on the sides of the trails you could usually find some loose snow to turn on. Probably Lower Kangamangus offered the best snow.

Shawnee offers pretty good deals for night skiing. On holiday Monday's, it is $16. You really can't beat that. If you do go night skiing, be prepared to deal with some fairly fast skiers and snowboarders. The night tends to bring out the teen / young adult crowd. You just need to stay on your toes. I would not recommend night skiing for new skiers or young kids, but it's not problem for @MaineSkiFamily.

Now if we can make it through this Wednesday NIAR event we can get on with winter!

Merry Christmas from A Family Skiing in Maine

2011-12-22T08:13:00.001-05:00

@MaineSkiFamily wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year! We are anxiously awaiting for Winter to finally get going and ripping up the slopes!

Peace to you all - Alec, Isaac, Juley and Mike

Ski Trip Report - Saddleback - December 18, 2011

2011-12-18T17:46:00.000-05:00

Well, the preseason is over for @MaineSkiFamily. Time for the regular season to begin with our first trip to Saddleback Maine for the year. For readers of this blog, you will see a lot of Saddleback trip reports this year. We consider Saddleback our home mountain and we all picked up our season passes today. A good day in our family!

The boys both made honor roll which saved us $400. Saddleback offers a $99 season pass to students from Maine that make the honor roll in the first marking period. Offer is extended to non-resident students at $149. Good job boys getting on the honor roll!

After we got our passes we suited up and clicked into our skis. It was cold! It was in the single-digits all day. The crowd was pretty light. I am thinking maybe the cold scared them away? Not sure but no lift lines made for good skiing.

For opening weekend, Saddleback has the great blue cruiser Gray Ghost open along with the Wheeler slope. Both offered very good skiing. The middle part of Gray Ghost was a little chunky on our first runs, but it loosened up with skier traffic. The Saddleback terrain park crew did a great job getting some features up to play with. It was a lot of fun for the boys.

Saddleback is blowing some major stink (our word for snowmaking) on Royal Tiger under the beginner quad and Green Weaver from the top of the Rangeley chair. As we drove up the access road the mountain was shrouded in a big snow making cloud. Go cold and maybe we can get lucky and get some snow before Christmas.

Be sure to check out my definitive guide on all 66 Saddleback trails.

Overall a great day and it was great to play on our home turf. Here are some more pics from the day.

Isaac on a box in the terrain park

Alec ripping Gray Ghost

Juley on her first run of the year!

And the winner is...

2011-12-17T07:15:00.002-05:00

I have drawn the two winners for lift tickets to Saddleback Maine and Mt. Abram. I have reached out to the winners to get their mailing details. As soon as I have confirmation I will let everyone know who won!

UPDATE: Congrats to Dan from Bridgton, Maine who won the Saddleback tickets! Dan (@d_s_edwards) followed @MaineSkiFamily on twitter to get his name in the drawing and won. And Nancy from Hartland won the Mt. Abram tickets! Nancy liked the A Family Skiing in Maine page on Facebook and won.

Thanks again to the fine folks at Saddleback Maine and Mt. Abram for providing the tickets for the drawing. Saddleback opens today and Mt.Abram is planning on opening December 22nd. I encourage you all to check them out this winter!

Thanks to everyone for entering the drawing. Think snow!

Lift Ticket Drawing December 17!

2011-12-12T06:20:00.001-05:00

2 lucky blog readers will receive these vouchers!

The drawing for 2 adult lift tickets to Saddleback and Mt. Abram will be this Saturday, December 17 which is the same day as opening day for both mountains! See this blog post for all the ways to enter the drawing.

Ski Trip Report - Sunday River - December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T16:22:00.001-05:00

Before our first run down Right Stuff

The MaineSkiFamily boyz went to Sunday River today. We went in to the day planning a half-day of skiing. We knew it was going to be crowded and that conditions would deteriorate rapidly due to limited terrain being open. However, with The Bank of Maine promotion offering $29 lift tickets to Maine residents (instead of $49) it made it worth the trip.

You have to hand it to Sunday River. They certainly can crank out the snow. The amount of snow guns they had fired up was impressive. Everywhere we skied, we were getting blasted with man-made snow. Fortunately the temperatures were pretty cold overnight so the snow was pretty light and very ski-able.

Right Stuff snow was pretty good

The Barker lodge parking was way down the access road so we scooted over to the South Ridge lodge and got decent parking there. We spent most of the morning lapping the Barker Quad and the Spruce Triple. We clicked in at 8:30 and our first run was down Right Stuff that just had snow made on it overnight. It was ungroomed and a bunch of bumps were forming, but skied very well on our fresh legs. We tried upper Sunday punch which skied pretty well, but lower Sunday Punch was already starting to see heavy traffic and getting scraped off and icy.

Getting ready for some gates

They were running a Slalom race on upper T2 so that trail was off limits. Cascades was left ungroomed and skied pretty well with some good bumps in it. We finished off the morning lapping Risky Business and that was a trail that we could rip and practice some racing turns.

Nice day in Maine and a great view

By 11:30 things we getting pretty scraped off and icy which we expected and we were getting tired of dodging people which we expected too. They had a pretty big crowd there today. With pretty marginal winter weather up to this point, Sunday River did an awesome job getting as much open as they have. Their trail counts will go up quickly if the weather stays cold.

Regardless of the conditions, a day of skiing is always a good day! Always great to be outdoors enjoying some fresh Maine air.

Lift Ticket Giveaway to Mt. Abram and Saddleback!

2011-12-07T11:14:00.001-05:00

These could be yours!

To celebrate the upcoming openings (weekend of December 17) at Saddleback and Mt. Abram, the fine folks at these two Maine ski areas have provided the A Family Skiing in Maine blog lift tickets to give away to our blog readers! Both areas have provided two adult lift tickets good for any day of the 2011-12 ski season. We will be giving away these tickets to two lucky winners!

Mt. Abram is a great ski mountain in Locke Mills, Maine. They have a very nice beginner learning area, superior intermediate to advanced terrain and a super family-friendly atmosphere. Check out my review of Mt. Abram here.

Saddleback is another great ski mountain and is located near Rangeley Maine. They have the best learning area I have seen and has excellent intermediate to advanced terrain. The vibe is relaxed and smiles are plentiful especially when you have the best ski day ever. Check out my review of Saddleback and my definitive guide to all 66 trails at Saddleback.

Both mountains offer a pure Maine skiing experience. I highly encourage you to visit them this winter!

For the contest, there are multiple ways to enter the drawing.

Scroll down and leave a comment on this blog post
Follow @MaineSkiFamily on Twitter (Twitter button at the top of this page)
Tweet to @MaineSkiFamily on Twitter with a hashtag of #WinMaineSkiLiftTickets
Like A Family Skiing in Maine page on Facebook (Like button at the top of this page)
Like the lift ticket giveaway post on our Facebook page
Share the lift ticket giveaway post on your own Facebook wall
Subscribe to the MaineSkiFamily YouTube channel

Do everything on the list and your name will be entered 7 times into the drawing!

Many thanks to Saddleback and Mt. Abram for providing these lift tickets.

The drawing will be held on Saturday, December 17th. GOOD LUCK AND THINK SNOW!

The AIS Rule

2011-11-30T15:51:00.001-05:00

First Run at Saddleback Maine

For our family, one of the keys to a successful day of skiing is to get to the mountain as early as possible. The first hour the lifts are open are often the best ski runs of the day. There is something special about ripping a freshly groomed trail first thing in the morning before the masses start arriving around 9:30am.

To achieve this takes some planning and work the evening before so we can adhere to our set AIS time. What is the AIS time? Fans of the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond may remember the following dialogue between the characters Raymond and Debra.

Raymond "Ray" Barone: Let me tell you. My father had a system: AIS. Like whenever we'd go somewhere, he'd set a time and he'd be like: "We're leaving. 9:00, AIS!"
Debra Barone: AIS?
Raymond "Ray" Barone: A$$ In Seat. Whoever's a$$ was not in their seat at the designated time, that a$$ was left behind.
Debra Barone: So during the fall did you have to set your a$$ back an hour?

So that is our running joke and motto we live by on a ski day. For a Saddleback day-trip, our AIS time is 6:15am. That gets us to the mountain about 8:20am and we are ready to go when the lifts open at 8:30am.

6:15am is pretty early! It takes some prep and planning to get out the door and rolling by our designated AIS time. Here is our typical ski schedule with some hints to help you get out the door.

Evening Before

Locate and pack all your ski gear! We have a list with the essentials for the ski-bag. Helmet, gloves, jacket, ski pants, hand/foot warmers etc. Some of the things you will put on your list seems obvious but it is best to have them on the list then not at all and forget.

Our kids are teenagers so we make them pack their own bag. They both have their own individual bag that holds their boots and other ski gear.

Make sure the car is full of gas so you don't want to waste time filling up in the morning.
If you are packing a lunch, make it and pack it the evening before.
Get all your packed gear by the front door for easy loading in the morning.
Get your skis and poles loaded in the car. Best to leave boots inside where it is warm.
Set the coffee maker on auto-brew for 5am.
Set the alarm and go to bed at a reasonable time!

Ski Day

After waking up, start the intravenous drip of caffeine... or just have a cup of coffee.
While the kids and wife are sleeping, load up the car with the packed ski gear.
Get all the breakfast bowls, cereal and juices etc. out on the counter.
Wake the family at 5:25. I usually tell them the GNAR (another word for snow) is calling and get them eating breakfast.

In our family, Juley (Mom) needs to take care of the family pets with food etc so need to give her enough time for that.

At 6:00am, start giving updates for time left to AIS.
At 6:05am, start the car to warm it up.
At 6:10am, give the final AIS warning. Teeth should be brushed and everyone should have used the bathroom by this point.
At 6:15am, A's are In the Seats and you are rolling!

In addition to the great first hour skiing, the other big reason we do this is to avoid the people-crush at the mountain lodge. After getting on our skis at 8:30am and skiing for a couple of hours, we typically eat lunch around 10:30am when most everyone is just heading out for their first runs. By the time we are finished lunch and ready to go skiing again, folks are starting to head in for lunch. When they are done with lunch and heading out, we are heading in for a break. Works pretty well for us!

The Reason AIS of 6:15am is Worth It!

Depending on the snow conditions we will ski to at least mid-afternoon but we have been known to ski opening bell to closing bell. When you have a day like this picture shows, all the work and effort is worth it and it helps build memories that will last a lifetime!

Trip Reports at Alpinezone - 2007-2010

2011-11-28T20:11:00.001-05:00

Alpinezone is a very cool website focused on northeast skiing. They have an active forum community where I have posted trip reports since 2007.

That link is a saved search at the alpinezone.com forums of all trip report threads started by me. ~~Hopefully that link will stay active - if not let me know and I will figure out a different way.~~ Looks like the search link expires after a period of time. If you go to the Alpinezone Trip Reports Forum and search for threads started by salsgang that should give you the list.

As we suffer through this warm weather and NIAR, its fun to flip back through past trip reports. Enjoy and THINK SNOW!

How to Save Money on Lift Tickets

2011-11-25T06:46:00.001-05:00

On this 'Black Friday' there are many shoppers out there looking for killer deals. We drove by Best Buy Thanksgiving day at 2PM and there was already a line of shoppers waiting for the store to open at midnight!

Although we are now season pass holders at Saddleback, we still like to visit other mountains. With lift tickets pushing $80 at some mountains in Maine it gets scary when the family income needs to put everyone on the mountain!

Typically resorts will bundle lift tickets with lodging which can save money overall, but this blog entry is aimed at the day-tripper family. Here are some lift ticket money savings strategies you can use in 2011-12.

STATEWIDE DEALS

Winterkids - Winterkids is a great Maine based organization that does many things to get kids and families outside in the winter. One program is the Winterkids Passport. For a small $25 fee, any Maine 5th, 6th or 7th grader can get 2 tickets to all the ski alpine mountains in Maine along with tickets to tubing, cross country and ice skating rinks. To use the passport ticket an adult ticket purchase is required, but often there are deals for siblings. It is a huge money saver and a great way to visit many ski areas in Maine. It is a no-brainer - use it once and you have already made back your passport fee.

Liftopia - Liftopia offers a pre-purchase program for lift tickets at ski mountains nationwide. It appears that more Maine mountains are joining in with this program and you can even rent the entire Mt.Abram or Camden Snow Bowl for the day. A ski area will put an allotment of tickets on the site, and the buyer can pre-purchase tickets for a specific day. The catch is no refunds! If there is bad weather or someone gets sick, you can't swap to a different day or get your money back. However, because you are pre-buying for a specific day you can save some significant money. We usually check the long-range forecast an try to buy 2-4 days ahead.

Ski Maine - The Ski Maine trade association sells ticket booklets with coupons for lift tickets at Maine ski mountains. This used to be an awesome deal and could be used as the adult purchase for the Winterkids program. The prices have gone up significantly in the past couple of years but it is still a pretty good deal at $450 where you get two tickets to each mountain. Once you use 6 tickets or so you have got your money back which is a good option if you plan on skiing a bunch of different mountains in Maine. They also have a 1 coupon book for $250.

Ski Maine also has a deals page on their website that is good to keep an eye on.

SPECIFIC MOUNTAIN DEALS

If you plan on skiing a Saturday or on a holiday vacation week - expect to pay full price most of the time. Mid-week visits typically yield greater discounts. If you scour each resorts website there are some specific deals to be had. Here is what I can find.

Saddleback

If your child is on the honor roll and you plan to visit Saddleback more than 2 times, get a PEAK season pass. At $99 for Maine residents ($149 out of state) it quickly pays off.
They offer Maine Resident Sunday's at $29 on December 18, January 8, February 5, March 4, April 1, May 6
Saddleback was offering a bundle of 7 tickets for $299 but that has sold-out. Keep an eye on their website for more deals.

Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf offers a frequent skier card that can pay off after 2-3 visits. It is also good at Sunday River and Loon. This is something we have picked up as we ski Sugarloaf a handful of times each year.
Sugarloaf offers a bunch of deals for Maine residents. We particularly like the family Sunday's in January ($39 a ticket!).

Mt. Abram

Mt. Abram offers carload Fridays where all belted passengers get in for one price of $75. They offer this and many different ticket combinations at their on-line store.

Sunday River

Like Sugarloaf, Sunday River also offers the frequent skier card.

Shawnee Peak

The best thing to do with Shawnee is to sign up for their Email club and get notifications of their Online only deals. Every Monday they send out a new deal to save money on lift tickets.
Shawnee also offers deals on different days of the week from Monday carload days to Sunday afternoon specials. See this page on their website for all the details.

The other smaller mountains in Maine are less aggressive on ticket promotions since they already have lower prices when compared to the bigger resorts. However, keep an eye on their websites for deals. Here is a blog post detailing most of the smaller ski areas in Maine with direct links to their websites.

Happy skiing and I hope this post is helpful in saving your family some money! Feel free to comment below if you have other lift ticket money saving strategies.

Ski Trip Report - Sugarloaf - Nov 23, 2011

2011-11-23T19:15:00.001-05:00

Isaac getting some side stash

We had a very successful first day skiing! It was just the MaineSkiFamily boyz as mom is not quite ready to ski yet. We usually do a boyz trip the Wednesday before Thanksgiving each year. This year we lucked out with about 6" of fresh powder at Sugarloaf!

Sugarloaf basically had their great cruiser Tote Road open. Later in the day they opened Hayburner but since we had our "newer" skis we decided to skip that trail as it required a walk at the bottom... early season skiing! A lot of people have some old beater skis they use this time of year because you never know what you are going to hit in the trail. Our skis made it out pretty well for a first run of the year - although I have a couple of spots where light base repair is going to be needed.

The conditions were very good. The snow piled up into some nice bumps that really taxed our early season legs. We got on the lift first bell at 8:30 and skied until about 2 when our legs finally gave up. It was really a blast to have this much snow on November 23rd! A great start to the 2011-12 MaineFamilySki Season!

Here are some more pictures from the day:

Isaac's experiment with Newton's Law

Alec finding some DEEEP

Isaac carvin up some POW

Alec ripping up some FRESH

Obligatory Old Man Shot

First Run of the Year!

2011-11-23T08:52:00.001-05:00

We are skiing at Sugarloaf! Powder day!

Skiing Tomorrow!

2011-11-22T21:12:00.001-05:00

The MaineSkiFamily boys are ready to ski Sugarloaf tommorow! Bags are packed, skis are waxed and edges sharp. Looks like we might get some snow! Stay tuned...

Ski Mountain Review - Shawnee Peak

2011-11-21T19:00:00.001-05:00

Shawnee Peak at Night

Shawnee Peak is located in Bridgton Maine on Route 302. Shawnee offers over 40 trails and 19 are lit for night skiing. Shawnee is the first place we ever visited as a family to ski and we had a blast. We crashed four straight times unloading the quad chairlift, but we finally figured it out by sitting Dad, Youngest Son, Mom, Oldest son on the chairlift... an seating order we keep to this day!

Parking Access and Day Lodge
Parking access is good at Shawnee. The main lot can hold quite a few cars and the walk is flat to the lodge. There is an additional lot but it is not too far away and it is still quite easy to drop your gear at the lodge first then go park.

Shawnee has 2 lodges. The main lodge holds all the skier rental and lesson services, and is the bigger of the two lodges but by far the busiest. All night skiing is done from this lodge as well. The lodge is fairly plain and industrial for the general seating area. The upstairs pub / bar is nice and has a good deck for those warm late winter days. They added an addition with lots of windows but it is mainly reserved for the customers utilizing the cafeteria.

The East lodge is much smaller and cozier, but is certainly less busy. It is only open days so if you plan on night skiing you will need to plan accordingly.

I give a grade of a A- for parking access and a B for the day lodge.

Trail Crowding and Lifts

Shawnee is split into two distinct areas. The Main area services a majority of the terrain and is serviced by three lifts. The trails in this area can get a little busy, but the trail designs lend themselves to spreading people out once they get a third of the way down the mountain. The east side services some very good intermediate to advanced terrain and gets less traffic. This area is serviced by a triple chairlift. You need to keep alert as you would at any ski area, but I don't feel like I am going to get run over too much at Shawnee. Lift lines are generally not too crazy either.

I give a grade of an B for trail crowding and a B for lift infrastructure.

Beginner Terrain
Shawnee does offer a carpet lift that services about a 100 yards of terrain right in front of the lodge, and then a double lift that services a couple of gentle slopes. Not bad for the true beginner but not a whole lot of variety. The next step up is the Quad chairlift that brings you about 1/2 way up the mountain. You get access to much more terrain from this lift but the beginner better be ready! The first pitch can be a bit of a challenge and pretty crowded. I have seen more than one beginner really get tentative in this area. However, once you master this section you are good to go on the rest of the mountain.

I give a grade of a B- to the beginner terrain.

Intermediate Terrain

Isaac on Jack Spratt - Great View!

Shawnee has some really good intermediate cruisers. Lower Kangamangus on the main side is a blast. Typically not quite as crowded and really fun as it has some interesting turns in the trail. Jack Spratt early in the day is a lot of fun as well but that gets scrapped off and icy with heavy traffic. The east side groomed trails tend to be narrower but are just as fun. Don't miss what we call the 'side chutes' skiers left on the Main slope. Really fun little trails that dart in and out of the woods. Lots of fun racing the boys through those trails.

I give a grade of a B+ to the intermediate terrain.

Terrain Park
Shawnee has a very good terrain park system. The big park is on the Main slope and offers a pretty challenging pitch with some big features and a half-pipe to drop into at the end. They also offer a smaller park over off the Pine slope with some good beginner elements to get started on. The vibe is generally good in the parks

I give a grade of a A- to the terrain parks.

Expert Terrain
When the snow is right - Shawnee has some decent expert runs. From a groomer perspective, The Headwall portion of the East slope is a pretty steep run and they typically leave skiers right ungroomed for some bump skiing. Some terrain on the East side is left ungroomed. Tycoon is a lot of fun on a powder day. So overall you can get some challenge at Shawnee.

I give a grade of an B- to the expert terrain.

Gladed Terrain

Shawnee Glade accessed from the Summit Triple

There are some glades on Shawnee. In between the two main chairlifts from the summit you will find a network of narrow trails / glades. Ski 'em early as they get skied out pretty quickly, but I had a real blast there on a powder day a couple of years ago. The glades are not remarkable but can offer some challenge and enjoyment.

I give a grade of an B- to the gladed terrain.

Lift Ticket Pricing
Shawnee ticket pricing is variable. I find the day weekend / holiday price of $59 adult / $46 child expensive, but you can ski from first chair in the morning to last chair at night. Night-only tickets are more reasonable ($13-$30 depending on the night) but cold is always a challenge at night plus nights tend to attract the teen / young adult crowd. Weekday day tickets are much more reasonable ($41 / $33). They are the one ski area that always charges a surcharge for Winterkids users which I find odd. One advantage they certainly have is the proximity to the Portland, Maine area.

I give a grade of an B- for day-trip lift ticket pricing.

2011-12 Improvements
According to a SkiMaine Newsletter: For Mountainside lodging that is really "on the mountain" you must see the new Shawnee Peak Yurts and Cabins. The location along the Sunset Blvd Ski Trail offers spectacular views of Mt Washington and the Presidential Range. Trailside location insures "first tracks" in the morning. Summertime guests hike to the site, but winter guests get a chairlift ride and a short ski to their cozy mountainside get-a-way.

Shawnee has also added 2 new HKC Super Crystal Fan Guns to its snowmaking arsenal. New this year in the equipment rental shop are Elan rocker skis, Dabello boots, Burton snowboards and boots (including gear specifically for women) plus a number of new helmets. The most unique addition is the purchase of a new 4 seat passenger cab for one of the groomers offering early morning rides for pristine first tracks.

Overall Ranking
Shawnee is a very solid mountain. Some great views are to be had of the surrounding lakes and Mt. Washington. Very good terrain and a closer drive makes Shawnee a good ski day. Pricing is variable, but if you can get away during the week you can really score at Shawnee.

Overall - I give Shawnee a ranking of a B.

Look for more ski mountain reviews in upcoming posts. Feel free to comment on what you think about Shawnee Peak below.

Reading a NWS Forecast Discussion

2011-11-20T07:04:00.001-05:00

It looks like there might be snow in the mountains this week! Great news for resorts that are open (Sunday River) or trying to get open ASAP (Sugarloaf). MaineSkiFamily is looking to take their initial ski run on Wednesday, and we might get some snow!

Back on my Weather on the Web post I mentioned some of the sites we used to watch the weather. One good one that I didn't list was the National Weather Service forecast discussion out of the Gray, Maine office. They give a summary of the reasoning behind the forecast without going into too much technical detail... The models they talk about are computer models they use to help forecast. Their job is to apply the human element of the forecast and the discussion gives detail on the reasoning behind. Therefore, you can get better hints on upcoming weather events.

There might be snow on our first ski day! Here is the Long Term part of the discussion with the interesting parts highlighted. THINK SNOW!

.LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THIS MORNING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL
BUILD OVERHEAD MONDAY NIGHT AND MOVE EAST TUESDAY. CLOUDS WILL BE
ON THE INCREASE TUESDAY AFTN AS A SFC LOW THAT WILL BE ORGANIZING IN
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS MOVES NORTHEAST. ECMWF/NAM/GFS ALL AGREE THAT
THE SFC LOW WILL TRACK THROUGH SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND AND INTO THE
GULF OF MAINE. THE CMC MODEL IS THE ONLY ONE THAT KEEPS THE LOW
FARTHER SOUTH AND HENCE A BIT COLDER. HAVE USED THE ECMWF/GFS FOR
THIS FCST PKG. IT SHOULD BE COLD ENOUGH INITIALLY TO SEE
PRECIPITATION START AS SNOW OR A MIX BUT ENOUGH WARM AIR MOVES IN
TO CHANGE PRECIP TO RAIN IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AREAS. IN THE
MOUNTAINS THERE COULD BE ACCUMULATION AND WILL HAVE TO WATCH MODEL
TRENDS AS THERE COULD BE A FEW INCHES OF SNOW IN NORTHERN PORTIONS
OF THE FORECAST AREA. PRECIPITATION SHOULD CHANGE BACK TO SNOW
BEFORE ENDING THURSDAY MORNING. ONCE THIS SYSTEM CLEARS THE AREA
THURSDAY MORNING THE REST OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND LOOKS FINE WITH
PLENTY OF SUN AND WARMING TEMPS.

The Definitive Saddleback Ski Trail Guide

2011-11-15T19:42:00.001-05:00

Since we are Saddleback season pass holders and Saddleback is our favorite mountain, we are often asked about the how to navigate the trails at Saddleback and which ones we recommend. It really depends on your ability, but Saddleback offers a great day of skiing for everyone of skill levels. Here is our guide to all the ski trails at Saddleback Maine.

South Branch Quad | Sandy Double | Cupsuptic T-Bar | Rangeley Double | Kennebago Quad

- Easier - More Difficult - Most Difficult - Extremely Difficult

South Branch Quad Area

The South Branch quad chair services an extensive area of beginner terrain below the base lodge. All the trails are groomed and this area is separated from the more advanced upper mountain terrain creating an excellent learning environment. The trails serviced from this chair include:

Trail descriptions are ordered from skiers right to skiers left.

Click here for a larger version of the trail map from the Saddleback website.

Little Inky - A short trail offering a connection to Green Hornet.
Garrison (Glades) - A nice short glade through a patch of white birches offering a gentle pitch.
   Dusty Miller - A side trail that winds its way back down to the South Branch chair.
   Rooster - A short side trail off Royal Tiger and links up with Dusty Miller.
   Candlestick - An offshoot trail that links up with Hummer.

Hummer - Links up with Candlestick to offer a winding path through the woods back to the South Branch chair.
Royal Tiger - The main slope under the chairlift. A wide trail offering plenty of room to learn to ski.

Mrs. Duley (Glades) - A delightful romp among the white birches offering a gentle slope and a great introduction to tree glade skiing. This glade is quite long and parallels Royal Tiger.

Gee Whiz (Terrain Park) - Typically set up with features, banks and jumps aimed at the beginning terrain park user.

Streamer - A side trail when linked up with Smelt gives access to the Mountain Brook condos.

Hornburg - Access via a sharp skiers left on Royal Tiger immediately after the White Birch Condos and also gives access to the South Branch condos. Continue on Smelt or Streamer back to the South Branch chair.

Smelt - Provides access to the Mountain Brook condos and continues back down to the South Branch chair.

Sandy Double Area

The Sandy Double chair is a short lift that loads right in front of the base lodge. This chair primarily serves the terrain park setup on the Wheeler slope. You can also access the Cupsuptic T-Bar from this chair as well as some short beginner terrain. Our boys like to use this chair for warm-up runs first thing as the parents are slower with getting the ski gear on! The trails serviced from this chair include:

Trail descriptions are ordered from skiers right to skiers left.

Click here for a larger version of the trail map from the Saddleback website.

   Wheeler (Terrain Park) - The main terrain park at Saddleback offering bigger jumps and features for the terrain park user. Plenty of chances for the terrain park guru to show off their skills for folks on the Sandy and Rangeley chairs. Other skiers can ski down the side of the trail outside of the park back to the lift and lodge.
   Montreal - A short trail that usually has a small jump built in it to grab some air and gets back to Wheeler.
   Gnat - Short trail that works its way back to Wheeler and the base area.
   Squirrel - Short trail that also makes its way back to Wheeler as well as providing access to some of the Rock Pond condos.

Cupsuptic T-Bar Area
The Cupsuptic T-Bar services blue square intermediate terrain. The T-Bar is a good option on busy days when the line at the Rangeley is long but you have to ride the Sandy Double first to get to it. You can also access the upper mountain Kennebago lift via The Pass crosscut trail. The Pass also accesses the lower parts of the trails coming off the Rangeley double. The trails serviced from the T-Bar include:

Trail descriptions are ordered from skiers right to skiers left.

Click here for a larger version of the trail map from the Saddleback website.

   The Pass - A crosscut trail that leads to the Kennebago lift as well as access to all the lower sections of the trails off the Rangeley chair. Its a gentle pitch but keep looking uphill to avoid skiers coming down the various trails.
   Parmachenee Belle - A great ungroomed bump run with opportunities for natural terrain jumps and you can duck in and out of the trees in the top section. The pitch is not too severe once you get past the initial section. The trail splits into two sections near the bottom so ski it twice to do both sides.
   Silver Doctor - A nice groomed bomber. The top section offers a fairly steep pitch and then it flattens out a bit where you can lay into some big Giant Slalom turns. Looks skiers right for some opportunities for side powder and jumps.
   Blue Devil - A narrow winding groomed trail. You can get access to Red Devil skiers left after the first main pitch. Very fun trail to ski as it winds down the mountainside.
   Red Devil - A wider groomed run. Its an uphill hoof to get to the start of the trail. Coming at this trail down Jitterbug from the Rangeley chair will give you some momentum for a head start. Nice view from the top of the trail. Fun opportunities on skiers left for powder stashes and to ski in and out of the trees.

While it is possible to access the green square Hudson Highway from the Cupsuptic T-Bar it is quite an uphill hoof. The map makes it look easier than it actually is. Access to Hudson Highway is best from the Rangeley Chair.

Rangeley Double Area
The Rangeley Double chair loads in the base lodge area and is the main lift up the mountain. The chair serves a nice variety of upper level blue and black level terrain and many excellent glades can be accessed. You can access the upper level Kennebago lift via the Green Weaver trail and all the Cupsuptic trails can be accessed from the Rangeley as well. The trails serviced from this chair include:

Trail descriptions are ordered from skiers right to skiers left.

Click here for a larger version of the trail map from the Saddleback website.

   NW Pass - A crosscut trail that services the lower portions of the Kennebego trails. Great for when the Kennebego is on wind-hold and the top is unreachable. Need to hike up a bit behind the warming hut to access the trail head. First 100 yards is flat to slightly uphill, then a gradual downhill grade. You can get all the way over to Supervisor via the NW Pass.
   Green Weaver - A groomed cruiser that has great views at the start. It hangs a pretty sharp left before it reaches the Kennebago chair area and this can get bumped up and icy later in the day. The bottom is a fairly flat run out back to the Rangeley.
   Green Hornet - Hang a right on the lower section of Green Weaver to access. There are some interesting natural features / jumps on the side of the trail. Exits at the Rangeley Chair or you can continue down Dusty Miller to the South Branch chair.
      Lower Initimidator Glade - Challenging glade accessed skiers left off Green Weaver with some fairly open sections. Bottom section has a pretty challenging pitch before it exits onto The Pass.
        Lower Nightmare Glade - Tight glade accessed skiers left off Green Weaver. Not an obvious entrance so look for the signs. A fairly long run that usually contains good snow and exits alongside Intimidator.
   Peachy's Peril - Great natural snow ungroomed bump run. Skiers left usually contains nice wind blown powder when the conditions are right. Use caution at the intersection with Col. Bates as there is a spring that usually ices up this portion of the trail. Stay to skiers right! After crossing The Pass the pitch is less demanding but often holds great snow due to most people turning right for the Kennebago chair.
   Col. Bates - Accessed skiers left from Peachy's Peril - Pretty much an ungroomed connector trail to the bottom of Professor but offers a pretty good pitch and is narrow.
        Thrombosis Glade - A great glade that holds loads of snow that is accessed skiers right off Col. Bates. Very steep entry and it maintains a pretty constant pitch. After crossing The Pass, the lower section is less demanding and one can find some hidden powder stashes. Exits via a narrow chute to the lower section of Peachy's Peril.
   Upper Jane Craig - Ungroomed trail that shares the entry with Upper Professor. Turn right a couple of hundred yards in. Offers a constant pitch until a very steep cliff section. Look skiers left for a new glade cut and a boulder huck. Ski this early on a powder day as the cliff section gets exposed with skier traffic.
   Lower Jane Craig - One of the hidden gems on the mountain. Great groomer trails with offshoot trails to skiers left in for ungroomed powders stashes. Light traffic means great conditions all day. Access from The Pass if you want to skip the upper trail cliff huck.
   Upper Professor - Very similar to Upper Jane Craig. Stay left a couple of hundred yards in. Need to navigate a similar cliff section that needs to be skied early on powder days.
   Lower Professor - Nice narrow groomer run that winds it way back to the Rangeley chair. Great run to bomb as there are many rises and falls in the trail. Access from The Pass if you want to skip the upper trail cliff huck.
   Upper Royal Coachman - Great groomer run that runs under the Rangeley chair. Often the skiers left side is left ungroomed to allow you to show people in the chair how it is done. After crossing The Pass, the entire trail is left ungroomed on the next steeper pitch so use Lower Professor to avoid if needed.
   Lower Royal Coachman - After the ungroomed section of Upper Royal Coachman, the groomer picks back up and offers a nice run back to the Rangeley Chair. Access available as well from Lower Professor.
   Grey Ghost - Great intermediate groomed bomber run offering three distinct pitches. After each pitch you get a chance to catch your breath before tackling the next one. You can really get rolling on this trail but remember to stay in control! Look skiers right in the top section for powder stashes and some tree skiing.
   Doodlebug - A connector trail off skiers left of Grey Ghost to get to Parmachenee Belle and skiers right to Golden Smelt. Look for access points when starting down the pitch after crossing The Pass. Skiers right is typically groomed.
   Muddler - Groomed access trail towards the bottom of Grey Ghost to get back to the Cupsuptic T-Bar or hop into the Terrain Park on Wheeler. Look for it on skiers left.
   Golden Smelt - Classic narrow ungroomed bump run. Top offers a cliff drop or stay skiers left to go around cliff. Rest of the trail offers great turns and bumps back to the Rangeley chair. Very fun trail to ski.
   Jitterbug - Access trail to get to Hudson Highway or continue down to the Cupsuptic T-Bar trails. Take skiers left a couple of hundred yards down Grey Ghost then veer right at junction with Hudson Highway.
   Sneaky Pete - Access is via Jitterbug. A sharp pitch followed by an uphill section. Left ungroomed last year to probably reduce speed as it exits on to the busier Grey Ghost trail and T-Bar access.
   Hudson Highway- Takes a bit of poling but can be accessed from the Rangeley Chair unload area. Starts off fairly easy but there is a somewhat steep section at the intersection with Jitterbug that could cause new skiers to pause. After this section stay skiers left for a groomed, narrow, fun and relaxing run that winds its way back to the Cupsuptic T-Bar area. Try to carry speed at the end of the trail to avoid excessive poling.
   Bea Wee Pass - A short connector trail accessed from skiers right on Hudson Highway It accesses the Devil trails right below the first pitch.
   Rock Pond - Connector trail to access to Rock Pond condos accessed skiers left off Hudson Highway.

Kennebago Quad Area
The Kennebago Quad chair services primarily expert terrain in the upper bowl of the mountain. The chair loads in front of "The Yurt" offering a place to rest and get some food and drink mid-mountain. The trails serviced from the chair include:

Trail descriptions are ordered from skiers right to skiers left.

Click here for a larger version of the trail map from the Saddleback website.

   Dazzler - A flat connector trail that services all the advanced expert terrain. After reaching Wardens Worry, it gets pretty flat with some uphill segments to reach Casablanca and Muleskinner. The length of the traverse is challenging but it thins out the skiers and leaves the snow quite fresh in the far skier right area.
        Muleskinner - Probably the most challenging trail on the mountain. A narrow winding ungroomed bumped trail with some steep pitches and islands of trees to ski around and through. Great views and access to chute #4 of Casablanca from the top of the trail which is a bit easier access if the regular glade entry points are skied off.
   Nymph - This is the run out trail at the bottom of Muleskinner and Casablanca. Very flat and its sole purpose is to get you back to the Kennebago chair. Trail is typically groomed.
        Casablanca Glades Chutes #4-#3 - These chutes are typically more wide open and you can let your skis run a bit in this part of the glade. Initial entry is narrow but it opens up quickly. It does tighten up towards the bottom and follows the same contours as Muleskinner so some steep pitches are to be navigated. This glade is very big and you will not ski the same run twice.
        Casablanca Glades Chutes #2-#1 - These pitches are tighter and the snow tends to stay fresher longer in this more sheltered section of the glade. Keep to skiers left in the glade and you get dumped out on Black Beauty. Again this glade is huge and you will find new lines on each run.
   Black Beauty - A great natural snow ungroomed trail that winds down the edge of the Casablanca glade. A sidecut entrance to Casablanca #1 is skiers right at the top of the trail. This trail gets a lot of wind blown powder deposits on skiers left.
   Frost Bite - A very similar trail to Black Beauty. Top head wall has trouble holding snow so access from a cross cut on Tight Line is sometimes required.
   Wardens Worry - Awesome trail on a powder day. Fairly straight but offers a great pitch with a fun rock jump in the middle of the trail towards the bottom. Headwall access is sometimes sketchy so cut in from Tight Line is sometimes required.
   Tight Line - A big, awesome, wide and groomed expert bomber. After a steep headwall, speed is maintained via a great pitch. Ski the headwall early in the day and if the headwall gets scraped off you can skip it via Firefly.
   Lower Tight Line - A continuation of the Tight Line trail that starts skiers right of The Yurt and offers an enjoyable trek back to the Rangeley chair. Pretty light traffic so the conditions usually very good on this trail.
   Supervisor - A narrow, groomed run that has a few twists and turns. Pretty steep so quick accurate turns required. Look skiers left halfway down for access to lower part of Dark Wizard Glade.
        Dark Wizard Glade - Extremely challenging glade that is steep and tight. Top section can get scraped off and can be skipped by going down Artula to Firefly. This glade is a blast when there is lots of snow.
   Artula - Short, groomed trail providing access to terrain below the upper headwall sections. Big right turn at the bottom of the trail onto Firefly that you need to be ready for.
   Firefly - Cross-cut connector trail that starts on Tri-Color and ends at Wardens Worry. Good trail to use when the head walls of the upper mountain trails are icy or closed.
   Family Secret - Under the chairlift trail which often offers car sized moguls in spots. Have your mojo on when doing this trail for your fans on the lift. Access is best from a short side-cut trail off the Dark Wizard Glade access from Firefly.
        Upper Governor Glade - Glade that is rarely open as it needs loads of snow, but a fairly reasonable pitch that exits at the top of Governor.
        Governor - Ungroomed trail with great natural snow and numerous powder stashes. The top headwall is pretty rocky so access is often best from a connector via Family Secret.
   Tri-Color - Groomer run from the top of the mountain down to the Rangeley chair. Under heavy traffic, can sometimes get bumped up on top. Look for access to Firefly right before the left turn at the bottom of the main initial pitch.
        Initimidator Glade - Really nice glade accessed from Tri-Color. Great tree spacing and pitch and a very long run. Exits at the bottom of Governor out to Green Weaver.
        Nightmare Glade - A more wide open glade found skiers right off Tri-Color. If the top looks rocky, ski down Tri-Color a bit and look for a small connector trail on skiers right. Great glade with islands of trees to ski around and through with lots of natural jump features.
   America - Gentle cruiser from the top offering the easiest way down the from the top. Outstanding views of Mt. Washington, Presidential's and Rangeley Lakes. Slight pitch towards the bottom of this trail before it exits to Hudson Highway. Probably could be designated a green trail.

Saddleback does offer snowfield skiing from the summit. A hike from the top of the Kennebago is required. Make sure you check with the ski patrol prior to ascending to stay safe and to get familiar with the rules. We skied once from the summit back down to the top of Black Beauty and it was a lot of fun.

Videos - How to Sharpen and Wax Your Skis

2011-11-12T22:54:00.001-05:00

Sometimes overlooked, a properly tuned set of skis can certainly enhance your families skiing experience particularly when the snow is hard and icy. However, bringing 4 or more sets of skis down to the ski-shop every 4-6 trips can get expensive quickly.

So I made some investments to get necessary tools to tune and wax our skis at home. (See my gear list below the videos) Its actually pretty easy to do. A basic tune up will keep your family happy on the slopes as they will know they can ski in any conditions with confidence.

Many thanks to my son Alec for putting these videos together! I hope you find these videos useful.

Edge Tuning Video.

Waxing Video

There are more advanced techniques to fix gouges in ski bases and to make sure the bases are flat. Depending on the response to these videos - I may make a base repair video next. Let me know what you think of these videos!

Tuning and Waxing Gear List

You can find all of these items at Tognar Toolworks and Racewax. I am not paid by these companies. These sites have the best information and customer service I have found on the web.

For the Work Bench

Ski Vise
Rubber Bands or Brake Retainers

For Edge Sharpening

Gummi Stone
Pocket Stone
Edge Bevel Tool with File
Medium Diamond Stone
Paint Brush (to brush off filings)
Spray Water Bottle
Rag

For Waxing

Ski Waxing Iron
Nylon Brush
Brass Brush
Plastic Wax Scraper
Warm Hydrocarbon Wax
All-temp or Universal Wax
Paint Brush (to brush of wax scrapings)

Ski Mountain Review - Mt. Abram

2011-11-10T18:51:00.001-05:00

As we get into the ski season, I will be posting reviews on ski mountains in Maine that we have visited. These reviews will be about the on-hill skiing experience with a family focus day-trip ski event in mind. Since we typically bring our lunch no reviews of the mountain lunch dining options. I want you to be able to get a sense as a family how this mountain would be suited for you. I will use a school ranking system handing out A+'s to F's in the categories below.

Ski Mountain - Mt. Abram

Mt. Abram is located in Greenwood, Maine just outside of Bethel and in the shadow of its bigger, but not necessarily better neighbor Sunday River. Mt. Abram offers 44 trails with a 'boundary to boundary' ski policy which makes my kids extremely happy. They can ski anywhere without worrying about Patrol pulling their tickets. :-) Mt. Abram is typically open Thursday - Sunday and holiday weekdays.

Parking Access and Day Lodge
Parking is right beside the main lodge and is a level walk. Its easy to drop your gear at the door and go park. There is also a West side lodge that services the beginner terrain but you will need to start your day at the Main lodge if you need rental services. They have a neat tractor pull wagon to shuttle skiers to and from the two lodges.

Over the summer of 2011, Mt. Abram had a freak lightening strike and an unfortunate fire that destroyed their main lodge. However, they are not letting that stop them and they are constructing a temporary lodge which will have all the amenities needed to run the mountain. Good for them!

I give a grade of a A- for parking access and a N/A for the day lodge. I am going to give them a pass on the lodge grade until they can do something permanent for the 2012-13 season.

Trail Crowding and Lifts

For a mid-size hill, Mt. Abram has a great variety of trials. A lot of the trials are named after the cartoon Rocky and Bullwinkle so the trail names are a lot of fun. I have never felt crowded on Mt. Abrams trails. Once you get past the unload area of the main double-lift, you have a lot of choices to spread people out.

The main lodge is services by a double chair and the T-Bar is fired up when it gets busy. I have never waited more than 5 minutes in a line and I have visited on busy days. The beginner west-side area is also serviced by a double which adequately moves folks up the mountain. The lifts are not the newest on the block, but the lifts are sheltered by trees so wind-holds are rarely a problem.

I give a grade of an A- for trail crowding and a B for lift infrastructure.

Beginner Terrain
Beginners are serviced by their own section of the mountain called the West Side. It is a great place to learn to ski as it is separated from the faster, advanced skiers and there are a variety of trails to choose from. There is a carpet lift for the really new skiers. A beginner terrain park is offered on the west side to for new park skiers. Outside of Saddleback, this is the best place in the state of Maine for beginner terrain.

I give a grade of a A to the beginner terrain.

Intermediate Terrain

Isaac ripping down Boris Badenov

Mt. Abram has some really fun blue cruiser runs. A bomb down Boris Badenov center mountain is a great way to start the day. Dudley Do-Right and the not so often skied Round-A-Bout offer great fun and high speed groomer skiing if you dare. Don't tell Patrol, but many tuck races by our family have been held on Round-A-Bout with the old man, and his girth, usually winning in the end.

I give a grade of a B+ to the intermediate terrain.

Terrain Park
Last year, Mt. Abram offered a terrain park on the old tubing hill with its own T-Bar. It was actually quite impressive, but I am not sure if it was used much. It was out of the way a bit and not that visible. Terrain park junkies like to show off their skills to the public. It will be interesting to see if they do the same thing this year. It was quite a good park however. Not huge hits but good for my kids.

I give a grade of a B- to the terrain parks.

Expert Terrain
For a mid-sized mountain, Mt. Abram has some really good expert Terrain. Fairy Tales is the trail under the lift and its one of the best lift line runs I have ever skied. Fearless leader is a great groomer bomber and they leave the sides un-groomed for some great bump skiing. Rocky's run is one of the steeper pitches in Maine and left in an un-groomed state. The runs are not super-long but offer high quality skiing.

Isaac Testing Out the Boundary-to-Boundary Policy

I give a grade of an A- to the expert terrain.

Gladed Terrain

With a boundary to boundary policy, you can basically ski anywhere. I hear there are some great off-map glades on the mountain. The on-map glades are so-so. They are cut funny and don't have a natural feel to them. But the boundary to boundary make my boys happy as they can find their own glades.

I give a grade of an B- to the gladed terrain.

Lift Ticket Pricing
Adults are $49 and children $39. They run specials on Thursday and Friday so check the website for details. Mt. Abram sells tickets through Liftopia and you can even rent the mountain for the day if you want. Overall, the full-price ticket is one of the better values in Maine.

I give a grade of an A- for day-trip lift ticket pricing. .

2011-12 Improvements
According to a SkiMaine Newsletter: Mt Abram has embarked on an ambitious rebuilding plan following freak lightning strike that destroyed the base lodge on July 6, 2011. A new 50' x 110' temporary structure will be installed by Rubb Buildings of Sanford Maine. The cozy lodge will house the Loose Boots Lounge, Café, general seating, lockers and amenities. The building is located close to the main chairlift and the foundation will serve as the future deck on the future base lodge. Joe Reis and Tim Hutchisen have been named to lead the Mt Abram Race Program for all ages.

Overall Ranking
We have had some really good days at Mt. Abram. We wonder why people drive by this gem of a mountain to go to Sunday River. It is well worth the visit. When the snow is on at Mt. Abram, you can spend all day and have an awesome time. It reminds me a lot of Saddleback. It is pure Maine skiing... the way skiing should be. Your family will have a lot of fun at Mt. Abram!

Overall - I give Mt. Abram a ranking of a B++ if there is such a thing. For the family, it has an edge over Black Mountain of Maine, but I can't put it on the same level as Saddleback or Sugarloaf. Regardless of what I think, you should check out Mt. Abram!

Look for more ski mountain reviews in upcoming posts. Feel free to comment on what you think about Mt. Abram below.

Ski Mountain Review - Sugarloaf

2011-11-08T19:53:00.001-05:00

As we get into the ski season, I will be posting reviews on ski mountains in Maine that we have visited. These reviews will be about the on-hill skiing experience with a family focus day-trip ski event in mind. Since we typically bring our lunch no reviews of the mountain lunch dining options. I want you to be able to get a sense as a family how this mountain would be suited for you. I will use a school ranking system handing out A+'s to F's in the categories below.

Ski Mountain - Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf is located in Carrabassett Valley and is the second highest mountain in Maine. Recent expansions to the neighboring Bracket Basin and Burnt Mountain puts Sugarloaf in terms of ski terrain the largest ski area east of the Rockies. Sugarloaf is a resort with an impressive array of on-mountain lodging. Still, I would call Sugarloaf a skiers mountain. There are some nice off-mountain amenities but you really go to Sugarloaf to ski. My kind of place! :-)

Parking Access and Day Lodge
For the day-tripper, Sugarloaf is a park and shuttle mountain. There is no drop off of equipment at the lodge and everyone needs to take a shuttle. They have a pretty good supply of parking but on the really busy days parking along the access road is required for late arrivals. Regular shuttles ferry skiers up to the day-lodge from the parking lots. You need to plan a bit of time for a shuttle ride into your trip time.

The day lodge is a good size but has a bit of an industrial feel. The main room is pretty big and one can move around well even on the busy days. Its another place where arriving early and eating lunch early is to your benefit. Ticketing is on a different level than the main rooms which can be kind of a pain. I think Sugarloaf could benefit from an additional day lodge somewhere else on the mountain but for the most part the lodge is adequate.

I give a grade of a B- for parking access and a B- for the day lodge.

Trail Crowding and Lifts

A typical weekend or holiday day will mean big crowds of 'Sugarloafers' rippin it up. However, Sugarloaf has a pretty good trail system to handle the crowds. Most trails provide long runs where you can find room to ski. In the terrain section below I will give hints to where to go to beat the crowds depending on your ability.

Sugarloaf is making a big improvement to its lift system this year. It is replacing the Spillway chair with a new Quad fixed chair called Skyline. Spillway was notorious for wind-holds and had an unfortunate accident last year, but I thought Sugarloaf management responded to this accident well with timely, accurate information and appropriate repairs to the existing lift to get it back open. Now with a new lift, Sugarloafers should have a more reliable lift to the center intermediate and expert terrain.

Sugarloaf is also served by two high speed Quad lifts, a T-Bar and numerous fixed grip lifts. The Superquad can get some crazy long lines mid-morning on a busy day, but the lift system does a good job getting people up on the mountain.

I give a grade of an B for trail crowding and a B for lift infrastructure.

Beginner Terrain
For the brand-new skier, Sugarloaf's terrain is a bit limited. There is beginner terrain right above the lodge area, but this also where all the skiers from upper mountain dump out so it can be a bit of a zoo sometimes. The beginner trail continues down behind the lodge where it opens up a bit. Advanced beginners can hop on the Whiffletree lift which services some blue and green terrain. There is a bit of a pitch up top off this lift but flattens out nicely and can be a lot of fun for the new skier.

Another area an advanced beginner can hit up is West Mountain. This is typically only open weekends during mid-season. West Mountain is a nice long run that is not visited by many people at all. Mostly the homeowners on this side use the trail to access their residences. But it is a great place to ski! The chairlift back up is long and slow, but you can have a lot of fun there.

I give a grade of a B- to the beginner terrain.

Intermediate Terrain

Sugarloaf has some great blue cruisers. Tote road is one of my favorite trails in Maine. From the top, a 3 mile run that twists and turns, provides challenges and is really enjoyable to ski. From the summit, upper and lower Timberline are great trials with great scenery. Back in my high school days I learned to ski off the Bucksaw chair, with Scoot and Glancer logging many runs. Bucksaw is a slow old lift, but is an option when the lines are crazy at the Superquad. Lots of great options for the intermediate skier at Sugarloaf.

I give a grade of a A to the intermediate terrain.

Terrain Park
Sugarloaf offers a nice variety of terrain parks. My kids find Sugarloafs Terrain parks really challenging with some monster hits, but there is a nice entry-level park in the Whiffletree chair area. Its fun to watch the skiers from CVA rock the features in the park. The vibe seems pretty good in these parks.

Boyz Skiing Double Bitter

I give a grade of a A- to the terrain parks.

Expert Terrain
If you want steep groomers that make you gulp before skiing it, they have it. If you want steep, natural bump runs, they have it. If you want summit snowfield skiing, they have it. You will want to ski the groomer expert runs early as they will get icy in heavy traffic, but the expert skier will not be unhappy at Sugarloaf.

Best terrain options in the east for experts. Nuff said.

I give a grade of an A+ to the expert terrain.

Gladed Terrain

Sugarloaf Glade off Hayburner

I have skied Sugarloaf quite a bit over the past 5 years, but I have not really hit a great glade day at Sugarloaf. I seem to always visit right after some ice-up rain event, so my options have been limited in the trees. They have glades all over the place and with their expansion to Bracket Basin I bet a pass holder will probably not ski the same line twice in a season. I need to get to Sugarloaf on a mid-week powder day.

I give a grade of an A to the gladed terrain.

Lift Ticket Pricing
Day-tripping Sugarloaf is expensive but the skiing value is there. $79 Adults, $66 teen and $55 junior will add up quick but you will get some great skiing when the conditions are right. As with any resort, bundling tickets with lodging usually saves some coin. There are some lower-mountain only lift ticket options. Maine families with 5th, 6th and 7th graders should pick up a Winterkids booklet to get free child tickets with paid adult tickets. Maine families can also take advantage of Sugarloaf's Maine Resident Specials. Maine Family Sunday is a favorite of ours and playing hooky from work for Maine Resident Wednesdays is always fun!

I give a grade of an B for day-trip lift ticket pricing. .

2011-12 Improvements
According to a SkiMaine Newsletter: Sugarloaf continued with its Sugarloaf 2020 Ten-Year development plan this summer, with $4.3 million in offseason investments. The biggest piece of this investment is the new $3 million Skyline Quad, which replaces the old Spillway double chairs and features a conveyor loading system. The resort also began Phase II of the Burnt Mountain Glade expansion, adding as much 100 acres of new terrain to the mix this year, further distancing itself as the largest ski area east of the Rockies. Additional offseason investments include a new digital drive for the SuperQuad, improvements to the resort's snowmaking system, and two new Prinoth grooming vehicles.

Overall Ranking
Sugarloaf is a great Maine mountain. There is a certain community and vibe you get from the skiers and staff at Sugarloaf... Being a 'Sugarloafer' they call it. The latest clothing styles and equipment are certainly present on the mountain, but you still see the occasional old-schooler out on the slopes and he/she is respected. On weekends and holidays, the lines can get long and the trails crowded, but the terrain is outstanding. Sugarloaf is a classic Maine skiers mountain. Well worth the trip!

Overall - I give Sugarloaf a ranking of an A-.

Look for more ski mountain reviews in upcoming posts. Feel free to comment on what you think about Sugarloaf below.

Rent Mt. Abram or Camden Snow Bowl for the day!

2011-11-07T20:21:00.002-05:00

Maine ski resorts Mt. Abram and Camden Snow Bowl are available for a private full mountain rental through Liftopia! Apparently you can also rent an entire mountain and staff for the day. That would be sweet.... Maybe I can convince my employer Quantrix / IDBS that we need an employee appreciation day. It is only about $5,000 to rent out the mountain. Piece of cake!

UNFORTUNATELY, in Liftopia's blog post about this new program. they have labeled a picture 'Mt. Abram' when it is really a picture of the Muleskinner trail at Saddleback! Booooo! I think Mt. Abram is a great hill but it "ain't no Saddleback"!

Here is a direct link to the Liftopia blog post:

http://www.liftopia.com/blog/king-hill/

~~I pointed out the picture error in the comment section of their blog post but no response as of yet...~~

NOV 8 UPDATE - They switched out the picture. Liftopia is a pretty good way to save money on day tickets. I am sure I will be mentioning them more in the future.

Ski Mountain Review - On the List

2011-11-06T07:10:00.005-05:00

Followers of this blog know that I have been reviewing ski areas in Maine. I hope to complete all my reviews by the time ski season really gets rolling. However - there are quite a few areas in Maine that I have not skied yet (or not in a very long time). All of them are smaller ski areas but deserve mention. Hopefully I will get to a few of these in the future!

Check out this SkiMaine Newsletter for a list of 2011-12 improvements at Maine Ski Areas.

Baker Mountain - Bingham, Maine
Baker is on Route 201 in Bingham, Maine. I have passed Baker on the way to The Forks to go white water rafting and fishing. It looks like a decent hill with good pitch.

Big Rock - Mars Hill, Maine
This is probably on the top of my ski area to-do list. In my pre-ski days, I traveled a lot in 'The County' that you could clearly see this mountain driving on Route 1. It is pretty big and has an association with the same folks that run Black Mountain of Maine (see my review of Black Mountain) via the Maine Winter Sports Network.. Mars Hill is a haul from Southern Maine but I will have to get up there one of these days.

Eaton Mountain - Skowhegan, Maine
Back when my kids were little and I didn't ski, we lived about a mile from Eaton Mountain. I could see the night skiing lights from my porch. Eaton had a fire and fell into disrepair, but new owners are trying to make a go of it. They only have a snow-tubing park now, but hope to open to alpine for the 2012-13 season. I skied this a long time ago when I was a child. I think this hill could be really good. It has some nice pitch down the front face and good beginner terrain too. I hope the new owners can continue moving forward!

Lost Valley - Auburn, Maine
I have skied Lost Valley once for pleasure and have been on the hill a few times with my kids race teams helping the coaches out with race training. It is not really big enough to give it a full review so I will stick this recap 'on the list'. Basically - it is a great place to learn to ski. Just about all of the terrain is very gentle. The terrain park is pretty good if I remember correctly. Offering night skiing and being close to Lewiston / Auburn makes this a unique hill in Maine. If you are not into terrain parks and are any more than an advanced beginner, you will quickly run out of runs that are interesting but this does not take away from the important part this ski area takes in getting folks onto skis and outside!

Titcomb Mountain - Farmington, Maine
I skied Titcomb when I went to college at UMF. The college had a ski industries program where students in the program would 'practice' being ski instructors. I was a guinea pig and this is how I basically learned to ski. I got ski lessons and a college credit. It was great! We also spent time at Sugarloaf during this program. I don't remember enough about Titcomb to offer a full review, but I do know it was a great community hill with a good vibe.

These other mountains I don't know much about, but here are the links for more information.

Hermon Mountain - Hermon, Maine

Lonesome Pine - Fort Kent, Maine
I do know they have a world-class nordic / biathlon facility here too.

Mt. Jefferson - Lee, Maine

Powderhouse Hill - South Berwick, Maine

Quoggy Jo - Presque Isle, Maine
Also part of the Maine Winter Sports Center network of facilities.

Spruce Mountain - Jay, Maine

One thing I noticed in regards to High School Alpine Ski Racing in Maine. The good teams tend to be from:

the coast - as families that have second homes or camps on the big mountains live and work in the southern Maine area.
inland towns that have community ski hills.

Kinda makes sense!

The Ski Maine association has a Peak to Peak challenge. Ski all the ski-areas in Maine and you can get entered to win some prizes.

Lastly, if you want to learn more about ski area history I highly recommend you spend some time at the New England Lost Ski Area Project. A highly informative web site detailing all the former "lost" ski areas in Maine and New England. There used to be a bunch of community hills in Maine!

Feel free to comment below about any of the Maine ski areas I have not skied yet. Let us know what you think of these hills!

Ski Mountain Review - Sunday River

2011-11-05T07:51:00.000-04:00

As we get into the ski season, I will be posting reviews on ski mountains in Maine that we have visited. These reviews will be about the on-hill skiing experience with a family focus day-trip ski event in mind. Since we typically bring our lunch no reviews of the mountain lunch dining options. I want you to be able to get a sense as a family how this mountain would be suited for you. I will use a school ranking system handing out A+'s to F's in the categories below.

Ski Mountain - Sunday River

Sunday River is one of Maine's largest ski resorts located just outside of Bethel in Newry, Maine. The mountain is a set of 8 interconnected peaks spanning 3 miles offering terrain for all abilities. This is certainly a ski resort, with many on and off mountain lodging and dining options. They do offer night skiing center mountain on select weekends. This review, as all mountain reviews, will focus on the family weekend day-tripper.

Parking Access and Day Lodge
There are three lodges at Sunday River. White Cap at the eastern end of the resort with the Barker and South Ridge lodges situated in the center. If you need rental or ski-school services, you will need to head to South Ridge. Barker is a smaller lodge but tends to be a little less busy than South Ridge. White Cap is the quietest lodge of the bunch, but situated at the far eastern end of the resort. So it makes it a longer effort to access the mid-mountain an western mountain terrain. The lodges are fairly plain buildings with kind of an industrial feel, but they serve the purpose of moving people around and getting out of the cold.

Parking varies by Lodge. Parking at White Cap is good with a level walk to the lodge for the gear schlep. Barker parking tends to fill up quickly and it is an uphill grind to the lodge. While South Ridge offers the most parking, but it can be quite a distance to the lodge as well. All three lodges are services by an on-mountain trolley.

I give a grade of a B- for parking access and a B for the day lodge.

Trail Crowding and Lifts

We have only visited Sunday River on weekends - so we got to experience the Sunday River crowds. Sunday River by far is the busiest resort in Maine. To escape the crowds a bit, you need to get out of the center mountain area. Go far west, towards the Jordan Bowl or go Far East, towards White Heat area to get a little more room to ski. On busy days, the center mountain is a spaghetti network of trails and your head has to be on a swivel to make sure you don't run into somebody or get run over yourself.

Sunday River has an impressive lift system. There are lots of high-speed quad lifts and even an enclosed Chondola that services the South Ridge area. The White Heat area has slower fixed grip lifts. Lines can sometimes be long but there are a lot of lifts to choose from. My favorite lift center mountain is the North Peak Express. It services some good terrain and is typically not quite so busy. Sunday River certainly has a lift system designed to move a lot of people quickly.

I give a grade of an C- for trail crowding and a A for lift infrastructure.

Beginner Terrain
Center Mountain by the South Ridge lodge is where most of the beginner terrain is. Mid-week with less crowds I am sure this terrain would be perfect. However on a typical weekend day it might be too close for comfort for a new skier. Advanced beginner skiers should hop on the North Peak chair and take Dreammaker, one of the best green trail I have skied in Maine. Nice and wide with a good pitch that allows the beginner to take the next step up in their skiing. Head far west to Jordan Bowl and take a few runs on Lallapalooza, another great green trail.

One other hint: The white cap lodge mostly serves advanced terrain. However, there is a lift from this lodge that services a nice beginner section with a variety of trails to choose from. This is a good option for beginner families that don't need ski-school or rental services.

I give a grade of an B to the beginner terrain.

Intermediate Terrain

Family Ripping It Up at Sunday River

Sunday River has some great intermediate cruisers off all its peaks. The same holds true, the farther away from the center mountain, the less crowds you will have to contend with. My favorite intermediate trail is more of a winding fun run called Lazy River. Lots of turns and humps to keep things interesting.

One note about Sunday River trails. You ski right to the lift. There is very little flat run-out at the bottom of the mountain which is good.

I give a grade of a B+ to the intermediate terrain.

Terrain Park
Terrain Park hounds have a lot of options at Sunday River. There are numerous parks on the mountain offering big hits to more beginner style parks. I have to say its a bit of a clique in the parks - you need to be wearing the right gear and say the right things. But Sunday River offers some good park options.

I give a grade of a A- to the terrain park.

Expert Terrain
The White Heat peak probably gives the steepest terrain on the mountain with each peak offering black cruisers. There are a smattering of natural, bumped trails but Sunday River pretty much mows its terrain flat with its big fleet of groomers. I find the expert terrain gets icy quickly due to all the traffic. Ski em early! But the expert groomer-only skier should be happy here.

I give a grade of an B- to the expert terrain.

Gladed Terrain

Sunday River Glade

Sunday River has a surprising number of glades and the boys and I have had a lot of fun in them. Due to the traffic, they get skied out pretty quickly but they are well cut and you can find glades on my parts of the Mountain. Jordan Bowl expanded its glade by quite a bit and I am anxious to check it out.

I give a grade of an B to the gladed terrain.

Lift Ticket Pricing
Sunday river has a very good snowmaking system and they open very early every year. We usually try to hit them up Thanksgiving week for early-season turns and they usually have the most terrain open in the Northeast. However, they have to pay for this infrastructure so it is expensive. $80 adults, $68 teen, $55 child is going to set you back a bit. I definitely used my Winterkids passes here when my kids were in 5th-7th grade.

I give a grade of an C- for day-trip lift ticket pricing. Since it is a resort bundling tickets with lodging certainly makes more sense of those with a multi-day resort trip in mind.

2011-12 Improvements
According to a SkiMaine Newsletter: This summer's Blind Ambition expansion now marks Sunday River's largest glade. Over 60 acres were cut to create this 75 acre glade which is more than a mile in length. $4 million in capital improvements went to include enhancements to snowmaking, lifts, and grooming, including the addition of two new PistenBully snowcats. Capital also went towards two new real estate developments, one off of the Sunday River Golf Course and the other near the Dream Maker trail which will offer ski-in/ski-out single family home lots for the first time ever in the resort's history and several renovations to its South Ridge Base Lodge including expanded seating and storage, a new Korean and Japanese offering in its food court, and a newly combined ski and board shop. Opening day this year was Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 10:01 a.m. Tempest Ridge phase II townhomes are currently being built and located adjacent to Tempest and Road Runner trails. Road maintenance and resurfacing on both the Jordan Road and the Sunday River Access Road has smoothed the ride for all.

Overall Ranking
Sunday River is a good Maine mountain. I would really like to visit on a non-holiday mid-week as with less crowds. I bet it would be a blast. Honestly, it is a bit of a fashion show on the slopes. I have seen my one and only fight on a ski slope between a teen snowboarder and an adult at Sunday River. Unfortunately, that kind of tension is in the air a bit when skiing Sunday River. Lots of folks are friendly, but there is lots of folks in kind of a bad mood.

That being said, the mountain terrain is good, the snowmaking is very good and the lift infrastructure is superior. There are a lot of people that love Sunday River. It is easy to get to and offers a lot of on and off mountain amenities. However, once our family gets past early season, there are just other mountains in Maine we would rather ski.

Overall - I give Sunday River a ranking of an C+

Look for more ski mountain reviews in upcoming posts. Feel free to comment on what you think about Sunday River below.

Saddleback Maine - Hosting Ski Races Derailed

2011-11-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Not all the news is good out of our favorite ski mountain Saddleback Maine. It looks like they will not be holding any on-mountain races for Maine youth this year.

The Maine Principals association had to reschedule the Maine State Class A high school meet to from Saddleback to Black Mountain of Maine as indicated by this MPA Bulletin posted at mainehighschoolskiing.com. Saddleback had hosted the State meet the past two years and had committed to this year. However, Black should be a great venue for this event with the world class Nordic trails and a very good Alpine hill at the same facility. (See my review of the Black Mountain Alpine Facility)

After reviewing the Maine Alpine Racing Association schedule for children and seeded racers, Saddleback is not listed in any of the meet venues after hosting meets over the past 2 years.

I hear through the grapevine that the person coordinating the races for Saddleback was not coming back this year and no replacement was found. This is too bad because my oldest son raced in the Class C State Championship meet at Saddleback last year and he very much enjoyed racing on his "home mountain". The Grey Ghost trail proved to be a very good course. While of course this means more room for recreational skiers on weekends... I think Saddleback is missing out on an opportunity to showcase the mountain to race families that might not normally ski there.

However, it does look like Saddleback continuing its Junior Alpine Race Development Program which is good. Maybe they will get back on track in 2012-13 for hosting races.

Ski Mountain Review - Black Mountain of Maine

2011-11-03T20:03:00.000-04:00

We have been to Black Mountain twice over the past two years... both times on a Saturday. Both days were pretty quiet on the mountain with no lift lines to speak of and plenty of room on the trails. The summit is served by a newer triple chair and the beginner terrain by an older double chair which is just right of a mountain of this size.

I give a grade of an A for trail crowding and a B+ for lift infrastructure.

Beginner Terrain
Black Mountain has a nice gentle beginner area separated from the main slope offering 3 gentle trails back down. A nice low-pressure area to learn to ski but not a whole lot of variety.

I give a grade of an B to the beginner terrain.

Intermediate Terrain
The intermediate terrain is where Black shines. They have blue and black squares labeled on the map, but most all fall into the intermediate category on larger mountains. It offers a nice step up for the beginners getting ready to move up to the next level. There are some great cruisers and winding narrow trails on the skiers right side of the mountain that skiers of all abilities would have a lot of fun on.

I give a grade of a B+ to the intermediate terrain.

Son on a Rail at Black Mountain

Terrain Park
Black offers the terrain park some features and elements to play around on via the skiers right side of the mountain. A good place for newbies in terrain parks to get used to the features. My kids certainly had fun on the features but kids looking for bigger hits will probably want more.

I give a grade of a B- to the terrain park.

Expert Terrain

Boyz on a Snowy Dead Cambridge

Interestingly, the steepest pitch on the mountain is right at the bottom of the hill. If there is a good snow cover, take a spin down 'Dead Cambridge'. A great trail name with a really nice short, but steep section to get some natural cover bump skiing in. We had a blast on this trail on a day with lots of snow. Otherwise expert skiers will be wanting more.

I give a grade of an C to the expert terrain.

Taking in Black's Single Glade

Gladed Terrain
I think Black Mountain has the terrain to make some pretty nice glades. They should take a page out of the Saddleback playbook and open up some of their woods. The pitch is not too severe and could be a great way to introduce skiers to glade skiing before tackling the bigger mountains. There is some good potential here! There is one small glade at the top between the Allagash and Upper Androscoggin trails that is fun. They should do more!

UPDATE November 9 - I talked to a Black Mountain rep at the Brunswick ski swap. He indicated they got some nice plans for glades center mountain and in some undeveloped areas on the skiers left side. He also said there is a couple of new natural snow trails down the skiers right side that need a bit more work (stump removal etc.) but are skiable with good snow cover. Good news! Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

I give a grade of an C to the gladed terrain.

Lift Ticket Pricing
2011 prices are $34 Adults / $29 Juniors / $10 Night Skiing. Can't argue with that! Great value for the quality of skiing and facilities. Black Alpine is typically open weekends only and school vacation weeks. Make sure to check the website for operating hours. A little hint - after a mid-week snow storm, head to Black for some Saturday morning powder! Shhh... we don't want to let that secret out. ;-)

I give a grade of an A- for lift ticket pricing.

2011-12 Improvements
According to a SkiMaine Newsletter, Snowmaking expansion plan is drawn up and this winter, Black Mountain will be testing and comparing new high capacity snowmaking machines to determine which guns to purchase. The immediate benefit is the expanded snowmaking capacity at the mountain during this season's testing.

The new Chisholm Ski Club Alpine Race Program features world renowned coaches, Julie Parisien and Tim LaValle

Overall Ranking
Black is a gem of a hill and is highly recommended for families that want to have a great day skiing. You will have to keep an eye on the weather and trail reports as they are fairly dependent on natural snow cover but Black is a fun day skiing in Maine.

Overall - I give Black Mountain of Maine a ranking of an B+. Check it out!

Look for more ski mountain reviews in upcoming posts. Feel free to comment on what you think about Black Mountain of Maine below.

Ski Mountain Review - Saddleback

2011-11-02T20:54:00.000-04:00

As we get into the ski season, I will be posting reviews on ski mountains in Maine that we have visited. These reviews will be about the on-hill skiing experience with a family focus day-trip ski event in mind. Since we typically bring our lunch no reviews of the mountain lunch dining options. I want you to be able to get a sense as a family how this mountain would be suited for you. I will use a school ranking system handing out A+'s to F's in the categories below.

Ski Mountain - Saddleback Maine
Saddleback is in Dallas Plantation, Maine which is just outside of Rangeley. Saddleback is big, topping out at 4,000 vertical feet and over 2,000 foot vertical drop. Saddleback has made some good investments to its on-mountain infrastructure over the past few years and has recently put together an EB-5 Investment Program to help spur investment in the Rangeley region.

Parking Access and Day Lodge
If you arrive early enough on a weekend (before 9AM) parking is generally good. You can drop off your gear at the lodge and go park which saves a big gear schlep from the car. The lots do fill up on busy days but there is a bus shuttle that can help if you have to park on the access road. The lodge is a very pretty post and beam structure - but it is too small on busy days. It can be very congested during lunch and the end of the day. Eat lunch early and enjoy the skiing while everyone else is eating. However, a visit during the mid week the Lodge is a great place to relax next to the fireplace during your ski day.

I give a grade of a B+ for parking access and a B+ for the day lodge.

Trail Crowding and Lifts

Even on a busy day you can find solitude at Saddleback

I have a love hate relationship with the Saddleback lifts and crowds. I love the fact that Saddleback's trails are uncrowded even on a busy day. Why are they uncrowded? They don't have the lift system to move loads of people up the mountain. So skiing down trails is typically a wide open, peaceful experience and the snow stays fresh all day. However, when it is busy, the lift lines can get crazy long which I kinda hate. (I will have a post later this year on lift line avoidance strategies). Don't let this scare you away though - there are way too many positives about this mountain that makes it a can't miss and I think we will be hearing news about new lifts in the near future.

I give a grade of an A for trail crowding and a C for lift infrastructure.

Beginner Terrain
Saddleback has the best beginner terrain in Maine hands down. A newer Quad services numerous beginner trails below the base lodge separated from the more advanced trails and skiers. There are even beginner glades and a terrain park. $29 gets you a lift ticket to the beginner chair. If you want to learn to ski, Saddleback is a GREAT option.

I give a grade of an A+ to the beginner terrain.

Intermediate Terrain
Saddleback is not what I term a "Blue Cruiser" mountain. Beginners wanting to make the step up to intermediate are going to be facing some challenging intermediate terrain up on the mountain. I think when they expand the lift and trail system to undeveloped parts of the mountain easier intermediate terrain will be made available. Once you get over the intermediate hump however, the entire mountain opens up.

I give a grade of a C+ to the intermediate terrain only because there isn't great step-up intermediate terrain for beginners. Once you master Saddleback's intermediate runs, you can have a lot of fun.

Terrain Park
Saddleback has a modest but very nice terrain park serviced by its own lift. There are some very good features in the park and there is a constant crew setting up new stuff each weekend. It should certainly satisfy any terrain park junkies in your family. Seems like newbies as well as terrain park veterans are welcome.

I give a grade of a B+ to the terrain park.

Expert Terrain
Yes, Yes and Yes. Saddleback's Expert terrain is outstanding. From both the mid-mountain double and top of Mountain Quad, you have outstanding choices. Saddleback is famous for its winding, narrow bumped trails. If you are an expert skier that likes natural, un-groomed trails, you will not be disappointed. Saddleback doesn't have lots of groomed expert terrain like its neighbor Sugarloaf does - so groomer expert skiers might not be as happy.

I give a grade of an A- to the expert terrain.

Gladed Terrain

Blog author in a Saddleback Glade

More Yes, Yes and Yes. Saddleback + Glades = Outstanding. You can find great gladed terrain from all lifts. Saddleback glade cutters have a knack for getting it just right, and skiing through the trees on a powder day is what it is all about. It's one of my joys in life to chase my boys through the glades of Saddleback hooting an hollering all the way down the glade.

I give a grade of an A to the gladed terrain.

Lift Ticket Pricing
Saddleback raised prices this year, but it is still one of the best values around. Saturday tickets will run you $59 adults $49 kids, but other resorts with this much terrain is going to push you $80. Non-holiday mid-week can get you on the hill for $49/$39. Saddleback has great option for Maine honor roll students - a season pass for only $99. Keep an eye on their website for lift ticket deals and special Maine resident Sunday ticket deals.

I give a grade of an A- for lift ticket pricing.

2011-12 Improvements
According to a SkiMaine Newsletter: Saddleback's big announcement is the creation of a Regional Center to operate the EB-5 Investment program for Franklin county and Livermore Falls, Maine. This investment tool has been successfully utilized at Jay Peak Ski Area in Vermont and provides incentives for foreign investments in the following economic categories: Ski Lodges and Resorts, Testing Labratories, Wood Products Manufacturing, Restaurants, Lessors of Non Residential buildings, Museums and Construction. On mountain improvements include a new Ski patrol Warming Hut at the top of the Kennebago Chairlift, improved snowmaking on Tight Line, widened the Cupsuptic T-bar line and built additional condos. Saddleback expanded the PEAK Pass program to include honor students all USA and Canada.

Overall Ranking
After skiing many of the alpine mountains in Maine, we settled on Saddleback as our favorite mountain and we are all season pass holders. The vibe at Saddleback is pure Maine. If you have old beat up equipment - no one cares. If you want to ski in wool pants and flannel - more power to you. It is not a fashion show on the slopes - it is just pure Maine skiing. The way "skiing" should be I guess. Take that and the outstanding skiing, scenery and staff and you have a great mountain in Maine.

Overall - I give Saddleback a ranking of an A-. A can't miss mountain.

Look for more ski mountain reviews in upcoming posts. Feel free to comment on what you think about Saddleback below.

Weather on the Web

2011-10-29T19:51:00.000-04:00

With a record-breaking OCTOBER snow-event roaring up the east-coast, I thought it would be interesting to discuss a skiing family and weather.

October 29, 2011 Snowstorm

It goes without saying weather plays a big role in skiing. When you are going to shell out big bucks for lift tickets, you want to know what the weather is like the day your are skiing. It also gives you a chance to get super-excited when a snowstorm is bearing down on ski country... because a powder day can lead to the best ski day ever.

There are a million places on the web to get info about weather. Here are the best places the family skiing in Maine have found to get our weather information from.

NOAA
The national weather service has a great on-line weather presence. They are not trying to sell you something - they are just giving you the weather. Their radars, interactive maps and weather forecast discussions gives great information about what is going on weather wise. Use the detailed point forecast map to get weather for a specific ski mountain at elevation. The forecast at 3000 feet can be much different than in the valleys! Here is a link to the Saddleback forecast at 3500 feet elevation. Also the mountain summit forecasts can yield good information - particularly about winds. (Posts about lift wind-holds coming soon!)

Intellicast Radar
I like Intellicasts radar service quite a bit. It is pretty good at showing rain / snow lines. The map loads pretty quick and is visually easy to understand.

Snowforecast.com
Once ski-season gets rolling this site gives specific forecasts for resorts and they have a nice discussion about any upcoming events. Pretty clean and straight forward weather reports and forecasts.

Matt Noyes
Matt is the meteorologist for the cable network NECN. He is the one guy on TV I really pay attention to. He gets really excited with big weather events but doesn't go into DOOMSDAY mode unless the forecast really merits it. His forecast track record is usually excellent and he covers all of New England with his forecasts. His website and live stream goes into super technical detail for all the weather nerds out there.

Weather Underground
This is a pretty cool site with lots of weather info. The best part is what they call a 'WunderMap' where folks with backyard weather stations, measuring temp, wind speed etc., send their data to the site and it displays on a map. This is great for checking real-time weather data close to your favorite ski hill.

AccuWeather
If you want an over the top - worst case scenario weather forecast, visit this site. Their discussions border on the absurd as each storm is ARMAGEDDON. However, they do draw pretty snowfall maps and their weather widget, which I use on the right column of this blog, is the best one I found

When planning a ski trip I use these sites to see who has or is going to get the snow! Feel free to comment to share your favorite weather sites.

Ski Swaps - Part II

2011-10-27T14:05:00.001-04:00

The Boyz 2011 Ski Swap Gear

So now that we have the ski swaps on the calendar, lets talk a bit about how the ski-swap buying process actually works.

Five years ago we were faced with outfitting a family of four with ski gear. A financial obligation to be sure! One could easily spend $2,000 (or more) outfitting all of us with new entry-level gear. That was not in the financial cards, so I was ushered into the world of ski-swaps. This can be quite intimidating to the novice swapper as you may not be sure if the gear you are buying is of good quality, the right size and the right price. My first swap I bought good looking Rossignol Viper skis - but they were actually a race ski with race bindings! Too much ski for me at the time...

So this post is aimed at the novice ski-swapper looking to outfit a family with skis, boots and poles for the first time. I am certainly not an expert on ski gear, but I have a few keys for success that I can share with you.

PRE-SWAP

Make a List
Shopping list is a must! Take an inventory and figure out what you need. There is going to be a lot of commotion at the swap with lots of buyers rooting through the gear. So make a list to avoid confusion.

Arrive Early

2011 Brunswick Ski Swap Line

If you want the best shot at the best used gear, arrive early and get in line. Its a drag but the line is going to start forming a couple of hours before the swap. If you arrive an hour after the swap is over it is too late - all the good gear will be gone. I usually try to arrive before the swap in the 45-60 minute window which puts me mid-line usually.

THE SWAP

They open the ski swap doors and the people rush in. I will not lie - it is mayhem during the first 30 minutes of a swap. It compares to a bunch of shoppers trying to get the hot new Christmas toy the day after Thanksgiving. Be prepared for lots of people and commotion. Thus it is important that you make your decisions quickly to get the best gear.

Skis
You are going to see a pile of skis on the racks in all shapes, sizes and condition. For the beginner to intermediate skier, this is what to look for:

Size - The ski should reach to about your nose when standing on end. To the forehead is fine for a more advanced skier. Chin-level for a beginner skier.
Shape - A ski has 3 measurements, tip, underfoot and tail. Today's modern skis are sometimes called 'shaped skis' as the tip and tail are quite a bit wider than underfoot. The more shape it has, the easier and quicker the ski will turn. You will want a ski with some shape in it.
Brand / Style - There are many different manufactures and styles and they change every year. So there will be quite an assortment in the racks. For the beginner / novice skier, stay away from anything that says "Race", "Giant Slalom", "GS", "Slalom" or "SL". These are race skis and will be much too big and burly for the starting skier. Try to get something that looks fairly current. Stay away from the big long narrow downhill skis you remember from your childhood. It is likely that these ski are too old and no ski shop will touch them to adjust the bindings. Brands we like are Rossignol, Volkl, Line and Dynastar but there are lots of good brands out there.
Price - You should be able to pick up a current entry level adult ski from anywhere to $75-$125. A good junior ski should be in the $50-$100 range. You might be able to get a better deal than this but this is a good place to start expectations.

Poles
There should be a bin of used poles at the swap. Take a quick look at the pole to make sure the straps are in place and that the pole is not bent. Sizing the pole is pretty easy - just do the following.

Flip the pole upside down and grab the pole under the basket.
With your elbow next to your body, extend your forearm out at a right angle and place the handle of the pole on the ground.
At this point, your forearm should be parallel to the floor. If your arm is pointing up, the pole is too tall, and vice-versa.

You should be able to get a set of good used poles in the $10 range. I often buy two sets in case they get broken, lost etc - because late season it is hard to find replacement poles.

Boots
Boots are the hardest thing to get at a swap - and it is probably the most important piece of gear you need. A bad fitting boot makes for a miserable skiing experience. Boots have this strange mondo-sizing number stamped on the boot. A mondo-size of 25.5 equals and 8.5 US Mens. (Here is a helpful conversion chart.) It is also really hard with kids because you can't feel the toes inside the boot so you are not sure if the child is really telling you the truth when you ask them if the boot fits.

I sometimes recommend folks to visit a ski store or a second hand store like Play it Again Sports to find a good-fitting boot. (The Portland, Maine Play it Again store has a particularly good ski section) The staff is typically helpful and it is worth it to spend extra money to find a boot that works.

Regardless of where you purchase the boot, here are a couple of boot fitting tips.

Make sure the boot has 3 or 4 buckles in the front. Rear-entry boots (with the buckle in the back) are old and don't provide much support.
Take a look at the boot liner and make sure it is decent shape. You can take the liner out of the boot and inspect it.
The boot is going to be snug when you put it on, and your toes may even touch the front a bit. The important part is that when you crouch down in a skiing position, your heel slides back into the heel of the boot and the tongue / buckles of the boot provides good resistance. If the forward shin pressure collapses the front of the boot then you will have less control over the ski.
Boot prices vary widely. $25-$75 is the range for most entry-level boots at ski-swaps. Expect to pay more at the second hand store. Most ski shops sell used boots as well at a higher price point. There are lots of boot makers out there, but our family has pretty good luck with Head ski boots.

There is lots of other gear you can look for at a swap like Helmets (a must for warmth and safety!), Gloves, Jackets, Ski Pants and Goggles. If you don't find any of these items at the swap don't sweat it too much. There are lots of places on-line and in the local area where you can pick up these items at a reasonable cost.

One other tip - if you have a smart-phone or other mobile computing device - google it! If you google the ski name and brand, you typically come up with sites reviewing the ski or at least providing more details on the type of skier the ski is designed for.

POST-SWAP
Take your boots and skis to a reputable ski shop and have the bindings adjusted and tested! This is not a job for the un-trained. A properly adjusted binding keeps your boot engaged with the ski, and is designed to release when you fall. If you are 100lbs and the binding is adjusted for a 225lbs person, you are risking serious injury! I take my skis for adjustment to Freeport Ski and Bike, but there are quite a few ski-shops around that can do this service. Expect to pay $20-$30 for a binding check and adjustment and another $20-$30 for a ski tune-up.

However, tuning your skis can be an at-home money-saving activity. Learn how to tune and wax your skis with my instructional videos!

I hope you find this post helpful! Feel free to comment if you have other ski-swap suggestions.

Saddleback - EB-5 Investment Program

2011-10-26T06:26:00.001-04:00

Saddleback GM Chris Farmer

Saddleback GM Chris Farmer spearheaded the designation of Franklin County (and Livermore Falls) a EB-5 zone. From what I understand, it basically means foreign investors can invest in Maine companies in the EB-5 zone and if their investments lead directly to jobs, they get expedited Visa's for themselves and their families.

Some controversy around this program. Some object that wealthy foreigners can buy their way into the country. But with banks and VC's hesitant to lend money, I think this is a very good way for businesses in rural communities to get investment and create jobs... which is what we need in this rural economy.

Good news for our favorite mountain. The program itself is complex so it will take time for investment to develop, but hopefully in the future we will be hearing about expansion plans for new lifts and lodging. This is what Jay Peak Resort in Vermont used to fund all their recent expansion.

February 5th, 2012 Update:
USA Lifestyles inc., is the company behind the Franklin County EB-5 program and now has a website up. There is a video slideshow explaining the Saddleback investment opportunity in detail. Interesting stuff!

Here are some additional links if you want to learn more:

Jay Peak EB-5 Program

Business Week Article on EB-5

Portland Press Herald Article on EB-5

Saddleback Press Release

Snow in the forecast later this week!

Ski Swaps - Part 1

2011-10-24T20:55:00.001-04:00

Ski swaps are a great way to get gear for the ski season. Sellers sell good used equipment and the organizers typically take 20% and the seller gets 80% - but it varies by swap. If you are new to ski-swap buying, you can read my blog post on Ski Swap Strategies.

The first step is to get them on your calendar. Here are some I try to visit in the southern Maine circuit.

Freeport Ski Boosters - This swap is happening this Saturday October 29th at Freeport Ski and Bike - Route 1 in Freeport. Benefits the Freeport Schools ski teams. Both my boys ski on these teams so this is a good one to hit up! We had a very good turnout last year and are looking for more of the same this year. Those of you on facebook can see more details here:

UPDATE - We had a great ski swap. Thanks to everyone that participated! See below for other upcoming swaps.

Brunswick Parks and Rec - This is a good one happening on November 6th and I have gotten a lot of good gear here. More info here.

Auburn Ski Association - Benefits the Auburn school ski teams. Looks like a good one on November 13! More info here.

Mt. Abram Ski Club is also having a ski swap on November 13. Here is a link to a poster image for more info.

Camden Hills Ski Sale - Benefits the Camden Hills Regional Schools Ski Teams. November 19 and 20! More info here.

Yarmouth Ski Club - They usually put on a good ski swap Mid-November. From what I can tell from the folks at MaineThingsToDo.com it is going to be 9AM to Noon on November 19th. ~~I haven't found any direct info from the Yarmouth ski club on-line yet.~~ Here is a link to a flyer with more information.

Downeast Ski Club - This is a good one that is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This timing works for most folks, but I like to have all my gear ready to go by Thanksgiving because by mid-November I am in blizzard watch mode and I want to be ready! More info here.

Falmouth Ski Team is having a Ski and Snowboard Sale and Swap, Sunday Dec. 4 from 12-3 pm, at Falmouth Middle School. I have not been to this one but any swap benefiting a school ski team has to be good! mainehighschoolskiing.com has a notice with more info.

NEW POST - Greely Ski Sale is happening December 3rd 9am to 1pm at Greely High School in Cumberland. Here is a link to a flyer at mainehighschoolskiing.com with more info.

While not in southern Maine, CVA up by Sugarloaf has a very good swap Columbus Day weekend in October. Lots of good race gear at this one. Good one to hit up if you have racers in your family.

In a post later this week I will discuss ski swap buying strategies. They can be pretty intimidating to the first-time buyer as it was for us 5 years ago!

If you have a swap you like to visit feel free to comment:

Best Ski Day Ever

2011-10-23T19:10:00.000-04:00

So - typically about mid-July we start having discussions around the dinner table recapping all of our memorable ski trips of the prior winter. Its typically 95 degrees out and summer is in full swing but often the conversation around our house turns back to skiing.

So why do we do this? Why do we drag ourselves out of the house at 6AM (a post on the logistics of a 6AM departure upcoming) to ski? It is too build memories as a family. My wife and I had our earliest dates on a ski mountain (hey - that's a future blog post!) and now it is great to share the outdoors with our boys.

So that brings us to what I think was our best ever ski day. It was two years ago over New Years - 2009. We managed to rent a condo in-town Rangeley to visit our favorite mountain Saddleback over the New Years holiday. We won season passes for the entire family in a video contest (I'll be blogging about that!) so we were taking advantage. Being an avid ski family means fanatically checking the long range weather forecasts (another blog post idea!). It looked like a monster snow storm had a shot of hitting us, so I extended our trip by a day.

The first two days were very nice. A few inches of snow made the skiing fresh and fun. Then the evening of January 2nd, channel 8 news was going overboard on the hype-o-nator about the end of the world snowstorm coming to Maine. You always have to take Channel 8 "STORM-TEAM" with a grain of salt but this did look like a good one.

It nuked snow all night and I could barely sleep. I kept checking outside like a kid waiting for Santa. Finally morning came and we had to dig ourselves out of the condo to get to the car. The drive up to the base lodge we could tell the drifts were getting deeper and deeper. About 3 feet of snow greeted us as we unloaded the skis and gear.

All the powder-hound skiers were there (a devoted group they are) but it was snowing so hard that most people could not venture the roads so the ski-crowd were light. We took our first run down Golden Smelt. It was nutty deep. We passed a guy at the top of this trail looking for his ski that he lost in the deep snow. We gave him a sympathetic shrug but we passed by as there was snow to shred.

Juley, my wife, popped over the head wall on this trail and took a tumble - but landed in a pile of fluff and was buried. I had to climb back up the trail to help her dig out.

All day was like this. It was one deep snow trail after another. We fell and laughed and fell again and just kept finding more and more and more snow.

We have had some very stellar ski days since then, but nothing quite like this. When I look back at my childhood, I don't remember the homework I did or the tests I took or the chores I did. While they were all important in building good work habits and character... the things that make me smile where the fun adventures that I had with my parents. This will be one of those days that I will be talking about when I am an old geezer in the rocking chair telling stories to my great-grandchildren... hopefully my rocking chair will be overlooking a mountain.

The wait begins...

2011-10-23T09:22:00.000-04:00

So a blog on a family skiing in Maine

This is the worst time of year for me. Fall is just about done (the leaves are off the trees) and we have TWO LONG MONTHS before the alpine ski season really gets going. We might get a day in at Sunday River (they always try to open early) but it will be a lot of weather watching and wishing for cold weather between now and then. I can't afford a trip out west for early season snow, so I need to put this energy to good use! Thus the blog...

So this blog will be about our wait to ski... and the skiing itself. We are a family of four.... Myself, Mom (and her new ACL) with two teenage sons 13 and 16. We have been skiing seriously for the past 5 years and we have learned a lot about how to try to do this very expensive sport affordably. Blog posts about our best trips past, money saving tips, ski tuning, favorite mountains and all other things skiing will be coming. And there will be posts about some of the skiing trips themselves. We like to take pictures (and some videos) and get the best action shots possible.

We will see how long this lasts but it seems like a good way to share our experiences with others. So in the meantime....

THINK SNOW!

Saddleback Maine - February 2010