Saddleback 2014-5 Season

joshua segal · Jan 12, 2015

Jan. 12, 2015 - Mon.
Today was the first day of what has become an annual trip to Saddleback. I suspect that most members of this forum already know Saddleback, but for those of you who don't, Saddleback is a gem that sits in the shadow of Sugarloaf (less than 10 miles as the crow flies although 20 by road). Saddleback has just over 2000' vertical. It is a great mountain for Glades. While Casablanca has received a lot of publicity in recent years, Intimidator, Nightmare, Dark Wizard and Thrombosis are all excellent glades. There is a lot of Intermediate and a superb beginner area. The South Branch, I would categorize as an unpretentious version of Killington's Snowshed.

The moguls were still small on both Parmachenee Belle and Golden Smelt. Casablanca had some tree damage from a storm that needs to be cleaned up before it is reopened.

The snow was good and pretty much everything besides Casablanca and Muleskinner were open. In New England, there are often 2 areas in close proximity: One is pretentious; the other more mellow. Those that come to mid are: Stowe - Smugglers'; Sugarbush - Mad River; Stratton - Magic; and Sugarloaf - Saddleback.

If you haven't tried Saddleback, you should probably think about adding it to you "must ski" list.

dlague · Jan 12, 2015

Definitely fun to ski but find ourselves skiing the upper pod mostly with fun runs in the intermediate pod. We always head up there for the Ride and Ski weekend.

bdfreetuna · Jan 12, 2015

Killington > Pico is another analogy.

I have never skied Saddleback; I have never skied Sugarloaf. That will be remedied this year: I have booked the last 2 days of March at Saddleback and the first two days of April at Sugarloaf. Spring is my thing. I'd say I can't wait, but every day is a blessing. Looking forward to this nonetheless.

Puck it · Jan 12, 2015

Cannon and Loon/Bretton Woods

BackLoafRiver · Jan 13, 2015

Glad to hear another "first time" report to Saddleback. It's a great mountain and definitely worth the trip.

I get the analogy of pretentious to laidback however, I think calling Sugarloaf "pretentious" is a bit misworded. (and short-sighteted) While the infrastructure and capital investments at the Loaf might be greater than that at Saddleback, it makes more sense to go "resort vs. independent". While Sugarloaf offers a lot of amenities compared to it neighbor, the vibe doesn't jive with that of other "pretentious" resorts on your list.

Just my $0.02

joshua segal · Jan 13, 2015

BackLoafRiver said:
Glad to hear another "first time" report to Saddleback. It's a great mountain and definitely worth the trip.

I get the analogy of pretentious to laidback however, I think calling Sugarloaf "pretentious" is a bit misworded. (and short-sighteted) While the infrastructure and capital investments at the Loaf might be greater than that at Saddleback, it makes more sense to go "resort vs. independent". While Sugarloaf offers a lot of amenities compared to it neighbor, the vibe doesn't jive with that of other "pretentious" resorts on your list.

Just my $0.02

I suspect one of the worst formulas for a crowded ski area would be if we actually all agreed that one particular area was the best and the rest aren't worth skiing. I think that any area over 800 feet of vertical is worth a day of a skier's life and after a visit, people can draw their own conclusions.

That being said, I stick with my original language, namely IMO compared to Saddleback, Sugarloaf is pretentious! (although not as extreme as some of my other examples - especially Stratton vis-a-vis Magic.)

Newpylong · Jan 13, 2015

joshua segal said:
Jan. 12, 2015 - Mon.
Today was the first day of what has become an annual trip to Saddleback. I suspect that most members of this forum already know Saddleback, but for those of you who don't, Saddleback is a gem that sits in the shadow of Sugarloaf (less than 10 miles as the crow flies although 20 by road). Saddleback has just over 2000' vertical. It is a great mountain for Glades. While Casablanca has received a lot of publicity in recent years, Intimidator, Nightmare, Dark Wizard and Thrombosis are all excellent glades. There is a lot of Intermediate and a superb beginner area. The South Branch, I would categorize as an unpretentious version of Killington's Snowshed.

The moguls were still small on both Parmachenee Belle and Golden Smelt. Casablanca had some tree damage from a storm that needs to be cleaned up before it is reopened.

The snow was good and pretty much everything besides Casablanca and Muleskinner were open. In New England, there are often 2 areas in close proximity: One is pretentious; the other more mellow. Those that come to mid are: Stowe - Smugglers'; Sugarbush - Mad River; Stratton - Magic; and Sugarloaf - Saddleback.

If you haven't tried Saddleback, you should probably think about adding it to you "must ski" list.

Flip Mad River (being the pretentious one) with Sugarbush and I would agree with :lol:

skiMEbike · Jan 13, 2015

Having skied both areas I would disagree with the Sugarloaf is pretentious when compared to Saddleback...quite frankly I believe the "vibes" at these two Mtns are very similar IMO.

Just to clarify, you are probably right on with your distance between Sugarloaf & Saddleback as the crow files, however the distance via the road is close to 40 miles.

dlague · Jan 13, 2015

I think the pretentious statement is probably due to the way Sugarloaf is marketed, followed by loyal visitors and being owned by a larger corporation.

joshua segal · Jan 13, 2015

dlague said:
I think the pretentious statement is probably due to the way Sugarloaf is marketed, followed by loyal visitors and being owned by a larger corporation.

Agree.

And to skiMEbike, you are correct: about 40 miles by road from Saddleback to Sugarloaf.

Jan. 13, 2015 - Tues.
Day 2 started brutally cold: about -15. It did moderate to a comfortable 0 (give or take a few degrees). Not horrible if you're dressed for it, but I noticed that my nose got a nip of Frostbite.

4" of new snow did not make for a powder day, but it was another fine day of skiing. With clear blue skies, the contrast of the snow-covered trees on the ridge line blending with the sky was quite wonderful.

One of the most scenic runs at Saddleback is "America" which runs along the ridge from which one can see Sunday River, Mt. Washington and, I think, Mt. Mansfield.

For those who use cafeterias, the food is pretty good and is about as moderately priced as anyplace I've been to recently.

bigbog · Jan 13, 2015

Good TR JS...

salsgang · Jan 13, 2015

Great to see someone else besides me on this forum at Saddleback haha. thanks for the report. We are heading up for the weekend. How are the glades?

joshua segal · Jan 13, 2015

salsgang said:
Great to see someone else besides me on this forum at Saddleback haha. thanks for the report. We are heading up for the weekend. How are the glades?

While I was not on the "woolie bugger" team, I suspect if you were, we know a lot of the same people.
You asked
- Casablanca - closed until adequate clearing can be done from the ice storm of a few weeks ago
- Intimidator: Excellent
- Nightmare from just below the top: A little scratchy
- Dark Wizard: Excellent
- Thrombosis: Excellent (especially the section above Colonel Bates)

With a huge snow making effort on Red Devil, the entrance to Woolie Bugger was unreachable

joshua segal · Jan 14, 2015

Jan. 14, 2015 - Wed.
Day 3. A veritable heat wave! It was 0 (-4 at the top) and it warmed to about 15 by mid-PM. The view today was very different again, with a light hazy sky creating a more pastel affect.

The skiing was excellent with still untracked powder (if you know where to look for it) and the groomed runs still fresh corduroy in the late PM. The bump runs skied nicely as did most of the open glades, although I'd skip Nightmare. From the first cutoff on Tightline, we were able to ski all the way across to lower Casablanca #1 and it was pretty obvious why it's closed: Limbs and downed trees were everywhere. It will be a while before it reopens.

Saddleback 2014-5 Season

joshua segal

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dlague

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bdfreetuna

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Puck it

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BackLoafRiver

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joshua segal

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Newpylong

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skiMEbike

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dlague

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joshua segal

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bigbog

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salsgang

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joshua segal

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joshua segal

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