Sunday River 03/19 - 03/20 2015

First trip to SR went very well despite lots of wind holds on Thursday and firm conditions all around. Since it was our first time, we explored a good portion of the area which meant for more traversing than I'd ideally like...but it was all fine.

Lots of wind on Thursday, for a while the only lifts spinning were South Ridge and North Peak. Made for long lines but it beat sitting in the lodge. We headed over to Barker when it opened up in the afternoon. Groomers were quite firm...one person I was talking to while going up on Barker called it "petrified corduroy". Despite the conditions I did try a run through Enchanted Forest which was fine, but the bumps on the North Peak liftline were too solid for my limited skills. Never made it beyond the Barker and North Peak areas so I was looking forward to a lot more exploring on Friday.

Wind died down on Friday and the groomers had a chance to create more of a layer to ski on. Still basically hardpack (couldn't get poles to stand up) but was more edgeable and more enjoyable on the greens and blues. Only went on a few of the groomed blacks which were skiable but fast. Made our way over to Jordan in the AM where I did some runs in Blind Ambition which is a nice mellow open glade. My son (and I) were a bit tempted to go down Tin Woodsman but it was most likely best we didn't. Only area where crowds were an issue was at the top of Jordan.

We basically made our way from one side to the other, and ended back at Barker for a few runs. Would have liked to try White Heat in the afternoon, but after seeing people sideslipping on the firm section at the top, I thought better of it and just went down Obsession which was a bit fast for my liking.

One other glade I hit a few times was Last Tango, which despite the firm bumps was fun as well.

Trail and glade coverage was great all around but in all honesty I would have preferred more spring-like weather to soften up the bumps and glades.

Seems like some people are less than thrilled with SR but we all really liked the place (maybe it was because we didn't ski on a weekend day). I'm not sure what is needed for a challenge but it looked like there was a little bit for everyone there. Biggest downside is that the Bethel area is a bit "sparse" but maybe the regulars and locals like it that way.

Nice report. You should have been there Saturday. Pretty sunny and warm - things softened up nicely. About an inch or two of softness. You'd have loved it. Tango was very nice - but items are starrting to show through snow lol. Not bad line saturday. Our place is in bethel village. Small quaint town. We can walk to everything in town (and free shuttle to mountain 4 doors down) so it works for us. Love sending kids to get DVDs or groceries for is

hammer said:

Seems like some people are less than thrilled with SR but we all really liked the place (maybe it was because we didn't ski on a weekend day). I'm not sure what is needed for a challenge but it looked like there was a little bit for everyone there. Biggest downside is that the Bethel area is a bit "sparse" but maybe the regulars and locals like it that way.

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There's plenty of challenge there, in my mind. SR is an excellent place. The vertical isn't the longest, but it's not even close to the shortest in New England. Glad you had fun.

We were there yesterday(3/21) and were pleasantly surprised. The day before, Wildcat was well groomed(where they groomed) but the non groomed and glades were cement, and things got scraped off in the afternoon. I was doubtful at paying walk-up at SR(after my free day at Wildcat), but they missed the worst of the thaw freeze cycle and the groomed trails did not get skied off and were fun, and the glades were very nice as the snow softened a little. Even skied White Heat at 12:30 and it was still good, and the bumps on the side were fun. Lines got a little long at Barker and Jordan, but others were fine. We stayed in the woods a lot of the time. We hit Wizard's Gulch, Blind Ambition(they've cut WAY too much in there, but found a few nice tighter lines to the skiers right), lower half of Chutzpah(nice and steep/tight with a few nice cliff drops), and really enjoyed Last Tango.

After 9-4 of 10-15 minute laps at Wildcat on Friday, and 8-4:30 of non-stop at SR Saturday, we made a good decision to skip today's cold and winds to take an early ride home.