Saddleback

Smellytele · Mar 3, 2016

steamboat1 said:
Dream on.

I agree it is more fun to ski than Sugarloaf - not a dream.

bdfreetuna · Mar 3, 2016

SB and SL are basically a tie for me, obviously very different hills though. It would be hard for me to imagine driving all the way up there and not skiing both back to back.

Smellytele · Mar 3, 2016

bdfreetuna said:
SB and SL are basically a tie for me, obviously very different hills though. It would be hard for me to imagine driving all the way up there and not skiing both back to back.

I do the same when I am up there. Ski 2 days at 1 and 1 day at the other.

tipsdown · Mar 3, 2016

Both have great terrain but each has an edge on the other depending on your skiing preference. If you prefer skiing big top-to-bottom groomers then you probably prefer Sugarloaf. If you prefer more natural gnarly runs with trees and bumps, you probably prefer Saddleback.

bdfreetuna · Mar 3, 2016

tipsdown said:
Both have great terrain but each has an edge on the other depending on your skiing preference. If you prefer skiing big top-to-bottom groomers then you probably prefer Sugarloaf. If you prefer more natural gnarly runs with trees and bumps, you probably prefer Saddleback.

And yet they both excel at the other's strengths as well. Boy I hope somebody saves this mountain!

Glad I finally got to ski it last season for 2 epic April powder days. Did not imagine that might be the last. I was planning on making SL > SB a yearly or at least every 2 years trip.

darent · Mar 3, 2016

same with me,last year we skied 3 days at SB,our first time there, then skied a week at SL. great trip and we planned on doing it again this year. shame they are going through this.a fun little mountain and I didn't mind the slow double!!

delco714 · Mar 3, 2016

tipsdown said:
Both have great terrain but each has an edge on the other depending on your skiing preference. If you prefer skiing big top-to-bottom groomers then you probably prefer Sugarloaf. If you prefer more natural gnarly runs with trees and bumps, you probably prefer Saddleback.

I don't disagree entirely...but I'm pretty comfortable and respectfully stating that SB has loads of long groomed blues!

tipsdown · Mar 4, 2016

They have some nice long groomers, it's just broken up more since they don't have a top-to-bottom signature lift that most every other big mountain has. That's the (well-documented) missing link...

bdfreetuna · Mar 4, 2016

A top to bottom lift would cause too much traffic on America probably. I like the way the lifts are laid out now, minus the sometimes waits on the slow double.

tipsdown · Mar 4, 2016

bdfreetuna said:
A top to bottom lift would cause too much traffic on America probably. I like the way the lifts are laid out now, minus the sometimes waits on the slow double.

There's plenty of real estate to build out a handful of other cruisers on that western shoulder....

Jully · Mar 4, 2016

I found the expansion map awhile back from like 2005. The plan was to expand down from the base of the quad and make a new base area with a top to bottom gondola from there to the top of the steeps.

delco714 · Jun 1, 2016

Any updates?

machski · Jun 2, 2016

Not much. Keep an eye on this link, Sugarloaf Today site. Chris Farmer tends to respond/post a bit here too.
http://www.sugarloaftoday.com/chat/...id=09a1b723da9b9c5a691a2cd9b67fea79&start=600

thetrailboss · Jun 2, 2016

Sounds like no deal.

Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

fiddleski · Jun 2, 2016

Thanks for the link - I didn't know that Chris posted there. It's been "Bueller...Bueller..." here for months now. No good news, but at least he hasn't given up hope yet.

I always wondered what happened with their EB-5, but maybe now we can guess why it never seemed to get off the ground...

machski said:
Not much. Keep an eye on this link, Sugarloaf Today site. Chris Farmer tends to respond/post a bit here too.
http://www.sugarloaftoday.com/chat/...id=09a1b723da9b9c5a691a2cd9b67fea79&start=600

raisingarizona · Jun 5, 2016

bdfreetuna said:
A top to bottom lift would cause too much traffic on America probably. I like the way the lifts are laid out now, minus the sometimes waits on the slow double.

I kind of think that the classic top to bottom lift at most east coast areas is over rated imo. Most areas out east (or any where for that matter) the terrain is disjointed in pitch. I would much rather get back on a lift right when the steeper terrain ends than hitting a long boring run out every run to then just sit on a longer and unnecessary chair ride. I haven't skied at Saddleback but the current layout looks pretty cool to me, the lifts need an upgrade tho.

loafer89 · Jun 20, 2016

Posted for posterity, hopefully I was not among the last to ski Saddleback:

Area skied: Saddleback, Maine.

Date skied: April, 18th, 2015 from 9:30 - 2:00pm

Weather: Sunshine and clouds, rain showers after 2pm.

Surface conditions: Frozen granular, Idaho mashed potatoes, corn snow.

I skied Saddleback today with my son and I am glad that we choose to ski today, as the weather was much nicer than we expected based on the forecast.

We started skiing at 9:30am, when Saddleback opened, which was too early for soft snow due to subfreezing temperatures on Friday night. Green Weaver was chatteroy , as was Supervisor. America skied a lot better with soft groomed corn snow.

Tri-Color was next with soft groomed snow, we skied this to Lower Hudson Highway which had un-groomed rotten snow and bare areas depending on exposure.

America:

loafer89 · Jun 20, 2016

Here are some pictures from April, 19th, 2015. My son and I skied until last chair at 4:00pm and where among the last to ski Saddleback on closing day. Little did we know that the place would go on the NELSAP list.

machski · Jul 6, 2016

Still not much going on, but sounds like they are still hosting some weddings.

http://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=453

fiddleski · Jul 12, 2016

Drove up a few weeks ago and there were maintenance and catering trucks at the lodge, so that's something, but there are no current rumors in Rangeley that I have heard, and the speculation is pretty gloomy, to say the least.

I'm not sure what the "recent FB post" referred to in the link is about. There hasn't been any activity on their page since February that I can see...

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