Tips for a short Loaf excursion this week

Looks like the storm will be bringing a nice dumping to Maine so decided it's a good time to finally get to Sugarloaf for the first time ever. So, a couple questions.

First, driving part of the day tomorrow night after work and grabbing a cheap room somewhere along 95, probably around wherever the exit is that I'll take. I've seen that there's 3 different ways with differing amounts of traffic and road conditions: the first out of Auburn/Jay, the second out of Augusta, and the third out of Waterville. Assuming I'll be driving in light snow Tuesday morning, what would be the best route to take, and does anyone have any hotel recommendations in those areas? Just want a clean and comfy bed.

Tuesday night I was going to look for something cheaper but seeing as the potential is there for 18", I'm going to bite the bullet and pay $210 to stay on site at the base so I can be right there Wednesday morning. Again if anyone has a cheaper option that is a quick ride away, shoot them at me.

Lastly, with 2 days I should be able to check out plenty of terrain but what's the can't miss stuff? Woods are the top priority. Not really looking to hike so don't tell me to lap Brackett Basin all day if I'm going to have to hike every run. Will check it out once or twice though. Good woods on the main mountain are what I'm looking to lap.

Excited for this...thought the season was dead in the water 2 weeks ago but it's risen from the ashes. If anyone is around that wants to take a couple runs let me know!

We took Rt. 27 (Augusta exit) as the default. The Waterville way can work too, though it seems out of the way. Avoid the other one.

I have no recent info on road motels and never really stopped in the middle. We favored the Farmington and Stratton Motels for cheapness.

Glades: where to start? I see they've put a lot of stuff on the trail map now. You can do Cant Dog and the nearer Brackett stuff while lapping the King Pine lift, and more than that with Whiffletree + King Pine. You can do a lot of that area with an initial traverse and no hiking. If Timberline is running and the backside is open, you can get to that close Brackett area from above.

General Sugarloaf tip: don't go below the Lombard x-cut; lap the upper mountain lifts. Exceptions: there are some decent low mountain glades like Rookie River and the stuff off Whiffletree. The Superquad runout always gave me hives, but the little glades like Ram Pasture and Boomscooter made it more tolerable.

As the trail map now shows, there are tree lines between many of the major groomers. Some are super obvious and signed; some are little unmarked entrances. Just check it out and see what looks good that day.

I remember Branding Axe Glade fondly, fwiw

Got there Friday night, while checking in happen to talk to one of the mountain maintenance staff told him I wanted to ski glades. Ask him about bracket, he said the Westside Glades were a bit better shape. Saturday morning first run I hit bracket out of curiosity,there was quite a bit of storm damage and lots of brush sticking up. My favorite Glade run was drop line Glade ,sort of like a mini mogul field/ski cross. The entrance was tough to find . Found it by traversing over from SuperQuad. Rookie river was one I didn’t get to by was on my list.

They offer Cat skiing on Burnt mountain, might be a good option early. Prices drop later in the day

Augusta exit rt27 is the only way I go from the East.I've gone many times up 93 and head by SR on Rt2 also but only cuz I was stopping/leaving from Franconia.

Great timing for a Loaf Trip!!

I got no recent intel on conditions (as I've been away from Mtn for 2 weeks), but everything below spillway xcut is in play. As Schwilly mentions, stay above lombard & peavy (with the exception of a few glades Rookie River, Broccoli Garden). Personally I am a fan of all the glades off Spillway Xcut between every trail there's something good...these tend to be the steepest glades on the mountain. My favorites: Max Headroom(aka Stumpshot), Can't Hook, Blade Glade, and Gondi Glade (ton of snow in there due to snowmaking on Gondi). Glades off Timberline: Pipecleaner (aka Barber Chair) & Toke Road (aka Dropline)....These are lower angle tighter type glades both similar in character. Note that Toke Road & Pipecleaner can be accessed from top of Spillway chair, however Pipecleaner takes a bit more traversing & bit of uphill work (maybe 10 yards uphill on binder, but don't have to take skis off) from Spillway....Pipecleaner sometimes can be barely tracked up on a day when Timberline lift is down, because people don't want to traverse over there...And don't worry about traversing off into the woods too far...the whole skiers left of Pipecleaner glade is roped off. If you do traverse to Pipecleaner from Spillway...you will enter slightly below the normal entrance. Greenhorn glade is a fun one off Horseshoe trail, that doesn't get a lot of traffic, however you don't really want to do it when West Mtn chair is not running...it sucks getting back to the base area. Kickback glade is another favorite of mine (between Skidder & Hayburner)...nice pitch & good tree spacing. My advise on Brackett/Can't Dog glade area...don't go below King Pine lift...flat & not worth it. I've heard there's been some storm damage & not as nice as it has been in years past. IMO not worth traversing way out towards Burnt, because you eventually get dumped back into the same lower section of Can't Dog glades. Should be good....And Get up on the Extensions above Spillway....not open much & some of the best stuff the Loaf has got.

Enjoy & be sure to report on the trip.

I have stayed at the Spillover Motel in Stratton many times over the years. Just a short drive north of the Sugarloaf access rd and much less pricey

Really second the stay above Lombard and Peavy tip. SuperQuad and Whiffletree are really the only ways back up the hill from the bottom and they are packed on weekends. Normally pretty flat beginner terrain down low anyways. Otherwise best skiing on the mountain in terms of steep groomers, bumps, and trees is off of the Skyline and King Pine chairs.

A lot of Sugarloaf's glades, besides Brackett Basin, are unmarked on their entry points. So, you have to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt. Broccoli Garden, Dropline, Boomer, Kerf, Jackpot, and Stub's have hidden entrances. Just look for an opening in the trees and that is probably it. A lot of them also get a lot better the deeper into the trees you go. This goes for Kickback, Swedish Fiddle, Raker Tooth, and Fred's Pitch - traverse into the middle of the two surrounding trails and then drop. As for Brackett you can ski anything up until you end your hike on the Golden Road. Dropping in prior to that, you will traverse left once the terrain finally flattens out. Last chance to get back is a narrow bridge over a stream, you can not miss it. Do not drop below this point and you are good. However, you can actually ski a lot of terrain in Brackett without hiking at all. In fact, that is the best way to go. There are many variations when it comes to skiing Brackett. Truly some of the best skiing in the east.

Lost Dad said:

I have stayed at the Spillover Motel in Stratton many times over the years. Just a short drive north of the Sugarloaf access rd and much less pricey

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Have not been to the Loaf in 5 years and was wondering if they still have the strippers at the Stratton house of pizza every Friday?Yup thats right,sounds strange but the pizza joint turned into a strip joint.Weird.