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Back side of Sugarloaf

bumbler

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Hi All,

Despite having a survival instinct and all that, I am really tempted to venture over to the back side of Sugarloaf, where there are some marked "trails" that are part of the "Snowfields" terrain. It might be obvious to other people, but one of my main questions about this is, how do you get back when you are done... where do you exit and how do you know you are done with the run? Do you just run into the boundary signs, and then you have to hike back to the front of the mountain?

I love the idea of visiting the back side, because it is in the sun, and I think the view is probably awesome. Also, there is a trail named "Awesome."

Thanks for any help.
 

SLyardsale

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It will be evident how to ski the backside once it open. Until then, you can dream about it. It is an "awesome" experience, but never something to take on without it being sanctioned. The backside needs more snow than you could imagine to open. There is a ton of terrain at SL. Enjoy that for now and be patient.
 

bumbler

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It will be evident how to ski the backside once it open. Until then, you can dream about it. It is an "awesome" experience, but never something to take on without it being sanctioned. The backside needs more snow than you could imagine to open. There is a ton of terrain at SL. Enjoy that for now and be patient.

OK - definitely not planning to ski anything that isn't open. But let's say I made a point to return to SL when the back side does open... I would want to know what exactly is involved if I'm going to drive 5 hours for it. Is it strictly "cat" skiing, like they pick you up in a snow cat, I guess I am curious about it before I get too excited.

Thanks.
 

SLyardsale

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I would suggest popping into the patrol shack on spill xcut / top of skyline and have a convo with them if/when the backside is open - or even if it isnt open and you just want some info. They will provide you the knowledge you need to ski it. The backside is accessed off the top of timberline. A short hike to the TOS radio tower and away you go. No cats - the cats are Burnt Mt./Brackett.
Sugarloaf was my home mt for 14 years. I was a weekend warrior, so over 14 years I maybe skied it 10 times total. Conditions change back there quickly. High traffic takes a toll. It can open for an hour and then they close it. Keep your ears open.
 

deadheadskier

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OK - definitely not planning to ski anything that isn't open. But let's say I made a point to return to SL when the back side does open... I would want to know what exactly is involved if I'm going to drive 5 hours for it. Is it strictly "cat" skiing, like they pick you up in a snow cat, I guess I am curious about it before I get too excited.

Thanks.
I've never skied the backside snowfields, but I do have about 30 days experience at Sugarloaf and know the operation well. To answer your original question, there is an obvious traverse at the bottom of the backside snowfields that brings you back around to essentially the top of the entrance to Brackett Basin. No snow cat operation back there.

One thing you should understand though is even when there's enough base to open the backside, it still rarely opens due to the harsh weather at the top of Sugarloaf. That's the reason why I've never skied back there despite visiting the mountain about 30 times. I bet about 20% of those visits the backside had been open within 2-3 days of me skiing there. As bad luck would have it, that 20% of the time the snow has been deep enough back there to ski, it's been closed due to the Timberline chair being on wind hold.

Just mentioning this because you say you have to drive 5 hours to get there. You have to pay very close attention to the weather at Sugarloaf if you want to ski their backside snowfields.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app
 

bumbler

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I've never skied the backside snowfields, but I do have about 30 days experience at Sugarloaf and know the operation well. To answer your original question, there is an obvious traverse at the bottom of the backside snowfields that brings you back around to essentially the top of the entrance to Brackett Basin. No snow cat operation back there.

One thing you should understand though is even when there's enough base to open the backside, it still rarely opens due to the harsh weather at the top of Sugarloaf. That's the reason why I've never skied back there despite visiting the mountain about 30 times. I bet about 20% of those visits the backside had been open within 2-3 days of me skiing there. As bad luck would have it, that 20% of the time the snow has been deep enough back there to ski, it's been closed due to the Timberline chair being on wind hold.

Just mentioning this because you say you have to drive 5 hours to get there. You have to pay very close attention to the weather at Sugarloaf if you want to ski their backside snowfields.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app

Got it - this explains a lot. Thanks for the information. Unless I get very lucky or somehow end up with a ski house in the area, I doubt I will have the opportunity... But I'm glad I understand more about it.

I like the idea of skiing on the south side of a mountain, just to be in the sun more often... Maybe there are some mountains in the Northeast where that happens, but I haven't really made a note of it in the places I've been. Noticed that the back side at Sugarloaf is South-facing. (Maybe results in more snow melt.)
 

Edd

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I think Cranmore does too. “Tan more at Cranmore”.


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benski

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The backside map for Sugarloaf, is worthless. They might as well just leave that inset off the map.

If you want South facing Mt. Snow has the Sunbrook area with a few trails and a lift, and Stratton has a big south facing area. Also Mont Tremblant is south facing.
 

bumbler

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The backside map for Sugarloaf, is worthless. They might as well just leave that inset off the map.

If you want South facing Mt. Snow has the Sunbrook area with a few trails and a lift, and Stratton has a big south facing area. Also Mont Tremblant is south facing.


Haha, I am glad I was not the only one who thought the trail map was unclear.

Thanks to everyone for the tips on south-facing ski areas. I've wanted to visit Mont Tremblant, so that is another reason to make it happen.
 

skiMEbike

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Having skied hundreds of days at the Loaf, I'd say the backside is officially opened maybe 10% of the time on a very good year. It is a cool experience, and quite fun when the conditions are good. Personally, I think its a bit over hyped, and a lot of "effort" (two lift rides, short hike, and a narrow short but typically bad traverse to get back to top of King Pine in Hard Tack). The initial drop in at the tower can sometimes be hazardous with lots of rocks to navigate, however avoidable with a little more hiking to a lower drop in. From there the "trail" is fairly mellow until you get to a super steep section where it feels like you could fall off the face of the earth with maybe 4 basic lines down the pitch (nothing marked up there). That short pitch is over in about 10 seconds....fun but IMHO a bit too short.

A few years back the Loaf officially put some "new" backside trails on the map (which the Locals have been skiing for years): Awesome, Ball & Chain, Hell's Gate. I have no experience on skiing these trail. These trails are officially open much less of the time as they need much more snow, and may have a cliff drop or two that can get skied off rather quickly. If you do ski these trails, you will get dumped into Bracket Basin (vs coming out at the top of King Pine lift). If you end up traversing over in Brackett, you can get a get look at some of these new "trails" on the backside.

As someone else stated, it would probably be wise to check in with Patrol if you are planning to try out these new backside trails. The entire Sugarloaf boundary is roped off so no need to worry about getting "lost"....however you can very easily get yourself into trouble on the aforementioned trails, and you could spent a lot of time wondering aimlessly in Brackett if you don't have some sense of where you are going. Also, technically the backside is East facing.

Enjoy....My Advice: Front side snowfields are way better (Bubblecuffer Extension).
 

Skimaine

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DHS has correctly described the backside experience. I have been fortunate enough to get a couple laps over the years. As you hit the bottom of the skiable terrain, a cat track bings you around the eastern hip of the mountain. As noted you can jump into to Bracket Basin or keep going to bring you to the top of King Pine lift. As noted, it takes a ton of snow to make it skiable. This usually does not happen until March or early April with the help of a juicy storm or two and favorable winds. From the radio tower, the westernmost boundary is not super steep, but the further east you go, the steeper it gets. As others have noted, respect the boundary. If you cross boundary rope and truly start down the backside you will need to be rescued.
 

ceo

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I've only skied the Snowfields a few times, but yes, they end in an obvious traverse that brings you around to the top of King Pine.
 
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