Record Season for Saddleback.

[wa-loaf]

http://www.theskichannel.com/news/r...eback-Maine-has-a-season-for-the-record-books

No mention of a new lift for next season ...

 

[TheBEast]

Really happy for them. From all the reports this winter sounds like they're doin' it right. Gotta make a trip up there.

 

[maineskier69]

SB is a GREAT area. They do need to upgrade the old double to handle this increase in skier visits. I just hope no matter how much SB grows that it never loses the vibe that it has always had. The vibe and the terrain is what makes this mountain so great.

 

[Edd]

Keeping my fingers crossed for a new lift also. That bluegrass festival might be interesting...

 

[thetrailboss]

Impressive!

 

[skibumm100]

first timer

This season was our first trip to SB and we will be back. We had plans (and comp passes) in previous seasons but never made it up there because the season just ended too quickly. It's a nice, affordable alternative to the 'loaf. Really liked the upper mountain and the folks working there were super friendly.

 

[deadheadskier]

wonder if Maine in general had a record season.

 

[xwhaler]

No Lift Replacement this offseason and very limited improvements despite the record #'s

http://sugarloaftoday.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=3435

On the mountain lots will be going on this summer. We will expand the Casablanca Glade, perform summer trail grooming and base area maintenance. We will complete a parking lot expansion and the second South Branch II Condo Building will be completed for purchase. Please let us know if you are interested in purchasing a South Branch Condo.

We know many of you are anxious about our expansion needs; replacing the Rangeley Chair and a day lodge to take the pressure off of the base lodge. We are too. One of our priorities will be to raise money to accomplish that. We had a good year but not good enough to make those investments. We needed to get our debt paid down which we were able to do with real estate sales. Warren Cook will be out talking to people about investing in the mountain and in the area. We will have a limited partnership offering ready to talk about in early May. Please let us know if this is something you are interested in exploring.

We will have next year's season pass program out shortly with some attractive pricing and payment plans.

 

[EPB]

Who here thinks that the Rangely double should be replaced with a detatchable quad? Fixed grip? They have claimed before that they won't install detatchable lifts, but I was wondering what people thought of this.

 

[maineskier69]

Who here thinks that the Rangely double should be replaced with a detatchable quad? Fixed grip? They have claimed before that they won't install detatchable lifts, but I was wondering what people thought of this.

A fixed grip quad would suffice as on busy days there may still be a wait, but the trails still wouldn't get over populated. I would take a wait in line over crowded trails anyday of the week. The rumored plan was to replace the Rangeley double with a fixed grip quad and relocate the double on the western side of the mountain where they eventually would add terrain.

All it takes is $$. Sounds like the owners have decided not to invest any more of their own cash into the mountain for expansion (I can't beleive how much they already have).

 

[riverc0il]

Who here thinks that the Rangely double should be replaced with a detatchable quad? Fixed grip? They have claimed before that they won't install detatchable lifts, but I was wondering what people thought of this.

Fixed Grip Quad seems ideal to me. I certainly would not be opposed to a high speed quad as there are more than enough trails to handle increased uphill speed. I don't think a high speed quad would be financially viable for Saddleback though.

 

[drjeff]

What's happened at Saddleback the last few years has really been impressive numbers wise. In the latest issue of Ski Area Management Magazine which arrived in my mailbox yesterday, there was an article about skier visits this past season across the country, and Saddleback in particular was cited. (i'll try and cut and paste the text once the article is online) It was written that back in 2002, Saddleback did a total of about 15,000 skier visits for their season, and this past year, they did 90,000 skier visits.

Considering that the industry as a whole has been relatively flat (+/- 3 to 5%) over that time frame, what they've done is impressive!

The key to remember though is that while they're growth has been impressive, they're still drawing a smallish number of folks, and need to be a bit carefull given all of the captial improvements they've done lately so they can keep being in a good financial situation!

 

[deadheadskier]

Who here thinks that the Rangely double should be replaced with a detatchable quad? Fixed grip? They have claimed before that they won't install detatchable lifts, but I was wondering what people thought of this.

I'll take a fixed grip Triple even. Just give me the option of getting in a singles line when it gets crowded.

If they moved the double to the Western part of the Mountain and expanded terrain, I would think that that added terrain, plus the capacity up on the Kennabago would keep the lines on a triple relatively tame. 90K skier visits isn't a lot. I have a hard time seeing that mountain ever doing more than 150K skiers; to remote and I think their big brother up the road offers a better experience for the joe everyday skier - much better cruising terrain and more of it at Sugarloaf.

 

[maineskier69]

Funny you mention the single line option DHS.

When were there during " the busiest weekend in SB history" in March they had utilized a singles system for the Kennebago quad on Saturday which helped move things along at that chair. Come Sunday the operators had eliminated the singles from the quad, but had 2 singles lines for the Rangeley double (??). Not only was the wait at the Kennebago quite a bit longer, but my wife and I rode the lift a few times by ourselves (not matching us with another couple). It was very strange, but just different operators from Sat to Sun. If that was their biggest fault they are still doing a great job. Just wrote it off as growing pains.

 

[deadheadskier]

I wish that more areas would use a singles line with doubles. Sometimes I use it while with groups to get up the hill faster. Often times I use because I'm skiing by myself. Stowe had one on the Lookout Double when I was up there on a busy weekend this past winter. Much appreciated.

 

[wa-loaf]

I wish that more areas would use a singles line with doubles. Sometimes I use it while with groups to get up the hill faster. Often times I use because I'm skiing by myself. Stowe had one on the Lookout Double when I was up there on a busy weekend this past winter. Much appreciated.

How exactly does that work? Match you up with singles in the regular line? Or just throw a couple singles on the chair here and there?

 

[deadheadskier]

They had one lane for singles were you paired up with another single and four regular double lanes. After every two passes through on the doubles line, they called the singles line nto the chair. If per chance there was a single in the normal doubles line, someone from the singles line would get paired up with them. Seemed to go a bit quicker than waiting in a normal doubles line as a single, also made sure that each chair had two passengers.