skibumm100
New member
Date(s) Skied: 4/3
Resort or Ski Area: Saddleback
Conditions: Spring corn and mush
Trip Report: We skied Saturday at Saddleback and it was fantastic spring skiing. They posted all trails as "open" but by the end of the day a few were getting thin (and narrow!!) in spots. Particularly runs like Muleskinner, Warden's Worry and Frostbite. Supervisor was holding up great and, of course, Tight Line had a ton of coverage. Nice, soft spring bumps were the order of the day or creamy corn on the edges if you don't like to "bump 'til you dump". Casablanca chute 3 and 4 were skiing well with the exception of a few stumps here and there. Definitely "heads-up" skiing or you might end your season early on one. The heat was oppressive and the coverage visibly changed between the morning and the afternoon. I actually saw a mirage on Nymph. I think that's the first time I've seen that on snow. There was almost no wind in some places and the snow was being baked out pretty badly. They had pond skimming down near the lodge but the skiing was way too good to take time off to watch and the bottom of the mountain was getting predictably soggy. We pretty much stayed on the Kennabago Quad and mostly to lookers left of the lift. The only lower mountain run we did was to take Grey Ghost to the bottom when we quit. It was surprisingly fast and fun given the time of day. We quit around 3 PM so we could save some leg for Sugarloaf on Sunday. We hung out on the deck for a little while and took in the live music and enjoyed the beautiful weather. That was the first visit to Saddleback but we would love to go back in mid-winter. It's a very nice resort but it seemed like it skied smaller than it is. Not really a bad thing, just a comment. The staff was friendly and the lift tickets were inexpensive.
Date(s) Skied: 4/4
Resort or Ski Area: Sugarloaf USA
Conditions: More spring corn and mush, open water too
Trip Report: Sugarloaf was on the docket for Easter Sunday. We were staying in Rangeley so we grabbed breakfast at the BMC Diner before heading over. We arrived around 10 AM and got our tickets. First run was down Hayburner and it was in fine shape. You could tell it stayed warm overnight. Even in the shade the snow was very soft, which was expected. It was clear the sun and heat were taking their toll on the 'loaf. Conditions deteriorated throughout the day with running water and undermining apparent on some slopes. Haulback and Flume were skiing nicely as was Upper Boomauger. Around lunchtime we decided that if we were going to hike up to ski the upper snowfields we better not wait. Too late..... We hiked up the backside of the summit to High Rigger, through the mud and over the shoulder to either Pure Heat or Jagger, not sure which. It turned into a shwackfest trying to find snow to ski on between the trees and rocks. We had to dismount and downclimb twice when the snow ran out and we were just looking at big rocks. It looks like Hard Tack from the top would've been best. You would still have the two downclimbs but it looked better up above. We met three tele folks touring up Hard Tack and they said that the Patrol roped off the access at the top of the chair after we went through the gate. I can't see it getting any better without a good storm. You can still access the stuff on the front side like White Nitro and such. We did ski White Nitro and it's starting to get sketchy in places. A few more days of sun and heat and it'll look like a rock garden. Conditions got quite sloppy toward the end of the day along the ridge on looker's right. Sugarloaf may be the King of Spring but I don't think even the king can take too many more weekends like that. Hopefully, they'll get some cold nights to set things up a little. Get up there and get it while you can. Overall I would say Saddleback was in a little better shape, snow-wise. Keep in mind that was a day earlier and the snow was disappearing quickly under the sun and heat. We had a great weekend and a pair of fat skis underfoot made for a fun weekend. If I didn't have to work today I wouldn't have come home.
Resort or Ski Area: Saddleback
Conditions: Spring corn and mush
Trip Report: We skied Saturday at Saddleback and it was fantastic spring skiing. They posted all trails as "open" but by the end of the day a few were getting thin (and narrow!!) in spots. Particularly runs like Muleskinner, Warden's Worry and Frostbite. Supervisor was holding up great and, of course, Tight Line had a ton of coverage. Nice, soft spring bumps were the order of the day or creamy corn on the edges if you don't like to "bump 'til you dump". Casablanca chute 3 and 4 were skiing well with the exception of a few stumps here and there. Definitely "heads-up" skiing or you might end your season early on one. The heat was oppressive and the coverage visibly changed between the morning and the afternoon. I actually saw a mirage on Nymph. I think that's the first time I've seen that on snow. There was almost no wind in some places and the snow was being baked out pretty badly. They had pond skimming down near the lodge but the skiing was way too good to take time off to watch and the bottom of the mountain was getting predictably soggy. We pretty much stayed on the Kennabago Quad and mostly to lookers left of the lift. The only lower mountain run we did was to take Grey Ghost to the bottom when we quit. It was surprisingly fast and fun given the time of day. We quit around 3 PM so we could save some leg for Sugarloaf on Sunday. We hung out on the deck for a little while and took in the live music and enjoyed the beautiful weather. That was the first visit to Saddleback but we would love to go back in mid-winter. It's a very nice resort but it seemed like it skied smaller than it is. Not really a bad thing, just a comment. The staff was friendly and the lift tickets were inexpensive.
Date(s) Skied: 4/4
Resort or Ski Area: Sugarloaf USA
Conditions: More spring corn and mush, open water too
Trip Report: Sugarloaf was on the docket for Easter Sunday. We were staying in Rangeley so we grabbed breakfast at the BMC Diner before heading over. We arrived around 10 AM and got our tickets. First run was down Hayburner and it was in fine shape. You could tell it stayed warm overnight. Even in the shade the snow was very soft, which was expected. It was clear the sun and heat were taking their toll on the 'loaf. Conditions deteriorated throughout the day with running water and undermining apparent on some slopes. Haulback and Flume were skiing nicely as was Upper Boomauger. Around lunchtime we decided that if we were going to hike up to ski the upper snowfields we better not wait. Too late..... We hiked up the backside of the summit to High Rigger, through the mud and over the shoulder to either Pure Heat or Jagger, not sure which. It turned into a shwackfest trying to find snow to ski on between the trees and rocks. We had to dismount and downclimb twice when the snow ran out and we were just looking at big rocks. It looks like Hard Tack from the top would've been best. You would still have the two downclimbs but it looked better up above. We met three tele folks touring up Hard Tack and they said that the Patrol roped off the access at the top of the chair after we went through the gate. I can't see it getting any better without a good storm. You can still access the stuff on the front side like White Nitro and such. We did ski White Nitro and it's starting to get sketchy in places. A few more days of sun and heat and it'll look like a rock garden. Conditions got quite sloppy toward the end of the day along the ridge on looker's right. Sugarloaf may be the King of Spring but I don't think even the king can take too many more weekends like that. Hopefully, they'll get some cold nights to set things up a little. Get up there and get it while you can. Overall I would say Saddleback was in a little better shape, snow-wise. Keep in mind that was a day earlier and the snow was disappearing quickly under the sun and heat. We had a great weekend and a pair of fat skis underfoot made for a fun weekend. If I didn't have to work today I wouldn't have come home.
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