BackLoafRiver
New member
Date(s) Skied: Sunday, December 19, 2010
Resort or Ski Area: Saddleback, Rangeley Maine
Conditions: Man made packed powder with grooming, powder
Trip Report:
Today was Maine day at Saddleback so Mainers got $29 tickets. Pretty nice deal. I hadn't been up this year so I thought it would be a great day to check out the conditions. They were blowing like mad on Royal Coachmen which they should probably open sometime soon:
They claimed 27 trails open but several of them probably should not have been. Was up for first chair. Started with a lap down Green weaver which was quite nice. Fairly soft cord. Second time down was on Grey Ghost. Again, more of the same. The double was still ski-on. (stayed that way almost all day...)
Decided to head down Blue Devil. They had several trails open with natural conditions. I bumped into a patrolmen who gave me an entrance exam into the trail. Probably a good thing. I saw three teen girls in front of me who were not so ok with natural obstacles. While trying to avoid a water-bar (which was one of SEVERAL) one of the girls skied into a tree. Luckily she was fine. Definitely the biggest disappoint of the day. Surfaces were firm but still edge-able. There were quite a few exposed rocks and some grass. While talking with others, Peacheys Peril was worse. The lower part was supposed to be pretty gross.
The surprise of the day came when we hit up the Northwest Pass. We saw tracks from behind the warming hut so we followed them:
The Pass eventually dumps you out onto Nightmare Glades. I was learly of getting into the woods this early but the snow looked phenomenal. I was very correct. It was soft, powdery, and wonderful. Easily the best conditions on the hill and no one was in there.
All in all, it was a good day. Not fantastic but the trees more than made up for the groomers.
Resort or Ski Area: Saddleback, Rangeley Maine
Conditions: Man made packed powder with grooming, powder
Trip Report:
Today was Maine day at Saddleback so Mainers got $29 tickets. Pretty nice deal. I hadn't been up this year so I thought it would be a great day to check out the conditions. They were blowing like mad on Royal Coachmen which they should probably open sometime soon:
They claimed 27 trails open but several of them probably should not have been. Was up for first chair. Started with a lap down Green weaver which was quite nice. Fairly soft cord. Second time down was on Grey Ghost. Again, more of the same. The double was still ski-on. (stayed that way almost all day...)
Decided to head down Blue Devil. They had several trails open with natural conditions. I bumped into a patrolmen who gave me an entrance exam into the trail. Probably a good thing. I saw three teen girls in front of me who were not so ok with natural obstacles. While trying to avoid a water-bar (which was one of SEVERAL) one of the girls skied into a tree. Luckily she was fine. Definitely the biggest disappoint of the day. Surfaces were firm but still edge-able. There were quite a few exposed rocks and some grass. While talking with others, Peacheys Peril was worse. The lower part was supposed to be pretty gross.
The surprise of the day came when we hit up the Northwest Pass. We saw tracks from behind the warming hut so we followed them:
The Pass eventually dumps you out onto Nightmare Glades. I was learly of getting into the woods this early but the snow looked phenomenal. I was very correct. It was soft, powdery, and wonderful. Easily the best conditions on the hill and no one was in there.
All in all, it was a good day. Not fantastic but the trees more than made up for the groomers.
