BackLoafRiver
New member
Date(s) Skied: 12/20/2009
Resort or Ski Area: Saddleback, Rangeley ME.
Conditions: Packed Powder, Groomed Hardpack, some wind blown man made powder
Trip Report: As a seasons pass holder to Sugarloaf and Sunday River, I rarely get a chance to get up to Saddleback except when my pass is blacked out. Several of my former and current students invited me out so, I decided to head up there.
Got to the lodge at 8. It was super quiet. Maybe 10 people there. They were only spinning 3 lifts: The South Branch Quad (300 feet of vert servicing beginner terrain), the Sandy Double (230 feet of vert meant for step-up beginners), and the Rangeley Double (1100 feet of vert for most of their intermediate and some advanced stuff).
Very limited terrain. They claim 19 trails. I would say 10 of them had "thin" cover. Thin doesn't really begin to cover it. The first couple hundred feet of each of the natural snow runs had exposed rock and grass. I am sure after the storm a few weeks ago it was much better. Mid to base of each natural snow trail was much better.
Shared my first chair up with the wife of the marketing manager for the resort. Nice lady. (and a good skier) We spent the first few hours skiing together and chatting. They are very interested in helping beef up traffic at the resort. He used to be at Jay before they relocated to Rangeley. We talked a bit about their new website and the current promo they are running for honor roll students in Maine. ($50 season passes if you were on Q1 honor roll. They have sold over 800)
They had blown on Grey Ghost and Green Weaver. I had first tracks on both. (and really, shared the trails with one other person for the first hour or so) Grey Ghost is a wide cruiser they use for racing mid-season. Green Weaver is a classic New England trail full of twists and turns. Lots of fun. Spent the majority of the day here.
Overall, spent 5 hours out on the mountain. Never waited more than one chair all day. The wind at the top was pretty insane by around 1. Not bad enough to move the chair, but enough to really hurt if you had bits exposed to the elements. Seems snowboarders outnumbered skiers this weekend. The snow lasted almost all day. As the center got scraped up, the edges were fluffy and fun. It was a great day overall!
For those who haven't been here yet, it is so easy to make the turn onto Rt. 27 and head to Kingfield and not go to Rangeley. Do yourselves a favor and continue on 4 to Saddleback. I have some pictures I will post when I get home tonight. They don't really do it justice but the scenery is beautiful. I am sure that when the mountain is running most of their stuff, it is pretty awesome. The glades are supposed to be amazing. I will definitely be heading back a few more times.
Resort or Ski Area: Saddleback, Rangeley ME.
Conditions: Packed Powder, Groomed Hardpack, some wind blown man made powder
Trip Report: As a seasons pass holder to Sugarloaf and Sunday River, I rarely get a chance to get up to Saddleback except when my pass is blacked out. Several of my former and current students invited me out so, I decided to head up there.
Got to the lodge at 8. It was super quiet. Maybe 10 people there. They were only spinning 3 lifts: The South Branch Quad (300 feet of vert servicing beginner terrain), the Sandy Double (230 feet of vert meant for step-up beginners), and the Rangeley Double (1100 feet of vert for most of their intermediate and some advanced stuff).
Very limited terrain. They claim 19 trails. I would say 10 of them had "thin" cover. Thin doesn't really begin to cover it. The first couple hundred feet of each of the natural snow runs had exposed rock and grass. I am sure after the storm a few weeks ago it was much better. Mid to base of each natural snow trail was much better.
Shared my first chair up with the wife of the marketing manager for the resort. Nice lady. (and a good skier) We spent the first few hours skiing together and chatting. They are very interested in helping beef up traffic at the resort. He used to be at Jay before they relocated to Rangeley. We talked a bit about their new website and the current promo they are running for honor roll students in Maine. ($50 season passes if you were on Q1 honor roll. They have sold over 800)
They had blown on Grey Ghost and Green Weaver. I had first tracks on both. (and really, shared the trails with one other person for the first hour or so) Grey Ghost is a wide cruiser they use for racing mid-season. Green Weaver is a classic New England trail full of twists and turns. Lots of fun. Spent the majority of the day here.
Overall, spent 5 hours out on the mountain. Never waited more than one chair all day. The wind at the top was pretty insane by around 1. Not bad enough to move the chair, but enough to really hurt if you had bits exposed to the elements. Seems snowboarders outnumbered skiers this weekend. The snow lasted almost all day. As the center got scraped up, the edges were fluffy and fun. It was a great day overall!
For those who haven't been here yet, it is so easy to make the turn onto Rt. 27 and head to Kingfield and not go to Rangeley. Do yourselves a favor and continue on 4 to Saddleback. I have some pictures I will post when I get home tonight. They don't really do it justice but the scenery is beautiful. I am sure that when the mountain is running most of their stuff, it is pretty awesome. The glades are supposed to be amazing. I will definitely be heading back a few more times.
