Saddleback Maine

[xlr8r]

Damn that looks good

 

[KustyTheKlown]

ya i am so annoyed with myself for my misadventure and failure to ski saddleback last week

i am 0 for 2 in northern Maine attempts. the one time i went to Sugarloaf it snowed all week and then rained and froze as i drove there. then i chased a storm to jay peak and totaled my car on a moose. the one time i went to saddleback (last week) was a 10 hour round trip misadventure drive with 100% wind holds, no skiing, and a minor car incident.

i am going to try one more time maybe. i am off for good Friday and have a hotel in lincoln and will do cannon>saddleback>cannon assuming weather and terrain hold up

 

[Killingtime]

ya i am so annoyed with myself for my misadventure and failure to ski saddleback last week

i am 0 for 2 in northern Maine attempts. the one time i went to Sugarloaf it snowed all week and then rained and froze as i drove there. then i chased a storm to jay peak and totaled my car on a moose. the one time i went to saddleback (last week) was a 10 hour round trip misadventure drive with 100% wind holds, no skiing, and a minor car incident.

i am going to try one more time maybe. i am off for good Friday and have a hotel in lincoln and will do cannon>saddleback>cannon assuming weather and terrain hold up

Sucks Bro! It took me a long time to figure out that unless the weather looks clear, I'm staying home. Follow as many webcams as you can and make a lot of phone calls to get the local weather where you are headed. Get get the best snow tires you can afford, makes a huge difference. Too many white-knuckle drives up into Vermont praying I don't slide off the road and too many times making a turn and the car keeps going straight before I learned. You'll have to elaborate on the moose story. That one sounds crazy.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Sucks Bro! It took me a long time to figure out that unless the weather looks clear, I'm staying home. Follow as many webcams as you can and make a lot of phone calls to get the local weather where you are headed. Get get the best snow tires you can afford, makes a huge difference. Too many white-knuckle drives up into Vermont praying I don't slide off the road and too many times making a turn and the car keeps going straight before I learned. You'll have to elaborate on the moose story. That one sounds crazy.

yes, i definitely need snow tires. its time to just take that plunge next season. i happen to be a very safe driver and these two incidents are the only car accidents i've ever been in, so i'm just cursed in connection northwestern maine i guess. last Monday was hardly an accident - no injury, no damage, 15 minute delay in my day, quick tow out of a fucking snowbank.

moose was just before Christmas, in ~2012 or 2013 i guess?

it was a slow start to the season in vermont. maine got pounded with a few feet of snow that week while rain fell on vermont. i made the long 8 hour drive to Sugarloaf, my first time ever. but then as i was making my way to Maine, it rained and then froze. my one day ever skiing sugarloaf was an ice rink.

went back to the motel after a bad day skiing and saw that northern vt was gonna get a 12-18" dump that night. set my alarm for 4 AM with plans to head to jay.

country backroads with bad cell service connect sugarloaf and jay. it was snowing lightly, maybe about 3" on the ground. i'm outside island pond, vermont. i was driving up a hill, and when i got to the crest and could see the downhill slope, a full grown adult male moose with antlers was just standing in the middle of the road maybe 15 feet ahead of me. tried to stop but ended up skidding and my passenger side headlight struck the moose's rump.

i went into a spin to my left and was basically moving down the road perpendicular to the road. my front wheels eventually left the pavement and i flipped into the ditch on the opposite side of the road. it was all very slow mo. one moment i am spinning, the next i am slowly flipping, the next i am holding my steering wheel still, but upside down.

crawled out of the car. no cell service. grabbed some of my shit and started walking. first car to pass after nearly an hour was an oil tanker who drove me to town. got in contact with the police who got me a wrecker to flip and tow the car. game warden came with a shotgun to put down an injured moose, but did not find him. he apparently got away. every person i spoke to that day wanted that moose carcass for themself - the oil tank driver, the cop, the game warden, the mechanic, etc. everyone wanted to eat moose meat for the winter.

getting home from rural vermont the Sunday before xmas without a car is a fucking doozy. the mechanic ultimately drove me to st johnsbury, but there were no train tickets available. he drove me even further to Lebanon nh, where i hopped a 10 seater airplane flight on cape air to Westchester county. only time ive ever looked thru the windshield of a moving plane, as the pilot was in the same cabin as the passengers. everyone was wildly fascinated by my story - i showed up to the airport in full ski clothes, a big black plastic bag of all the shit that was in my car, and loose skis.

car was a total loss.

 

[Killingtime]

yes, i definitely need snow tires. its time to just take that plunge next season. i happen to be a very safe driver and these two incidents are the only car accidents i've ever been in, so i'm just cursed in connection northwestern maine i guess. last Monday was hardly an accident - no injury, no damage, 15 minute delay in my day, quick tow out of a fucking snowbank.

moose was just before Christmas, in ~2012 or 2013 i guess?

it was a slow start to the season in vermont. maine got pounded with a few feet of snow that week while rain fell on vermont. i made the long 8 hour drive to Sugarloaf, my first time ever. but then as i was making my way to Maine, it rained and then froze. my one day ever skiing sugarloaf was an ice rink.

went back to the motel after a bad day skiing and saw that northern vt was gonna get a 12-18" dump that night. set my alarm for 4 AM with plans to head to jay.

country backroads with bad cell service connect sugarloaf and jay. it was snowing lightly, maybe about 3" on the ground. i'm outside island pond, vermont. i was driving up a hill, and when i got to the crest and could see the downhill slope, a full grown adult male moose with antlers was just standing in the middle of the road maybe 15 feet ahead of me. tried to stop but ended up skidding and my passenger side headlight struck the moose's rump.

i went into a spin to my left and was basically moving down the road perpendicular to the road. my front wheels eventually left the pavement and i flipped into the ditch on the opposite side of the road. it was all very slow mo. one moment i am spinning, the next i am slowly flipping, the next i am holding my steering wheel still, but upside down.

crawled out of the car. no cell service. grabbed some of my shit and started walking. first car to pass after nearly an hour was an oil tanker who drove me to town. got in contact with the police who got me a wrecker to flip and tow the car. game warden came with a shotgun to put down an injured moose, but did not find him. he apparently got away. every person i spoke to that day wanted that moose carcass for themself - the oil tank driver, the cop, the game warden, the mechanic, etc. everyone wanted to eat moose meat for the winter.

getting home from rural vermont the Sunday before xmas without a car is a fucking doozy. the mechanic ultimately drove me to st johnsbury, but there were no train tickets available. he drove me even further to Lebanon nh, where i hopped a 10 seater airplane flight on cape air to Westchester county. only time ive ever looked thru the windshield of a moving plane, as the pilot was in the same cabin as the passengers. everyone was wildly fascinated by my story - i showed up to the airport in full ski clothes, a big black plastic bag of all the shit that was in my car, and loose skis.

car was a total loss.

Great story, really sorry it happened but that is one truly amazing story. I owned a home in Killington for many, many years. Leaving from Long Island on Friday nights was a crap shoot. It could be 35F and clear down in NYC area and by the time you hit the VT border it was 20F and white out conditions. The weather changes on a dime. I know about getting stuck in rural VT though. My brother-in-law got a blow out near Okemo on a Sunday night and didn't have a spare. Had to be towed to Albany NY where they had a tire for his car. Didn't get home until noon the next day.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

yep. walked away so it was a learning experience and an adventure. could have ended far worse. i was very scared of driving at night and during weather for a long time after. i went to colorado later that season and driving from the airport to breckenridge at night was absolutely terrifying. I've since done that not at all terrifying drive many times. and have done other stupid actually terrifying drives (like silverton to montrose in the dark in the snow, alone).

 

[Killingtime]

yep. walked away so it was a learning experience and an adventure. could have ended far worse. i was very scared of driving at night and during weather for a long time after. i went to colorado later that season and driving from the airport to breckenridge at night was absolutely terrifying. I've since done that not at all terrifying drive many times. and have done other stupid actually terrifying drives (like silverton to montrose in the dark in the snow, alone)

yep. walked away so it was a learning experience and an adventure. could have ended far worse. i was very scared of driving at night and during weather for a long time after. i went to colorado later that season and driving from the airport to breckenridge at night was absolutely terrifying. I've since done that not at all terrifying drive many times. and have done other stupid actually terrifying drives (like silverton to montrose in the dark in the snow, alone).

I'll have to read your story to my wife over dinner tonight, she can sympathize and will love it. She almost wrecked her car on Route 100 north of Ludlow. Spun it on some ice and wound up backwards in a ditch on the other side of the road. Hasn't been the same driving in winter since.

 

[dblskifanatic]

yep. walked away so it was a learning experience and an adventure. could have ended far worse. i was very scared of driving at night and during weather for a long time after. i went to colorado later that season and driving from the airport to breckenridge at night was absolutely terrifying. I've since done that not at all terrifying drive many times. and have done other stupid actually terrifying drives (like silverton to montrose in the dark in the snow, alone).

It is pretty crazy driving to Saddleback. I drove two different ways. One driving north in NH and crossing through Gorham Notch in to ME. when you are in ME it is like deliverance. Dark and nothing around for miles it seems. We did it one with all my kids and thought to myself if I make this then I will never take this path again. The better path while a little longer was driving to Augusta and going north from there. It is so remote. Heck, any drive to Sugarloaf or Saddleback seems like an eternity but we did it for two occasions AlpineZone Weekend at Sugarloaf and Ride and Ski weekend at Saddleback.

So it sucks that you had such and encounter in Northern VT but at least you survived! I think if my wife heard your story then we may have never gone to ME since that is more remote than going to Northern VT.

 

[parahelia]

Got skunked at Saddleback today. Mr. Parahelia went Wednesday and had his best day of the year, coming home to rave about the Casablanca chutes, Muleskinner, and the rest of the Kennebago steeps. We traded off on kid duty and I drove up to our place by Sunday River Thursday night, deciding to roll the dice with the approach of the Arctic front Friday. Woke up at 3am Friday to the howl of wind at SR and wondered what the next day would bring...

Arrived at Saddleback and 9am today amidst a stiff wind to find that skiing was limited to groomed terrain due to conditions & snow preservation. Both the Rangeley quad and the Kennebago were on wind hold. Thought about going to Sugarloaf but they were down to just Skidway and groomer terrain. After hemming and hawing, I went back to SR, where the still-spring weather meant more lifts and terrain. I gather they opened the Rangeley but it was limited to just a few groomed routes down. The Kennebago eventually came on and lost power shortly afterwards, though it eventually came back.

Oh well. Wind holds in western ME are an fact of life. And the drive back via Height of Land on 17 was spectacular as always.

 

[parahelia]

Sucks Bro! It took me a long time to figure out that unless the weather looks clear, I'm staying home. Follow as many webcams as you can and make a lot of phone calls to get the local weather where you are headed. Get get the best snow tires you can afford, makes a huge difference. Too many white-knuckle drives up into Vermont praying I don't slide off the road and too many times making a turn and the car keeps going straight before I learned. You'll have to elaborate on the moose story. That one sounds crazy.

Re: snow tires - no kidding. We almost didn't make it up the last hill on the SR access road one year when there was a dusting of snow on an already-slick surface and traffic queuing behind a struggling bus. Had to make two tries to get enough momentum to get to the top.

Bought snow tires the next week and will never go back. The grip is so much better on those snow-covered secondary roads. It's just a PITA to store them in the off season. But with a Prius, we need all the help we can get!

 

[thebigo]

i am 0 for 2 in northern Maine attempts. the one time i went to Sugarloaf it snowed all week and then rained and froze as i drove there. then i chased a storm to jay peak and totaled my car on a moose. the one time i went to saddleback (last week) was a 10 hour round trip misadventure drive with 100% wind holds, no skiing, and a minor car incident.

Piece of advice: wouldnt let someone from the county hear you call Rangeley or Kingfield 'northern Maine'.

 

[reefer]

nice pics! still looks like sugarloaf. which is a good thing!

 

[Not Sure]

 

[MG Skier]

I'd like to get up there sooner as opposed to later....it is a bit too much of a day trip even with a few drivers!

 

[Zand]

Coverage still good up there? Want to pull the trigger on a room today, I imagine that the trail closures are due to the freeze and not lack of coverage. Looks warm starting Sunday so hoping theyre 100% next week.

 

[parahelia]

I’m here today. They are still recovering from the freeze, most of the upper kennebago terrain is closed. Coverage is not great at all on the top of the steeps and don’t know if they’ll reopen unless they get more snow. The coverage is pretty good elsewhere, though the woods are not deep. The bumps took forever to soften today but are skiing great now.

It’s busy here by saddleback standards (all lots full, I heard), but I haven’t had to wait more than a couple minutes for a chair. Glad they’re back and that people are coming.

 

[Zand]

After two days here, I can definitely say I understand what all the hype is all about. It's not the gnarliest place in the world but theres a ton of super fun terrain and the conditions are great while simultaneously being f*cking awful at Sugarloaf. I don't understand how two ski areas 30 miles apart at the same elevation can have such vastly different conditons, but damn. Unfortunately the steepest stuff off Kennebago is closed due to lack of coverage but the glades are still good and there's a ton of good stuff off the Rangeley Quad that you can get fast laps on.

BTW if anyone needs a dinner and motel recommendation, the Shed in Rangeley has some of the best pulled pork I've ever had and the Town and Lake across the street has nice rooms in a beautiful location. With snowmobile season over, it's nice and quiet in town right now although I've been here on snowmobile trips and I know how loud it is midwinter at almost all hours of the day and night.

 

[deadheadskier]

Big factors in difference in conditions

1. Sugarloaf probably gets 5-6 times as many skier visits as SB. The trails just get worked harder. More traffic and grooming just ups the hardpack factor.

2. Sugarloaf gets more wind

3. Saddleback gets slightly more snow.

#1 is the big one though. It's why I find snow conditions comparatively better at Wildcat vs Cannon. Actually all three reasons are pretty similar, though maybe only double the skier visits at Cannon vs Wildcat.

 

[Edd]

For what it’s worth, Saddleback’s base elevation is some 800 feet higher, per Wikipedia. Loaf has more vert, though.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

praying the snow scheduled to start sunday and continue thru next week makes next Saturday April 3 my saddleback day.

it will either be awesome, or I'll crash my car. one or the other. i'm overdue for awesome.