Date: 1/31-2/2
Location: Saddleback Maine
Conditions: Powder, Packed Powder
Trail Report: I headed up to Saddleback for Superbowl Weekend and it did not disappoint! I came up with 8 guys, all of which were starving for some good powder stashes left over from the Wednesday storm. Four of the guys I was with had never been to Saddleback before so they didn't know exactly what they were getting into. They were more familiar the NH and Southern VT ski areas...
There were another 4 or so inches the fell throughout the weekend to keep things fresh. We clicked in at 8:25 am to get first tracks. We got the 4th lift of the morning from the Rangeley Chair. The plan was simple: We are heading straight to the proving grounds and weren't going to stop hitting the expert terrain until we could take no more. The first run of the day we made the trek out to skin the Mule. Snow drifts made the traverse out there interesting but it was well worth it. The top 1/4 was a bit thin but still decent. The remaining 3/4 of the trail was outstanding. The trail was very bumped up and there was knee deep powder on the left side of most of the trail (this is a recurring theme). The guys loved it…Some of them hadn't skied anything like it before. The plan was to pick off every trail left to right off the quad. We hit the new trail Black Beauty from 1/4 of the way down off Warden's Worry since the headwall was closed. It's too bad they're not quite ready yet because the headwalls look fantastic. None the less the left side of the trail from where we picked it up was loaded with powder…We ended up hitting that trail more than once it was so good. Frost Bite was also great and skied very similar to Black Beauty, with slightly less powder. Wardens Worry was a bit scratchy from the top and may have been the only trail that wasn't in great shape on the whole mountain. Tightline and Black Beauty held snow very well even from the headwalls. Dark Wizard was outstanding. The guys I skied with had never seen anything like it, and by the end of the weekend declared it the best marked glade they've ever skied (and said the same thing about Intimidator 3 runs later) One of the picks of the day was the lift line under the quad. It's not marked but you can ski it. It was excellent Lots of soft pillow bumps that continued to grow bigger over the weekend. By Sunday the bumps were very big..Must have hit this trail about 3-4 times. Governor was another other pick of the day. It was in great shape from top-to bottom with great powder stashes along the sides of the trails. Intimidator was up next. It skied very similar to Dark Wizard. Lots of bumps and plenty of snow, no scratchy areas at all. The glades in general were all in great shape. Jane Craig and Professor all had a lot of snow and medium size bumps. Peachy's Peril (and a lot of the other bump runs) i.e. Golden Smelt, Upper Royal Coachmen, Parmacheene Belle were the most bumped up I can remember it at this time of the year. By the end of the day, all of us (who ski every weekend) could barely stand up. We called it a day and went to the Pub at the lodge for some PBR's and some grub.
As for Sunday and Monday: We skied so hard Saturday that no one had a lot left in the tank. Most everyone was limping around for the remainder of the weekend. Conditions remained excellent but we stuck to more of the groomers. Sunday was busy because of Maine day and Monday may have been the best of the 3 with seasonably warm temps and no wind. We were able to mix in a handful of expert runs thanks to mostly a recovery day on Sunday. Everyone had an amazing time and vowed to go back (and probably buy season's passes there next year). They were astonished at how affordable the place is, especially with the quality of skiing. It you consider yourself and advanced and expert skiier, you HAVE to get to Saddleback.
All in all one of the best ski weekends I've had in the East. Absolutely excellent.
Location: Saddleback Maine
Conditions: Powder, Packed Powder
Trail Report: I headed up to Saddleback for Superbowl Weekend and it did not disappoint! I came up with 8 guys, all of which were starving for some good powder stashes left over from the Wednesday storm. Four of the guys I was with had never been to Saddleback before so they didn't know exactly what they were getting into. They were more familiar the NH and Southern VT ski areas...
There were another 4 or so inches the fell throughout the weekend to keep things fresh. We clicked in at 8:25 am to get first tracks. We got the 4th lift of the morning from the Rangeley Chair. The plan was simple: We are heading straight to the proving grounds and weren't going to stop hitting the expert terrain until we could take no more. The first run of the day we made the trek out to skin the Mule. Snow drifts made the traverse out there interesting but it was well worth it. The top 1/4 was a bit thin but still decent. The remaining 3/4 of the trail was outstanding. The trail was very bumped up and there was knee deep powder on the left side of most of the trail (this is a recurring theme). The guys loved it…Some of them hadn't skied anything like it before. The plan was to pick off every trail left to right off the quad. We hit the new trail Black Beauty from 1/4 of the way down off Warden's Worry since the headwall was closed. It's too bad they're not quite ready yet because the headwalls look fantastic. None the less the left side of the trail from where we picked it up was loaded with powder…We ended up hitting that trail more than once it was so good. Frost Bite was also great and skied very similar to Black Beauty, with slightly less powder. Wardens Worry was a bit scratchy from the top and may have been the only trail that wasn't in great shape on the whole mountain. Tightline and Black Beauty held snow very well even from the headwalls. Dark Wizard was outstanding. The guys I skied with had never seen anything like it, and by the end of the weekend declared it the best marked glade they've ever skied (and said the same thing about Intimidator 3 runs later) One of the picks of the day was the lift line under the quad. It's not marked but you can ski it. It was excellent Lots of soft pillow bumps that continued to grow bigger over the weekend. By Sunday the bumps were very big..Must have hit this trail about 3-4 times. Governor was another other pick of the day. It was in great shape from top-to bottom with great powder stashes along the sides of the trails. Intimidator was up next. It skied very similar to Dark Wizard. Lots of bumps and plenty of snow, no scratchy areas at all. The glades in general were all in great shape. Jane Craig and Professor all had a lot of snow and medium size bumps. Peachy's Peril (and a lot of the other bump runs) i.e. Golden Smelt, Upper Royal Coachmen, Parmacheene Belle were the most bumped up I can remember it at this time of the year. By the end of the day, all of us (who ski every weekend) could barely stand up. We called it a day and went to the Pub at the lodge for some PBR's and some grub.
As for Sunday and Monday: We skied so hard Saturday that no one had a lot left in the tank. Most everyone was limping around for the remainder of the weekend. Conditions remained excellent but we stuck to more of the groomers. Sunday was busy because of Maine day and Monday may have been the best of the 3 with seasonably warm temps and no wind. We were able to mix in a handful of expert runs thanks to mostly a recovery day on Sunday. Everyone had an amazing time and vowed to go back (and probably buy season's passes there next year). They were astonished at how affordable the place is, especially with the quality of skiing. It you consider yourself and advanced and expert skiier, you HAVE to get to Saddleback.
All in all one of the best ski weekends I've had in the East. Absolutely excellent.
