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Sugarloaf?
- Thread starter Skierman
- Start date
Skimaine4ever
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- Bangor, Maine or...-Big Squaw-SR-SL-
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- www.bigsquawmountain.4t.com
I thought i read on the loafs site thta nitro was 53 degrees steep in one part? The lower half is steeper than the upper though, either way its a fairly steep run.
awf170
New member
ya it does say that on there site, but im not sure how true it is, it probably is 53 right before you get to the spillway on the skiers right side, but it is only like 20 ft long and ussually roped off.
To measure slope angle, I learned how to do it with your ski poles in an avalanche course. I managed to find a description on the 'Time for Tuckerman's' board by Tommy T which describes the procedure I remember.:
Two ski poles are all you need. Set one vertical and the other horizonal at the top of the vertical one. If it takes the full length of the top one to reach the slope, the angle is 45%; 3/4 length is 53%; 2/3 is 56; 1/2 is 63. Given the margin of error and the short base lines that any of these methods use, I just remember full is about 45, 3/4 is about 55 and 1/2 is about 65 and, depending on the social setting, I may remember that the last two need to be rounded down a bit.
The complete discussion can be found at:
http://timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2204
To add to Tommy's description: I taped a small string level on one of my poles because when you are balancing on your edges on a hard-packed 35 degree slope, it is awfully hard to figure out when the horizontal pole is really horozontal. Also, I marked off every 10 degrees on my poles with a turn of electrical tape so it is easier and quicker for me to estimate the angle. Of course to do this, you have to remember your trigonometry (oh, the horror!)
One thing to remember when you read the ski area blurbs is that they sometimes report angle as percent pitch - not degrees. A 100% pitch is a 45 degree slope. I remember years ago Sunday River used to claim that White Heat had a 50-60 percent pitch. I (mistakenly) read this as 50-60 degrees. When I skiied the trail for the first time, I was quite surprised to say the least. Now Sunday River reports the trail as having a 26 degree pitch, which is equal to a 50 percent pitch! Ah, but 50 sounds so much more impressive than 26!
Is any of this really needed for 99.9% of the skiers? Of course not. I started playing with using my poles to estimate angle to get the avalanche training firmly fixed in my head. What I found is that it was really kind of a fun thing to do on steep slopes.
SAB
Two ski poles are all you need. Set one vertical and the other horizonal at the top of the vertical one. If it takes the full length of the top one to reach the slope, the angle is 45%; 3/4 length is 53%; 2/3 is 56; 1/2 is 63. Given the margin of error and the short base lines that any of these methods use, I just remember full is about 45, 3/4 is about 55 and 1/2 is about 65 and, depending on the social setting, I may remember that the last two need to be rounded down a bit.
The complete discussion can be found at:
http://timefortuckerman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2204
To add to Tommy's description: I taped a small string level on one of my poles because when you are balancing on your edges on a hard-packed 35 degree slope, it is awfully hard to figure out when the horizontal pole is really horozontal. Also, I marked off every 10 degrees on my poles with a turn of electrical tape so it is easier and quicker for me to estimate the angle. Of course to do this, you have to remember your trigonometry (oh, the horror!)
One thing to remember when you read the ski area blurbs is that they sometimes report angle as percent pitch - not degrees. A 100% pitch is a 45 degree slope. I remember years ago Sunday River used to claim that White Heat had a 50-60 percent pitch. I (mistakenly) read this as 50-60 degrees. When I skiied the trail for the first time, I was quite surprised to say the least. Now Sunday River reports the trail as having a 26 degree pitch, which is equal to a 50 percent pitch! Ah, but 50 sounds so much more impressive than 26!
Is any of this really needed for 99.9% of the skiers? Of course not. I started playing with using my poles to estimate angle to get the avalanche training firmly fixed in my head. What I found is that it was really kind of a fun thing to do on steep slopes.
SAB
Bumpsis
Well-known member
Sugarloaf tips
Just a few additional tips that may help you enjoy the mountain.
If the day is sunny, catch the King Pine chair on the east side of the mountain. Avoid it in late aftrenoon - shadow and flat light. But if you like moguls that are not too steep try Ripsaw off that chair. It's marked double black but in reality it's just a good blue. It's a natural cover slope and due to recent snow it should be in great shape.
Natural snow doesn't ice up so quick, so the trail stays nice for quite a few days.
There are some really nice glades off Ripsaw but I'll leave it up to your spirit of adventure to find the way in...
A quick way to get up the mountain in the morning and avoid the crowds (I'm using the term "crowds" lightly): take the Whiffle Tree superquad and cross over to Spillway chairs. From there you've got the whole mountain.
Finally, if it's windy and cold, there is always a place you can escape a cold chair ride. Depending on the wind direction, move the side of the mountain that's sheltered. Or take the T-bar to the top. The west side tends to be ignored if you're looking for solitude.
Best lunch, if you're willing to get off the mountain: drive to the Outdoor Center (xc, skating ring).Reasonable prices and GREAT soups.
Your dowhill ticket will be honored if you want to kick and glide for the afternoon.
As you can tell, I just LOVE da Loaf.
Just a few additional tips that may help you enjoy the mountain.
If the day is sunny, catch the King Pine chair on the east side of the mountain. Avoid it in late aftrenoon - shadow and flat light. But if you like moguls that are not too steep try Ripsaw off that chair. It's marked double black but in reality it's just a good blue. It's a natural cover slope and due to recent snow it should be in great shape.
Natural snow doesn't ice up so quick, so the trail stays nice for quite a few days.
There are some really nice glades off Ripsaw but I'll leave it up to your spirit of adventure to find the way in...
A quick way to get up the mountain in the morning and avoid the crowds (I'm using the term "crowds" lightly): take the Whiffle Tree superquad and cross over to Spillway chairs. From there you've got the whole mountain.
Finally, if it's windy and cold, there is always a place you can escape a cold chair ride. Depending on the wind direction, move the side of the mountain that's sheltered. Or take the T-bar to the top. The west side tends to be ignored if you're looking for solitude.
Best lunch, if you're willing to get off the mountain: drive to the Outdoor Center (xc, skating ring).Reasonable prices and GREAT soups.
Your dowhill ticket will be honored if you want to kick and glide for the afternoon.
As you can tell, I just LOVE da Loaf.
Vortex
Member
I'm booked for reggae weekend. My one and only trip here this year. I love this place. White Nitro is steep enough to scare me no matter what the pitch is. Hope it is in good shape in April.
Skier75
New member
Sounds like you've got some pretty good info from people already. Yes, the King Pine Bowl would be a good place to start your day, if you like the blacks, there's some really nice stuff over that way. It's good to hit it before it get's all skied off because after that it starts to get scraped down and isn't really all that fun.
My husband and I really like the Timberline area though for cruising, it can be a lot of fun. The Tote Road, King's Landing, and Hayburner are some fun runs. We usually just go all over the place trying to make the longest run possible without having to take a slow ride back up. I've only done White Nitro once though....it has to be really good conditions for me to go near that place.
My husband and I really like the Timberline area though for cruising, it can be a lot of fun. The Tote Road, King's Landing, and Hayburner are some fun runs. We usually just go all over the place trying to make the longest run possible without having to take a slow ride back up. I've only done White Nitro once though....it has to be really good conditions for me to go near that place.
awf170
New member
About the backsides being open i looked closer on which trails are open in the snowfields and it says hardtack is not open(which is the cut across at the bottom) This makes me think that when you can get to the steep then have to turn onto the front side(pure heat)because after that you have to take hardtack. This seems very wierd to me though because the left side of the snowfield ussually is the last to open and the bottom part of the backside usually has more snow. :-?
Skimaine4ever
New member
- Joined
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In the "daily update" this morning it said Hard Tack was open, maybe they just didnt update the trail and lift report.
awf170
New member
wow i didnt even look at that :dunce:
W
whitestuff
Guest
It's so great that so many people are passionate about the loaf. Just as an add on to the masses of advice already given.... if you want some good fun look out for the frozen waterfall. You can drop into it from your right hand side as you come down 'wedge', which is a black run just off the king pine bowl. Once down the waterfall, you can cross over the 'lombard x-cut', and drop straight down into 'rookie river', which is the frozen stream bed from the water fall.
When the cold and wind picks up, or it starts snowing heavy, the glades provide the ultimate refuge. My favourite is 'pipe cleaner' which is off the top off 'timberline'. It's not marked on the map, but there are boundry markers once you get in there.
I'm smiling just typing about it, it's tragic!
When the cold and wind picks up, or it starts snowing heavy, the glades provide the ultimate refuge. My favourite is 'pipe cleaner' which is off the top off 'timberline'. It's not marked on the map, but there are boundry markers once you get in there.
I'm smiling just typing about it, it's tragic!
awf170
New member
i love that waterfall drop also there is a 10-15 footer in the far, far right side of cantdog, its pretty nuts i wont try it. Also it is so far out if you get hurt you wont be found for a while. The only way i would go off it is with atleast 2 ft of untracked powder
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