more lame right coast skiing 4/16-4/18
- Thread starter icelanticskier
- Start date
skibumm100
New member
I can attest for the snowcover at Sugarloaf. I took the wife and kids to Sunday River on Saturday and Sugarloaf on Sunday. I had never been to either before and both were on "the list". Sunday River was good and had plenty of snow on most trails but was suffering serious meltdown. Soft bumps abound. The snowpack has taken a beating at the resorts in the last week. Loads of sun, warm temps and warm nights have kept the melt on. Sugarloaf suffered some of the same, but apparently not to the same degree. There's still quite a bit of "firm base" under the corn (or slop, depending on time of day and exposure). Both areas have a lot of bumps....it's been too warm and soft to groom. Even the more moderate blue slopes had their share of soft bumps at both areas. Hayburner had some nice moderate bumps and the snow was in better shape compared to some of the other runs. My son and I skied White Nitro off the top and it was in good shape. There was a nice line down the left edge that suited my crappy bump style. Some of the nicest snow up top was found between the marked runs. One minor gripe about the 'loaf. There are not a lot of choices for accomodations at Sugarloaf. Pretty much a condo, the Inn or the Hotel. We stayed at the Sugarloaf Inn. Probably a really good idea to have a reservation during the busy season. Last weekend it was pretty empty. Get it while it's still good.
BigSpencer
New member
Nice pics icelanticskier.....it's been a good season. Those remaining patches of half-decent snow are most likely the snow from an incredible December...
skibumm100
New member
Marc_C":39js1592 said:
Point taken.... I should rephrase.....not a lot of choices for places to stay when you don't plan ahead and roll into the area about 9:30 PM with two tired kids in the backseat asking "When are we gonna be there?", "Where are we staying?", "Are we almost there?". I will check out some of the other places next time when it won't be a "spur of the moment" trip. B&B's can be tough when you show up late and I didn't feel like driving back down the hill to Kingfield and I didn't know about the motel in Stratton.....of course, I do now (Thanks BigSpencer!).
joegm
New member
skibumm100 said:
i think the skibumm's point is well taken....
additionally, sugarloaf, no matter how good or bad or whatever one may think it is, is not a viable alternative for the boston metro area skier....it doesn;t matter how good the terrain is, that only becomes a factor for the sickest of the sickies... i count myself in the sickie group....but when sugarloaf requires almost an additional 3 hour drive from say lincoln, nh, where i happen to have a place, it gives me and my crew pause...i'll probably end up there next week as wildcat seems to have caved into the b.s policy of weekends only to try and get to may...but if the weather looks like it is not going to be good, which at this point it is looking sketchy, i'm not going to be able to justify the drive....if sugarloaf can somehow justify staying open with whatever number of skiers they are managing to pull in up there , god love em and i give em a ton of credit.....but in the real world where people have families and small kids and all the things that go along with that, the location of sugarloaf from boston is not going to be a reasonable choice for most....
yeah i did have a ridiculous experience at sugaloaf a while back....it's a new day up there and i would never hold that as a deciding factor if i was trying to decide on a trip now....they did outright lie about the terrain back on that trip....the lying was the cardinal sin...the distance was the last straw when combined with the lying....i'm sure if i went to sugarloaf and had a good time, i would be happy and would not be upset about the , in reality , 5 1/2 hour ride....anything less is gonna result in some pissed off people... and thats coming from a "sickie"....the non sickie ( families and people who pay full boat prices ) are not even gonna consider taking that risk...at least all of ones i know....
5 1/2 hours in the car is a manageable problem when your biggest responsibility/decision is what to eat for lunch. 5 1/2 hours with a tired wife and a couple of rugrats is a whole different story
The locals think Sugarlaof will make it to 5/4. Link: LINK Latest Loaf chat on snow cover
Joegm, sorry you had a bad experience with previous management. Boyne has been conservative on snow reporting this year. If the patrol deemed it not skiable until groomed, they didn't include it on the trail count. This resulted in low trail counts immediately following ice storms, counts that rebounded after 2 nights of grooming. Their snowfall reports were from base level, not the summit or upper mtn pockets. High management people have been conspicuously open and responsive on the non-mountain-sponsored chatroom. Boyne has won over the locals including (obviously) this skeptical ol' lizard. That doesn't make the drive from the rest of the world any shorter, but you can now rely on their snow/trail reports.
Joegm, sorry you had a bad experience with previous management. Boyne has been conservative on snow reporting this year. If the patrol deemed it not skiable until groomed, they didn't include it on the trail count. This resulted in low trail counts immediately following ice storms, counts that rebounded after 2 nights of grooming. Their snowfall reports were from base level, not the summit or upper mtn pockets. High management people have been conspicuously open and responsive on the non-mountain-sponsored chatroom. Boyne has won over the locals including (obviously) this skeptical ol' lizard. That doesn't make the drive from the rest of the world any shorter, but you can now rely on their snow/trail reports.
Marc_C
Active member
Actually, Sugarloaf is only about an hour further than Sunday River...and it is indeed a viable alternative for the Boston metro area, at around 4 hrs. or so. I met a lot of people from Boston who were regulars and/or pass holders who skied there because they didn't like the closer alternatives. Going to the Loaf via Lincoln NH is lunacy, as it adds a lot of miles and an awful lot of time (since you're on slow, 2-lane roads for a lot more miles). The sane way would be I-93/I-295-I-95 to Augusta, then ME Rt 27 for about 70 miles into Carrabassett Valley. My travel time from central CT (Wallingford) to the Loaf was typically 7+ hrs (which included a meal/gas stop and a couple of bio-breaks).joegm":1zip7z8w said:
Yes, I can understand how having your own place to stay can sway your travel decisions, but yours is far out of the way with respect to Sugarloaf. You have to look at the Loaf as its own ski trip, not as an alternative area from your ski house. Suggesting that it's 5-1/2 hrs from Boston is wildly inaccurate and a disservice.
joegm
New member
come on marc,, stop it....sugarloaf is 243 miles from my stoop in boston...that is smack dab in the the middle of the city....so add or subtract 10 miles or so from that for people on the south shore of boston or the north shore....240 is a reasonable average.... 240 miles with kids in a minivan....you say my estimate is not responsible? :? ....
most families with minivans or suv's i think bought them after the new warp factor 8 star trek engines became an option :shock: :roll: ....
your time of 4 hours would require an exact speed of 60 miles an hour from the second you left the curb till arrival at the lot....
2 pit stops for bathrooms breaks, traffic, slow country roads, and time to get to the lodge lift and load.....it's a 5 and 1/2 hour excursion.. not 4
and mapquest has sunday river to sugarloaf as 86 miles....that's not one hour on those roads
also wallingford ct to boston is 125 miles...if you give that 60 miles an hour with your 7 plus hour ride , that puts you at......what do you know, about 5 and 1/2 from boston..... :shock:
your the one doing a diservice....this is the no bull ski reports :lol:
most families with minivans or suv's i think bought them after the new warp factor 8 star trek engines became an option :shock: :roll: ....
your time of 4 hours would require an exact speed of 60 miles an hour from the second you left the curb till arrival at the lot....
2 pit stops for bathrooms breaks, traffic, slow country roads, and time to get to the lodge lift and load.....it's a 5 and 1/2 hour excursion.. not 4
and mapquest has sunday river to sugarloaf as 86 miles....that's not one hour on those roads
also wallingford ct to boston is 125 miles...if you give that 60 miles an hour with your 7 plus hour ride , that puts you at......what do you know, about 5 and 1/2 from boston..... :shock:
your the one doing a diservice....this is the no bull ski reports :lol:
Marc_C
Active member
First of all, I said "...about 4 hours or so..." (and I had intended to say "4+ hrs", but I think I lost the "+" in an edit).joegm":3doxx2c9 said:
Boston.com says:
Directions: Sugarloaf/USA is about 233 miles or 4 1/2 hours from Boston. Take Route 1 north to Interstate 95 north into Maine. Follow I-95/Maine Turnpike to exit 112B (Augusta). Take Route 27 north through Farmington and Kingfield
Mapquest says:
Estimated Time: 4.0 hours 26 minutes Estimated Distance: 233.72 miles
And we all know drivers who can easily shave 10 - 20 minutes off those estimates. I believe a good chunk of the Maine Turnpike has a limit of 70mph, and large portions of Rt. 27 are 55 - 60. I guess that all those folks from Boston who I met there over the years who told me that it took them between 4 and 4.5 hrs were either incapable of reading a watch or were lying. Admittedly, my deletion of the '+' gives an artificially low time impression, but I stand by my original thesis that it simply isn't 5.5 hrs from Boston.
joegm":3doxx2c9 said:
I don't disagree, nor does Mapquest (using Bethel -> Carrabassett Valley):
Estimated Time: 2.0 hours 8 minutes
Estimated Distance: 90.38 miles
However, a sane person wouldn't go to Sunday River and then head to Sugarloaf. The optimal routes to each are totally separate (for S.R., you'd get off I-95 in Gray, well before the Augusta exit to Sugarloaf; about 45 minutes sooner, IIRC).
joegm
New member
marc, anyone willing to drive 7 plus hours on any kind of regular basis is a ok with me....i know your a good guy.... but from the time one puts the car in drive in boston, till the time one is loading up onto the chair lift to start the actual skiing, i'm sticking with the 5 and 1/2 hour period....maybe a little less if you are not dealing with children..... and from the time one stops skiing till the time one is pulling back into the driveway in boston, i'm sticking with 5 1/2... :wink: