GOING THE EXTRA MILE TO SKI SUGARLOAF

Sugarloaf is probably the most difficult major Northeast ski resort for me to access, with nearby Saddleback Mountain being the second most. Keep in mind, I live in northern New York. Many of the largest ski resorts in the East are relatively close and I can day trip a ton of ski resorts. But Sugarloaf is a fairly lengthy drive from my house, so it requires a hotel stay. On top of that, a significant part of the drive is through the middle of nowhere on slow windy roads, which just makes for an extra long feeling drive.

View from the base.

*Just a heads up that I don’t know this mountain well, so most pictures don’t have captions.*

I’ve had the Ikon Base Pass the last two seasons, which gets me 5 days at Sugarloaf, so it’s been on my radar for a while now, but I’ve needed a good opportunity to go. With me skiing Wildcat and Sunday River the last two days, and staying in the area as a result, today was finally a great window for me to ski Sugarloaf. So this morning I hopped in the car and made the 2.5 hour drive up there from my hotel. I literally passed the entrance to Sunday River in the process. I’m glad I headed up there, because this mountain is awesome!

For those not familiar with Sugarloaf, it’s located in western Maine and it’s one of the largest ski areas in the East. It’s got a vertical drop of 2,820 ft., 1,360 skiable acres, which is good for 176 runs, and 15 lifts. It’s also the only ski area in the East where you can ski above tree line by way of a lift. As I approached the mountain this morning, I was taken back by the view of the actual mountain. It was beautiful and reminded me of Whiteface and Stowe in terms of grandeur. Parking was a breeze, and the mountain was empty. I never waited for a single lift today, which is always great! It was an amazing day weather wise, with plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures.

Since this was my first time at Sugarloaf, and the resort is huge, I spent the first part of my day just figuring out the layout of the resort. Once I got that down it was relatively easy to get to where I wanted to go. They had 150 runs open, with 66 of them having been groomed. Sadly, the Timberline Lift, which provides access to the actual summit, was not open due to wind. However, Skyline and King Pine, which both get you pretty close to the summit, were open.

Riding the King Pine lift.

Sugarloaf has a lot of great groomers, with some of them being pretty steep. Conditions on the groomers were great. You had packed powder everywhere, with the occasional firm spot thrown in to the mix. The natural terrain was better up high. As you descended the mountain, there were more rocks, etc. poking through, but overall it wasn't too bad. I didn’t get in the trees much, but the ones I did were low down on the mountain, and while there was some stuff poking through, it was all easily avoidable.

From views around the resort of the mountain itself, to views of the nearby mountains, Sugarloaf has got a lot of great views. I’d rate it pretty high in this category. I’m not saying you need to be there on a sunny day, but it certainly isn’t a bad idea. Overall, I had a great first time skiing at Sugarloaf. Between the volume and variety of terrain, the views, and everything else, this place has a ton to offer and I will definitely be back, maybe even this season!

Never Quit Skiing,

Lincoln