Sugarloaf, ME, Report: Soft, Springlike Conditions for Winter Break

Jake Benton | | Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report
The Sugarloaf Sign at the entrance of the access road. | Credit: Author

Report from Saturday, December 28, and Sunday, December 29

Sugarloaf in Maine is the second largest ski area on the East Coast, with just over 1,300 acres of terrain for skiers and riders to enjoy. The resort often has some of the best conditions in the Northeast due to its north-facing, high-elevation terrain, and robust snowmaking system, which covers about 95% of trails. All of these factors mean that Sugarloaf is routinely one of the best options to visit over winter break.

We arrived at Sugarloaf at about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 28, where soft snow and sunny skies awaited us. Since there were only a couple of hours before the lifts closed, we decided to tour a lap. We parked in the G lot, got all of our gear on, strapped skins onto our skis, and set off down the trail.

We glided down to the Bucksaw Express, a relatively new high-speed-quad lift that opened last season, as part of the new West Mountain expansion. At the bottom of Bucksaw, a ski patroller gave us directions for the uphill route, which followed a couple of long, meandering green trails to the summit of West Mountain.

Skinning up the Chipper trail on West Mountain. | Credit: Author

After quite the trek, about two miles (3.2 kilometers) and 1,500 feet (457 meters) to the top, we were ready for the descent. We followed the trails; Whistle Punk, Beaver Trail, Knot Bumper, and Chipper, the same ones that we had ascended. The conditions were pretty decent, with soft, easily turnable snow, and ample amounts of small jumps on the sides of the trail. Once at the bottom, we hiked up about 50 feet back to the car. We had hoped to ski right back to it but had taken the wrong trail on the way down.

The Bucksaw Express: the flagship lift of the new West Mountain Expansion. | Credit: Author

On the morning of Sunday, December 29, we rolled into the main parking lot at about 8:25 a.m. After picking up our day tickets, we drove back down to the G lot by the Bucksaw Express, put on our gear, and skied down to the lift.

At the top of West Mountain once again, we opted to ski over to the main face of the mountain, near the Superquad and Skyline lifts. The conditions on the descent were firm yet carvable in the shaded areas and soft, springlike snow where the sun had hit it. After taking a run down the main face, on the Spillway trail, we made our way over to the Whiffletree lift, and then the King Pine lift, the farthest left area on the mountain.

The snow by King Pine was soft, as it was the first area that the sun had hit in the morning. Two groomers were accessible from the lift, one blue and one black. Both were relatively steep and just about equally as fun, perfect for some surfy turns while the rest of the mountain was still firm. After a couple of runs at the King Pine area, we headed back over to Superquad at about 10:00 a.m.

By the time we arrived back at Superquad, most of the mountain had softened up nicely. We tried out a few runs on the front side, with Pinch to Tote Road to Haywire being my favorite, as it had some soft, slushy bumps in a few areas, making for some great turns.

We kept skiing Superquad until about 1:30 when we headed back over to West Mountain to have lunch at Bullwinkleโ€™s. The food at Bullwinkleโ€™s was great, along with the service, and we will definitely be back sometime soon, or whenever we pay Sugarloaf another visit. Once we finished eating, we headed back down to Bucksaw Express for another few runs before the end of the day.

Our last few runs on Bucksaw were great, with minimal crowds and great views to go with solid snow conditions. Our favorite route was the one that we had ascended the day before, Chipper to Knot Bumper to Beaver Tail, and finally, Whistle Punk. We skied until about when the lifts closed and ended the day by skiing right back to where the car was parked.

Looking ahead, the conditions should be solid at Sugarloaf to start January. Seven inches of snow fell between January 1-2, which helped bring conditions back to normal or better after the rainstorm on December 30. Cold temperatures will also return soon, allowing for the snow guns to fire back up and open even more terrain.

Snow Numbers

Current snowfall statistics at Sugarloaf. | Credit: Sugarloaf

Weather Outlook

Weather outlook for Sugarloaf, Maine. | Credit: National Weather Service

 

Photos

A pretty solid turn on the Chipper trail. | Credit: Author
One of the terrain parks under the Whiffletree lift. | Credit: Author
Riding up the Skyline chair, with the Spillway run in the background. | Credit: Author
Pretty great views from the top of the mountain. | Credit: Author
Looking towards the top of the mountain from West Mountain. Bullwinkleโ€™s is the roof on the right of the photo. | Credit: Author
Riding up the King Pine chair. | Credit: Author
A pretty solid jump (and action photo) up by the Timberline lift and trail pod. | Credit: Author

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