Top 10 of the Ski Season
Column by Heather Burke April 6, 2008

You can keep skiing til May, no typo, no April fools, just plenty of deep snow on Maine’s slopes. You know how it snowed (and you shoveled) almost every day in January and February. All that winter white still blankets Maine’s mountains. Saddleback, Sunday River and Sugarloaf are all wide open and waiting for your turns. While its time to conclude the season’s column with my perennial top ten, by no means is it time to put the boards away.
Top Ten:

1. Snow. What a show Mother Nature put on for us this downhill season. Like pennies from heaven, Maine’s slopes received nature’s bounty and skier visits were up all around the state. Sunday River and Sugarloaf passed the 200 inch mark, so far Saddleback is at a whopping 262 (that’s over 21 feet if you need help with the math my friends). And lest we forget, April was the snowiest month last year, so there is a possibility of another 80+ inches (I hear your cheers and jeers – my husband’s tired of snowblowing too).

2. Maine’s snow season is supersized. Sunday River opened first in the East for skiing on Halloween, Oct. 31, and plans to stay open til April 27. Saddleback will keep spinning until April 20. Looking to take “last to close in the East” title, Sugarloaf is pledging to go til May 4!

3. Boyne made big news and fast friends in Maine in their inaugural season. Sugarloaf and Sunday River received some needed capital in the way of snowmaking and resort renovations. Most noticeable improvements were on employee faces. Jim Costello, V.P. at Sunday River, said, “People coming to Sugarloaf and Sunday River are commenting on how the employees are enthusiastic and feeling good about the new ownership. I have found that the people from Michigan, Boyne’s base, are very much like Mainers. They’re good people, sincere, hard-working and just good resort operators.”

4. A nod goes to Norman, the new lift attendant that worked the Sunday River lift line with a mission – to make everyone smile. Norman’s enthusiastic chants like “let’s put some pep in your step people” make my top ten, call it the spirit award. His cheery disposition raised the bar, so to speak, and upped the mood among the other uphill attendants throughout the resort.

5. Maine’s Peak to Peak Tour definitely makes my list as a top event, an adventurous group skied 17 Maine areas in one long January weekend. Their 1,000-mile odyssey caused a ripple effect, inspiring other families and individuals to explore more of Maine’s ski areas – particularly those lesser known mountains. A Ski Maine Pass for next season will be awarded to one lucky Peak to Peak participant, to be drawn in May.

6. Kids in Poland hit the jackpot. The New England Ski Museum awarded $1,000 grant to Poland High School and Middle School. Every year, the Ski Museum donates to worthy winter causes, these Poland students will now have funding to afford Nordic equipment to ski at two nearby cross-country touring centers.

7. In a less charitable nationwide contest, Burton sponsored “poach for Freedom” this season. Snowboarders competed for cold cash ($5,000) by filming themselves snowboarding at three skier-only resorts Deer Valley, Mad River Glen, and Alta. As of March 19, Taos in New Mexico now allows snowboarding –so there are now only three holdouts that ban boarding. Burton posed the question (in its poach-promotional material), “why can’t we all get along?” I would respectfully reply, why can’t three private resorts remain skiers only? Well, poached they did – and prize money was won. Whatever dude!

Looking forward:
8. Boyne brings more coin. Sunday River will receive $14 million in upgrades this summer. Cha-ching, here comes the much chatted about “chondola”. Next season, skiers will ride a six-passenger chair from South Ridge to North Peak, or an eight-passenger gondola car which is interspersed on the same cable – hence the chondola name. With Sunday River’s new lift, 12-hour skiing is being considered for next winter. At Sugarloaf, snowmaking will get a big boost ($5mill), doubling its capacity for next season so that all the terrain can open by Christmas, and resurfacing can be addressed during those inevitable rain/thaw events. No new lift for the Loaf just yet.

9. Saddleback is slated to get a new lift for next winter, a fixed grip quad will provide cushier access to the summit, replacing the funky old Kennebago T-bar.

10. The New England Pass is out. Buy now for next season and you can ski free at The Loaf and The River for the rest of this season, and you can add Boyne sister resort Loon in New Hampshire to your alpine agenda next season, plus bonus days at Boyne’s western resorts like Brighton and Big Sky. Best deal on this pass ends April 30.

Best of all, there is still a month of Maine skiing on the calendar. Sugarloaf has yet to host its 20th annual Reggaefest, the biggest on snow party of the season April 10-13. Bethel’s freeskier boy, Simon Dumont, has yet to huck that huge kicker on Sunday River’s Airglow to beat the record books. There are season passholder barbeques, beach parties in ski boots, and probably the best turns of the season still be had.

I hope to see you out there, thanks for reading this season. 
 

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