Saddleback and Sugarloaf, ME: 3/6 - 3/8/23

PXL_20230307_165012906.jpg
 
I have been meaning to get up there on the Indy Pass, finally got there yesterday. It was my fifth time at Saddleback since 2006, but my first time there since 2011. A lot has changed (high-speed quad and every chair full!), but a lot has not.

The Kennegabo quad is perhaps the best expert terrain pod in the east. Many skiers find Casablanca to be the highlight, but I much prefer the tighter, steeper, and more variable lines in Nightmare, Intimidator, and Dark Wizard (DW being one of my all time favorite on map glades ever, though it is not as tight as when I first skied it in 2006).

Still plenty of fun off the high speed quad, too. Jane Craig, Professor, and the off map tress surrounding those trails are a hoot, interesting terrain and good pitch.

The best non-glade trail is Parmachene Belle, the blue square rating may confuse many groomer focused skiers. Winding and mellow in nature, the soft and tight bumps just roll along.

I am kinda stunned (in a good way!) at how little Saddleback grooms given how much more busy the place is. I assumed more of the trails would have been rolled out by now, given increased crowds. But that hasn't happened.

Mostly great conditions with occasional hard pack scratch in high traffic and wind blown areas. Glades generally held super nice snow.

When I left, parking was over a mile down the access road, but lift lines were never long. They need to address the parking situation.

Lift ticketing was a shit show. I got there at 8:30am and waited 30 minutes to pay $5 for an RFID card to use my Indy. By the time I got my ticket, the line was twice as long, stretching back the entire length of the building, past the café. Probably an hour wait at its worst. Never seen anything like that, especially on a non-powder day.

riverc0il said:
Last time I went 16NH to 16ME was about a dozen years ago, it was a total roller coaster. Berlin to Erol got some paving done recently. I did that stretch on my road bike last summer and it was very nice. I remember 16ME after Erol was bad, but not epic like NH16. I assume it is much worse now?

I've used ME17 from Mexico more recently, but that can be nasty too (unless it has gotten paved since the last time I was up there)? The drive to Saddleback is long enough without the roads being atrocious. Just part of the experience.
Click to expand...

To keep the drive interesting, I wanted to see how bad these roads were, so I looped 16 out to 17 back. NH16 is night and day improved since my last time using that road. ME16 was overall not bad, but where it was bad... it was the worst.

The road has disintegrated in places, passable only in single lane and at crawl speeds. But the chaos was interspersed with okay sections, making things unpredictable. "Frost Heave" signs were almost funny, as the road destruction was a few levels beyond even the worst bumps and heaves. For sure, not recommended.

ME17 from Rangeley to Mexico featured 2-3 miles of the worst "paved" road that I have ever driven. Unlike ME16, the destruction and chaos was contained to one stretch, the rest of the road was perfect. But that 2-3 miles was done at 1-10 MPH, with occasional near stopping to crawl over the worst of the damage. Constant fear of high centering, on so-called pavement. It was a pavement war zone. If it was much worse, it would not be passable in a car with standard ground clearance. In a snow storm, I would avoid at all costs. Too bad, as it is a very nice and pretty road, otherwise.

Benny's suggestion of 142 is probably the best option from points west using US 2 from NH. Given the slow downs required on 16 and 17, 142 may not only be better road conditions but also ultimately faster despite the added miles.
 
Funny. I mentioned to my sister's that they were the easiest ticket buying experience. I bought the ticket and the RFID card online. Walked up the the kiosk, it scanned my phone and it popped the ticket. I wonder if you bought the RFID card online whether that could be avoided.
I was thinking that big old quad was comfy with great terrain around it.
Both saddleback and sugarloaf have the jat bars. Are they for racers or wind holds?
 
Tjf1967 said:
Funny. I mentioned to my sister's that they were the easiest ticket buying experience. I bought the ticket and the RFID card online. Walked up the the kiosk, it scanned my phone and it popped the ticket. I wonder if you bought the RFID card online whether that could be avoided.
I was thinking that big old quad was comfy with great terrain around it.
Both saddleback and sugarloaf have the jat bars. Are they for racers or wind holds?
Click to expand...
Yeah, our experience was just walking up to a machine after buying card and day pass online, scanning phone, and, bam, out came card. Then we refilled card online for the second day, went straight to lift. Totally modern experience. Stuns me that a big mountain like Stratton has kids scanning passes with handheld devices.

Passes are much cheaper at Saddleback if you buy online at least a few days before.
 
riverc0il said:
I have been meaning to get up there on the Indy Pass, finally got there yesterday. It was my fifth time at Saddleback since 2006, but my first time there since 2011. A lot has changed (high-speed quad and every chair full!), but a lot has not.

The Kennegabo quad is perhaps the best expert terrain pod in the east. Many skiers find Casablanca to be the highlight, but I much prefer the tighter, steeper, and more variable lines in Nightmare, Intimidator, and Dark Wizard (DW being one of my all time favorite on map glades ever, though it is not as tight as when I first skied it in 2006).

Still plenty of fun off the high speed quad, too. Jane Craig, Professor, and the off map tress surrounding those trails are a hoot, interesting terrain and good pitch.

The best non-glade trail is Parmachene Belle, the blue square rating may confuse many groomer focused skiers. Winding and mellow in nature, the soft and tight bumps just roll along.

I am kinda stunned (in a good way!) at how little Saddleback grooms given how much more busy the place is. I assumed more of the trails would have been rolled out by now, given increased crowds. But that hasn't happened.

Mostly great conditions with occasional hard pack scratch in high traffic and wind blown areas. Glades generally held super nice snow.

When I left, parking was over a mile down the access road, but lift lines were never long. They need to address the parking situation.

Lift ticketing was a shit show. I got there at 8:30am and waited 30 minutes to pay $5 for an RFID card to use my Indy. By the time I got my ticket, the line was twice as long, stretching back the entire length of the building, past the café. Probably an hour wait at its worst. Never seen anything like that, especially on a non-powder day.



To keep the drive interesting, I wanted to see how bad these roads were, so I looped 16 out to 17 back. NH16 is night and day improved since my last time using that road. ME16 was overall not bad, but where it was bad... it was the worst.

The road has disintegrated in places, passable only in single lane and at crawl speeds. But the chaos was interspersed with okay sections, making things unpredictable. "Frost Heave" signs were almost funny, as the road destruction was a few levels beyond even the worst bumps and heaves. For sure, not recommended.

ME17 from Rangeley to Mexico featured 2-3 miles of the worst "paved" road that I have ever driven. Unlike ME16, the destruction and chaos was contained to one stretch, the rest of the road was perfect. But that 2-3 miles was done at 1-10 MPH, with occasional near stopping to crawl over the worst of the damage. Constant fear of high centering, on so-called pavement. It was a pavement war zone. If it was much worse, it would not be passable in a car with standard ground clearance. In a snow storm, I would avoid at all costs. Too bad, as it is a very nice and pretty road, otherwise.

Benny's suggestion of 142 is probably the best option from points west using US 2 from NH. Given the slow downs required on 16 and 17, 142 may not only be better road conditions but also ultimately faster despite the added miles.
Click to expand...
Yup, 142 was much much better.

I was like, really?, wtf?, when I would see a "Bump" sign on 16. Thanks for the warning. The whole damn road is one big bump.
 
I saw the device for getting an RFID card if you purchased online. Not available for Indy Pass (at least according to the Saddleback web site Indy Pass page). Next year the new Indy ownership promises a unified RFID card shipped to the buyer, which will help out at many Indy areas.

They also have a "second day Indy" table (so, you can avoid the line if you are using a second redemption). And, they had two people walking the line trying to help guests out. So, I think they know it is an issue. Clearly, they are having growing pains.
 
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