Lost At SKI

Day 62 – January 21, 2012 – Sugarloaf, ME – Website   |   Facebook Page   |   Twitter 

I have never been to Maine and it was exactly as I expected, weird but quaint.

My vision of Maine was basically a hodgepodge of Stephen King novels.

I had no idea what the skiing would be like at Sugarloaf. From the moment we arrived Sugarloaf treated us well.

We met some really friendly folks at the guest services desk. They were really interested, actually enthusiastic about our trip.

We spoke to some strangers on a lift who were eager to tell us how much they loved skiing in Maine. Everyone seemed friendly and were having fun even though the wind chill was sub zero. I broke out the hand warmers for the first time of the trip. They worked amazingly and my fingers stayed comfortable all day.

The day started out overcast with light snow and we heard from everyone that the day before had been a fantastic powder day with 10″ of new snow. We had a great time on the smooth, silky runs.

The clouds parted towards evening and we were treated to an amazing sunset.

My jeep and our daily routine packing.

We didn’t stay at the Sugarloaf hotel but I would definetly recommend it. It is right next to the lifts and the views are astounding.

We head to Boston for some R&R and some playoff football.

Matt – Sugar Mountain was Sweet Skiing. #SloganMachine

Day 61 – January 20, 2012 – Loon, NH – Website   |   Facebook Page   |   Twitter 

We pulled into Lincoln New Hampshire at 8pm and it just started snowing. We woke up to 8″ of fresh snow. We knew the day ahead would be fun, maybe even Epic. Loon didn’t disappoint.

When the sign has snow on it you know the mountain is going to be rocking.

On this trip powder days have been few and far between. Loon gave us a legit powder day and we took advantage. By the time we took some pictures and video the mountain had been pretty eaten up, but untouched fresh powder could still be found throughout the day if you got close enough to the trees.

The weather was perfect for our visit. 8″ of snow the night before and then clear blue skies with little wind all day. Perfect.

The pictures don’t do it justice. We had a great time and I loved skiing at Loon.

I think a trip to Boston and ride up to Loon is mandatory soon.

Matt – Loon + Pow = Loonpow

Day 60 – January 19, 2012 – Killington, VT – Website   |   Facebook Page   |   Twitter 

From New York to Vermont and another blue bird ski day. Killington was the most famous Northeast ski resort I had heard about before the trip. I was really looking forward to riding it and Killington didn’t dissappoint.

I have to make a point of how convenient the access to Killington is. We drove right up to the base of K-1 Gondola, unloaded our gear, drove a couple hundred feet to park and were in the lift headed up in a total of 5 minutes.

Killington is huge and we spent all day exploring different slopes. We didn’t take very many pictures because we were having so much fun.

I had a pretty impressive crash on a bumpy, snowmaking-in-progress, black diamond run and lost a ski. Luckily Mickey was able to grab it and bring it down. I was able to avoid the Skier walk (up hill stumble) walk of shame.

Killington really reminded me of Western skiing and that’s why they call it “the Beast of the East”.

Matt – Beast’d Out

Day 59 – January 18, 2012 – Gore Mt, NY – Website   |   Facebook Page 

I heard from a fellow skier at Lutsen Mountain a couple weeks ago that Gore mountain had a reputation for Ice. Here ya go:

The top of the mountain definitely had some icy spots.

But we figured out some good runs and found some nice courdoroy and even some left over powder.

It was a frigid day especially up on the high slopes.

But we had clear blue skies all day.

Gore mountain is famous for “the Rumor” – 70% pitch and one of the steepest runs in the East. Plenty of Videos on Youtube . It was closed on our visit although snow was predicted for the next couple of days. Unfortunately we had to move on.

Gore  was a welcome return to “big mountain” skiing. I look forward to returning in the future with some lake effect snow allowing me to ride the rumor.

Matt – The mountain that loves you back, aww.

Hey guys,

We have been skiing everyday this week and then driving to the next stop. PA>NY>VT>NH>ME>MA.

It’s been hectic to say the least. We’ll have a big update this weekend when we get a day off in Boston.

Until then our Facebook Page has some pictures of the last few days.

Matt

Day 58 – January 17, 2012 – Blue Mountain, PA – Website   |   Facebook Page   |   Twitter 

It was pouring rain for the morning and then foggy the rest of the day. There weren’t many people on the mountain because of the weather and it was the Tuesday after MLK.

We took a few pics, filmed some video, and hit some sweet jumps. Matt crashed big time holding the camera, but he was ok.

Blue Mountain was really fun and with normal weather conditions it would be a great place to ski, snowboard, and play!

If you live in Pennsylvania definitely check it out!

Matt – That…. was a close one

Day 56 – January 15, 2012 – Boyne Mountain, MI – Website   |   Facebook Page   |   Twitter 

For the last 3 days Mickey and I have been horribly sick. But we had to continue the tour.

We didn’t experience all of Boyne rather just a quick visit. We went up, skied down, and called it a completed stop on the trip. Besides, we didn’t want to spread our germs to the good people sitting next to us on a crowded MLK weekend.

We took some pics and posted a lot more on our Facebook Page.

Oh and someone pulled a “Harry Dunn” 

Matt – Living off Flu Meds

For the next two weeks we’ll be hitting the NE. Here’s the Schedule:

• Tues 1/17 – Blue Mountain – PA
• Wed 1/18 – Gore Mountain – NY
• Thurs 1/19 – Killington – VT
• Fri 1/20 – Loon – NH
• Sat 1/21 – Sugarloaf – ME

Next Week

• Yawgoo – RI
• Bershire East – MA
• Mohawk – CT
• Mt. Creek – NJ

Today has been a day of recovery. Mickey and I both experienced cold/flu like symptoms. We took a day off from skiing to get better.

The skiing starts again Sunday at Boyne in Michigan.

Matt - Rest and Oranges 

Mad River Mountain – Website   |   Facebook Page   |   Twitter 

The drive from Cincinnati to Mad River in Zanesfield, OH was a leisurely voyage through rural Ohio. When we arrived the rain was pouring  down  and the radar showed the snow/rain line from the winter storm a few miles away.

We met the marketing director and noticed a bulletin board covered with posters advertising different special events. College Night Thursday, Terrain Park tour stops, special deals all throughout the Winter. I think it’s a great idea for ski resorts to keep things fresh with new events and specials each week. It gives the season pass holders some exciting things to see and pushes new folks to come out and take a look at something different.

Mad River has a reputation for having a great terrain park so we made our way right over. Heading up the lift we noticed a huge jump near the bottom directly in front of the lodge windows. It’s a great idea to have an awesome signature park feature directly in view of the lodge patrons. Entertainment while you eat.

The jumps in the terrain park were built superbly with nice angled inclines and smooth declines. Mickey and I went pretty aggressive and got the most air of the trip so far on Mad River’s jumps. The soft snow made for smooth landings. The snow was coming down pretty good, dropping an inch or two while we skied.

A little ride in the dark.

Matt – Never learned why they call it Mad River, hmm.