Ski Trip Report Saddleback Maine - March 2, 2013

Juley getting it done on Muleskinner

We had a really, really, really, really, really good day at Saddleback. After our trip last week, we thought Saddleback was ready for the next dump. Dump acquired - CHECK. They received around 2 feet over the past week. The first foot and a half was a very heavy dense snow, then the next 6 inches a much lighter snow. It was just about perfect. A great base to cover everything up, and fluffy stuff on top to turn in.

@ISalisbury in a Casablanca Rock Huck

We were all over the mountain. Even the wife made the trek over to Muleskinner. When that happens you know the conditions are MINT. The head walls of Wardens Worry, Frostbite and Black Beauty were in decent shape and the main trails skied awesome. Golden Smelt skied the best it has skied all year. Parmacheenee Bell was spot-on. All the glades were buried and you could ski them with confidence knowing the cover was excellent and there was snow to turn in to slow down as needed.  The groomers were in excellent shape as well. Today was really just a day were you could pick a trail and GO FOR IT. All in all a primo day!

@alec_salisbury in Dark Wizard

There was a good crowd on the mountain. Lots of new faces and lift tickets on jackets so hopefully Saddleback had a good revenue day. We mostly stuck to the T-Bar and Upper Quad and although we had a few waits, the lift lines never got crazy long. It was cloudy with on and off light snow, but the winds were light when you got off the immediate summit, and the temps were in the mid to upper 20's.

 




One story from the day. As we were making our traverse over to Casablanca, up by the #4 entry there was 3 guys checking out the shoot, and a 4th fellow was lagging behind. Once he caught up he asked his buddies. "What's over here? I don't ski double-black trails. Any Groomers". Uh-oh I thought. His buddies said "No, but this Casablanca glade is like Lower Nightmare Glade and if you don't like it you can duck out to Muleskinner which isn't too bad". Ouch. Some friends he has taking him to the most challenging terrain on the mountain. We passed him going down Muleskinner where unfortunately he was falling every 2 turns and his buddies were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately the snow was soft, but shame on his "friends" for dragging him over there and he did not look like he was having much fun. That was an injury waiting to happen and hopefully he is OK.

Skiing in March is great. While the lowlands battle cold rain, wet snow and mud season, the ski mountains are in the best shape of the year. The snow is deep, the sun is higher, beers and BBQ on the Saddleback lodge deck and the skiing is awesome. It doesn't get any better than this at Saddleback! GO GET IT

Here is a quick video from one of my favorite trails Wardens Worry. There is a fun rock jump at the bottom and the old man lets out a classic "Moo" call. Nothing like spending quality family time in the Mountains of Maine.