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Saddleback, Maine 2/23
Yesterday I skied Saddleback. It's a 4000 footer with about 1800 feet vert; about 45 minutes from the Loaf. Kinda MRG-ish with some narrow, winding trails; and plenty of bumps; but not as much since it doesn't have the traffic that MRG does. It's under new management this year. The previous owners were charging 50 dollar lift tickets for two doubles and a few t bars. They plan to add some new trails which is now possible because the forestry service lifted their ban on cutting trails (it's part of the Appalachian trail).
Decided to visit my parents cabin up in Rangeley; which is basically where the mountain is. Got up monday; a dusting on the car. Lots of snow up there. They probably got a foot total over the past 48 hours. The mountain is 7 miles off of Route 4. I've got all wheel drive; I'm doing 40 on a winding, snow covered road, and I get passed; nice.
Get to the mountain. There's like 8 cars in the parking lot. Score a student ticket at 25 bucks with my old college id (an adult is only 28). Only the lower lifts are running at this point. I reaquaint myself with t-bars. Hit a groomer to warm up. The softest groomed snow I've ever been on. My edges sunk in a good 3 or 4 inches. If there were traffic, it would've bumped up real nice. By this point all the lifts are running.
Next run I hit a glade on the mid part of the mountain. Not too steep; but super tight. Kinda tough to get a rhythm because you can't see too far ahead. Nice snow; though. A little thick; but hardly tracked. This place is deserted; it looks like the yellowstone club; running lifts with no one on them.
Get up to the upper mountain. The trails there are a combination of ice and wind blown powder that's as thick as mud. Definitely need some wider boards for that. It's manageable if you've got some speed. There are two glades off the top. One is open, the other is tight; both are steep. Muleskinner is the flagship run. This is a trail that was cut; but never cleaned out because of the bans. It's far removed from the rest of the mountain. For a good 10 minutes I'm poling through fresh snow - a four foot wind drift. When I get there, the top is a little icy but once it drops in a bit it's nice with a foot of moderately thick powder. No problem since its pretty steep. The bumps are all filled in; but there's some natural terrain to work with. Narrow, steep, winding, and multiple fall lines - I like it; lots of fun. Not as challenging as I thought it would be; but I'm sure it would be with big, icy bumps. The traverse at the bottom has enough pitch to glide back without a problem.
I can see this mountain getting even better as the owners plan to cut more trails and glades; and vow to maintain the old school character. I'd like to see a top to bottom lift and some top to bottom runs. I think this will be fine because the mountain is just too far out of the way to get crowded and skied off. On the way out I counted 23 cars in the parking lot; plus there are some condos.
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That mountain fackin rocks, there is tougher stuff in Muleskinner...you just gotta know where to go. Went up there a few times last season when the loaf was on windhold and Saddleback had no wind and was empty. The few days I was there I asked how many lift tickets they had sold, and the amount was never more than 20. There are some killer unmarked glades between trails, and the some of the cut trails have some nice drops. The mountain reminds me of Castlerock at sugarbush. Add to that the cheap tickets, no crowds, great hike to terrain, and snowfields a short distance from the T bar and you have one of the best mountains in New England. The way its going now, I'll probably rock a Saddleback pass instead of the ASC one.
Hmmm, maybe a Saddleback EC minisummit next year? Skiing, ice fishing, and slednecking around Rangley?
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Saddleback kicks ass! Lot's of great terrain features in the woods and it was never crowded.
http://www.saddlebackskiarea.com/ima...in-Photo-s.jpg
The vert is nothing spectacular, but nice and sustained, especially on Dazzler and the 'mule. Lot's of room for expansion, yet there hasn't been a whole lot done since the late 80's.
There's some great fishing and 'biling up around Rangely too.
