CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine — We’ve certainly been dealing with a lack of natural snow for the season so far, and there might not be much, if any, in your backyard. However, if you just head a bit north, there’s plenty to enjoy for the upcoming weekend.
"It is amazing what an hour's drive distance can make," Charli Sayward, communications manager at Sugarloaf, said. "I can say a lot of folks might be looking at bare grass in their front yard, but you just drive north to Sugarloaf and we’ve got a full snowy base."
In a winter that hasn't felt much like winter, Portland has received a whopping 6.8 inches of snow since fall at the Jetport. At Sugarloaf, you can multiply that by 10, totaling 68 inches of natural snow so far this season.
“We are third behind, I believe, Okemo and Killington for open terrain, so we are proud about that," Sayward explained. "We have our mountain ops team making snow every chance they can, and temps have been allowing that to happen on a pretty continuous streak.”
In these mixed precipitation-type storms that we've seen lately, Sugarloaf has been able to keep snow longer, and that new snow helps soak up the rain.
“Even when we do get a little bit of rain, it truly has not affected our terrain overall, and like I said earlier, those temperatures have bounced right back to get our snowmaking team out there,” Sayward said.
In addition to the more than 60 downhill trails available, Sugarloaf’s Outdoor Center is fully operational, though it was a challenge to get those trails open with the warmer start to the season.
“We have the ice rink open, we have all the trails open, we are in great shape. Our cross skiing has been excellent despite the early season challenges,” Sayward said.
Heading into the holiday weekend, Sugarloaf is celebrating "Halfway to Reggae" with live music expected throughout the weekend. Next weekend, the mountain will be hosting Olympic & X Game athletes for a special event.