New England's Largest Ski Expansion Is Officially Open
Sugarloaf Mountain, ME, has above-treeline skiing, over 1,000 acres of glades, and a larger vertical drop than even Palisades Tahoe, CA, on the opposite coast. And it goes without saying that Sugarloaf has soul.
What more could it possibly need? As it turns out, the answer was more intermediate terrain to balance things out for all types of skiers at Maine's largest resort.
Officials at Sugarloaf released a video, just under 4 minutes long, detailing the West Mountain Expansion.
Like most skiers who grew up skiing one particular mountain, I will always consider Sugarloaf home, no matter where the next drops into future lines are planned on my horizon.
To learn about the recent development, I called Sugarloafers ranging from homeowners to lifelong locals to business owners, starting with Lionel Hering.
Lionel is a French ex-pat, former ski racer, and current ski shop owner of Happy Tunes in Kingfield, ME (Carrabassett Valley). When asked to describe himself, he simply said, "Sugarloaf used to have a campaign where they said 'Sugarloafer since ____.' I'd be 'Sugarloafer since 1986'. That's when I started working there, as well.
Was this the most extreme change he'd seen in his time at Sugarloaf? Lionel pondered this, saying, "we were all really excited when Burnt Mountain opened up. For the more experienced skier, it was truly a sense of renewed adventure."
Hering, however, attributed the West Mountain expansion largely to the property development taking place in that area of Sugarloaf.
This expansion had been in the blueprints for a while now, with the goal being to create family-oriented terrain. He had heard people talk about buying property on West Mountain, but then feeling as if the full project didn't pan out.
West Mountain chair didn't always run, and people were forced to take the shuttle to the hill. With the new lift, the access for people on West Mountain has done a complete 180.
With the project having reached fruition as of February 20th (about a week after its originally expected finish line), these same people are raving about West Mountain.
When I asked Chris Kleeman, a West Mountain homeowner, how long he had been anticipating the West Mountain expansion. He responded, "since we bought the condo 5 years ago."
"We have five girls from 6 to 15, and what's nice is that it has these wide open trails that the young kids enjoy. The lift is easy to get on and off of, and opens up into these wide open trails with this amazing vista. You ski right alongside that and hold that view for a long time."
Besides families and kids, many people I spoke with also mentioned the "day skier" who can now change right out of their car, like a West Coast resort, as opposed to trekking to the base lodge and going from there.
This improved access was something multiple people touched on, remarking on how much easier the direct parking lot to lift access was as opposed to Parking Lot D or taking the shuttles from further off mountain.
Anand Rugani, a West-Coast-turned-East-Coast skier, now Sugarloaf homeowner, said, "it makes the access way better. He was able to park and walk to the lift, which is impossible from the rest of the mountain. It opens up immediate lift access without a shuttle ride."
Lionel, like many businesspeople in Carrabassett Valley, are excited about the new traffic. "We might call ourselves independent business people, but the reality is that we're right at the hip of Sugarloaf's well being. Without the mountain, there's nothing."
I made a comment about the timeframe for the project, given the floods, saying it seemed tough. Lionel exclaimed, "Wicked tough! Everything had to line up, and it felt like everything didn't line up."
"I know there were delays, but especially with the floods of December, we didn't know if it would happen this year. I don't know how they pulled it off. It's remarkable."
"The crews that were on it, in typical Sugarloaf way, with minimalist crews, long hours, and strong hardships, still pulled it off."
Sugarloafer Bea Johnson elaborated on this ethos, saying, "there were some people looking for a big fancy lift with high capacity like some of the other resorts, but I think the high speed quad they put in stays true to the sugarloaf spirit. The people who have been skiing this mountain for years like it for it’s grit, character and community. Mainers don’t need the bells and whistles for a fun day out on the mountain."
The most common reflection I heard when Sugarloafers described West Mountain came when describing the stunning views. "Breathtaking," "gorgeous," "beautiful," and variations of those adjectives were all but unanimous among the people I spoke with.
Anand Rugani said, "you are a little lower, and you feel like the actual mountain is in the distance, but coming down you have a whole different view. It feels like the Bigelows are right in front of you. It's distinct from the rest of the mountain."
Sugarloaf photographer Nathaniel Kaye noted that from a practical standpoint, "it gives Sugarloaf a lot of trails that the mountain was missing, something between Whiffletree and the SuperQuad. So far, the lift lines at lifts like SuperQuad and Skyline have been shorter than you'd guess from driving up the access road, too."
Dave Koenig, a family friend and CVA teacher, introduced me to his father-in-law, Jim Bishop, who has been a Sugarloafer since the early '60s and skied West Mountain all last week.
When I asked Jim how he had been liking the terrain so far, he said, without missing a beat, "nothing but perfect."
He explained that his wife and himself are around 80. "We both have physical issues when it comes to skiing, but this mountain is perfect for somebody who either wants to learn, or someone who may fear difficult terrain."
"The views are unbelievable, the lengths of the trails are surprisingly long, and the crowds are nonexistent. It's not going to be overrun by big shots, speed merchants, or racers. The sunlight gets right in there early in the morning, and it's positioned for maximum sunlight."
"They couldn't have come up with a better way to round out what Sugarloaf offers. Back in the '50s and '60s, you had to have some skill to ski it. It was expert level and icy, but it was the gold standard. Now, it opens it up to a whole range of abilities and physical capabilities."
"It could extend my skiing career by 5 or 10 years."
At the end of the day, that's what it's all about.
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