Ride Delaware ?

Skillz=Catskills

All the major Skillz resorts will be open this weekend. Are you sure you want to end your season at a mountain that will give you the feeling that your soul has been sucked out? That's a bunch of months to be stuck with a depressing feeling. Platty it up!!!

Tons of snow up here! Awesome days loaded with sun. Think we are grilling up at the top tomorrow. 50s with a huge base. Open through this weekend, close next Mon-Fri, then open again Sat/Sun. Probably go to the Loaf the 27/28th... Great season!!!

Always so few cars there. I bet the skiing was awesome. Probably not enough people to run the lifts next week...

Sorry Schif, didn't see your flex criteria. The K2 T1 is incredibly stiff. I have put about 100 days on mine, and they are just loosening up a little now. I got the 11/12s, and they were a 9.5 out of 10 on stiffness. I think the 12/13s are a little more flexible at 9. Took me awhile to get used to not bending my knees, but I'm happy with them now. Unfortunately, the external lace loops are pointed and have cut my laces several times. I don't know what the 12/13s are like, but they need to be rounded.

I much prefer lace up exteriors, but I like the BOA inside... Gets tighter and stays tighter than the pull up lock laces...

Burton's customer service is pretty baller. If you call them with size and color of the boot, they will most likely send you a free speed lace that you can keep as a spare. I buy my own traditional laces, but for something like that, they will probably hook you up. As for the use of BOA and speed lace, I have only used BOA. I have the K2 T1 boots that have a traditional external lacing system with an internal BOA. They hadn't laced the BOA system correctly when I bought them, so they sent me the BOA tool and a new lace, and I was able to fix it fairly easily. Although the boots aren't the most durable I have had, the BOA fits all my needs. I was skeptical of going for them at first, but the internal BOA really locks my ankle down and can be easily adjusted by just pulling out the crank or tightening it. All of my roomies have Flow boots with the double BOA lace system, with the quick tighten mechanism where you push it, and it auto cranks the slack. Then you tighten to where you want it. One had the crank break, but BOA and Flow both sent new ones, and they were also an easy fix. I was also surprised with the strength of the wire. On the flip side, my boss at SR uses the speed lace system and all his boots the past 2-3 years have had it. He seems to be very happy with it considering he goes back to it year after year. If the teeth that catch the lace break your in a little bit of a pickle though. I'm not sure how easily they can be replaced. Overall, I am still in the middle with the BOA. However, now that I have owned a BOA system, I won't have a problem with using them in the future. I won't aim to just get a BOA system, but if the boot I want has BOA, I won't shy away from it. Since my boots this year have had some durability issues, And I can't send them back because I need them to work, I will most likely buy two pairs of boots next year. One of those will be the Burton Ambush, so I could end up with both.

Select terrain I am guessing?

My senior year was their first season of trying the new extended opening... I went on April 6 and they had the 8 trails off the Sullivan open with great coverage... I don't know what it looks like right now, but with cold temps they can push snow to where they need it, and hopefully offer a solid product...

I haven't taken a warm weather vacation in 10 years... I'd rather get some April PA turns in, even if it is CB...

Sounds like a PASR day is shaping up for Saturday

If I lived closer, I would definitely volunteer my time to help clear some glades and do little projects. Since I don't, I will support them with a little free press and my lift ticket $

Yes, only the bottom was open. Not enough money or public interest to rehab the upper lift yet. Also no services there as of yet. Next year the lodge will see some new siding and a new aluminum roof, so as they make improvements there, I would expect to see some work being done at the upper mountain area.

It's even more to your taste, since you can skin or snowshoe to the top. I was told that the current lease agreement doesn't allow uphill traffic up there, but that while they don't encourage it, they won't stop you. I heard from many folks that the top is where the good stuff is. Much more technical and advanced. They are hoping for cat rides up there next season, and they are also calling in someone to estimate the cost of fixing the summit double. I don't think there are any chairs on it at this time. After 9 years of sitting dormant, I would imagine that they have their work cut out for them.

If you like big mountains, like snowmaking, like high speed lifts, and still aren't sure what it means when someone says a mountain has soul, stop reading here (GSS?). It will save you a bunch of time since this is likely to be a long trip report. I never know until I am done writing them, but I feel a good one coming. In my various online searches for new and interesting mountains to ride, I came across Big Squaw. As a little background, Big Squaw is a 1,700' vertical mountain in Greenville, ME. It has two chairlifts that span this vertical. Both are fixed grips with the lower mountain lift being a triple, and the upper mountain lift being a double. In 2004, the double lift, which starts mid mountain at the hotel, derailed and several people were injured. The owner decided to forgo the expensive process of getting the lift fixed, and shut down the lift permanently. After that, the lower mountain lift was run on and off until 2010. The owner, who supposedly bought the mountain as a trophy, had no management experience, and let the place deteriorate under years of no maintenance. Since 2010, the mountain remained dormant and the lower mountain lodge and hotel incurred vandalism from local teenagers. In 2011, the town voted not to plow the access road unless the resort was operational. At the beginning of 2012, a group of interested locals decided that the town of Greenville, which is a wildly popular tourist spot in the summer due to the regions lakes and mountains, could truly become a year round tourist destination, and that the mountain needed to be saved before it could no longer be repaired. The Friends of Squaw Mountain formed a non-profit, began negotiations with the owner, and began fundraising. After lengthy negotiations that spanned into early 2013, the owner of the mountain finally agreed to lease the property to the organization for one year for $1. The group found many eager volunteers and they were able to clear the trails, fix and inspect the lift, and get the lodge in an operational state within a month. The resort, which has some snowmaking infrastructure, but no snow guns, needed natural snow to open, and on February 10, 2013, it was finally able to open to the public with the lower mountain lift cleared to spin. I am a huge underdog fan, and thats why I love resorts like Magic so much. When I did my research and found this mountain, I figured I would try to get there this season to support it. At the very least, I would get to try out the mountain in case it goes defunct again. After injuring my ankle, I haven't had many free days, but now that we are down to 4 day work weeks, I decided to go on my extra day off. They have a funky operating schedule (Mon/Wed 12-4, Fri-Sun 9-4), and today happened to coincide with a day off. It also happens to be their last day of the season. Considering they operate with natural snow only, and the days have been warmer, I decided I better get up there while I could. I woke up today as if it were a normal weekend work day at 5:15 and quickly got ready. I left the house for the 3 hour drive at 6:05. I got gas and energy drinks in town, and finally got on the road at 6:15. I used Google Maps instead of Waze as my GPS option today, and it went well... Most of the way. Eventually I was told to turn off on a side road, which went from a lined road one way in each direction with shoulders, to a narrow road with no lines and tons of dirt. Eventually that road led to just a muddy morass of a road with huge divots in it. My first instinct told me I was going the wrong direction, but I had read online that they had stopped plowing the road several years ago, and there was a sign to that effect. Furthermore, I know some resorts happen to be in the middle of nowhere, so I figured this must be the case. As would be the case, Pandora started crapping out on me due to bad service, so I knew I would be in a pickle if it was the wrong direction. 5 miles later at 25 mph, my fears were confirmed as I got to a sign that said "end of country road, private road ahead." Google Maps had the wrong address. I have since reported it. Luckily I had enough extended service to correct the address. I was only 20 miles away, but close to 45 minutes. 45 minutes later, I arrived at Big Squaw Mountain in Greenville, ME. I went to park in the first lot, but it was a muddy mess, probably 8 inches deep, so I followed the other 3 cars there, and parked on the road. After walking up to the lodge, which is pretty small, and definitely in need of some TLC, I walked in and bought my lift ticket for $25. I was maybe the 10th person there. The lift tickets and rentals happen to share a little room on the ground floor. The room is maybe 12' x 30', so it is pretty tight. Apparently most of the rentals used to be based out of the hotel/lodge, but that is not in operation at this time. Right around the corner was the bathrooms which are also pretty tiny. The mens room consisted of a single urinal, two stalls, and two sinks. Upstairs in the lodge is the kitchen and a small seating area, a game room for the kids, and a spillover seating area that is twice the size of the main one. I usually go with the PLB, but since it was pretty dead, I booted up in the lodge and left my bag there. The lift is maybe 50 feet away and slightly downhill of the lodge. I put on my board, rode down, and hopped on the lift. The whole lift ride takes about 6 minutes and services the 9 lower mountain trails. The first thing I noticed is how surprisingly good the coverage was for being all natural snow. The mountain leased a groomer, and all the open runs were groomed. I was surprised to find it to be 20 degrees when I woke up this morning, since temps have been hovering in the upper 20's at night lately, so that meant the first couple runs were a combination of firm and soft depending on the sun. I wish I could tell you all the names of the trails, but they dont have any trail maps with names, and Im not motivated enough to look up an old trail map. That being said, I do know several of the names of trails. There were two runs off skiers left of the lift. They were Alligash, which winds through the woods, and Exterminator which is the liftline. All of the runs are very tight up top, maybe only 25 feet wide, so the snow keeps very well. Alligash was pretty mellow for a Blue. It was tough to pick up and carry speed. Exterminator on the other hand, was the fastest run of the day by far. It was straight, had some nice little drops, and carried speed quite well. On skiers right of the lift was the Kennebec trail and the Fitzgerald trail, the latter of which winds around the outside of the mountain past the hotel/summit double. While both of these trails are listed as blues, I think that their rating system was quite generous. I think the only thing steep enough to be considered a black was the ungroomed top of the liftline. After racking up 10 runs in a pretty short amount of time, I stopped for lunch. They have a limited menu since its a small kitchen, but I got a steak sub for $5. The burgers were $4, so the food is pretty affordable. They also offered free beer to kill the kegs since it is the last day of the season. Since it is a long drive, I ate quickly and headed back out to the mountain. Today was ski day #33 for the mountain, and I am told they averaged about 100 skiers a day. There were maybe 40 people after lunch, as some slowly trickled in. The snow was really getting soft, and some of the open spots, where the trails are wider at the base, were really getting thin. Some puddles were also emerging. I decided on one more run on each of the trails before I headed out. I ended with a run down the lifeline. Overall, I was able to log 17 runs. It was a long drive, but definitely worth it and definitely fun. I packed up, bought some stickers, and prepared to leave. I ended up talking to the rental tech for a good while about the mountain. They are prepared to move forward this year and continue upgrades. The lodge, which now has a tarp over the overflow seating roof, will get a new metal roof. A company has also donated siding and windows for the back of the lodge. They are trying to buy the groomer, obtain a two year lease with the owner, and buy some used fan guns. The mountain has water pipes, hydrants, and a pump, but the owner sold all the snow guns and most of the electric boxes when he ran out of money, so they have to install some before they get started. It sounds like they have things under control and hopefully have a bright future. After all that, I finally have some pics. It by far and away has the most beautiful mountain scenery I have ever seen. It is right behind the Moose Head Lake Region and has Khatadin in the background. All those "fields" you see in the picture are actually lakes. Enjoy!!! Lift: Top of the Mountain in background: Old Handle Tow (Possible 2nd Life as Tubing Lift): Little Hangout Behind Lodge: Cars Parked on Road Behind Muddy Parking Lots: Liftline (Right Side Groomed, Left Side Still Shrubby): Typical Trail Width: Scenery Pics: Khatadin: Water Pipes and Some Miter Boxes in Place: Back of Lodge (Blue Tarp Roof to be Replaced Visible on Left): Pics of Old Hotel off Fitzgerald (Half the Roof in Good Shape): Tennis Courts Behind Hotel: Thin Spots Bottom of Mountain: Exterminator: Roach/Kennebec: Random Trail Pic: Lodge Pics:

I'm sure they are still rocking their typical 4 ft base also...

Raise your hand if you didn't see this question coming...

I won't disagree at all, but all things considered, I am happy with how things played out and where I will be. I won't complain at all about being fortunate enough to ride a damn good mountain. I do hope to get out west, but things have changed from this year to next, so I'm going to live it up in the MRV.

It's trip reports like these that make me feel like making Sugarbush my home mountain next year isn't such a bad idea!!!

We met. Just like M&Ms and Santa Clause, "he does exist." Unfortunately, I had to work that day. He caught up with me and we did a run, rode up together, and I pointed him in the right direction. He was meeting up with some Loafers and had to jet. My zone was Spruce for the day, so I had to stay there. I wish I could have shown him some other stashes, but he was able to find some of the good stuff. He stayed most of the day in Jordan, which as he stated, is known as the holy grail of Sunday River natural terrain, both on and off map. I saw him at the end of the day when I was doing some patrol activities, and he was off to the Bush. They got 6" last night and are supposedly getting anywhere from 3-10" tonight. He got lucky as long as the winds play in his favor. I wish we could have taken more runs, but it was a pleasure to meet him and I hope to meet more PASRs next year when I'm not "locked" down to one mountain.

Headed to SB tomorrow...

We are aiming for the 2nd/3rd weekend in April. Sugarloaf is Boyne's late season venture, so they aim for the 1st weekend or so of May.

They opened on a Thursday a couple years ago just to hit that number, then closed afterward, but I would imagine that if there is snow and that number is hit midweek, they will stay open at least through that weekend...

Any chance they push it past the Passholder party? They went a week past it like 3-4 years ago, but not recently. Any chance of that, or are those days over?

That would be a sweet PASR day, except it's a long drive from the A... Borderline out of day trip range...