Sugarloaf (ME) via ski trails?

[Double Bow]

I'm wondering what the best route is to climb Sugarloaf via the ski trails. I want to go up there on my snowshoes. Also, do they have night skiing there?

 

[MichaelJ]

It was done recently, have a look here. They do not have night skiing. This is possibly not an optimal route - Hayburner has a hella headwall, and at the time of that hike, was not groomed.

Tote to Scoot to Bullwinkles, then Binder to the top might work out better. Be careful on Binder, though, it's a work road and there's little room for you if a snow cat wants to be there, too.

In summer we hiked up under the West Mountain chair ... anyone know how that is in winter? It's certainly very rarely even used...

 

[Double Bow]

Hmmm... I just looked at a map and maybe Tote all the way would be good? Any reason it wouldn't be the best way to go? Something shorter without being steeper?

Thanks for the info about there not being night skiing. My friend Mr. Swiss Bob may have to come out and play...

 

[MichaelJ]

Oh, my only reason for suggesting other routes is because Tote Road is 3.5 miles long.

Do be careful - there's no night skiing but there is night grooming, and as noted in the other thread some trails get groomed by cabled snow cats. Also, on Saturday evenings they snow-cat people up to Bullwinkles for dinner (by advance reservation only).

 

[king tut]

I would recommend going up the West Mt trail. There is seperate parking at this chairlift, and it is a ghost town on this trail compared to the rest of the mountain. Then you could stop at Bullwinkles, which is just above the top of West Mt. Then go up via one of the trails from there. Definitely do not go up via Hayburner or any trails in the middle of the mountain. Lots of people, skiing fast, you may get creemed and hurt yourself or a skiier. Tote Road is decent but it gets a TON of beginners and is a very busy trail. I would avoid it.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

I would recommend going up the West Mt trail. There is seperate parking at this chairlift, and it is a ghost town on this trail compared to the rest of the mountain.

Agreed; this is the way we did it both times.

 

[Double Bow]

I can't seem to find this trail on the Sugarloaf trail map. Where exactly is it and how does its length compare to the tote road?

 

[arm]

Sugarloaf West Mountain Chair Route

from Route 27, drive up Sugarloaf Road about a mile ... then turn Right onto the road to the Golf Club ... follow that road until you pass under West Mountain ski lift, bear right and park in West Mtn Chair lot (don't remember if there's a sign, but it's easy to find)

walk uphill under West Mountain ski lift, shown on this map

http://www.sugarloaf.com/OutdoorCenter/images/soc.pdf

not much ski traffic on the western trails ... aim for least busy trails and you'll reach Sugarloaf summit in under an hour

.

 

[MichaelJ]

It is on the ski trail map, all the way on the far right. It's a trail that you ski only if you're going back down to a house or condo on that side of the mountain. It's perfectly straight and has the lift, a lift which only runs peak season and is apparently a 26-minute ride, one of, if not the, longest in the northeast. And that's not because of its length. Click on any of these to enlarge:

Looking down West Mountain from about halfway up:


At the top of the West Mountain chair, just above Bullwinkles:


As seen on Google Earth, the lower red line is West Mountain. Note that we parked partway up; in winter you'll have to park at the base of the chair. The upper red line follows Binder to the top, don't do that, though, as it's too narrow for skiers and hikers together. I'd follow Timberline under its chair, if Tut concurs...

 

[Sugarloafer]

I recommend Binder from lower Tote Road, just above the bottom of the SuperQuad. It shows on the ski trail map as being closed at the bottom and open near the top. It is a snow machine trail for maintenance etc., but it's not very busy. It's quieter, less crowded and less windy (until you get to the top) than almost any other way up. I do it all the time on chairlift windhold days.

No "official" night skiing, but I know some people that have !! wink

 

[Double Bow]

Hmmm... I just found the current conditions map on the Sugarloaf site and it looks like the West Mountain trail is longer than the Tote Road and it's not groomed. I'm sure it's nice and crowd-free, but I'm just looking to get up there as quickly and easily as possible. I want to save my energy for trying to get to Spaulding and maybe Abraham too (doubt that one). I'm planning to start before the lifts start running.

I will definitely avoid the trails in the middle of the mountain, and I'll take either Binder (for the reasons Sugarloafer mentioned), Tote Road Ext, or Timberline for the upper part.

For the way down, my Swiss Bob and I will take Tote to Kings Landing to Candy Side. Does that sound reasonable? I've glissaded on intermediate trails before.

 

[MichaelJ]

Kings Landing has a wicked headwall. It's very wide, but its runout is at an angle to the right, and it is seriously (albeit briefly) steep. Use caution there.

 

[Sugarloafer]

Hmmm... I just found the current conditions map on the Sugarloaf site and it looks like the West Mountain trail is longer than the Tote Road and it's not groomed. I'm sure it's nice and crowd-free, but I'm just looking to get up there as quickly and easily as possible. I want to save my energy for trying to get to Spaulding and maybe Abraham too (doubt that one). I'm planning to start before the lifts start running.

I will definitely avoid the trails in the middle of the mountain, and I'll take either Binder (for the reasons Sugarloafer mentioned), Tote Road Ext, or Timberline for the upper part.

For the way down, my Swiss Bob and I will take Tote to Kings Landing to Candy Side. Does that sound reasonable? I've glissaded on intermediate trails before.

Yikes !Be careful going down......... Kings Landing is probably the steepest intermediate trail on the mountain and it and Tote Road are both two of the most popular and crowded trails once the mountain opens. Unless you're pretty sure you can get the roundtrip done before the mountain opens (8:30 am), you may want to re-think the bob sled strategy. Good luck and I look forward to your trip report !

 

[Double Bow]

No, I was asking about night skiing because I figure that I'll be coming down after 4:30pm, since I'm trying for Spaulding and possibly Abraham.

My strategy is to get up Sugarloaf before 8:30 and to come down once the lifts have stopped running. I've done night ski trail glissades at Saddleback and Wildcat and it was a lot of fun. I'd rather ride down than hike down, epsecially since I plan to hike the following day.

If not Kings Landing to Candy Side, what route would intermediate route would people suggest for my ride down?

 

[Sugarloafer]

It sounds like you're an experience bob sledder and I don't know anything about them, so maybe you'll be all right as long as the mountain is closed. A more mellow way down would be the Timberline trail to Scoot, although the Timberline trail has some real flat spots.

 

[DougPaul]

It sounds like you're an experience bob sledder and I don't know anything about them, so maybe you'll be all right as long as the mountain is closed.

Watch out for grooming machines. Skiers/sledders/hikers do not always survive altercations with them... The operators do not expect people to be on the slopes when the ski area is closed.

Doug

 

[MichaelJ]

And keep that sled under control! Nobody wants to see big divots in the corduroy in the morning.

 

[Sugarloafer]

And keep that sled under control! Nobody wants to see big divots in the corduroy in the morning.

That's right !!

 

[Robs]

I hiked Sugarloaf via the trails a couple weeks ago. Hayburner was really steep, but I chose it just to say there was some challenge to the day, and to test out equipment since I'm new. The people that work there are really friendly. I found the hike down via Timberline-Scoot-etc. was very fast and really easy on the legs. It's all really well packed down. I threw my crampons on and hauled it down the mountain, was off within probably an hour, hour and a half; I don't know exactly, but it was much faster than I expected. I started at 6:30 and was off by 10, with a setback (I had to go around where they had some cables out) a stop in a lift shack (I was wearing xc-boots, a bad idea, and my toes were freezing) and a failed attempt to find the trail to spaulding and a cold stop at the sugar shack on the summit, which is not heated btw.

Good luck!