Sunday River in Newry, Maine became the first ski area in the Northeast to open for the season this past Thursday November 8th, one day earlier than scheduled. The early November snow making push was rather surprising considering most resorts are eliminating many days of the “shoulder seasons.” However, two new players in the region, including Boyne and Peaks, seriously upped the ante. Sunday River and Sugarloaf of Boyne beat Mount Snow and Attittash to the punch, but just barely. Bretton Woods also opened this weekend servicing limited beginner terrain.
Last weekend saw TheSnowWay.com’s author skinning up Locke at Sunday River for two runs unassisted by lifts. Today marked the author’s third day of the season and first lift serviced day. Although I appreciated the repetitions and vertical assistance, turns last weekend were much more enjoyable due to no crowds and no snow guns. But for only $20.00 after a donation of three canned goods, I certainly was not going to look else where for turns, crowds be damned!
Sunday River essentially offered up three trails for sliding along with a connector linking the Barker Summit to Locke. Both the Barker Summit High Speed Quad and the Locke Mountain Triple were in operation with the Locke Mountain Triple allowing skiers to board at the mid-station. Upper Sunday Punch and T2 were open from the Locke Mountain Summit from which both trails dumped into Cascades to the base which featured a mini terrain park. Snow making was online on Upper Sunday Punch making for an unpleasant skiing experience despite the trail having the best snow conditions.
Arriving late in the morning after a leisurely start, I stayed for seven runs before calling it a day. All trails had variable conditions which were best in the sun. The snow making on Upper Sunday Punch made for generally soft conditions with occasional bumps. T2 was rather scarped down due to traffic and had occasional bumps. Cascades alternated between scarped down slide for lifes and soft snow with occasional patches of moguls on the sides of the trail. It was best to follow the sun on Cascades as sections in the shade, especially later in the day, were rather firm and often unpleasant. Slider density was not as bad as I had predicted but definitely borderline human slalom with many out of control skiers and boarders without their legs dialled in yet. The final pitch of Cascades was particularly scraped and pinched.
Overall, I had a fantastic afternoon despite the snow making, skier density, and scraped aspects of the trails. Sunday River has blown a ton of snow and far exceeded my expectations for the second week of November. Locke Mountain offers a decent amount of vertical and their setup is similar in size and scoped to Killington offering Rime and Reason with the runout down to Bunny Buster. Due to three other ski areas being open this weekend, crowding turned out to not be excessively bad nor intolerable. Having bumps to hammer out some technique building sessions on was a huge bonus. The technique is right where it was last year. But I still have a huge disconnect between what my mind tells my body to do and what actually happens. Soon enough the turns will be second nature again and the real fun will begin anew.
