Welcome to the Mainely Skiing Fall Email! This email will be sent straight to your inbox whenever we release new emails. In this email, we will highlight all the summer activities in or around the Rangeley Area!
Maine Foliage Report:
The Maine Foliage Report brought to you by MaineFoliage.com
(AUGUSTA, Maine) – The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) final Foliage reportfor October 18 indicates peak and past peak conditions throughout most of the state. Peak conditions are approaching the coast in zone one with high leaf drop (more than 70 percent).
This Week’s Foliage Outlook
“This foliage season was a tricky one to forecast. While we had color because trees do what they need to do to prepare for their long winter nap, the colors were muted in some areas and breathtaking in others. Our rainy, wind-swept weather played a significant role,” said Gale Ross, fall foliage spokesperson.
While the weather might not be conducive to long road trips and leaf peeping this upcoming weekend, there are dozens of fun-filled activities taking place statewide. For those who are adventurous and still want to catch a glimpse of the fall colors, a hike in and around the blueberry barrens in DownEast Maine is a must-see. Barrens ablaze with the fall colors never disappoint! As we close the books on another fall foliage season, let’s give a hearty shout-out and thank you to all our leaf lovers and everyone who shared their memorable fall foliage photos with us, added Ross.
Upcoming Events:
Make sure to add these events to your calendar to keep yourself up to date with the local happenings. Of course, you can always visit our events page, which is constantly getting updated so you can know about the event before anyone else! Click here
| Event Name: | Start Date: | End Date: | Occurrence: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saddleback Pub Closed Until Winter | October 21 | October 21 | One Day |
| Daylight Savings Ends (Fall Back) | November 5 | November 5 | One Day |
| Sugarloaf Opening Day | November 17 | November 17 | One Day |
| Bridal Show & Tasting @ Sugarloaf | November 19 | November 19 | One Day |
| Thanksgiving Dinner @ Sunday River | November 23 | November 23 | One Day |
| Saddleback Pub Opens | November 24 | November 24 | One Day |
| Demo Day @ Sunday River | December 9 | December 9 | One Day |
| Sunday River Santa Sunday | December 10 | December 10 | One Day |
| Sugarloaf Tree Lighting Festival | December 16 | December 16 | One Day |
| Winterfest Weekend @ Sunday River | December 16 | December 17 | Two Days |
| Christmas Vacation Week | December 25 | December 29 | Five Days |
| Indie Demo Day @ Sunday River | January 6 | January 6 | One Day |
| 2nd Annual Vertical Challenge @ Saddleback | January 7 | January 7 | One Day |
| Fire on the Mountain @ Sugarloaf | February 2 | February 4 | Three Days |
| February Fest @ Saddleback | February 23 | February 23 | One Day |
Opening Days:
That first chair is always one of the most exciting moments in the early season. It’s time to start waxing those skis, dusting off gear and making sure your pass is ready. mainelyskiing.com/season-passes 😉 you’ll thank me later. Below is a table of the opening days as we know right now.
| Mountain Name | Opening Date |
|---|---|
| Saddleback Mountain | December 2 |
| Sugarloaf | November 17 |
| Sunday River | Not Announced |
| Pleasant Mountain | Not Announced |
| Black Mountain of Maine | Not Announced |
| Big Rock | Not Announced |
| Camden Snow Bowl | Not Announced |
| Mt. Abram | Not Announced |
| Big Moose Mountain | Not Announced |
| Lost Valley | Not Announced |
| Hermon Mountain | Not Announced |
| Titcomb Mountain | Not Announced |
Mountain Lift Status is Back:
Mainely Skiing’s Mountain Lift Status Page is officially back and ready to go for winter. Now, we just need lifts to start spinning. The page was temporarily offline due to it not looking right/working for some users. Thanks to the work of our website development team, we have been able to fix the problem and it will be good to go for winter. Think snow!
mainelysking.com/mountain-lift-status
Big Projects For Big Moose:
Big Moose Mountain in Greenville, formally named Big Squaw, needs your help. The mountain has been hard at work reclaiming the upper mountain trails by bringing them back to skiable terrain. This is only made possible due to the support on GoFundMe. The mountain has raised about 30% of their goal of $60,000. If you’ve skied here before the upper mountain closed in 2004, you know it was a special experience. You can help bring this back by donating to the mountain’s GoFundMe. Click the link below to see the money raised and donate. Click here: link
Crews are also working on replacing the existing lift’s communication line. This isn’t an easy task, especially with a small crew. Nevertheless, Big Moose Mountain pushes on.
Snowmaking Tests:
Various resorts got out early to test the snowmaking equipment. Sunday River’s tough team of snowmakers took to the hill early on Tuesday morning to fire up their system over on Jordan. Saddleback did the same on Wednesday afternoon.
Season Pass Sales:
Season passes have been on sale throughout the summer but to take advantage of the savings, you better purchase now! Check out the table to see all season passes:
| Mountain Name | Adult Price | Next Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Saddleback Maine | $949 | 12/31 |
| Sugarloaf (New England Gold) | $1,619 | 11/30 |
| Sunday River (New England Gold) | $1,619 | 11/30 |
| Pleasant Mountain | $959 | 11/30 |
| Black Mountain of Maine | $475 | 11/30 |
| Big Rock | N / A | N / A |
| Camden Snow Bowl | $445 | 10/31 |
| Mt. Abram | $599 | N / A |
| Lost Valley | $645 | N / A |
| Hermon Mountain | $477 | 10/31 |
| Titcomb Mountain | $205 | 11/4 |
Sugarloaf Debuts New Trail Map:
Sugarloaf recently updated their trail map to show the new Bucksaw area. The map has a few changes compared to the previous one, which was their map for over two years. See for yourself here: sugarloaf.com Also, if you want to be in the know, head over to the Sugarloaf Mountain Guide – linked below.
Sunday River Early Season Update:
It might only be fall but the folks from Sunday River are already in the winter mindset. This week, the mountain announced a new early-season operating guide. The plan is to start the season off with top-to-bottom skiing and riding off their Jordan 8 lift. They hope to have “multiple trail choices” serviced from the Jordan 8. For more information and to stay in the know, click the link below.
Sugarloaf Making Progress:
The newest major lift progress at Sugarloaf since the SuperQuad all the way back in 1994, the new Bucksaw Express will take skiers and riders to the top of West Mountain by the on-mountain Bullwinkles Grill. The lift will stretch 6,574 feet long and feature a 1,433-foot vertical rise. It will also be the future home to over 200 new homes including 52 single-family house lots.
The expansion will shorten the existing West Mountain Double Chair to the mid-station to relieve congestion at the top unload area. Set to debut in late December – early January with 12 trails:
| Difficulty | Trail Name | Difficulty | Trail Name |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Hatchet | | Bucksaw |
| Feller-Buncher |  | Cutter |
| Chipper | | Whistle Punk |
| Upper Beaver Tail | | Lower Beaver Tail |
| Knot Bumper | | Yarder |
| Twitcher | | West Mountain Crosscut |
Sugarloaf posted a video to Facebook showcasing the project and Sugarloaf’s continued investment to their mountain. They’re adding 246 high-efficiency HKD snow guns and over 88,000′ of new snowmaking pipe. Check out the full video below along with the 2030 plan.
The Barker 6 Mix:
Sunday River is making quick work on their newest project, a new, high-speed, detachable 6 person lift – Barker 6. This new lift is manufactured by the world’s leading lift manufacturer, Doppelmayr and is set to be complete by the 2023-24 ski season. This lift will be pretty much identical to the Jordan 8 by featuring heated, ergonomic seats, individual head & foot rests, weather-proof Sunday River Red bubble covers, automatically lowering and locking restraining bar, 13 towers with 63 chairs, and a ride time of just under 5 minutes. This new lift will be a game changer for the Barker area and for Sunday River as a whole.
As well as the Barker 6, Sunday River is installing their second triple chair on Merrill Hill. The new triple chair will provide more opportunities for ski-in, ski-out homes on Merrill Hill. This lift is the second Doppelmayr lift getting installed at the River. While this lift wasn’t in the public eye as much as Barker 6 until this week, the two lifts should be complete when the snow flies. Check out the progress from a photo Sunday River posted this week over on Merrill Hill. See more by clicking the links below.
Saddleback Webcams:
Have you visited the Saddleback Webcams? With three cameras scattered across the mountain, you’re guaranteed to get the best sunset. You could go back in time if you missed the best part. Click the link below to see last night’s sunset!
Last Chair:
Now that things are closed for the season, the countdown is on for snowfall. Whether it’s by Mother Nature or some powerful snowmakers, either way, we’ll be happy. Bring on Winter!
Weather:
While the forecast is calling for another wet weekend, those lows are looking promising. Low temps have been on a steady decline for a few weeks now and Sunday’s low gives us skiers hope that winter will come once again!
I think it’s time for snowdances!
– Keegan
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