The perfect time of day!

While I may have slept through my alarm for about 20 minutes this morning... check that - both alarms, it certainly wasn't for a lack of want to get up. Having gotten my gear together last night, my dad and I set off to Sunday River. Dad hadn't skied in well over a year and I was pleased to be able to spend some quality time with him in the mountains. Although a little apprehensive at first, he took to the snow like he had just skied yesterday and his smile was priceless. Of course, being the un-retired, retired man that he is, he had to leave after lunch, which we had we Julie's folks. It was a successful first day out for him and I really hope he gets back soon. My dad was the first one to bring me on the snow and there is no better way to spend a day.
Having skied a few more runs with Julie's parents and then several others on my own, I had to pack up the car before the day had ended at Sunday River. With a darkening sky and dropping temps, I had about a 30 mile trek west to Shawnee Peak, the site of my weekly corporate racing league. I normally leave from work, but given that I didn't work today, I actually skied, took off all my gear, drove 45 minutes cross-country, put another set of gear on at a different mountain, and then raced. Yes, it was exhausting, but fabulous. While parking, I saw Tanya and Walter and had a good chuckle as they, too, had come from Sunday River and happen to be on my team.
And then it happened. That moment that words just can't describe - one of those that you really sort of have to be there to understand or even appreciate. About two-thirds of the way up the summit triple, I look north towards the White Mountain and Mahoussac Mountains. Being around 4:00pm, the sun was beginning to duck down behind the mountains, but wasn't quite finished with the day. Having come from that very direction, I could see the massive banks of cumulus clouds that created the snow squalls earlier in the day and behind them, the sun was trying to fight its' way through - turning the tops of the clouds a burnt orange color and illuminating the sky. I was breathless and awestruck at the same time. My cold toes and face were no longer a matter. Work wasn't a concern. Everything was peaceful and okay. It was indeed, the perfect time of day.

The Maine Coast In Winter

In my humble opinion, all of Maine is special any time of year. The state is unique in that we have both 3000 plus miles of coastline and mountain ranges reaching to the clouds. While either is beautiful no matter what time of year you choose to visit, winter is most special in my book.
One of the most unique places in Maine is Camden. Located in Maine's mid-coast region, Camden is where the mountains literally meet the sea and for winter sports enthusiasts, it is home to the only ski area on the east coast where you can see the Atlantic Ocean from the trails. While the mountain is small by most standards, it has a classic New England feel and a homeyness about it that draws you in. Driving around town, the white colonials are lit up by outside floodlights and Christmas lights in the windows. Bayview Street and Route One are almost empty and the stark contrast from the hustle and bustle of the summer tourist surge makes for a feeling of peace and tranquility.

This evening, Jules and I will hop in the car and head up to my folks' place in Camden for a respite from the sometimes frantic weekends spent at the larger ski resorts.

My time for vacation and the outdoors!

While millions of Americans scramble to get their vacation times in during the hottest of summer months or when the kids are off from school during the year, things move a little differently in my world. Yes, I did take a few days off over the summer and did go on a vacation with my significant other last year, but by-in-large, I tend to take my time off when others don't. I've been blessed to work for a company that provides ample time off and for most of that time, I spend gliding down what I consider to be a winter wonderland. And while I returned to work today, I spent a week and a half enjoying the great outdoors in Maine. Skiing 11 out of 12 days, I took a break to celebrate Christmas with my family. And yet I know full well that this sometimes selfish approach to time away from work will change when I have a family of my own, I feel that until that time, I should take my time doing the things I love - for the most part, that means skiing. Indeed, I was joined on the weekends by family and friends, but sometimes it's those times when I'm alone, gliding above the clouds, over freshly fallen snow, that I feel most at peace.

And while getting back to the office today was like having a bucket of freezing water dumped on my head, I put my nose to the grind with a little notion in the back of my mind that in less than two months, Jules and I will be off to Lake Tahoe for our second straight year - yes, we will be skiing in The Blue World.

Welcoming Back Winter In Maine

In all my travels through the years, I would often tell people that I'm from Maine and the first thing I would hear was, "Wow! It's really cold up there, isn't it?" I'd smile and explain the distinct 4 seasons that Maine offers, but also in the back of my head I'd be thinking that for quite a while, the snowy winters had been only a distant memory. While we have always received huge snowstorms in the latter months of winter and into spring, I have been sad to say that in Portland (along the coast) we haven't seen a 'White Christmas' since the Reagan administration. And that's sad quite frankly as Maine is supposed to be cold and snowy in the winter. I have often said that as long as it's wintry in the mountains, I don't care what it's like on the coast, but that really isn't the case. I love winter and I love the way Maine looks in the winter, especially the holiday season.
Jules and I just wrapped up a 4-day weekend at Sunday River. Having skied 3 days together, she ventured back to Portland this morning while I take the rest of the week off. This time last year, the resort was mostly dry with strips of white where the snow makers had left their mark, but we've already had a couple of substantial storms this month and the skiing has been the best in December in over a decade. After Sunday's nor'easter, we both had to shovel out our cars as 15 inches fell on this western Maine playground. And while it's entirely possible for the weather to change, if the temps remain cold, we'll ring in Christmas with a cover of white in every area of the state. To most, that may be insignificant, but to myself and my family, it brings an extra smile. Happy Holidays.

When rivals meet

As a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, I follow my team closely and appreciate how fans of others teams are passionate for theirs. This past summer this culminated in what was nothing short of an online battle on a ski resort forum regarding the Red Sox and the New York Yankees. While Sunday River boasts skiers from all over the east, it's fairly rare for too many Yankees fans to be around, but a few years back someone had started a thread for the two sides to debate. For one reason or another, I decided to get involved in the debate and it was nothing short of cut-throat. Both sides took shots at one another over a whole season and it was easy to formulate opinions about those who we were debating, but then as the ski season neared and the promise of meeting some of the Yankees fans, approached, I was curious as to what they would be like. We knew the thread was all in fun, but still, I was a little apprehensive. And yet today I finally met one of the men I'd been sparing with. In 10-degree temperatures with 20-knot winds, he joined a bunch of us for some runs and I got a chance to chat with him. I was pleasantly surprised by the mutual respect we had for each others teams, but also that he was nothing like I had imagined. Baseball season is over and we were embraced in our passion for skiing. If only this was always the case...

Happy Thanksgiving

While riding a chairlift just after 8:00 am this morning I got a nice chance to reflect on my life and those around me. It's not as though I don't do so often, but this time was seemingly different and quite frankly didn't have anything to do with the holiday. I'm generally a gracious and thankful person, or at least I try to be.
With a gentle mist falling and the chair gliding slowly through a low-lying fog bank, I could see different sections of the mountain at different times and everything was white. While we've only seen a few inches of natural snow, the flat light and massive amounts of man made snow of the trails and in the trees provided an almost mystical illusion of a winter wonderland... in November. Okay so such imagery might be kink of hard to imagine with the weather most of us have seen, but that isn't the point anyway. The point is that I was keenly aware of everything around me and was so at peace that I just couldn't help but be thankful. And while I wasn't creating a list in my head of the things I am thankful for, I was content with just being thankful in general.

Even if it only lasted a couple of hours...

The first snow in Portland is always magical, especially when it falls at night in the crisp air, but Mother Nature has her own plans and today she decided that even though it wasn't quite freezing in Portland or anywhere on the coast, it snowed for a couple hours and even stuck a little.
Yes, it has snowed in the mountains and was last weekend when I was there, but being almost two hours south and at sea-level, snow in November isn't as common as some may think. And while the forecast calls for the type of precipitation that doesn't freeze, I'll keep dreaming of snow!

It might not be snowing where you are...

...and it isn't here in Maine either, but thanks to some much desired cold temps, the snowmmakers at Sunday River have done a hell of job getting the mountain open and expanding terrain. I thought I would share a nice shot from the top of Locke Mountain with a view towards Mount Washington Valley. Enjoy!

A sad state of affairs in high school sports

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about playing sports for the love of the participation and passion for the games. When I wrote that I was unaware of something that happened in my home state of Maine that really has me sad.
Granted, rules are important in sports. When you break the rules, you get punished, but at the same time, rules are established for a reason. Some are based on situational factors while others are set up to stop something from possibly happening. We have increasing seen different sport almost re-write their rule books to allow for interpretation of rules that have particular areas of grey. This is one of those rules that certainly should have been better evaluated prior to acting upon…
In late October, the Massabesic Mustangs’ Girls Cross Country team was competing in the Maine State Championships when they encountered “Rule 4, Section 5, Article 8-c of the National Federation rulebook prohibits: Competitors joining or grasping hands with each other during a race.”
At the end of the 23-minute race two of Massabesic’s runners were about to finish 5th and 6th in the race. While the team already had two top-ten finishers, a Class A State Championship was all theirs; and then freshman Nicole Smith took the hand of teammate and senior, Kendra Johnson. After crossing the finish line, both competitors were disqualified and Massabesic High School fell from 1st to 4th overall.
When asked about the disqualification, Massabesic Coach Mark Crepeau said, “There was no intent to help. Their intent was to congratulate each other because the race was over." And the coach has a point. The rule in question was established so runners couldn’t band together and block other runners from passing. There were no runners approaching Smith and Johnson.
Sadly, the Massabesic team lost what should have been a title for them and a shot at the New England Championships being held this weekend. Even sadder is that none of the other teams had a problem with the disqualification even though the situation was clear.
Nicole Smith and Kendra Johnson are competitors who celebrated the spirit of competition on that day and they were penalized for their love of both the sport and the concept of being a teammate.

Sunday River opened for the season a day early!

Upstaging perennial rival and "family member," Sugarloaf/USA, Sunday River Resort, Maine, officially opened full time for the 2007-2008 season at 11:30 today.
While Sunday River had opened for one day on Halloween, most don't consider a resort to be open for the season unless they stay continuously open, therefore, the Halloween opening doesn't really count as Sunday River's opening. Why is this important? Quite frankly, it really isn't in the grand scheme of things, but bragging rights are always the banter of forums and bar stools.
After a long period as king of early openings and late closings, Killington, VT - now operated by POWDR Corp, decided to not even attempt an early opening this year, which is the first time in decades. While this opened the door for Sunday River, who had all along intended to open no later than November 9th, it was recently announced that Sugarloaf would also open on the 9th, bumping up their opening by a week. Not to be outdone by its' sister resort, the mountain operations crew at Sunday River resume snowmaking operations yesterday afternoon and were able to lay down enough snow for today's opening on one trail and one lift.
For the time being, skiing and riding is for advanced only and downloading is required on the Locke triple. So if you're not an expert, please think twice about getting on the lift. No, the terrain is not normally overwhelming, but early season skiing and riding is not easy and a lot of people end up walking down slopes and getting injured. For the full story on this and other alpine news, check out the good folks at Alpine Zone for the lastest updates.

Halloween skiing at Sunday River even drew Tony The Tiger!

Even if it was only for one day, Sunday River, Maine turned some heads with the surprise last minute opening for Halloween day. New outlets from all over New England and even the Weather Channel wanted in on the action. After a few blustery nights, the renowned Sunday River snowmaking crew had laid down enough of the white stuff to cover the T2 trail and operate the Locke Mountain chairlift. While downloading was required from mid-station, the opening of the upper part of the lift and the T2 trail itself was a throwback to the 1990s when resorts like Sunday River, Sugarloaf/usa, and Killington all vied for bragging rights of first to open in the east. While the Sunday River "treat" had already been decided to be a one day affair, the media outlets are still buzzing about skiing in Maine on October 31st. The mountain operations crew deserves a lot of credit for allowing this special event to happen while Sunday River PR guru and director of Communications, Alex Kaufman, was busy attending to the media. When word got out Tuesday afternoon about the event, folks were already making plans to make their first tracks. Unfortunately this kid was stuck in the office. Sunday River is officially slated to open for daily skiing and riding on November 9th, weather permitting. For more on this event and anything having to do with Sunday River, check out sundayriver.com.

Less than one week to midterm elections!

It may come as a surprise to some of you out there, but on November 6th, Americans go to the polls. Scratch that. On November 6th, a small fraction of Americans go to the polls, but that doesn't mean the stakes are small.
Granted, no one will be voting for Presidential, Senatorial, or Congressional seats, but there's still plenty at stake. Voters will elect town councilors, School boards, selectmen, bonds, referendums - you name it. While midterm elections draw few crowds and rarely a blink of the eye from television crews or big investment dollars in advertisements, you'd be surprised at the billions of dollars that will be voted on nation-wide on everything from increased school funding to environmental protection.
For those that think their vote doesn't count, midterm elections may be proof that this is not the case. Percentage-wise, more is decided by fewer people on midterm election days. What does that mean to you? It means that that a single vote really does make a difference.
So go online... Okay, you're already here, so go to your state or local website and look at what's on your ballot. If you're unfamiliar with an issue, do a search on Ask.com, Dogpile.com, ChaCha.com, Yahoo.com, Livesearch.com or any other search engine you can find. You'll be inundated with information so you can make an informed decision come next Tuesday.

Sunday River to open for Halloween!

While daily and top-to-bottom skiing is still likely two weeks away, Sunday River ski resort in Bethel, Maine plans to fire up the Locke Mountain Triple for 5 hours on Wednesday marking the earliest skiing in 13 years. With temps at the higher elevations dropped this past weekend, Sunday River was able to utilize some of the new and improved snowmaking equipment brought in by Boyne USA to open for this one day event. Regular skiing and riding operations are slated to begin on November 9th, weather permitting.

The Weatherman is making me giddy!

Okay, so that really isn't the case. If the weatherman made me giddy, well, never mind, but it's that time of year when I bring my skis into the shop and have each pair ground. While I normally do my own tuning, I recommend at least one stone grind a year for your bases, even if you do your own edges.

So anyway, if the prediction holds true at Sugarloaf/USA, well be skiing in a few weeks. That said, the high elevations are might get the first coat of the season this weekend. Snow in October is nothing new here in Maine, but the first flakes are always so sweet.

Out west, our friends have already had the fortune of a few days with white gold dustings at Heavenly. The picture was shot on Friday October 5th and is the 3rd snow of the year. The season way still be aways off for Mott and Killebrew, but expect to hear the SMI cannons and snowguns getting revved up real soon on some of the higher elevations around Comet and Dipper. Go to skiheavenly.com and check on the three webcams for updates!

Okay, so now I'm giddy!

Hey! Put me down before you jump through that!

Saturday brought the annual North American Wife Carrying Championships to Sunday River Ski Resort in western Maine as part of the Fall Festival. The event had a large turnout to witness 40 couples race around the obstacle course for the ultimate prize - 5 times the weight of the woman in cash and 3 times her weight in beer!

And more from SKI Magazine

Okay, so I've already covered how I feel about SKI's "reader's poll" results from the west, but I'm not done. Who knows? This may be ongoing, but quite frankly, it's taken me longer to sift through the pages as other ski magazines that have come out with their own rankings and ratings have MUCH more viability.

Nonetheless, I think we should talk about the rankings for the east. I guess I don't have too much of a problem with Mont Tremblant at number 1. They've got great lifts, over 2K in vert, and Intrawest has poured a ton of money into making this a destination resort, but the rest of the rankings are seemingly meant to be pleasing to a wide audience instead of catching the vibe of the skiers and riders.

Don't get me wrong, Smuggler's Notch is a great resort with good trees, out-of-bounds, vert, and their famous family program, but #2 in the east? Apparently the voters skipped skiing anywhere that has been updated in the last 30 years. I'm not saying that new is better and quite frankly don't like over-crowded slopes, but with that much vert, you can't rely on old double-chairs - Too slow and too cold. Having these types of lifts serving expert terrain is great, but when they are your primary people movers... Yikes!

Second, I think it's pitiful that Holiday Valley, NJ was included. Is there a really good reason why they have to throw a mid-Atlantic area in there each year and put it above places like Sugarloaf and Killington? No. It's absurd. I don't care how good your nightlife is, 750 feet of vert doesn't compare and it doesn't matter how far you spread it out.

As for the other areas that were included, you can probably mix them around each year as favorites are subjective, but they have to make some sense. The Bretton Woods golf course doesn't cut unless you are a beginner or intermediate. It's great if you are, but variety is key and BW doesn't have it. They do get props for lifts and views though.

And now to get really subjective. Yes, I'm from Maine and grew up skiing Sugarloaf and Sunday River, but I ski everywhere and that being said, have a really hard time with Sunday River being left off when places like Holiday Valley and Bretton Woods are considered the best. To rank Holiday Valley higher than Sugarloaf is basically spitting in the face of people who actually go to a place to ski or ride. And Sunday River's variety, snow making, and grooming can't be ignored.

That's all for now, but check back after I've read a few more pages.

Think Snow!!!

Boyne USA $4.8 million into Sunday River for the 2007-2008 ski season

While only in it's possession a little over two months, Boyne USA has already begun the process of revitalizing some of Sunday River's assets. Not counting the $2.5 million it has spent to repair damage caused by flash-flooding this spring, Boyne has sunk nearly $4.8 million into Sunday River, with a high concentration towards snowmaking and grooming. Already know for offering "The Most Dependable Snow In the East," Sunday River will benefit from new fans, low-energy guns, and 3 new Prinoth cats. As reported on Alpinezone.com, the mounted fans will be primarily used for high-traffic lower trails like Monday Mourning and Lower Sunday Punch, both of which need re-surfacing many times due to the convergence of other trail filtering into them. The fans on Monday Mourning may signal the mountain's intentions to once again have it be the top-to-bottom early season option.

Bring on the snow guns!

The crisp, autumn air that hovered over New England will subside for a few days as less seasonable temps take over, but with the ski season so close, resort all across the country are getting ready to fire up their sun guns and fans and start laying down the white stuff, as soon as Mother Nature permits.
With the recent announcement from Sugarloaf/USA that they will go for an October 26th opening, they will try to stake claim to a prize that for many years had been held by Killington.
In the 1990's, both Sunday River and Sugarloaf tried competing with Killington each year for the first to open. Each were successful couple of times, but the reigns quickly were handed back to Killington as ASC got into financial trouble.
And yet the big surprise came a few year back when Killington again got beaten to the punch. This time is wasn't another eastern giant, but a hill in Connecticut called Ski Woodbury. Woodbury had flown under the radar and was able to surprise everyone in the industry. The same mistake would certainty not happen again, until the very next year.
Some don't count such openings are Woodbury's due to the fact they are not able to sustain warm November spells and almost always end up closing. This was the case last year when Ski Cataloochee in North Carolina was the first to turn it's rope tow for skiing. Like most others, this small, but high altitude ski area had to close before re-opening for the season, but for a couple of weeks, "The Cat" was the buzz of the eastern ski world.
In a few short weeks, the guns and fans around the east will start to roar. Powdr Corp, the new operator of Killington and Pico, have said that early skiing and riding is not an option for their them, but one wonders if this is just a ploy to get Killington back on top. Or maybe Boyne really will deliver the goods in western Maine and having us skiing Tote Road on Halloween.

Renewable energy deserves a chance to go before the voters

Do you ever read a story from a newspaper or see a piece on the evening news about special meetings of town councils, select boards, or governing bodies such, let's sat, the Land Use Regulatory Commission (LURC) and find yourself wondering more people aren't solicited for ideas and suggestions? I'm betting you do and I'm better that some of you have read about the proposed wind farm in the Western Maine mountains.

Less than ten miles from where the wind farm would be built Franklin County near Sugarloaf ski resort, another large scale proposal was at the forefront of the news back in the late 1970's. The project was a proposed development of the Bigelow Mountain Range across Carrabassett Valley from Sugarloaf. developers wanted to create "The Aspen of The East" on the flanks of the towering peaks and came quite close.

As you can imagine, there were lots of people up in arms about this possibility. Why? Because the Appalachian Trail runs right over the summit of those mountains and would be interrupted. This was long before the LURC held meetings in the town, which back then had about 150 residents. (It's up to about 500 year-round now) After a lot of hooting and hollering, the proposed development went to a state-wide vote and failed.

My point is that if such a development was voted on by the whole state back then, why not allow the wind farm proposal to go before the voters of Maine?

Green Compromise?

Now to a topic that has been bothering me, which happens to be loosely related Sugarloaf Mountain, at least in location. The deal is this; we in Maine, like most other places, have been taken over by everything Green. No. I'm not saying that I'm against improving the environment. Of course I am I want to improve the environment, but these people are off the wall. They often say one thing and do another and cross political lines more often then democrats seeking votes. The sad fact in Southern Maine is that some of these folks have taken their agendas to places they should just STAY out of. Don't get me wrong, anyone who is qualified should be able to run for elected office, but there are certain elected offices that do not have political affiliation. For example, if you go to the polls and vote for an office and that person's affiliation is NOT next to their name, there's a reason for that. The most egregious example of this is with the Portland School District. That's right, the Portland School Board is made up of elected officials who are supposed to represent the best interests of Portland's residents and not their own political aspirations, but I'm sorry folks, this is just not the case. This past year we had up to 3 members of the school board who were/are outspoken Green party members. While I have a pretty good idea what party the other members may belong to, they don't talk about it and certainly don't run as a part affiliate. I won't mention the three (Oops! 2 now) members names, but to think they are on the board to serve the people rather than get a foothold towards higher elected office and to broaden the exposure of their party, is wrong. This is not a rant against Green members, but those individuals and those who support them. It's irresponsible and shameful.
My other current gripe with environmentalist is more frustrating because it deals with our future sources of power and the ever-growing debate about alternative energy. For all that care, I think alternative energy is GREAT. I too, wish we could be less dependent on oil and perhaps we will get there, but folks, those of you that are pushing harder than other need to pick a side and stick to it. You either want other resources that are clean and efficient or you don't. If you, do, some sacrifices need to be made. I say this because here in Maine we have had a great opportunity to produce energy with the use of wind turbines. in Western Maine. One farm has already been established in northern Maine and another, larger one was proposed for a mountaintop near Sugarloaf. The amount of power this would produce is immense, but when the meetings came to a close and the LURC votes had been cast, it was turned down as the turbines would not only be seen from hikers and nature lovers, but a few bats might not see them. Are you kidding me? When CLEAN environmentally friendly energy opportunities like this come up, we must take them and being hypocritical is nonsense. Some people are their own worst enemies and will never be happy. Yes, a smaller version of the western Maine wind farm has been proposed and we will see what complaints surface this time...