Trip/Event Location: Stratton, MEUS
Trip Leader(s): shep5 , wildcat
Max # People: 12
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Join us for a social weekend of downhill skiing at Sugarloaf. Sugarloaf is a world-class ski resort located in the Carrabassett Valley, nestled amoung the high peaks of western Maine. It is the
From the Maine Coast or Eastern MA: From the Route 95/Route 295 Split just before Portland...stay on Route 95. Travel approximately 30 miles to Exit 75. Follow Route 4 North beyond Farmington, where you'll turn onto Route 27 North. After going through Kingfield and the Carrabassett Valley, the motel will be on your right before the village of Stratton. This route is approximately 123 miles (2.5 hours).
From Central NH or VT: Travel up to Gorham, NH (Route 2). Take Route 16 north towards Berlin and continue following Route 16 all the way to the motel, which will be on the left (you will make turns in Rangeley and Stratton to stay on Route 16. Note: Routes 16 and 27 coinside from Stratton to the motel. This route is about 98 miles (2:20 hours).
For more detailed directions from your specific location, use the following address in Google Maps or your GPS: The Mountain View Motel; 4755 Carrabassett Rd; Stratton, ME 04982 (45.123844, -70.413354).
On Friday, February 6th, Martin (wildcat) and I met up at the Mountain View Motel in Stratton, Maine. It was a nice chance to catch up over dinner and while hanging out.
In the morning (February 7th), we got up fairly early, had breakfast and headed down to Sugarloaf. It was around 8AM, when we arrived. The skies were mostly blue with some stray clouds hanging out. The temperatures had been forecast earlier in the week to be in the mid-20's; however, the forecast had turned colder with highs expected to be barely out of the single digits. We got our lift tickets (and I rented equipment) and we were ready to ski by 8:30AM, when the lifts started running.
While Martin is a much better skier, we skiied together mostly on the intermediate trails through the day. The conditions were very good through most of the day...it did get a little icey on some trails towards the end, as expected. Since it got colder and more overcast through the day, we took a few breaks in the warming hut on West Mountain and at the base lodge.
It was a great day skiing and Sugarloaf has become one of my favorites for its location and terrain. Afterwards, Martin and I returned to the Motel, cleaned up and went out for a nice dinner at the White Wolf Inn in Stratton.
On Sunday, we got up early again and checked-out around 8AM. We were looking for an "easy" snowshoe to do (as opposed to one of the "winter" 4000-footers), since it was lightly snowing and it would take us time to get home with the storm to the south. We decided to do Cranberry Mountain, which loomed over the motel. See separate Member Trip Report for that.
Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous
