CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Sugarloaf was the place to be Sunday with temps near 60 degrees, soft ‘corn snow’ and fewer than 100 cars in the parking lot, creating smiles and good vibes all around.
A ribbon of white extended from the top of the Super Quad to the loading station at the bottom of the lift. However, grassy spots and rushing streams were also a common sight. It didn’t seem to bother any of the die-hard skiers and snowboarders who made their last weekend trek of the season to ‘The Loaf.’
“We are happy to be skiing this late into May,” said Jeremy Smith who was skiing with his friend Jason Field, both of Old Town. “There is nothing better than soft bumps (moguls) in the spring,” said Field.
Sugarloaf had one lift and six trails open including King’s Landing, Hayburner and the renowned mogul trail, Skidder. The resort will close for the season at 3:50 p.m. Monday, which according to one lift attendant, will make it the last ski area to close in the East.
According to the mountain spokesman Ethan Austin, today’s closing will mark the latest closing date for Sugarloaf in more than a decade.
Sugarloaf opened for the season on Sunday, Nov 21 and recorded more than 16 feet of snow blanketed the slope this winter. But this year will probably be remembered more for the chairlift derailment that occurred on Dec. 28, 2010 when five chairs were dropped to the ground, sending eight people to the hospital. More than 100 skiers and riders were evacuated off the Spillway East chairlift. Nearly two months later, the lift was reopened after repairs and inspections were completed.
Two days after the lift opened, Sugarloaf announced its building a new $3 million quad lift to replace the Spillway East lift line. The new lift will be a fixed-grip, quad chairlift built by Dopplemayr, and will be installed this summer in the same path as the existing Spillway East lift and, running parallel to it, the Spillway West lift.
