Sugarloaf in Maine: It’s ‘sweet’ skiing at its best

BY BOB WILLIAMS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING

KINGFIELD, Me. — A championship ski race, Olympic gold and six feet of fresh snow combined to give Sugarloaf Mountain its busiest weekend this season.

And what a weekend it was! For starters, Sugarloaf/USA, Maine's highest skiable peak at 4,237 feet, had received six feet of the white stuff during a major East Coast blizzard a few weeks ago. Then, the United States Ski and Snowboard Association ran its Junior II Olympics for 15-and-16-year-olds under a blue cloudless sky. And Olympic Snowboard Gold Medal winner Seth Wescott returned here to a hero's welcome home party. For skiers and riders, the weekend offered ideal snow conditions — and skiing at its best!

"This past weekend was a fantastic weekend to be a skier," said Ethan Austin, the communication manager here at Sugarloaf. "We had 100 percent of our terrain open and the weather was mild and spring-like. With the races and Seth's homecoming celebration thrown in, you couldn't have asked for a more exciting weekend." Austin said attendance figures of nearly 8,000 skiers and riders made last Saturday the busiest day of the season and last weekend the busiest weekend.

Wescott grew up here at Sugarloaf and attended Carrabassett Valley Academy, the ski and snowboard high school. He's been an official Sugarloaf ambassador for the past three years, and he designed the mountain's snowboard cross course and super pipe adjacent to the Super Quad lift. Gov. John Baldacci was on hand Saturday to welcome Wescott back home and to declare Saturday Seth Wescott Day throughout the state of Maine.

"Seth lived here his whole life, so his Olympic Gold medal helped draw almost 2,000 guests here to the mountain," Austin explained. "We're now one of only a few ski areas that has a permanent snowboard cross course."

The U.S.S.A. Junior II Olympics, or J-2 Nationals, as they are called, ran for seven days here at Sugarloaf and drew teenage participants, according to Austin. "It's a huge race for those kids and they came from all over the world just to participate"

Because of the unusual weekend activity, the slopeside Sugarloaf Hotel, the nearby Mountain Inn and hundreds of condos that dot the area were filled to capacity. "Before the big snow came, skiing was pretty good through the season, but it's been nearly a month with no new snow, and that's unusual" Austin said. "This blizzard set us up for great spring skiing. We'll be open till May!"

IF YOU GO: Sugarloaf/USA is located in the Carrabassett Valley of Maine, about an eight-hour drive from New Jersey. It has a total of 15 lifts, including a Super Quad, that carry nearly 22,000 skiers and snowboarders per hour to 54 miles of trails. The area has a continuous vertical drop of 2,820 feet. Area lodging is limited, so be prepared to pay higher-than-normal rates and food and drink prices at facilities on or near the mountain. In fact, the weekend all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet in Sugarloaf's Double Diamond Steakhouse and Wine Bar is priced at a steep $15 per person. Only when you receive your check you'll notice that the bill includes a 17 percent service charge. But there's no service. It's a serve-yourself buffet.

SKI RESORT REVENUE UP: Even when the Olympics isn't shining a spotlight on it, skiing is a robust industry. Ski resorts in the United States have shown steady increases in revenue over the last five years, according to the research firm IbisWorld. Writing in The New York Times, Phyllis Korkki says that even in 2009, as most industries were in a recessionary trough, ski resort revenue rose 2.3 percent from the year before, according to IbisWorld. Revenue for 2010 is forecast to rise almost 6 percent, to $2.72 billion.

The industry has consolidated in recent years, and some small resorts have been pushed out of business, or bought by larger ones, IbisWorld says. Two companies — Intrawest and Vail Resorts — now attract 51 percent of industry revenue. Despite a positive look, the ski industry is vulnerable to forces it cannot control — most notably the weather. One season of poor snowfall can take a big toll in the account books. And you can be sure that many an owner of a ski resort is wondering if climate change will affect the bottom line. According to the report, lift and season ticket sales generated nearly 58 percent of the $2.6 billion revenue, followed by food and beverage sales, which accounted for 12 percent.

WHO IS TOPS?: What North American ski resort ranks highest when it comes to night life, steep runs and hot guests? According to the Ski Channel's new online Resort Rater, it's Aspen Mountain in Colorado — but that could change as more users weigh in. According to an Associated Press report, the rater — at www.theskichannel.com/resort-rater, lists 85 criteria for ranking nearly 500 resorts and lets users check off which matters most to them. Then, it subjectively ranks the results and attaches videos from thousands of hours of Ski Channel footage to back up its claim. Users also rate resorts. Ski Channel CEO Steve Bellamy says Resort Rater didn't take money from resorts for the rankings, but it could eventually sell ads that pop up if a rival resort is listed with a higher ranking.

SHORT SCHUSSES: Burke Mountain in East Burke, Vermont, hosts the 2010 NorAm finals this Sunday and Monday, March 14 and 15. NorAm racing is one level below the premier FIS World Cup, with racers reaching speeds of 70+ miles and hour. The event will be the most prestigious race to be held in Vermont in 30 years. ... Find shamrocks hidden on the mountain next Wednesday, March 17 — St. Patrick's Day — at Mount Sunapee, Newbury, N.H., and you could win a prize. ... This Sunday, March 14, is Shamrock Sunday at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, N.Y. Adult lift tickets are just $35 for the day, teen tickets are $30 and junior tickets are $25. And Olympic medalists Julia Mancuso and Ted Ligety compete at Whiteface March 20-23 in the U. S. Alpine Championships. ... You can ski for a mere $1 at Waterville Valley Ski Resort in New Hampshire on April 1, April Fool's Day. No foolin'! ... Taos, New Mexico, reports it received 32 inches of snow in the past three days. ... Olympic gold medalist and snowboarding legend Ross Powers will be at Okemo Mountain Resort March 22-24 for the annual Ross Powers Snowboard Camp. The three-day snowboard camp is open to intermediate and advanced riders who can handle fast-paced training and riding with some of the best coaches and professional snowboarders of all time. Cost is $499. ... Whistler in British Columbia, site last month of the Winter Olympic Games, hosts the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games this Friday, March 12, through March 21. ... Here's proof that the ski season is coming to a close: Pats Peak in Henniker, N.H., holds its annual pond skim contest Saturday, March 20. A costume is required.