BY BOB WILLIAMS
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Me. – Martin Griff quietly left his Ewing, N.J., home at the crack of 3 the other morning, headed north and drove nearly nine hours here to Maine -- just to go skiing. Indeed, he skied. But, more importantly, he skied first tracks!
Griff, you see, is among a small group of longtime skiers who have become attracted to the phenomenon of first tracks – a chance to ski a mountain before lift lines open to the general public. He drove here to the Sugarloaf/ USA Ski Resort for a ski-related weekend meeting, and managed to squeeze in first tracks early Sunday morning.
While most ski resorts throughout the country have no real first tracks program – some offer it to special groups and VIPs – Sugarloaf offers first tracks each Sunday morning for an hour before its lifts open at 8:30. Season pass holders can pay an additional $150 for the first tracks opportunity.
