Opening day "contest"

Wow, thanks for the cam, George ! <BR> <BR>I wonder how much snow they've made, but they look to be well started to open first. Although the rainy days are not over and they could lose most of it in the next week <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=":(">
 
I agree, with George, if and I say if they can hold on to the snow that they have now, they should be able to open by the 8th or 9th no problem. I have skied here early season before and it does not take much snow to open the trail. I skied here last year on the 6th of November with partial natural snow and partial man made snow. It was awesome for early season skiing. Hoepfully this year will turn out the same. <BR>Porter
 
true, although, considering how much it has rained since it was below freezing up there they have a remarkable amount of snow left, and since next weeks rain is supposed to be a cooler lighter rain, i suspect that they will be able to hold on to some snow. I also think that they are trying to make snow whenever possible because they are not in killingtons situation with as much debt, and it is supposed to start to get below freezing again during the nights up there soon.
 
BW has done alot to give itself a "Destination Resort" status.Being first in the east to open can give a resort publicity that cant be bought.Look at Woodbury last year.Dinky little ant hill that wasnt even a blip on the skiing radar befor last year and now people on this board are talking like it may be the resort to beat for first tracks of the season! <BR>Although it's not my favorite place to go,I will give it the respect it deserves.I would love to see BW succeed over any ASC property.Bretton Woods could be the Sunday River of the early eighties.Lets hope if thats the case they make some better decisions with thier expansion regarding the cookie cutter feel of the resort.But some stiff competition for ASC and Booth Creek and the rest will benifit everyone. <BR>((* <BR>*))NHPH
 
Frankontour: <BR> <BR>Now that I have decided to go to Sugarloaf, I want to try Mt Orford for a day trip. Is this an acceptable place for my whole family or Is this more of just an expert mountain? Ive read some skier reports that the trails tend to get icy and the beginner trails are harder to ski because of this. Even though I had to purchase a 5 day pass for Sugarloaf I do want to try a new resort while I am up there, and with the new lift Mt Orford sound like fun.
 
one quick update, bw just dropped below freezing and it is only 9:15, if they wanted to they could make snow all the way till 8 oclock tommarow that would give them at least 10 solid hours to put snow on the trails, Although I think they will not because of the weather between now and the 7th. we shall see. <BR>porter
 
Woodbury: <BR> <BR>Stinky little STEEP ant hill. This mountain has a bit of challenge for the short vertical 300' and limited runs. It ski's alot like Otis Ridge, steep straight and no bull. I do not know how they teach people how to ski there, but the rope tow area was to steep for my son, I skied holding him in my arms for the most part.
 
I agree with you all, for Bretton Woods. Even though this is not a super mountain, we need a little change, now, in the east and beating Killington should be a great thing for the ski industry IMO. <BR> <BR>Nice if the weather dropped under the freezing point. I'm not sure neither that they will blow some snow though <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/sad.gif" ALT=":("> <BR> <BR>Question for you Salida... which trail do they open, for the early season ? T2B trail or just on the top of the mountain ? <BR> <BR>Kevin : Orford in january should be really correct for your family, cause the Orford side effectively tends to ice, but the other sides are really correct on this point. For you, normally january is not really a good month to ski Orford, cause there is not enough snow in the woods, but this year, as they seem to have cleared most of the glades, it should be cool in january, if there is correct snowfalls before that.
 
Kevin,I skied Orford in 1988 and found that the Mont Alfred Desrochers side to be quite friendly for families.I know that was 15 years ago but I dont think that would change.As I remember,that part of the mountain seemed to be more sheltered from harsh weather too.I dont know the exposure.I will also say that I remember some pretty hairy trails too.I WILL hit Orford again when i'm up at Jay sometime for a few days.They have expanded the Mont Giroux side since my visit and I would like to see that now.I was just an intermediate skier when I visited it last so i'd LOVE to tear up some of those lines we've seen Frank post. <BR>Mapquest puts your side trip at 147.68miles,3h48m one way.Sorry,I'm not trying to be negative,just a heads up. <BR>((* <BR>*))NHPH
 
two years ago, sometime in early november i think, i went to bretton woods. They had snow made on several trails and about a foot of natural everywhere on the ground, my friend and I build a little jump and messed around for a few hours. If i recall right, killington was open, but i am sure we had much more fun, than we would have if we had bought a 28 dollar ticket. I am not a huge bretton woods fan, althought i think they have come a long way in the last few years, but i would be glad to see them open first.
 
3h48 one way ?? <BR>No, I don't think it's so far and long, even in winter. <BR> <BR>I did it, few years ago and it's more like 2h30, unless the road is impossible to drive and that there is 30 minutes of waiting on the borders, which would surprise me a lot !! <BR> <BR>Orford 1988 and Orford 2003... this is about like trying to compare oranges with bananas, IMO hehe. May be not so much, if the super trails weren't closed in 1988 (I don't know). Since that era, the mountain passed from a boring groomed mountain to one of the 6 best ski areas for tree-skiing in the east, according to different sources (Orford, Jay, MRG, Smuggs, Stowe and Massif du Sud) (no specific order). (other super areas ?) <BR> <BR>I'm already too much eager to ski it this year... especially as the grass into the Écureuil have been completely cut, this fall. So it should be skiable really early, except a couple of chutes always unskiable anyway, but that's good, cause they let it closed because of them, so the snow is better <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)">
 
Hi Kevin, <BR> <BR>3h48 for 148 miles!!! I taken 3.5 hrs in April for a Montreal/Sugarloaf trip (We didn't drive excessively fast). <BR> <BR>Last Winter it took us about 3 hours to get from outside Bromont to Sugarloaf, so Sugarloaf to Orford should be between 2:15 and 2:45 depending on the roads. Once you get to Quebec you have a long strench of strait road (impressive view especially going toward the US - LaPatrie/Notre-Dame-des-bois).HOWEVER, the return trip to Bromont later that night took us 5 hours!!!! It started snowing hard at noon (amazing day skiing) and with a bit of powder skiing and alot of powder driving. <BR> <BR>One note of caution: Drive with caution and Watch for Moose. The road from Sugarloaf to the border is second place I have seen the most moose. #1 is between a strench between Balsam Wilderness and Sunday River (almost guarantee to see a moose early in the morning). <BR> <BR>Yesterday, I wrote that if Mont Ste-Anne didn't have a fixed date (Nov. 15) they would be far off for the first to open. I meant to say that THEY WOULDN'T BE far off!!!
 
Ah, I didn't see some moose, when I went there, few years ago, but I can understand it. The road 27 is pretty wild and I wouldn't like to drive it when it's super icy. The road 212 in Quebec is comic, cause it seems to go straight, straight and straight forever. Effectively, the view of Mt Mégantic is pretty amazing and it's just too bad that they built an observatory instead of a ski area, there, cause it would probably be as high as Le Massif. <BR> <BR>I must say for Mapquest that the service is less good in Canada than in USA. It's good for the maps, but to find the best road for a trip from USA to Canada, I'm not sure that it would pass by the good place ;) Although 148 miles is not impossible !
 
Thank you all for the information regarding Mt Orford. Route 27 to Coburn Gore can be treacherous <BR>in winter. I slid of the road north of Eustis in 1998, but this was during the great ice storm, and I used my steel tire tracks to get back on the road. 3 1/2 hours does sound correct as we are <BR>going to be there in January which is dark both early in the morning and evening, so driving there early in the morning will be slower. I know all about the moose situation having driven back and forth between Stratton and Rangely (moose infested) about 100 times in the last 14 years. I've never been to western Maine and not come across at least 2-3 of these animals. Customs at the border going into Canada usually is a 5 minute affair at most, comming back takes much longer. I just travel light so there is less for the customs officer to look for. The reason for choosing Sugarloaf over Smugglers Notch is that Sugarloaf wants $850 for a 1 bedroom condo and lift tickets for 5 days, while Smugglers wants $2,650 for the same thing. Granted there are kids activities included in the price at smugglers, but I have to pay for them even if I do not use them. Most importantly I miss Sugarloaf after a 4 year absence.
 
For what it's worth, Rte. 27 from Eustis to the border had some of the worst curves straightened out this year, and next summer they will be doing more work on it. <BR> <BR>It's still one of the most fun 20 mile drives there is in the northeast. In the summer. During the day.
 
Agree with Rob. This road is enough amazing to do, although it was my father who was driving. <BR> <BR>My personnal best rollercoaster road in this kind is the Rd. 347, between Val Saint-Côme and Notre-Dame de la Merci (near La Réserve). I'm really used to drive it, now, but the first times, it was really rough on the stomach on about 10 miles. <BR> <BR>I'm surprised of the big difference of cost for lodging at Smuggs and Sugarloaf... especially as Sugarloaf really looks to be more interesting to ski, in general. (I mean, for normal skiers, the decision is easy when you must choose between some HSQ vs old doubles. Also, Sugarloaf have a 2-3x bigger terrain for the beginners/intermediates). Ok, the Loaf is lost in the middle of nowhere, but 3x less expensive... not really normal ! 850$ is a really good deal, I must say.
 
I just confirmed my reservation at Sugarloaf, I did change my vacation date to January 11-16th. Smugglers e-mailed me a quote of $2,576.25 for one week of skiing, that price includes a FREE? season pass, and other amenities such as a 1 1/2 <BR>hour group lesson each day. The pass is obviously <BR>not free at those prices, and Smugglers is to far for a return trip on weekends from L.I. Sugarloafs $849.25 is far more reasonable. I also got a 15% discount by booking before the 31st of October. The big difference between the two packages is that if I cancel, Smugglers gives you a voucher for a return trip in the future, while I must cancel at Sugarloaf 21 days before arrival or lose my 50% deposit. So now I must pray for lots of snow in Maine. My plan is to ski 2 days at Sugarloaf, 1 day at Mt Orford and 1 day at Saddleback and one day snowmobiling.
 
Frank, <BR>BW opens upper big ben and lower bretton wood as their first trail, which is about 3/4 of the way up the mountain, second they open upper swoop and faybian express to open the mountain up to the top, these trails are mostly blue, however last year in mid november they had snow whales on faybian express which made it almost like a terrain park with out all of the jibbers, it was actually very enjoyable for early season skiing. it wasnt just groomed out trails, it was for more interesting. <BR>porter
 
I've never been to Smuggs, but they really seem to market themselves to upscale families. Lots of kids programs, lots of amenities. I have no idea how good or challenging the skiing is there. We looked into going to Smuggs for a week a couple of years back and it was very pricey. <BR> <BR>My predictions, (which I'm sure will be wrong): <BR> <BR>Okemo, Killington and Bretton Woods all opening on 11/15.
 
Kevin : good for your reservation done with the 15% off !! Interesting, for the 4 days of skiing. At a price of 850$, it's sure that you can escape a little bit of the Loaf without losing too much money ! Anyway, Orford is in $CAN = not expensive... Saddleback neither, I guess. <BR> <BR>Sad that you'll arrive just after the swampfest, cause you would have got the chance to ski with Marc & few other people here (Rob at least). <BR> <BR>Thanks for the infos about the trails at Bretton Woods, Salida... I'm going to look a trail map right now <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> <BR> <BR>Anon : thanks for your predictions ! Smuggs = family, yes, for sure, but they only have some old double chairs, which is not really interesting, considering the huge prices. I heard few times that the weekend crowds were pretty huge, and the terrain for beginners & intermediates is not that much amazing, compared to other ski areas, as what I've seen when I skied there (there was almost only the beg/int trails open). BUT it's supposed to be one of the best extreme/wood skiing in the East. There is some completely sick trails, like the double blacks of Madonna Peak and if you look at the new trail map, this year, they added a lot of ± official glades. There is a ton of other ones, according to what I read on Skivt. So this could be interesting, but for a day-trip, mid-week, IMO.
 
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