Saddleback Blog

December 28, 2010

38" of New Snow, WOW!

38" of Snow,  Frequently Asked Questions about the T-Bar and Wind Holds.

December 6, 2010

Opening Day Preparation for December 16th Continues:

One of the challenges for any ski area in early season, is the issue of trying to open on the projected Opening Date: Some go early, Some go late.

We've had a few questions about the delay in opening so hopefully this answers the most common questions:

Q: With all the natural snowstorms we've had lately why is opening day delayed?

A: Natural snow is not the same as man-made base snow:  Natural Snow compacts to a smaller density than man-made snow.  These past two storms have been light fluffy snow which when compacted as of this morning totaled less than 1 inch.  We've had several 1-2" storms the past few weeks, however the snow melts when there are warm spells in the 50's, in fact it disappears quickly.   We made large stockpiles of snow Thanksgiving weekend in anticipation of the week of November 30th providing good snowmaking weather it didn't. Based on the projected weather for the next 10 days we will be ready to open December 16th.

Q: Other resorts are making snow everyday why aren't you?

A: Saddleback uses a water-based fan system for snowmaking.  Our system produces large quantities of snow at lower temperatures but does not operate well at high-20s, low 30's temps.  Our snowmaking produces best under 24° F.   Many of our competitors use a air/water based fan snowmaking process that works at warmer temperature.

Q: Why wait to open?

A:  Saddleback doesn't want to wait but we are committed to providing deep covered trails and excellent snow surfaces.  Saddleback does not use a dust and cover approach which can result in injuries and damage to groomer equipment and skis.

April 15, 2010

Thanks for a Great Season!

Thank you to everyone who helped make our 09/10 Season so amazing! We look forward to seeing you all this summer at our concerts and the August 7 Bluegrass Festival and back on the slopes this winter.

Until the snow falls,

The Saddleback Team

April 1, 2010

Another Amazing Recovery at Saddleback!

If you have been reading my blog this week, you can imagine how bleak the outlook was for coming out of a three day rain event with good snow cover and good skiing. When doing the ski reports yesterday and again early this morning we were under the assumption that the glades would be lost as well as some of the lower natural snow trails. Hence our trail count was greatly reduced. Once the clouds lifted and we started making our way around the mountain this morning, we came to the realization that every trail and every glade would soon be open and most with exceptional coverage!

The groomers were able to get out and groom a dozen of our most major arteries, creating a corduroy wet… Read More >>

March 30, 2010

Saddleback To Re-Open Thursday at 9:00 AM

This is certainly depressing weather and it is cutting into our spring skiing. Currently it is about 39 degrees at the base with fog and drizzle obscuring the mountain. Things will begin to improve tomorrow, but not until later in the day. So, at today’s Directors meeting, we have decided to remain closed Wednesday and re-open for sure on Thursday. Thursday will be sunny and warm, a great day for some spring skiing.

Tomorrow afternoon Jared, Sean & Jimmy will get around the mountain to access conditions and put an accurate trail and glade count together for me so that I can let you know what to expect. If surfaces are too soft we will not be able to groom steep… Read More >>

March 29, 2010

We Are Looking Forward to the Return of Sunshine & Easter Weekend!

I am certainly glad that today is a Monday and not a weekend day! We have been very lucky to get this bad weather out of the way during the early mid-week days. Early this morning, we receive about 4 inches of wet snow before changing over to rain. We have steady rain currently and we have another low pressure which will bring another slug of rain in here tomorrow. It was a very easy decision not to be open today and tomorrow, as it would be miserable on a chairlift. I am sure no one would have shown up to ski anyway. We will take a wait and see approach to Wednesday’s operation.

The forecast calls for sun to return Thursday and it looks to be a very warm sunny weekend. We… Read More >>

March 28, 2010

PEAK Honor Pass Program to Continue Next Winter – Survivor Winner Bob Crowley to Continue as Celebrity Spokesperson

Yesterday we invited PEAK pass holders to another PEAK day at Saddleback. If you don’t know, PEAK stands for Promoting Education and Activities for Kids. Simply put, any Maine student up through grade 12 that makes the honor roll is eligible to have a Saddleback season's pass for only $49! Yesterday we put a raffle together to win 3 PEAK passes for next season and had a group photo with our celebrity spokesperson, survivor Bob Crowley. Pictured here are the lucky raffle winners with survivor Bob.

This PEAK program was extremely successful. It gave students great motivation to push themselves with their grades and made parents & teachers very happy. We have heard countless… Read More >>

March 27, 2010

Another fun filled Saturday at Saddleback

Another fun Saturday was had by all today as we were treated to another sunny day. Temperatures remained in the 20’s so we were skiing on winter-like conditions. These colder temps also made for a very fast Cardboard Box Race. This was the sixth annual Cardboard Box Race. Although called a race, we judges actually voted on creativity of the vehicle. This year's theme was cartoon characters. We had four age categories and one team category. The winners were Underdog (pictured here), Curious George, Scooby Doo, Elmer Fudd & Bugs Bunny & Cars. The course was so fast that we decided to move the start a bit down the course. There were some funny crashes at the… Read More >>

March 26, 2010

Another Sunny and Festive Weekend on Tap for Saddleback!

We are now heading into what promises to be another fantastic weekend at Saddleback. We have been extremely fortunate to have had the weather pattern working well for weekends and the rotten stuff happening on Mondays & Tuesdays. With any luck, that will be the case through April 11^th (closing date).

The forecast is for a cold clear night with temperatures falling into single numbers. Winds will be still and a gorgeous sunny day is on tap for Saturday with temperatures warming into the high 20’s and possibly low 30’s. Grooming will again be extensive throughout the night on most major trails. We will shoot to groom out 40 trails tonight. It will be a… Read More >>

March 25, 2010

A Beautiful Day at Saddleback

It was drop-dead gorgeous at Saddleback today! We had wall-to-wall sunshine, blue sky, no wind and temperatures warming into the upper 30’s. Yesterday’s 6 inches of new snow blended nicely into the surface from last night’s extensive grooming. In fact, last night’s grooming was one of the most extensive that I have seen all season as 41 trails were groomed. Unfortunately for me, I was too busy to get out to enjoy the snow. My wife, Lisa however, skied most of the day. She described the surfaces as being mostly smooth packed powder. Many trails that normally do not get groomed such as Lower Peachy’s and Lower Professor were groomed and featured exceptional… Read More >>