It’s been about a week since I left Maine and I have failed to write about my great ski trip. We went up to Sunday River for 5 days of skiing. Consider this a basic review of the entire experience. We rented a condo at the Sunrise complex with ski in/out access to the South Ridge area (the largest base area at Sunday River).
Condo Review
The condo was supposedly a 1 bedroom that could sleep a maximum of 6 people. We were told the bedroom had a queen sized bed and 2 bunk beds and the living room had a queen sized pull out couch. The “bedroom” was actually this downstairs area. The bed down there was only a full that sagged in the middle (not fun). The upstairs was tiny with a really small bathroom area and tiny kitchen area that had a table that barely fit 4 people with the way it was situated. The living room was 3 steps above the kitchen area and had a chair and the couch and a TV with a DVD/VCR player (that ended up not being hooked up, good thing we brought the portable DVD player). The couch actually was a queen sleeper, though it was lumpy (I didn’t sleep on it, but the other couple did). Luckily, there were only 4 of us as the hot water barely made it through 3 showers. Other than those issues, the condo was fine for a ski trip.
The basement of the building had all the ski lockers. We were not informed that our locker was at the end and not the same as the owner’s locker. It was just a basic locker, about the size of a large high school style locker. It barely held 4 pairs of skis and poles. Had we had 2 others with us, their skis would not have fit and would have had to been kept in the condo, even though you’re not supposed to do that. I don’t know what we would have done had any of us had a snowboard.
Snow/Mountain Review
I have skied Sunday River before. In fact, it was at Sunday River where I first learned to ski about 11 years ago. I took their 4 hour learn to ski program, which has to be one of the best programs for first time skiers available at any mountain. If I have kids and want them to learn, they’re going to Sunday River to learn. I skied there the following year when I first skied a blue trail (and busted my knee in a fall on that trail, but got up and skied it the very next day). I didn’t return until about 2 years ago when Susan and I went back for a couple days, staying in the Grand Summit Hotel. This was the longest ski trip I have ever taken, and it was well worth it, especially since it was all mid-week.
We all started out the first day in the North Peak area, getting our bearings and feet wet. I then took off and skied American Express on Spruce Peak and Lollapalooza on Jordan Bowl. The snow could not be beat. The weather was perfect, the snow was great, and there was not a speck of ice to be found. Over the course of week, I managed to ski something on every mountain (though didn’t hit the summits of White Cap, Locke, or Oz – Locke because they were doing racing events on the trails there, White Cap and Oz because I wasn’t ready to ski some of the difficult terrain there). My favorite trails of the week had to be Risky Business, Lollapalooza, and the 2 blues on Jordan. Unfortunately, the black trails I had wanted to ski were either left bumpy or closed for race events. I didn’t make the jump to blacks that week. I hope to go back next season to make that jump.
Clinic Review
I had taken a clinic there on the fourth, and coldest, day. I was originally placed in a blue clinic, which I was told was for people looking to make the jump to blacks. However, there were a lot of people in the clinic and only one in the black clinic and I was told I could join the black one. So I did. It was a smart move. I had Mike from Bridgton, ME as the instructor (I believe he’s in charge of the ski school). While I wasn’t sure what the clinic was helping with at first, I didn’t realize how much it helped until the next day when I was skiing perfectly parallel (I am a pretty decent skier, I consider myself a strong intermediate skier, but always ended up in a slight snowplow on steeper terrain). Hopefully, I’ll be able to go skiing once or twice more this season to practice what I learned and get it into my muscle memory before I forget about it over the summer.
Overall, it was a great week. I could not have asked for more. The people at Sunday River are some of the best in the ski business. They are super helpful, the staff is great, the instructors are top notch, and the mountain has something for everyone, from great beginner areas to serious glades, steeps, and moguls. Susan ended up falling and messed up her knee. Even the ski patrol was extremely helpful.