Sugarloaf/USA

Sage, Kristin and Chris travelled to ski Sugarloaf/USA in upstate Maine this past weekend. It is still very much winter there. Carabasset Valley set records for snowfall this year. The drifts and snow piles were over first story windows in some places. All this led to sensational skiing. However, as I mentioned, it was still winter. Temperatures were 8 degreess with a 20 MPH wind at the top. Frostbite was a real possibility on the first day. The second day cleared out and warmed to 45 degrees. The sunshine was so plentiful, it was almost dangerous. After the warmth, the winds really started to whip again. On the third day, the mountain could not run any of their chairlifts because winds were in excess of 80 mph at the summit. The only option to ski was to ride the snowcat to a T-bar at mid-mountain. Needless to say, we took the option of leisurely breakfast with warm coffee instead.

Sage's skiing is really improving. This trip she tried skiing moguls and glades. Glades are ski trails that go through the woods. You must be pretty good to not kiss a tree. The video below shows a mogul run. This was the last run of the day. Her legs didn't quite have the energy to make the turns. Best part was that she bounced back up and wants to run them again.

Rayne and Laila spent the weekend at Gram and Gramp's. Two more winters and Ray will be ready for skiing. As for Laila, she may always be a lodge dog.

Full photo deck at http://picasaweb.google.com/mcclure.christopher/SugarLoafTrip