Our family of five, with varying skiing abilities, went skiing at Saddleback Mountain in Maine on Sunday. It was the first time all five of us have been downhill skiing together. It was so much fun!
Photo Credit: A Saddleback employee
The Lodge
Saddleback has a very nice ski lodge! It was clean with a fireplace and big windows looking out at the mountain. The tables and chairs were wooden and there were lots of cubbies that fit our boot bags. The bathrooms were clean too, I always appreciate that.
The Food
There is a food court at the lodge, we usually opt to bring our own food as I have celiac disease and generally can’t find food that I can eat at ski areas. It is also a great way to save some money while skiing.
We like to bring soup as it is nice to warm up when you come in for lunch. I made a Sausage Noodle Soup to bring with us today which is a fan favorite. We found these Kleen Kanteen TK Canisters when I was looking for a new thermos at a local store the other day and got 32 oz one to try. They have a nice wide opening that is so much easier to pour into and eat out of.
How to properly fill a thermos:
- Preheat the canister by filling it with boiling water and setting the cover on it while you heat up the soup.
- Put the hot to boiling soup in the canister.
- Make sure the lid is seated properly so it will not leak.
- Wipe off any drips on the outside of the canister.
Did the canister keep the soup hot?
We filled the canisters around 5:45 am and it was still hot between 11 and 1 which was when we were eating. They worked so well I decided to get some of the 16 oz ones to try so each of us will have an individual one and we don’t need to bring bowls, which always tends to be a little messy. The Kleen Kanteen canisters have a nice handle to get them open and they stayed sealed and hot until we were ready to eat. The 16 ounce canisters aren’t supposed to hold the heat as long, but I think they will be sufficient for our purposes.
The Trails
I started skiing again last year for the first time in more then 25 years, and I still prefer the green circles most of the time. The boys all like a little more of a challenge, blue squares, black diamonds and double black diamonds are all in their repertoire, as well as some runs through the glades. The runs through the glades are a favorite with our eight year old. He says it is so quiet and peaceful in the woods and he really loves that.
Skiers and snowboarders ready to head down the mountain.
Photo Credit: T.M.
My favorite run was taking the Rangley High Speed Quad up to Hudson Highway. Hudson Highway is a long meandering easy trail with nice curves. I really enjoyed it. Our eldest and I did the Blue Devil which is a blue square, so slightly more challenging, while the others did a run through Woolly Glades and met us at the bottom. The Blue Devil was a nice run, a little narrow, so no long sweeping turns, it had some powder on it when we were there, which T and I found a little tricky, but fun.
River and the boys took the Kennebago Quad up to the top of the mountain and came down Tri-color (blue square) to Nightmare Glades (double black diamond).
See a short video of entering the Nightmare Glades on our Youtube channel.
Our oldest son is also a beginner, although he is more adventurous then I am. He went to the top of the mountain and took Tri-color to Green Weaver (both blue square) he said the trails were really nice.
Photo Credit: T.M.
The two youngest really enjoyed the terrain park on Wheeler Slope. They came through it every time they could and our middle kiddo went up and down several times himself. It had some pretty big jumps. There was another terrain park near the lodge. We didn’t get to use it because there was a competition happening while we were there.
This mountain offered a variety of options for all levels of skiing.
To see a map of Saddleback Mountain’s trails, click here.
It was a beautiful day on the slopes
We had a fantastic day on the mountains and I had never seen snow stuck to the trees like this before. It was magical looking. You could feel the moisture in the air as you ascended the mountain through a cloud to a clear arrival at the top. There was a light snow for about half the day and that was lovely to ski in.
As we were gathering up our skis to carry to the racks by the pick-up area, I saw people ski right to the the pick-up area and I thought that was so smart. I hadn’t considered doing that before but it makes so much sense. It is hard to gather up all the gear and food and tired children, and get everything to the pick-up area even though it isn’t that far away. I’m definitely keeping that one in my back pocket for next time.
All three of the boys slept on the way home, we wore them out! Our youngest said he was too tired to even carry his bag. He has a smaller boot bag then the rest of us that has straps on the sides, we were able to clip his skis right to his bag keeping his hands free. This made a huge difference when we were leaving and everyone was a little worn out.
Our conclusion: Saddleback offers excellent skiing for people of all abilities and we will definitely be back.
My only complaint was that my goggles and glasses kept fogging up! If anyone knows how to prevent this please leave a comment below.
Happy adventuring!