Skiing Black Mountain of Maine
Tuesday, February 18th, 2025
Runs: 14
Distance: 10.83 miles
Elevation: 12,808 feet
Max Speed: 39.2 mph
Avg. Speed: 13.9 mph
Moving Time: 45 minutes, 44 seconds
Total Time: 3 hours, 23 minutes, 23 seconds
Give it up for Day #5! We were heading back to Black Mountain of Maine because of the insane winds - BMoM is famous for rarely going on wind hold, and they held up! We stopped at Dunkin in Rumford for breakfast and then made the arduous 10 minute drive to the mountain (it was so nice that it was so close). Linnea and Andrew were going to meet up with us again, but they had a much longer drive, so we'd see them later. We got our passes, booted up in the lodge, and got ready to hit the snow with a -17 degree windchill!
Trail Report
February 18th 6:00am
We've gotten 14" of snow over the last week and conditions on the mountain are incredible. We're 100% open with 30 trails dishing out awesome packed powder and powder conditions. Hidden powder stashes on our ungroomed terrain remain to be discovered with windswept areas making some powder pockets of their own. Today's forecast is calling for strong winds under mostly cloudy skies, so be sure to bundle up.
Chisholm Ski Club is hosting the 2025 MPA State Nordic Ski Championships today, so if you're out on the nordic trails, be sure to move in the direction of the racers and be aware of your surroundings. The race beings at 12:30. School break is underway and we're open all week from 9am-4pm for skiing and snowboarding and the tubing park will be running 12pm-4pm every day. The Osekare Uphill Trail is open with Exit 2 being the preferred exit. The uphill trail is open 24/7. Exits 1, 2, 3, and 4 are open when the lifts are spinning. Exit 5 is always open.
Runs 1-4
Run 1: Summit Lift - The Swift - Androscoggin
[0.80 mi; 3:21; 1,217 ft; 35.7 mph max; 14.3 mph avg]
Run 2: Summit Lift - Upper Androscoggin - Upper Rapid - Kennebec - Lower Androscoggin
[0.83 mi; 2:39; 1,188 ft; 32.5 mph max; 18.8 mph avg]
Run 3: Summit Lift - Allagash
[1.21 mi; 4:34; 1,220 ft; 28.7 mph max; 15.9 mph avg]
Run 4: Summit Lift - Upper Allagash - St. John - Allagash - Sandy - Lower Rapid
[1.13 mi; 4:32; 1,191 ft; 34.5 mph max; 15.0 mph avg]
My goal for the day was to ski all of the non-backcountry trails outside of the beginner area. Our first lift ride was COLD, but that was expected. From the top, we followed the lift line all the way down - The Swift to Androscoggin. It was firm, fast, carvable, and fun! Fast was going to be a theme for the groomers, which were 95% ice-free all day! Run #2 followed Upper Androscoggin to Upper Rapid to Kenebec and Lower Androscoggin, which became our favorite groomer run of the day. Just fun, fast skiing! We couldn't believe how different two days makes (even though it made complete sense).
We found Linnea and Andrew for Run #3 and followed Allagash, which continued the pattern of fun and fast - the main headwall had EXCELLENT, soft snow, which was such a treat. Run #4 brought us back to St. John and Sandy, with Allagash in between. Just to keep repeating myself, it was so fun to experience these trails in such wildly different conditions! After this run, it was time for a warming break.
Runs 5-6
Run 5: Summit Lift - Piscataquis - Penobscot - Lower Rapid
[0.86 mi; 4:12; 1,201 ft; 34.8 mph max; 12.2 mph avg]
Run 6: Summit Lift - Upper Androscoggin - Kendukeag - Androscoggin - Webb
[0.90 mi; 5:02; 1,217 ft; 31.6 mph max; 10.8 mph avg]
Soon we got back out into the tundra with blue skies and hopped back on the Summit Lift. At one point, the lift did stop and the chair bounced so dramatically it almost felt like a freefall (Sarah did NOT like this). We took a sharp left off the lift and went down Piscataquis, which became my pick of the day. It was icy right under the lift, but soon became narrow and delightfully soft, and then there were some bumps that were perfectly soft and spaced out with a reasonable steepness for me as someone who is trying to get better at bumps! We followed Penobscot to Lower Rapid down, which was still fast and fun.
We split up a bit for Run #6. Linnea and Andrew hit some of the racing trails again, Gen went down Upper Sunday, and Sarah and I went exploring on Webb, which was a natural trail with a steep headwall - again, good for me! I did not perform too well and did briefly lose control, but I reeled it in and stuck the landing at the end. The lower stretch of Webb was groomed, so we caught some speed to get back to the lift. We were yet again CHILLED, so we went inside for some early lunch (I had my cold breakfast sandwich that I forgot to eat).
Runs 7-8
Run 7: Novice Lift - Big Eddy Glades - Ellis
[0.25 mi; 1:46; 190 ft; 21.2 mph max; 8.5 mph avg]
Run 8: Novice Lift - Lower Sunday - The Bean
[0.26 mi; 1:41; 207 ft; 20.2 mph max; 9.3 mph avg]
After our lunch Gen decided she was ready for comfy o'clock and Linnea requested we hit the Novice Chair for a couple laps in the beginner area - the rest of us HAPPILY obliged! Run #7 was down the Big Eddy Glades again, which were basically skied off/blown off at this point, but still good tight turn practice, and Run #8 was down Lower Sunday to The Bean. Unfortunately, there was some crust-on-powder snow off of Lower Sunday that I was NOT prepared for, which trapped one of my skis and sent me flying (I do see the humor in my only fall of the day being in the beginner area!). We then scooted over back to the main lift for some longer laps.
Runs 9-12
Run 9: Summit Lift - Piscataquis - Penobscot - Lower Rapid
[0.90 mi; 4:15; 1,207 ft; 39.2 mph max; 12.7 mph avg]
Run 10: Summit Lift - The Swift - Androscoggin - Webb - Rangeley - Webb
[0.92 mi; 4:13; 1,184 ft; 29.3 mph max; 13.0 mph avg]
Run 11: Summit Lift - Upper Androscoggin - Kenduskeag - Androscoggin - Upper Sunday - Magalloway
[1.01 mi; 3:25; 1,184 ft; 28.8 mph max; 17.9 mph avg]
Run 12: Novice Lift - Big Eddy Glades - Ellis
[0.26 mi; 1:07; 213 ft; 27.5 mph max; 13.8 mph avg]
Once back at the top, the advanced team kept going back-and-forth on whether or not they wanted to do the hike up Moxie to the backcountry terrain. I wanted to want to, but was satisfied with the challenges I had hit for the day and didn't want to commit a huge chunk of time to have a potentially rough run. I told them if they have the slightest urge, they should go, because we only come once a year, and they did! They said the hike up Moxie got steep, and the ski down the outermost trails was mostly nice with some dicey stuff (they all mentioned it was well within my skill range, but I maintain I was all set - next year though I'm in!).
While they played, I decided to finish up my quest for hitting all the runs (minus the double-black). I went back down Piscataquis for some more bump practice (I think I did better than last time?) and then zoomed down Penobscot and Lower Rapid. I wanted to hit Kenebago, but it was either closed or at least roped off, so I skipped that one. I went back to Webb for Run #10 and almost got run-over by a dad who didn't think I'd be going down there. I got back ahead of him while he waited for his kid, and sent myself right into (and somehow under) a tree. Skis technically stayed on, but I had to pop one off to get out of the tree. The dad and kid caught up and said "overshot it, eh?" I did do a better job at the headwall, though! I then followed Rangeley back to the lift, which was narrower than Webb and covered in twigs and branches.
Run #11 brought me back down Upper Androscoggin to Kenduskeag, eventually to Upper Sunday and Magalloway, which was just a nice cruiser run. Just before Upper Sunday, I found my friends on the Summit Chair! I got one more run on the Novice Chair while I waited for them.
Runs 13-14
Run 13: Summit Lift - Allagash
[1.23 mi; 3:33; 1,191 ft; 28.7 mph max; 20.7 mph avg]
Run 14: Novice Lift - Big Eddy Glades - Ellis
[0.27 mi; 1:23; 200 ft; 22.3 mph max; 11.6 mph avg]
We were COLD at this point, so we were flirting with wrapping up for the day. After the long, cold lift ride (plus suffering through some snow-nadoes), we decided we'd do our "three more skip the last," but head to the Novice Chair after this run for a fun run. Sarah and Andrew went into the trees, while Linnea and I went down Allagash, which was still skiing great MINUS the final steep, which was an exciting sheet of ice!
Our final run for the day was down the Big Eddy Glades for a final hurrah, followed by a lovely apres with popcorn from the bar. We played with my toy cameras for a bit and locked-in the plan for tomorrow, Saddleback! The weather window finally calmed down and even though it was further away, we all wanted to head back.
Sarah, Gen, and I stopped at the Hannaford's in Rumford to get dinner and dessert supplies and finished "Ski Party" when we got home, followed by "GNAR" as per a Reddit recommendation - it was EXCELLENT. We finished up our couch time by watching "Mountains Not for Profit" on YouTube - another great film about some non-profit mountains, including Whaleback! Afterwards, we had to pack up the AirBnb, which was a solid bummer, but it was such a fantastic trip!
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