Skiing Lost Valley Ski Area
Wednesday, February 18th, 2026
Runs: 14
Distance: 3.75 miles
Elevation: 3,261 feet
Max Speed: 29.8 mph
Avg. Speed: 11.2 mph
Moving Time: 20 minutes, 30 seconds
Total Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes, 39 seconds
We had a super easy 1-ish hour drive from Black Mountain of Maine to Lost Valley, and we were delighted to see that the parking lot was by no means full. We landed around 2:00pm, but we weren't feeling pressed for time since they have night skiing (or so we thought!). We got our Indy redemptions (we learned they do different colors for different days of the week - last year we came on Friday and it was red, this year it was on a Wednesday and it was orange) and booted up in the basement downstairs. I also took my hardest fall of the trip here... in the bathroom. Concrete bathroom flooring is a crazy decision! I slammed my hip into the ground - a man in the bathroom saw it happen and said "I hope the only thing that's bruised is your ego!" - not helpful! Either way, we were booted up and made our way to Chair #1 just before 2:30pm!
Runs 1-5
Run 1: Chair #1 - Logging Trail
[0.34 mi; 2:29; 246 ft; 27.2 mph max; 8.2 mph avg]
Run 2: Chair #3 - Logging Trail - Raccoon - Logging Trail
[0.19 mi; 1:08; 233 ft; 22.5 mph max; 10.3 mph avg]
Run 3: Chair #3 - Logging Trail - Lynx - Logging Trail
[0.19 mi; 1:06; 240 ft; 27.5 mph max; 10.3 mph avg]
Run 4: Chair #3 - Coyote
[0.11 mi; 1:02; 243 ft; 17.1 mph max; 6.6 mph avg]
Run 5: Chair #3 - Coyote - Coyote Crosscut
[0.19 mi; 1:21; 217 ft; 23.3 mph max; 8.5 mph avg]
We had basically the same goal as last time - ski the whole ski area! We were going to go from looker's left to right, more or less. Run #1 was up Chair #1 and down Logging Trail, which was a little scrapey but fun! All these trails are comically short, so after a (very) short skate, we were at Chair #3 and on our way back up!
And then right back on our way down again! Run #2 was down Raccoon, which was spicy. Basically a narrow ice luge where you Tokyo Drift the whole way down. Run #3 was down Lynx, which was in a slightly better mood, but not a great one, and Run #4 was down Coyote, which was at least wider? Gen had a spill and slide on this one, but she was undamaged! We talked about edge angle, but I also told her that I'm not skiing it well either. Run #5 required us to hit Coyote again to get to Coyote Crosscut, so we both had a slight redemption run!
Runs 6-8
Run 6: Chair #1 - Bull Moose
[0.25 mi; 1:14; 240 ft; 28.0 mph max; 12.3 mph avg]
Run 7: Chair #1 - Pine Grove - Big Buck
[0.30 mi; 2:13; 236 ft; 26.3 mph max; 8.0 mph avg]
Run 8: Chair #1 - Pine Grove - Deer Run - Bobcat
[0.41 mi; 1:47; 233 ft; 26.1 mph max; 13.7 mph avg]
We were both glad that we got those trails out of the way right away, beacuse everything else was truly wonderful! Run #6 was down the final black in this pod, Bull Moose, and it was in similar shape as Coyote, but we were both skiing it better. Our favorite route was on Run #7 - Pine Grove to Big Buck. We joked about ripping the trees and turning around the pines that were spaced ~20 feet apart. Big Buck was a great (short), wide race slope that skied wonderfully. Run #8 brought us through Pine Grove and continued onto Deer Run to Bobcat, all of which were still wonderful and fun.
Runs 9-12
Run 9: Chair #2 - Fisher - Porcupine
[0.21 mi; 1:00; 230 ft; 26.8 mph max; 12.5 mph avg]
Run 10: Chair #2 - Chipmunk - Foxhole - Porcupine
[0.35 mi; 1:32; 213 ft; 23.4 mph max; 13.8 mph avg]
Run 11: Chair #2 - Skunk - Lower Foxhole
[0.31 mi; 1:44; 233 ft; 20.3 mph max; 10.7 mph avg]
Run 12: Chair #2 - Beaver - Porcupine
[0.24 mi; 1:11; 230 ft; 25.6 mph max; 12.2 mph avg]
We pivoted to Chair #2 for the final pod of trails on looker's right. First, we ripped the (short) liftline, down Fisher and Porcupine (which was signed as Lower Fisher on the hill). Run #10 was down Chipmunk to Foxhole to Porcupine, which was nice and gentle. Runs #11 and #12 were both favorites (along with #9). First we took Skunk to Lower Foxhole and then Beaver to Porcupine. Both Skunk and Beaver were nice "blues" that were short but had a nice little pitch (also I just love the name Skunk).
Runs 13-14
Run 13: Chair #2 - Squirrel Run
[0.39 mi; 1:26; 233 ft; 29.8 mph mas; 16.3 mph avg]
Run 14: Chair #1 - Pine Grove - Big Buck
[0.26 mi; 1:14; 240 ft; 24.8 mph max; 12.8 mph avg]
When we got back to Chair #2 we were told this was our last run on this chair since it was closing. Strange, becuase last year all three chairs were open during night skiing, but okay! We followed Squirrel Run down, completing our map sans the park runs. With Chair #2 closed, we skated across to Chair #1 and did a wonderful repeat of Pine Grove to Big Buck to wrap up our vacation.
We did a quick change in the lodge's basement and drove about an hour to get some Taco Bell (and go to REI as a treat). I dropped Gen off at home, and made it home around 8/9pm. This was such a wonderful Maine trip full of friends, beautiful weather, fun memories, and a LOT of progress. I was coming out of this trip feeling exponentially more confident in skiing difficult runs, including bumps and trees, and I was feeling really excited to get back to Jay Peak to ski some more "new-to-me" trails.
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