Mt. Abram, Maine - February 4, 2017

Previous report of my ski day at Mt. Abram, ME that was posted on another ski website forum.

The Choice of Destination - Mt. Abram, Maine. The day began with my departure from Sherbrooke at 5:30am via Colebrook, NH and Balsams Wilderness, (route 26) with a brief stop to visit the closed ski area, and I arrived at Mt. Abram at 08:30. I noticed that there was no cellular service from Colebrook, NH to Newery, ME, (Sunday River) on Highway 26. It is a remote area, not a lot of cars travel this road.

Balsams Wilderness, NH:

Today at Mt.Abram, there was telemark racing (USTSA – the United States Telemark Skiers Association) with their Telefest, a day of free demos for people who wanted to try telemark skis. The price of a weekend lift ticket is here $59 USD. The conditions were fantastic, mixture of granular snow and packed powder on a firm base. No patches of ice anywhere. 47 trails open 2 chairlifts, and a little later in the morning, the t bar was running. The crowd was moderate today, but very little waiting in line for either of the two double chairs. The mountain consists of two sectors, the main base area with 1 double Chair and a t-bar, and the Western sector where the easier slopes are located and where the majority of families ski with their children. The other double chairlift is located here with a magic carpet. There is a nice selection of terrain for everyone's different levels of ability.

In recent years, the ski area had lost its main ski lodge to a fire and rebuilt a new one. It is a steel framed structure with a “skin” that I don’t really want to call a tent, but it does resemble one. I found it to be a bit crowded with all the racers, but there is a section with the bar that opened just before noon, and found a place to have a small break. The Western sector has a smaller chalet where families with their children take their breaks and have lunch.

The Main Base area with the demo tents:

The Western Sector and its Chalet:

I skied for about 4 and a half  hours with a 10 minute break and finished at 01:30. I had great day here and the chairlift operators and anyone that I spoke with were very friendly. If anyone would like a different experience in skiing than Sunday River, Mt. Abram is the place to go. Here are a few more pictures of the day: