WinterGuide 2010

On wild nights, Maine’s ski resorts are Spring Break on ice.
By Molly MacLeod

Sugarloaf

“We’ve had cross-dressing night, luau night, pirate parties, Spam-eating contests, and hard-boiled-egg-eating contests,” says Sugarloaf’s Ethan Austin of “White White World Week,” five days in January (24-28) during which couples sponsored by local watering holes vie for the prize of ‘King and Queen of the ‘Loaf’ in competitions on and off the slopes. “Those eating contests can get out of hand. I’ve never done one myself, but I’ve seen enough to know I don’t want to. See, it’s the darkest month of the year. It’s just how people let loose.”

The week also features a “dummy jump” in which “people build dummies out of anything they can get their hands on-I’ve seen an old toilet bowl on a pair of skis”-and send them careening down the mountain. The winner, says Austin, is “the one with the most spectacular crash.”

Add that to Sugarloaf’s long list of wintertime shenanigans, which include partying at the Widowmaker Lounge, or attending the Snowmaker’s Ball (4/7), live performances by Little Feat (1/16) and Rustic Overtones (3/27), and the annual Reggae Fest in April (4/5-7), which draws a crowd of 4,000-5,000 and regularly schedules local reggae bands like Royal Hammer, plus headliners from Kingston and Clarendon, Jamaica, like The Wailers and Barrington Levy. (Picture a sea of heads bobbing to live reggae on “The Beach” flanking the base lodge amid a Budweiser-scented breeze-and you’re right there.)

Don’t count on Austin for detailed anecdotes, though. “It’s just a weekend-long party. Once it starts, you just kind of blink and then you wake up and it’s over.” In any case, it feels okay.

Sunday River

Sunday River has long been a skiing Mecca for its activities centered around the resort’s eight peaks. But after the lifts close, Sunday River scenesters make the Matterhorn their first stop. The Bethel ski bar has “great food, cool peeps, and some of the largest drinks in the state,” says a blog posting by house band Last Kid Picked, whose regular wintertime gigs “draw a line out the door,” according to bar owner Roger Beaudoin. The band isn’t exaggerating about the elephantine proportions of the Matterhorn’s token libation, the 60-ounce Glacier Bowl.

But the wood-fired pizza (they have pies with Swiss-Alps-themed titles like the Monte Rosa) and ample people-watching opportunities (sightings include Katie Couric, the Gin Blossoms, and exercise infomercial guru Tony Little) should keep patrons from spiraling off into an après-ski stupor.

The Matterhorn warms big crowds to raucous events like annual Mardi Gras and New Year’s Eve parties, as well as shows by disco-revival band Motor Booty Affair. “Every night here is an event,” Beaudoin says. “We call ourselves the greatest show off snow.”

Further downtown, The Jolly Drayman, an English pub nestled within The Briar Lea Inn, is “a smaller version of Cheers,” according to bartender Duncan MacDougall. “People come in just to see what’s on draft, and we take pride in our beer selection. One Monday night, we had eight Canadian doctors come in and basically take the place over.” Faster than you can say Great White North, “they were loud and obnoxious, throwing money around,” as though surprised by the potency of Maine’s spirits or simply the notion of ‘happy hour.'” “One of them tried one of those Dogfish Head 120-minute IPAs [20 percent alcohol] and passed out on the couch. When people have a few beers after skiing, they tend to get drunk quicker than usual. Or maybe they’re just happier.”

Mt. Abram

All winter long, Mt. Abram hosts full-moon hikes to the summit, where a bonfire awaits starry-eyed expeditioners “who then ski back down the mountain to shrug off their parkas, drink Fearless Leaders, and dance to music by Brand New Mixture in the Loose Boots Lounge,” Kevin Rosenberg says.

In March, the mountain hosts Gritty McDuff’s Whitegrass/Bluegrass Music Festival (3/27), “the only bluegrass festival on snow in the U.S., with local bands Jerks of Grass, the Swamp Donkeys, and Cumberland Crossing.” On top of that, “I’ve seen a lot of knee-slappin’ bluegrass” at the Jolly Drayman, which is “small in size and big in heart.” Also in March (3/7), “we’ll be hosting the ‘Knees in the Breeze Telebration.'” The New England Telemark Ski Association visits in style, with instructors and equipment for people to try.”

After working up a thirst skiing Mt. Abram’s three new double-diamond glades, “I’d hit The Suds Pub [at The Sudbury Inn] for Thursday night ‘Hoot Night,’ where local musicians get up and play, then end up at the Funky Red Barn on Bethel’s Main Street, more of the local scene,” Rosenberg says. “Everyone from local firefighters to gubernatorial candidates shows up here-it’s like a class reunion, cruise ship, and dance party all in one.”

“My friends and I go there after work sometimes just to people-watch,” MacDougall says. “I’d compare it to goin’ out on Fore Street in the Old Port.” Any specialty drinks?

“Two-dollar PBRs and Allen’s Coffee Brandy,” Rosenberg laughs. “That’s my snap on it.”

Shawnee Peak

Shawnee Peak’s Spring Fling in March (3/20) is another explosion of riotous energy, steeped by months of cabin fever. The party includes barbeque, live reggae music, and a slush cup-a water-filled, dug-out hole that brave souls try to skim across on their skis. “It never gets old,” says Melissa Rock, the mountain’s marketing director. “It’s always fun to watch people land in a pool of cold water.”

Year-round opportunities for dancing (or a quiet, cozy pint) include Bray’s Brew Pub in Naples, which has “live blues music, a great oatmeal stout, and some of the best pulled pork North of…the South. I don’t know where pulled pork originated, but theirs is awesome,” says Shawnee Peak’s Josh Harrington. He also likes Ebenezer’s in Lovell for the knowledgeable staff, Belgian-style beer, and perfect location-“they’re right off a snowmobile trail.” The morning after, stamp your boots at The Blizzard pub inside Shawnee’s base lodge-“they have some of the best Bloody Marys around,” says Harrington, who dares the bloodies at Sugarloaf and Sunday River to match up.

Heather Waild, Shawnee Peak’s operations manager, also likes The Blizzard for après-ski or après-work margaritas, but watch where you sit-“I have a special seat at the bar. When people see me coming, they get out of my chair.”

Lost Valley

Lost Valley is romantic, nostalgic, and a hometown blast. “It’s where my friends and I all learned to ski,” says local Matt Dodge, 22, of the Auburn attraction. “Since they were the first mountain in Maine to offer night skiing, we could take lessons after school.” February 26 is Lost Valley’s “Turn ‘til 12 Night,” when the lifts run till midnight, according to co-owner Connie King. “Then there’s Thursday corporate racing and Bud nights, where the bar is just packed. People [from firms such as Advanced Orthotics, the Lewiston Sun Journal, Chipman Farms, and a motorcycle stunt team by the name of Vertical Outlaws] go out and race and then just party. We also have live bands every Friday night and a beach party on the first Friday in March.”

“The City of Auburn Winter Festival runs from January 29 through the first week in February, and we have entertainment in the lounge by [Portland band] Under the Covers,” says snow sports director Tad Bettcher.

Lost Valley also hosts visits from “the Jäger girls and the Volta [‘energy’ vodka] girls, where the bar runs an energy drink special [featuring a delicate admixture of Volta and Monster],” says King.

That’ll get you amped up for a visit to Lost Valley’s twangy neighbor, Club Texas, an all-ages dance club in Auburn that invigorates “a mechanical bull once a month, sells Western hats and buckles, and provides the venue and the official to perform ‘the rite'” for couples lookin’ to get hitched (you can even hire a country band like Dirty McCurdy, The Honkytonkers, or Shania “Twin” for the reception). Or stop by Gippers Sports Grill, a longtime favorite of Dodge’s for its reliable après-ski food and beer and familiar wait staff.

On March 14, the mountain hosts the “Lost Valley Snodeo,” with “pond skimming, cardboard box races, a chili contest,” and, of course, the indispensable mechanical bull-an aptly kickin’ finale to a lustrous winter here.

Camden Snow Bowl

The annual U.S. Toboggan National Championships, held here from February 5-7 at Camden Snow Bowl, “is a big tailgate party, but it’s also a serious event,” says ski school director Andrew Dailey. “Thousands of people crowd in to watch 400 teams compete. We’re talking fireworks, a chili-chowder challenge, and this year, comedian Bob Marley will be here.” Is it something about the toboggans inspires onlookers to dress up in costumes here, too? “I’ve seen everything from Thing 1 and Thing 2 to The Incredibles characters,” Dailey says.

Although the municipally-owned mountain (which is, by the way, “the only [ski mountain] in the lower 48 from which you can see the ocean”) doesn’t yet offer an après-ski scene on site (a $6.5 million upgrade promises to address this, with new trails and a restaurant/bar), “Downtown, there’s Peter Ott’s [Steakhouse & Tavern], Gilbert’s Publick House, Smokestack Grill, and Waterfront Restaurant,” says Dailey.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a rowdy town, but it depends on where you go.” And perhaps when-“We’re big on college breaks.”

Saddleback Mountain

“The trick about Saddleback is it takes just 15 minutes to get from the mountain to downtown Rangeley,” says Matt Dodge, “so I’d recommend having your first decompressing beer upstairs [at the Swig ‘n Smelt Pub in the base lodge].” While you’re there, stay for the music-“We host a weekend concert series featuring (this winter): Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys (1/1, $25), [folksinger] Jonathan Edwards (2/13, $30), The Derailers (3/27, $20), and Bob Marley (2/16, $20),” we’re told by a mountain staffer.

“After that,” says Dodge, “head downtown for the party.” Specifically fuel up at The Red Onion, a long-standing pizza joint that makes the brief sojourn from the mountain worthwhile, then to Sarge’s Sports Pub, where you can dance to music by The Snowtones, a band led by ski patrol member Bob Greene, or classic rock covers played by the Tom Ball Band. Sarge’s is “the sports pub,” according to Dodge’s father, Rick, another ski patrol member, and, says a Saddleback employee; “You don’t leave without seeing something happening.” “There’s a parquet floor like in the Boston Garden,” says Matt Dodge, and everyone agrees the dance floor fills up fast. “I remember coming off the mountain after a full day of skiing and going straight to Sarge’s because my dad had to catch the UMaine hockey game. I was so tired, I fell asleep on the Pac-Man machine.”

Too bad, because then he missed going to The Club House, another rite of passage in Rangeley. “It’s a half-restaurant, half-bar and pool hall-right off the snowmobile trails, so it’s absolutely inundated with snowmobilers, who are a pretty rowdy set,” says Dodge. “You can barely find a table because they’re all covered with snowmobile helmets and gear that people have stripped off.”

Ah, the release of the sweaty parka-shuck! But then, sharing the streets with the “rough and tumble snowmobile crowd,” as Rick Dodge calls them, is part of Rangeley’s appeal-down-to-earth, with a dash of two-stroke engine fuel.

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