Looking down Shock Wave at Sunday River.

For my inaugural ski day in Maine, I headed to Sunday River. It’s on my Ikon Base Pass and it’s close to Wildcat Mountain, which I skied yesterday. I’ve heard a lot about Sunday River, from Donny Pelletier to White Heat. Going into the day, I knew that Sunday River was huge, but it wasn’t until I started skiing that I really got the scope of how big this resort is. It took me more than two hours just to get from one side of the resort to the other.

I started my day at White Cap, which is the first mountain you come across when entering the resort. My very first run at Sunday River was White Heat, which is a notoriously steep run. Since I skied it in the morning, conditions were great, but I could see this one getting scraped off pretty quickly. The run was steep, but nothing too crazy. After that I skied Shock Wave, which is located next to White Heat. I thought Shock Wave was more difficult, mainly due to the whales, which were icy. Both of these runs are a lot of fun and I wish I could’ve visited them twice, but I wanted to check out the entire ski resort so I began my trek across the mountain.

Things get fuzzy after White Cap, because I don’t know the names of any runs or most of the lifts from here. Sunday River spans 8 mountains. There are 19 lifts, 884 acres of terrain and 144 runs. Today, they had 684 acres open, which amounted to 110 runs. I’m not sure on the lift count, but mostly everything was open before wind holds became an issue in the afternoon, which didn’t really affect me at all. I do know that I rode the Barker 6 (a six-person high speed), the Jordan 8 (an eight-person high speed) and the Chondola. The Chondola is a hybrid lift. There are chairs on it and gondola cabins.

The Barker 6 and the Jordan 8 are pretty luxurious lifts. Both chairs have heated seats, bubbles and fancy entrances and exit buildings. However, both had issues today while I was in line. The Jordan 8’s issues were fixed quickly, but the Barker 6 was more of a wait. Like I said, I did ride both, and they got you up the mountain quickly, but I figured it was worth noting that both had issues while I was there.

Conditions around the resort varied. Some runs were packed powder, others were fast and firm. Heavily trafficked areas had pockets of full-on ice. Natural snow trails were thin cover, but skiable and enjoyable. One run I really enjoyed off the Jordan 8 was Lost Princess. I know I enjoyed it because I remember its name! Despite it being somewhat icy at times, I thought it was a lot of fun. They’ve made snow on it and just left it there so it was a mix of powder, bumps, ice and maybe some trees on the side. Fun stuff.

Let’s talk about the igloo bar. It’s located at the base of the Jordan 8 and it’s only accessible to skiers and snowboarders. This thing is AWESOME. It’s a real igloo, complete with several rooms, including a bar. Outside of it, there are chairs set up, restrooms and a trailer offering food. This is a one-of-a-kind experience, at least in the East. It’s something you don’t want to miss if you’re coming to Sunday River.

Overall, my lasting impression of Sunday River is great. It has a lot to offer and I will definitely be back in the future. There’s tons of terrain, more than I could possibly ski today, not to mention the igloo (lol). It’s just a really cool place to ski. I had a great day.

After I was done skiing at Sunday River I drove home and I’m writing this from my office in northern New York. Tomorrow is a Monday, which means I’ll be skiing after work. Normally, that means I’m headed to Whiteface. However, it’s going to be windy tomorrow so that may impact my plans.

- Lincoln

SKIING MAINE AND SUNDAY RIVER FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER

A WINDY AFTERNOON OF SKIING AT WHITEFACE

TAKING IN THE VIEWS WHILE SKIING WILDCAT MOUNTAIN