# Shawnee Peak, ME 3-3-13  Skiing and Big Air Snow Tubing



## deadheadskier (Mar 3, 2013)

Great day at Shawnee Peak today.  Forecast called for 50% chances of showers today, but there was only about 5 minutes worth of sprinkling throughout the day, but otherwise low 40s with beautiful corn harvesting to be had.

IMO Shawnee Peak is one of the more underrated ski areas in the East.  It's only 250 acres and 1300 vertical, but it really makes the most of what it has.  There's not much there that's all that challenging, but it does have a great mix of great character trails that follow the fall lines of the mountain really well.  It's got some wide trails that you can really open the throttle on and lots of narrower runs that are all unique from one another.  When conditions allow, they let a fair amount of trails bump up and the on map glades are quite good too. I also like that the mountain has minimal run out.  I've always been a bit surprised that Shawnee is not a more popular ski area given it's proximity to so many great lakes in Maine; the region is as ideal of a place for a year round vacation home that I can think of in New England.

Dana and I hooked up with Terry and his crew for unfortunately, only a couple of runs to start the day. They were going to show me some off map trees that ended up being a bit too crusty and manky to ski. Despite the no go on those trees, I have a feeling I have some unfinished business off map at Shawnee. Dana wasn't up for the off map stuff, so when I went to meet back up with him, we never reconnected with Terry and crew.  They were either on the lift and us skiing or vice versa the few times we saw them again throughout the day.  So, it goes.  That said, I highly recommend anyone who skis Shawnee to try and hook up with Terry and his friend Bruce.  Bruce was the freestyle coach at Shawnee in the 70s and actually taught Greg Stump and Wiley Coyote back in the day.  Even today 30+ years later, Bruce is one of the most fluid skiers you'll ever see.  He just has a unique style of skiing that I find amazing to watch. Thanks for the few turns we got in Terry!

I would've left Shawnee today super satisfied with the awesome skiing, but our day ended with something really unique and cool.  Someone at Shawnee came up with the brilliant idea to open up their Big Air bag to Snowtubing.  At the end of the day, they close their Big Air Bag to skiing and snowboarding and open it up for snow tubing only.  HOLY CRAP is it fun.  

No pictures of skiing today, but here's a sequence from one of my runs tubing.  Any place that has a Big Air Bag, should be doing this.  So much fun.


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## salsgang (Mar 4, 2013)

Awesome. We have only been to Shawnee to watch our kids race this year but that big air bag looks like a lot of fun. Glad you tried it out! We have skied it a lot in the past. Shawnee is a great hill with some pretty interesting terrain. Thanks for the report!


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## Terry (Mar 4, 2013)

Was another good day of skiing at the Peak. Sorry we weren't able to meet up again. We kept looking for you and Dana. Getting to know and ski with Bruce "Boogie" Cole, Jeff "Wylie Coyote" Coffin and friends has been an amazing learning experience. Bruce has a wealth of knowledge about the local ski history at Pleasant Mt and other local areas. We ski with them every weekend from mid dec through the end of march at the Peak and sometimes other side trips. We also have a good time hiking and exploring in the summer. Just a warning the trail we started on involves a climb and if you aren't carefull. a very long slog out. Glad you had a fun day, we always do!


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## xwhaler (Mar 4, 2013)

Awesome pics of soaring thru the air on the Big Air Bag! Looks like a lot of fun. 
Curious, which way did you head up from newmarket? Rte 16 to 302 or more miles but prob less stop and go/traffic 95 to 302 in Portland?
I've only skied Shawnee at night and the East Side which looks fun is not lit at night. I do need to go back sometime.


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## kickstand (Mar 4, 2013)

Nice.  Only been over to Shawnee a few times, but really enjoyed it.  The views from the summit are fantastic.  I think I'll make it my home mountain when I retire to the shores of Long Lake...


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## Cheese (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks for the report and Big Air sequence.  I haven't been to Shawnee but perhaps I'll have to add it to my bucket list now that you've given me reason.


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## Nick (Mar 4, 2013)

That air bag looks like a blast.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 4, 2013)

xwhaler said:


> Awesome pics of soaring thru the air on the Big Air Bag! Looks like a lot of fun.
> Curious, which way did you head up from newmarket? Rte 16 to 302 or more miles but prob less stop and go/traffic 95 to 302 in Portland?
> I've only skied Shawnee at night and the East Side which looks fun is not lit at night. I do need to go back sometime.



We went up 95 > 302 and came back 302 > 16.  I'd say the NH route is a touch faster.  302 from Portland to Bridgton can really suck if you get caught behind slow pokes, which happens most of the time as it's primarily local traffic and no offense to Mainers, but I find they aren't usually in a hurry to get anywhere and tend to be the slowest drivers in New England.  There are minimal opportunities to pass on 302.  When I lived in Portland, I was told that from South of there from around Scarborough there's actually a quicker route along the South Shore of Sebago.



kickstand said:


> Nice.  Only been over to Shawnee a few times, but really enjoyed it.  The views from the summit are fantastic.  I think I'll make it my home mountain when I retire to the shores of Long Lake...



That would be a killer place to retire.  15 minutes to Shawnee, 45ish to Sunday River and ~1 hour to the North Conway areas.  45-1HR to Portland and some good beaches would be nice too.  The property taxes on lakefront property appear to be less than half that what you'd pay in New Hampshire.



Cheese said:


> Thanks for the report and Big Air sequence.  I haven't been to Shawnee but perhaps I'll have to add it to my bucket list now that you've given me reason.



I'd definitely recommend it.  Like I said, not a lot of challenge, but the trails are really well designed and flow great with the contours of the Mountain.  The fixed grip lifts aren't all that bothersome either as due to the consistent pitch and lack of run out, the ride times are fairly short.   Other than a Powder day, I'd say Shawnee really shines in the spring season.  The East > North East exposure and lower elevation results in the corn softening up a bit earlier in the day than most mountains .


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## Anklebiter (Mar 4, 2013)

*Great Report!*

Great report and love the tubing pics. I wonder if other places let you do that, Camelback? Shhh, Shawnee Peak might be our home resort next year, if everything goes as planned.


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## kickstand (Mar 4, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> We went up 95 > 302 and came back 302 > 16. I'd say the NH route is a touch faster. 302 from Portland to Bridgton can really suck if you get caught behind slow pokes, which happens most of the time as it's primarily local traffic and no offense to Mainers, but I find they aren't usually in a hurry to get anywhere and tend to be the slowest drivers in New England. There are minimal opportunities to pass on 302. When I lived in Portland, I was told that from South of there from around Scarborough there's actually a quicker route along the South Shore of Sebago.



I've taken 114 from the Naples causeway, around Sebago's west shore, down thru Gorham and out to 95 near Scarborough.  Only done it once, so I'm not sure it's faster, but I have talked to people who swear by that route.  Way too many people take 302, and except for Windham, there really isn't any 2-lane stretches to pass.  It's all dotted lines, when the road allows.


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