Camden Snow Bowl 2022-2023

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, October 16

Camden Snow Bowl will be our home mountain this winter, and we stopped by today so I could purchase my season pass, and to take a scenic chairlift ride. The foliage was excellent, and the mountain is looking ready for winter. There don't seem to be any noticeable changes for this season, which includes the day ticket prices. The most expensive ticket will still be $45, one of the best deals around!

ciscokid

Nice pics Sam

So not at Black MOM anymore?

NewEnglandSkier13

Nice pics Sam

So not at Black MOM anymore?

No, I'm working a non-ski industry job currently, so I'm free to ski wherever I want this winter.

NewEnglandSkier13

January 8

We made it to Camden for the first time this year today. They survived the recent warm-up without any terrain loss, and everything off of the double was open. Coaster, Foxy, & Half Hitch were groomed, while T-Line was left ungroomed. T-Line was very firm, but the other trails had a nice mix of packed powder and granular conditions, depending on where snow had been recently made. This was the first time that I've seen T-Line with manmade snow, although it was thin in a couple of places. The other trails had deep wall to wall coverage. The snowguns were blasting away all day on Half Hitch and the upper mountain. They're hoping to open the triple next weekend, if things go well this week.

Their A-frame lodge is one of my favorite ski lodges

The double & Foxy

The double

The double & Foxy

Coaster

The top of the double & Foxy with the snow capped summit of Ragged Mountain in the background

The base area from Coaster

T-Line

Snowmaking on Mussel Ridge

joshua_segal

I only went to Camden once and that was in 1976. I remember very little about the day except for a lovely view of the Atlantic Ocean. None of your photos show that. Am I remembering incorrectly?

NewEnglandSkier13

I only went to Camden once and that was in 1976. I remember very little about the day except for a lovely view of the Atlantic Ocean. None of your photos show that. Am I remembering incorrectly?

There are great views of the ocean from the triple and upper mountain, which isn't open yet. From the area served by the double, there is only a peek at the ocean from one spot on Coaster. Here's the view from the summit in February 2021:

NewEnglandSkier13

January 19

Today was a nice uncrowded midweek day of skiing at Camden. All of the terrain off of the double was open and groomed with good coverage. There was a good bit of snow made on the upper mountain, and it looked like they were in the final stages of preparing it for opening. Conditions were loose granular on all trails, except for Half Hitch, which had frozen granular. The double was ski-on most of the day until the after school crowd started showing up around 3:00, which marked the end of my day around 3:30.

The double

Foxy

Windjammer

T-Line

The Wave Pool terrain park and Coaster with the ocean visible in the background

newpylong

They have a powerful snowmaking system for their size what's going on with the upper mountain? Something up with the lift?

NewEnglandSkier13

They have a powerful snowmaking system for their size what's going on with the upper mountain? Something up with the lift?

No, just warm temperatures and rain have limited snowmaking opportunities. Hosmer Pond is still mostly open water. They always open all of the terrain off of the double first (5 different routes down) and they build deep bases on most of the trails before moving on. They have been working their way up the mountain with snowmaking, and they're in the final stages of making snow on the very top to open two top to bottom runs.

NewEnglandSkier13

They have a powerful snowmaking system for their size what's going on with the upper mountain? Something up with the lift?
No, just warm temperatures and rain have limited snowmaking opportunities. Hosmer Pond is still mostly open water. They always open all of the terrain off of the double first (5 different routes down) and they build deep bases on most of the trails before moving on. They have been working their way up the mountain with snowmaking, and they're in the final stages of making snow on the very top to open two top to bottom runs.

Their most recent newsletter explains how poor of a season this has been for snowmaking, even when compared to the last few poor seasons.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Newsletter.html?soid=1101860510315&aid=6-SEMcWwcZg

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, January 22

Conditions were excellent today with the new snow. There was a race on Half Hitch, so it was closed for a good part of the day, and the lodge and base area all were crowded. There was a lift line for most of the day, but it maxed out around 5 minutes, thanks to efficient line management. Windjammer was extra fun today because almost no one was putting in the extra effort to go above the race course to ski it. They are planning on opening the triple on Wednesday.

Foxy

Windjammer

T-Line

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, January 29

It was another outstanding day at the Snow Bowl today! To start the day, Mussel Ridge (including Upper!) and Clipper were open off of the triple, and all of the terrain from the double was open. Conditions were loose and frozen granular to start the day, but transitioned to a wetter snow as it warmed up. Mountain ops did a great job of snowmaking and grooming, and the first few runs of the day were phenomenal. The ocean views in the morning were also great. The mountain was busy, but not crowded, and there were never any lift lines all day on either chair.

Around mid-day, the crust on the ungroomed terrain softened up, and they opened all of the trails skier's right of the triple, except for Mizzensail Crossing. Many of the glades were skiable, but they retained a crust in untracked areas. Some rain showers rolled through after 2:00, but they were significant. This was by far the best weekend yet this season at Camden!

The base of the triple & the carpet

The ocean from near the top of the triple

Upper Mussel Ridge

The breakover on the triple

Clipper

Lookout

A glade to skier's right of Lookout

NewEnglandSkier13

Thursday, February 9

With the opening of Spinnaker, Chair Line, and Northeaster, the Snow Bowl is now 100% open, although that likely won't last long with the incoming warm weather. Northeaster was being pushed out at opening, and I got the first tracks of the season on it around 10:20. Groomed/snowmaking terrain was skiing very well with loose granular conditions, becoming more of a variable surface later in the day. Ungroomed/natural terrain was also skiing pretty well, but there were rocks and waterbars to watch out for. Glades had thin cover, but many were skiable. Temperatures stayed in the mid-30s for most of the day, but the cloud cover which moved in kept things from getting too soft. Crowds were light, and it was a great day of midweek skiing!

Pushing out snow on Northeaster

The Triple, Chair Line, & Northeaster

The breakover on the Triple & Penobscot Bay

Chair Line & the Triple

Spinnaker

Lookout

Crow's Nest Overlook

Connie's Light Glade

skelley19

Great photos! I have to get up there sometime.

NewEnglandSkier13

Wednesday, February 15

The most recent stretch of warm weather has taken its toll, and all of the natural terrain at Camden is now closed. However, all of the snowmaking terrain is open with good cover. The day started out with loose granular conditions, which transitioned to a more spring-like snow as things warmed. However, because of the wind and cloud cover, things never got too soft and mushy. The mountain was close to deserted today until the after school groups showed up in the afternoon.

The top of the Triple

Clipper with the ocean in the distance

The Double & Foxy

Northeaster

Mussel Ridge

marcski

Looks great. I've never skied there. And, Sam, come on, we need more pics looking out onto the Ocean with the snow covered slopes in the foreground. ;)

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, February 25

It was a chilly day at the Snow Bowl today, with the temperatures in the single digits and teens. Thanks to a few inches of new snow over the past few days, there were excellent packed powder conditions on all open terrain, with a few minor ice patches showing up later in the day. All of the snowmaking terrain was open, and Spinnaker was also open with very thin cover. The lodge was busy all day, but there were never any lift lines. I suspect tomorrow may be somewhat busier, because it will be a bit warmer.

Northeaster

Penobscot Bay from the Triple

Very thin cover on Spinnaker

Spinnaker

Mussel Ridge

NewEnglandSkier13

Wednesday, March 1

It's been a while since we've had a good powder day this season! The Snow Bowl got about 8 inches on new snow yesterday, and conditions were spectacular today. The entire mountain was open, and there was lots of untracked powder to be skied in the morning. It started as dry powder, but got wetter as it got above freezing. It felt more like weekend skiing than mid-week, due to how busy the mountain was, and there was sometimes a wait of a few chairs to get on the triple. Glades were skiable, but they required extreme caution, as there were many hidden obstacles under the new snow.

Northeaster with Bald Mountain in the background

Spinnaker

Outside Passage

The view of Penobscot Bay from the summit

Chair Line & the Triple

T-Line

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, April 2

It was an excellent closing day at the Snow Bowl today! All of the snowmaking terrain was still open, with mostly good cover, and even some natural terrain (most of Spinnaker & Chair Line) was open with thin cover. It was a sunny bluebird day with temperatures in the upper 30s. Snow conditions were mostly spring corn with frozen granular in the morning and in shady areas. If they really wanted to, they could probably stay open one more weekend, but the demand isn't there, as evidenced by the minimal crowds for closing day today. It was an absolutely perfect day of spring skiing and a great way for the mountain to end the season!

The Triple & the magic carpet

The base area

The Triple & Northeaster

Penobscot Bay from the Triple

View from the top

Clipper

The top of the Triple from Northeaster

The Double & Foxy

The Double & the base area

Natural snow on Spinnaker