Black Mountain of Maine 2024-2025 Season

JAM614

I would imagine cubbies are likely to be built, eventually when time permits. This building actually has a higher capacity than the new lodge. Some discussion of seasonal ski lockers in the basement too. I would like to see a tunnel/culvert installed to provide direct access to the original lodge, and avoid requiring all foot traffic to cross the access bridge. This would eliminate a choke point and help minimize damage to nordic trail grooming as well. The current resources and focus of mountain improvement lies primarily the with the major snowmaking upgrades forthcoming, with new tower fanguns installed on the Allagash & St John trails, Increasing the size of the snowmaking pond, electrical upgrades, manifolds, and upgrading the pumps.
The Chisholm Ski Club recently built a new extension onto the backside of one of the timing buildings in the stadium for purposes of nordic ski waxing. I don't think that space is open to the public and was built with youth programs in mind. Seems like many of the upper level nordic athletes and teams come prepared to wax outside, onsite as needed

JAM614

that would be great if they could move the race teams there. Unlike us old skiers, those kids don't need a bar.

I don't think the BOD or management wants to force all race teams or competitors over there, or label the building as a Comp center. Its purpose is TBD but IMO is better served as an overflow lodge, one with limited guest services but offers more space in a quieter setting. The upper level is pretty sweet now with tons of light and great views all around. That upper level was home to the original Last Run Pub and there were not any windows on the parking lot side up there either. The changes are pretty dramatic to anyone old enough to remember how it used to look. So pleased to see this building preserved and utilized, a timely upgrade as annual skier visits continue to rise. The BMOM staff have done an amazing job.

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, January 19

A little new snow refreshed conditions overnight with a trace at the base and two inches at the summit. Lower Rapid was newly opened, and snowmaking efforts continue on Alalgash and Saint John. Conditions were excellent packed powder to start the day, although Swift, and Androscoggin did get rather scraped off a few hours in. Upper Rapid, Kennebec, and Upper Sunday had great conditions all day long!

The holiday weekend brought what was likely the most crowded non-race day so far this season. Luckily, the old lodge is now open for public use on the middle and upper levels with ample seating, and we had the entire upper floor to ourselves at lunch. Lift lines were not an issue and maxed out at about a minute or two long. It was a great day at the mountain, and hopefully we will pick up a bit of much needed snow overnight!

Androscoggin

Lower Rapid

Lower Rapid from the old lodge

Kennebec

The middle level of the old lodge

The upper level of the old lodge

rickbolger

one of my daughters skinned up yesterday (Monday 1/20) did something off the Bagaduce trail, she wasn't sure which. Conditions on those ranged from rocky to a foot of blown powder and her group linked as much of the powder as they possibly could. Said it was really enjoyable.

JAM614

one of my daughters skinned up yesterday (Monday 1/20) did something off the Bagaduce trail, she wasn't sure which. Conditions on those ranged from rocky to a foot of blown powder and her group linked as much of the powder as they possibly could. Said it was really enjoyable.

Great to hear Rick. Despite the lack of natural snow, the Osekare dedicated uphill trail is holding up quite well and has proven to be a great layout that provides access to the groomed trails, the sidecountry, and to the GBA network off the backside of BMOM and Rumford Whitecap. We have tried to make the experience as user friendly for first time uphillers at BMOM, with 5 "Exits" and choose your own adventure options for all ability levels. The Beavers have cleared several old twitches off the Bagaduce that hold snow and are relatively clean ground. Many of these stashes are not depicted on the outdated trail map but are easy to find. We don't hide terrain, with obvious trail and glade entrances, most with handmade signage. There's plenty to discover for multiple days when the snow is "In". The Glades off the Bagaduce are still lowtide yet folks are still venturing in. Sharks be damned. Fingers crossed for more significant snow. Regarding the tree skiing, the westside offering via Allagash/St John offer the best low snow skiing and I hear those trails will soon be open.

NewEnglandSkier13

Friday, January 24

A few inches of snow earlier in the week made for perfect packed powder conditions across the mountain today! The trail count officially remained the same as last weekend, but the bit of new snow has started to make some natural terrain, including the T-bar line, and low angle glades skiable with care. As usual for a weekday, crowds were a non-issue and we didn't wait for a single chair all day long.

Androscoggin

Big Eddy Glades

Sunday

T-Bar line

The Nordic trails were also in excellent condition!

NewEnglandSkier13

Friday, February 14

Today was one of those special days! The entire mountain, except for Kennebago, is now open, and the skiing is fantastic! Trails were a mix of powder and packed powder today, with lots of powder in the woods. Many glades are now skiable, but there are definitely lots of hidden obstacles to watch out for. If you know where to look, you can find some great knee deep powder stashes. It was rather windy which kept it quite chilly, but that also made it a good day to hike up Moxie and ski the sidecountry. The sidecountry is definitely the place to be right now, and all of the trails and old logging twitches were skiing great. It's good that the snow has finally decided to show up this winter and after this weekend's storm the skiing should be even better!

Saint John

Allagash Woods 6

Wesserunsett

Bagaduce

Saint George

Saco

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, February 23

Today was a great day to be at the mountain! The entire mountain, except Kennebago is open, and the glades are finally skiing pretty well! A few of the high traffic glades are pretty beat up with lots of exposed rocks and other obstacles, but the majority of glades are skiing well. There are also still remaining powder stashes in low traffic glades on the upper mountain. It was a race day today, and the mountain was generally busy with it being school vacation week. The main lodge was packed, but it was a perfect day to use the old lodge which never had more than a handful of people in it. Lift lines were anywhere from non-existent to about 3 minutes long. I did a few sidecountry laps and met many people who were up there for the first time, which is always great to see. It's good to finally have enough snow to be able to spend most of the day in the woods; let's hope it lasts!

Dead Zone

Unnamed sidecountry trail above Bagaduce

Hardscrabble

View from the Saint John viewpoint

Upper East Branch

Somewhere deep in the East Bowl

NewEnglandSkier13

Wednesday, February 26

Up until this point, the cold temperatures had been preserving what snowpack we did have, but this week's warm temperatures have exposed how minimal the snowpack really is this season. Although coverage is generally still good on main trails, even the snowmaking terrain has developed many thin spots. On natural terrain, there are now many large bare areas. All night skiing terrain was open this evening, and conditions were edgeable, but extremely firm. In fact, it was some of the "fastest" conditions that I have ever skied. While this was quite fun for expert skiers with good edges, it was potentially dangerous for less experienced skiers. There were many long sliding falls and at least one significant injury tonight. As usual for a free ski night, the mountain was quite busy, but only the double ever had a significant line. Tomorrow's bit of snow should hopefully set things up nicely for the weekend!

Alpenglow at the summit

Androscoggin

Magalloway

Lower Rapid

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, March 2

The snow at the end of last week did freshen things up nicely, and today was an excellent bluebird day of skiing! Everything, except for Kennebago, was open, and conditions were generally packed powder with some windblown areas and some areas of untouched powder in glades. There were numerous obstacles to avoid in the more popular glades, but the majority of glades were skiing well, especially the East Bowl glades off of Bagaduce. The mountain was quite busy, as it has been for much of the season, and there was sometimes a wait of a few chairs at the Triple.

Allagash Woods 2

Dead

Oxbow

T-Bar line

Penobscot

Quietman

Skied Black from 10-3:45 on 3/6 and had a good day. Abram closed but Black was open for all of the 10-15 customers there. 4-5 ways down and it was soft but not sloppy. Fog until just after noontime, and a little drizzle at the very end, but had fun and skied fast. $30 tickets are great!

NewEnglandSkier13

Friday, March 7

This week's weather has not been kind to the snowpack. There is still a decent base in most areas, but there are significant bare spots, rocks, and ice patches, even on main trails. Kenduskeag and Songo have joined the closed trails list, in addition to Kennebago. The groomers did their best, and the groomed trails were frozen granular which was not bad at all, considering the recent weather. Ungroomed terrain was bulletproof and troughs from yesterday's skiers made things extra tricky. Patrol ended up closing most natural terrain a bit after opening, although I didn't think it was that bad. It was one of the windiest days of the year so far, and that made it feel very cold, even though temperatures were in the 20s. Even though the mountain wasn't busy at all, a school group took up most of the capacity of the lodge since the majority of students spent most of their time inside (including some who brought blankets and pajamas and clearly had no intent of going outside at all); luckily the old lodge was as empty as usual. The sun did come out in the afternoon and warmed things up a bit.

Swift

Saint John & Allagash

The Double & Magalloway

Log yard between Bagaduce & Saco

Wilson Stream

ski_it

Deleted

NewEnglandSkier13

Power went out today 3/7 at 1:15pm. Still out in Bartlett, Jackson and N. Conway at 4:30p. All ski areas closed for the day at 1:30 or earlier. Wind is howling

Sounds like that was the wrong Black Mountain for today!

lotsoskiing

this is comical

ski_it

Yep I messed up. Typing with contacts in and limited www access. Good thing there isn’t two Crotched Mtns. (Ok I know there r sorta)

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, March 16

The mountain was in rough shape today after the sustained warm weather. About 70% of trails are still open, but only Kennebec, Lower Rapid, and Upper Sunday still have decent coverage. Every other open trail ranges from large bare patches to barely skiable with walking required. It was definitely adventure skiing, which I find fun, but would prefer not to be doing in mid-March. The snow was soft all day long, and the mountain wasn't busy at all. I know they are going to do whatever they can to at least make next weekend, but it's not going to be pretty without a significant storm.

Allagash

Swift (open)

Webb

Lower Rapid

Androscoggin

NewEnglandSkier13

$30 lift tickets this weekend

rickbolger

Made a few laps on the little chair Sunday 3/23 with granddaughter's birthday party. After Saturday's heat wave it was impressive that there was anything left. I'm thinking that's my 3rd or 4th BMOM day this season, everybody there is doing a terrific job.

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