A skier enjoys the fresh snow and snowmaking above Bullwinkle’s on the Tote Road on opening day at Sugarloaf Sunday. (Ethan Austin photo) CARRABASSETT VALLEY -– After a foot of the white stuff blanketed the slopes of the high Maine ridges and peaks, Sugarloaf opened it’s rugged terrain for the 2009-10 winter season on Sunday, Nov. 28. The mountain recorded eight inches at the base, and better than 12 inches at the top of the SuperQuad, with drifts topping two feet.

Skiing and riding was available on Tote Road, with lift access on the SuperQuad, and was opened to expert skiers and riders only on the opening day.

Snow coverage was described as variable and unmarked hazards may exist. Some walking may be required. Lift ticket prices that day were $25 for all ages.

Those conditions will change rapidly as the temps have now dropped and all the new snowmaking improvements have been completed thanks to Boyne investments.

“We’re certainly excited to have all of the new snow, but we’re even more excited to have some good snowmaking temperatures back,” said Rich Wilkinson, Sugarloaf’s Director of Mountain Operations. “With all of the improvements we’ve made to our snowmaking system over the past few years, we expect to be able to bring new terrain into the mix fairly quickly.”

Daytime temperatures were in the 20s on Saturday, meaning Sugarloaf was able to resume snowmaking operations on Tote Road. Forecasts are calling for continued cold temperatures throughout most of the week; the resort expects to add additional terrain soon.

“It was truly great to see people back on the slopes today enjoying the snow,” said spokesman Ethan Austin. “While these early season conditions might not be for every skier, I think most people really enjoyed just getting out on the snow after a long offseason.”

The long-term forecast looks nice and cold throughout the rest of the week, and snowmakers will be running day and night, Austin said.

“We’re confident that we’ll have considerably more open terrain by the end of the week with conditions that everyone will be able to enjoy. Mother Nature kicked the season off for us with a foot of natural snow on Friday night, but it will be the snowguns that will bring us back to mid-season form,” Austin explained.

Sugarloaf opened again on Monday morning at 8:30. Lift tickets were $25 for all ages again.

“Thanks to the great investment from Boyne in our snowmaking system over the past few seasons, we’ll be able to make more snow faster than we ever have before and expand our open terrain quickly, Austin said.”

Over in Rangeley at Saddleback, 11 inches of snow accumulated over the weekend with a couple more expected on Monday. Snowmaking resumed Monday night and continued until Wednesday morning. While a brief warm-up is expected today and tomorrow, Saddleback planned to resume snowmaking Thursday night. Opening day is now scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5 with the Grey Ghost trail, weather permitting.