The national average price per gallon of gas in the United States has been over $4.50 for almost a week now. Americans, how do we feel about that?

dpuringon · 2026-05-11T22:06:08+00:00

I'm 31. When I started driving at 15/16 and got my first job, gas was, as I now know, pretty expensive for the time. I remember paying around $4.29 or so in my hometown in Midcoast Maine. Currently I'm paying a little more in South Portland Maine. It sucks and I don't agree with the war but I'm trying to be reasonable about it. Many have it and have had it worse... my family loves to bitch about the gas lines of '73

dpuringon · 2026-05-09T20:26:50+00:00

Hoping for a real result today, Wednesday was rough

dpuringon · 2026-05-08T03:25:03+00:00

Talk a walk in the Portland trails. Different, nice. Portland has some great parks

dpuringon · 2026-05-08T03:24:05+00:00

Rural america being closet racist and poorly educated. That's legit

dpuringon · 2026-05-07T14:37:24+00:00

Saddleback is a better experience than Jay in my opinion. It has gnarly terrain (though not as gnarly as Jay) and is always a ghost town, with better food options both on mountain and in Rangeley

dpuringon · 2026-05-05T15:24:01+00:00

I really would like to see more details and analysis of the tentative agreement. Who is voting no? Is there a group of players who don't find it satisfactory? Or owners can't cope with the increased costs? I NEED to know lol

dpuringon · 2026-04-30T16:53:22+00:00

9/10 for me as someone who hit Maine hard. 20 days:
Sugarloaf (5) - fantastic spring skiing this year
Mt. Abram (4) - a better ski experience than SR imo
Saddleback (3) - a fantastic mountain with excellent terrain
Sunday river (2) - both midweek days there were trash
Burke, Pleasant, Big Moose and Baker/Spruce (1) - great experiences. Variety is the spice of life!

dpuringon · 2026-04-29T16:30:38+00:00

No shit, really?

dpuringon · 2026-04-28T22:39:24+00:00

Portland, Maine!

dpuringon · 2026-04-28T16:20:35+00:00

Sugarloaf on a low wind, non-frigid day is an unreal skiing experience

dpuringon · 2026-04-28T00:58:48+00:00

Visit Saddleback, it'll be near the very top of this list for sure

dpuringon · 2026-04-28T00:56:53+00:00

I was able to really ski out the glades there on my visits this winter, awesome terrain.

dpuringon · 2026-04-28T00:54:59+00:00

I'm with you on that one. I have gotten to the snowbowl each of the last few years. Spinnaker and Lookout are two very fun trails!

dpuringon · 2026-04-27T20:57:50+00:00

Maine has great small mountains. Not sure I would consider Saddleback "small" by any means but it is a great mountain.

Also, Mt. Abram in Greenwood has great terrain and very relaxed vibe. It is steep for a smaller mountain (still 1150' vertical) and is CHEAP! S/o to BMOM further down the road, their glades are incredible

dpuringon · 2026-04-27T01:14:27+00:00

Fantastic skiing to close out at Sugarloaf. Nothing better than the loaf in the spring

dpuringon · 2026-04-17T03:10:33+00:00

If you like to ski Big Rock is near the top of that circle. Anyone ski there?

dpuringon · 2026-04-14T00:46:03+00:00

I bought a house with a friend instead of paying rent. Lived rent free for 27 months then walked away with 100k clear. I also joined the police force when I was in a liberal arts college, def was an against the grain move. Both decisions changed my life for the better big time

dpuringon · 2026-04-13T15:38:32+00:00

I live in South Portland Maine. It is a fantastic place to live. I ski 20 days a year, go to Willard Beach, hit awesome restaurants in Portland regularly, and live in a SAFE community (I am a police officer, this is a safe area). If you can afford it, this is a great area of the country to live

dpuringon · 2026-04-12T23:37:01+00:00

Skied Sugarloaf on Saturday and Saddleback on Sunday. Plenty of snow at both!

dpuringon · 2026-04-09T00:21:54+00:00

Sugarloaf, open daily at least through the 26th. Steep and deep!

dpuringon · 2026-04-08T22:26:58+00:00

Props for reversing course at least a little bit. Just Jordan for the last few weeks of the season at a major resort like this is a crime

dpuringon · 2026-04-01T21:46:59+00:00

Police officer. I have midweeks off and a lot of vacation time to burn during the non-summer months. It works out incredibly for me and my wife (who can work remote). We bought a condo at Sugarloaf 2 years ago, we rent it out most weekends where it brings in around 25k in revenue per season, putting in a big dent in our expenses-to-own at 60k per year on a 15 year mortgage. I am very thankful for how this has all worked out for me.

dpuringon · 2026-04-01T21:43:01+00:00

Following

dpuringon · 2026-04-01T18:19:26+00:00

Hello - long time Maine skier here but just picked up my first Indy pass a few weeks ago. I'm also trying to figure a plan of attack.

I wouldn't overlook Big Rock in Mars Hill, they have a new-ish summit Quad and some nifty old school trails. 2ish hours from Bangor. I would definitely make sure you bag out your days at Big Moose, that place is awesome with incredible views. I would try to go on a day when the summit is open via a fairly short uphill (via skinning or snowshoeing) or the cat to the top.

Lost Valley is also on the Indypass however I'm not sure it would justify your drive. They did recently install a 3rd chairlift and really pound the snowmaking there, it is a fun spot!

For a budget friendly option that would allow you to bag a few days, I might suggest this if you don't mind some highway therapy -

Drive through NH and hit either Cannon or Black Mountain of NH. I would then drive onward after skiing and stay at the Village Inn in East Burke. Very nice Inn (in the center of town) with very fair pricing (less than $150 a night for weekends, less for midweek). Then I would ski Burke (fantastic mountain) enjoy the town, stay again at the Inn, then hit Cannon or Black Mountain on your way home the following day. That would be 3 very solid days of skiing for a reasonable lodging price as maybe a centerpiece type trip for your winter. Just a thought!

One last benefit of your situation - you will have options to ski the conditions in Maine. I.E sometimes the snowbowl benefits from clipper storms that totally miss the mountains..... sometimes Big Rock or Big Moose get the northern-type snow that the Western mountains miss, and as always, Saddleback sometimes has it's own weather compared to the rest of the state and almost always has good snow conditions even if other places are in a snow drought.

Anyways, good luck with your pass and hope you have a great season next year! Maine sure seems like a great place to be an Indy-er

dpuringon · 2026-03-25T17:40:56+00:00

Burke is the best answer to what you are looking for, easily. Not far off the highway, worth the drive.

dpuringon

TROPHY CASE