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Millinocket Sunday, March 1, 2026 | |
Submitted on March 1, 2026 by newenglandskier13 ( 822) | ||
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Session | Afternoon |
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Ticket Type | Complimentary from Ski Area |
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Lift Lines | 0 minutes |
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Trail Conditions | 100% open; Ice, Frozen Granular |
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Glades | You could ski a short part of a bike trail between two of the ski trails, if that counts! |
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Moguls | None |
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Terrain Park(s) | Someone had built a jump near the bottom of the skier's left trail. |
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Run of the Day | skier's left trail |
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Food and Beverage | I ate my lunch in the parking lot! |
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Comments | This was almost certainly my most unique skiing experience yet! I arrived in the parking lot around 11:50 and ate lunch before booting up. The two young staff members arrived around 12:40 and started running the tests on the rope tow before opening. I waited with a group of sledders for the tow to open and also checked out the inside of the tiny “lodge.” They opened the tow at 1:05. The ski area is completely free, and there is no check-in process of any kind, just show up and get on the rope! I was the only skier there, and I took laps on the two trails as other people sledded. I ended up being the only skier there the entire time it was open. Around 1:35, the operators shut down the tow and left because they were getting cold, and needed to get additional winter gear. They came back around 15 minutes later and opened the tow back up. By 2:30, I was the only one left using the tow. I left around then, and they shut the tow down for the day. The trails hadn’t been groomed since Friday, so the snow was very fast and icy. This made for some very fast skiing and sledding, and people using tubes were picking up quite a bit of speed. The tow line was especially icy, and one of the operators was stationed at the top to prevent people from sliding back down after they got off. Only one person would ride the rope at a time to prevent collisions when people struggled to hold on or to get off at the top. The ski area itself has a super unique layout. After originally opening in the 50s, the ski slope was without lift service for decades until the new rope tow opened up on Friday (2/27). Some remnants of the original operation exist, including a pole from the rope tow and footing from the ski jump. There are three “trails.” The northernmost is the lift line, and skiing down is not permitted on it. It roughly follows the original rope tow lift line from the 50s. The tow itself is a TowPro model, similar to the one at Quarry Road. Unlike the tow at Quarry Road, this one has wooden poles to support the return side of the rope. The rope is also much easier to ride than the one at Quarry Road, likely due to the most consistent slope. There is a warming hut at the bottom of the tow which provides a very basic space to warm up and contains the lift controls. It also has a sound system integrated into one of its walls, although this was not in use when I was there. The two trails are to skier’s left (south) of the tow. They are both straight and don’t have much difference from one another. The two trails and lift line angle away from each other, so the bottom of the ski area is much more spread out than the top. This means that you do have to skate/shuffle a bit to get back to the tow after each run, especially from the southernmost trail. By far, the most impressive part of the ski area are the amazing views of Katahdin from the top of the tow. It easily takes over from Mount Jefferson as the best Katahdin view from a ski area. I’m very glad that I had the opportunity to check this little place out! It seems like a great asset for the community, and hopefully they are able to keep it going for years to come. |
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URL | https://snowjournal.com/d/5079-millinocket-rope-tow/32 |
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Report Rating | 1
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