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Story by Tim Jones

It was worth it.

For a family used to skiing primarily at small, local mountains, Sunday River is pure culture shock. The resort consists of seven (!) interconnected mountain peaks with 12 lifts, including two high-speed detachable quad chairs. It also boasts four lodges, uncounted slopeside condominiums hidden away in the trees, a ski dorm for skiers on a budget, and more intermediate and expert trails (not to mention a big bunch of beginner trails that we simply ignored) than even two enthusiastic kids and an equally enthusiastic dad can ski in two full days. I know, we tried.

On the first day of our trip, heavy winds closed a couple of the chairlifts, including the famed White Heat Quad, which services some of the toughest trails on the mountain. But the lift lines were entirely manageable, and we managed to find plenty of exciting runs -- including Right Stuff, one of our favorites -- more or less in the center of the whole Sunday River complex.

We stayed at a slopeside "studio" condo, which boasted four comfortable beds and a pull-out couch, along with a completely equipped kitchen, and a heated outdoor pool. We cooked supper on Sunday night, went to bed early, and got up early enough on Monday morning to be the first up the White Cap Quad, which was just down the trail from our condo.

Monday was one of those days that skier's dreams are made of. The wind had died down and the groomers had turned most of the trails into perfect "corduroy" snow. We skied some of the toughest trails on the mountains, including White Heat, Shock Wave, and Vortex, all of which rate double black diamonds!

Given the perfect grooming, White Heat and Vortex were honestly pure fun to ski. The groomers thoughtfully groom half of these incredibly steep trails, and let the other half grow huge bumps. Mere mortals (like me) can enjoy steep-and-smooth, while the superheroes can challenge themselves as much as they wish. Shock Wave is one of the toughest trails I've ever skied. Well, I'm not sure "skiing" describes what we did on Shock Wave. "Surviving" comes a little closer to the truth.

Tuesday found us grounded by a heavy fall of wet snow that stuck to our goggles and made seeing -- let alone skiing -- nearly impossible. After a couple of runs, we gave up trying to ski the whole of Sunday River in one trip and reluctantly pointed the car toward home. Our only consolation was that Sunday River had eight to ten feet of snow on most of the trails and was still making snow. They'd be skiing at least until the middle of May, so we thought we might have time for a return visit.

As it turned out, we didn't get back to Sunday River until the next spring.

We had two basic goals at Sunday River upon our return: First, we wanted to ski "Shock Wave," one of the toughest trails in the East and one that had given us lots of trouble on our visit the year before; second, we wanted to ski the then-new Jordan Bowl.

I'm happy to say that we achieved both goals. We didn't just ski Shock Wave, we hammered it, carving turn after turn in the soft spring bumps on the steep double fall line. Our main obstacle was the other skiers who also wanted to ski this tough, tough trail.

Having proven that we could handle the toughest trail on the mountain, we headed for the Jordan Bowl. Every couple of years, Sunday River adds more terrain than some ski areas have to begin with. The Jordan Bowl, four incredible trails serviced by a brand-new detachable quad, was the start of a fabulous expansion call "Oz." We haven't skied Oz yet -- that's on the agenda for this year!

You've probably heard those TV and radio ads that say, "Gotta ski Sunday River!" They're absolutely right.

For more information, see Sunday River's Web site at www.sundayriver.com or call 207-824-3000.