I don’t need any special reason to head for Sugarloaf. The skiing alone is enough, but there are other reasons to enjoy a return to a mountain that has a special place in Maine skiing.  It’s always fun to check out what’s new and at the same time find comfort in what’s familiar.
Staying in the hotel makes it easy to walk around the village whether looking for a bite to eat or check out the shops.  Friday we went up to the Bag and found it almost empty, something that won’t happen on a Friday night later in the season.  The favorites are burgers and pizza and reading the menu always provides some entertainment.  One bit lists the distinctions between the Bag and Kettle and “your average English Pub”.  My favorite is that the Bag is 3500 miles closer to Eustis.  This kind of humor has always been a part of Sugarloaf and it’s part of what makes the “Loaf” so special.
In the morning we checked out the new restaurant in the hotel.  The Double Diamond Steakhouse has been replaced by 45 North and has a new Ala Carte menu.  
We didn’t have dinner there but ham, eggs, home fries and toast for $7 is a good price for a resort breakfast.  Later in the season there will be a breakfast buffet.
Gepetto’s has been our spot for lunch for more years than I care to count.  We can sit at the bar and Kelly will be there with a familiar smile and we know that several friends are bound to come by before we head back out to the slopes.       
Last weekend was justified by my desire to learn more about SCVA (Sugarloaf Carrabassett Valley Academy). Most Maine skiers are well aware of the results CVA skiers and boarders have achieved at the highest levels of competition.
Seth Wescott, Bode Miller and Kirsten Clark honed their skills on the steeps of Sugarloaf while students at CVA.  Indeed the mountain is a key part of CVA’s attraction to the highest level of skiers and riders, just knowing they can train on a mountain that has the vertical and terrain to host national championships and World Cup competitions.  
The mountain is the very reason that this first rate college preparatory school was founded in the Carrabssett Valley.    
I started with Michael Savage, who was a member of CVA’s first graduating class in 1986 and has 20 years of coaching experience at the highest levels.  Mike has returned as Alpine Program Director and has overall responsibility for all of CVA’s alpine programs. He had been out on the mountain checking in with various groups being coached by the expansive CVA staff.
After giving me some background on CVA coaching, he introduced me to Andrew Willihan, who directs the SCVA program.  CVA students ski every day while pursuing a full academic load with the schedules adjusted to give them full class room time and sufficient hill time.  SCVA is a weekend program designed to give skiers and riders the benefits of the same high quality coaching that CVA students get.
 It also gives the students an introduction to CVA and many will go on to enroll at the school.
Currently there are 140 kids in the SCVA program and Willihan has a staff of 24 assuring each athlete in the program plenty of individual attention.  There are four parts: Alpine, Freestyle, Snowboard and Skier X, so kids can focus on the discipline that interests them most.  It’s open to skiers ages 8 to 19 and runs from December 1 to March 24.  
The goals of the program are to instill a love of skiing, provide an opportunity to build strong fundamentals, age appropriate gate training and create a positive member of the skiing community. The ultimate goal is to be the best skier and individual can be.
Andy’s background explains his passion for skiing.
Following graduation from CVA he attended UMF, where he earned a degree in education, while coaching in the SCVA program weekends.  Although he was not part of the UMF Ski Industries program contacts made through the program helped him secure a job as a race room manager for Volkl/Tecnica/Marker.  
This guided him back to coaching when he became the J1 and 2 Pod leader for SCVA.  Mid week he worked with high school skiers as head coach for MCI, Winslow and Waterville.  
In 2008 he was hired as a full time coach at CVA and now heads the SCVA program.
Andy exudes a passion for skiing and coaching ski racers in particular, and he makes the point that SCVA is part of a ski education foundation.  He cites the dedication of his weekend staff.
“These coaches are doctors, lawyers, engineers, carpenters and accountants,” he sai. “They have 9-5 jobs during the week, but every weekend they are out there freezing their butts off, working with the kids.”
“We are running a ski racing school in a classroom that is on a mountain 4237 feet tall.  It has the variety of terrain to develop all the skills needed.”  
He noted how the education works.
“When the lifts are in a wind hold, the kids hike up,” he said.  “We are up there on the mountain knowing we earned the run.”
Andy tied it all into the attitude of the valley and the mountain. There is a fierce loyalty that is apparent at Sugarloaf.  Those of us who have skied there since the early days know it and feel it whenever we visit.  
The SCVA program manager summed it up this way, “We’re creating future Sugarloafers”.
Dave Irons is a freelance writer who lives in Westbrook.