Residents of the Rangeley area are glad the buyer is local.
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer

Tuesday’s announcement that a retired Farmington geology professor had purchased Saddleback Ski Area brought sighs of relief to residents and business owners in the Rangeley area.

Archie W. “Bill” Berry Jr. of Farmington purchased the 41-trail, 4,116-foot mountain and 8,300 surrounding acres of pine-covered mountains and alpine lakes and ponds, which has been on the market since former owner Donald Breen, 73, decided to sell in November 2001.

The ski area’s vertical drop exceeds 1,800 feet. Two double chairlifts and three T-bar lifts serve skiers and snowboarders.

Although the details of the sale were private, the Breen family of Massachusetts announced in May they were asking $2.5 million for the ski area itself, or $7.5 million for the entire property.

Berry, who lives on Voter Hill in Farmington near Titcomb Mountain with his wife, Irene, was one of more than 75 potential buyers from around the world who looked seriously at Saddleback, which was listed by Sotheby’s International Realty, according to a release from the Breen family Tuesday.

Those with interests in the mountain say they are relieved the new owner and his family are not new to the ski area. Berry owns a condo at the base of the mountain and has been skiing there since the 1980s. His son, Mark, who is a former employee of Sugarloaf, is expected to be involved in his father’s investment.

The sale of the mountain comes less than two months before Saddleback usually opens its slopes for the winter season and about four months after the Breen family announced the mountain would not re-open this year unless a new buyer is found.

That news caused alarm in Rangeley, an area that relies heavily on its winter recreation industry. But the uneasiness dissipated Tuesday as the mountain’s former employees, who had been laid off in May, learned they had jobs again and area business owners learned skiers would be back in town.

The Breen family will retain a parcel of land near the resort, which they will use to build a family home.

“It really is terrific. We are just absolutely thrilled,” said Evelyn McAllister, the town’s Chamber of Commerce director and wife of Tom McAllister, the mountain’s veteran general manager, who will continue to run daily operations.

“It couldn’t be better. We are delighted to hear the buyer is someone from Maine and especially someone from Franklin County.” She added that Berry knows all of the employees which should help with the transition.

Berry is well-known around the Farmington community as a kind benefactor. A geology professor at the University of Maine at Farmington for 26 years until he retired in 1996, several years ago he made a $1.3 million donation to the school to aid the geology department. Berry and his wife also run a charitable trust.

And, according to Byron Davis, past president for the Farmington Ski Club that owns Titcomb Mountain, Berry, who was on Titcomb’s board, bankrolled an undisclosed amount for operating costs several years ago so that the small community mountain could hire a general manager.

Davis said on Tuesday that Berry’s “generous gift” helped start a “renaissance” at the mountain. That gamble proved to Davis that Berry has the business smarts needed to help Saddleback return to its glory days.

“I am very excited to hear it,” said Davis, adding that he wasn’t worried about competition between Titcomb and Saddleback. “Saddleback is a really great area. I hope it comes back to the way it once was. People enjoy the feel that mountain has. Bill and his family are very dedicated to the real core of the sport. They’ve got an ability to look ahead and make this a success.”

Already, new snowmaking, grooming, mowing and other major equipment has been delivered to the mountain, Evelyn said.

According to the release, Berry hopes to bring affordable family skiing back to Maine and upgrade the mountain.

“Our lift ticket prices will allow families to enjoy superior skiing, without breaking the bank,” he said in a release, which mentioned $35 tickets for adults on holidays and weekend, much lower than the mountain’s tickets last year.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com