Good news for Saddleback as well as skiers

By taking advantage of every opportunity to make snow, ski areas have been slowly adding terrain, and in spite of unseasonably warm temperatures, there is skiing for this vacation week.

It may seem like not much is open, but if we could go back to the trail maps pre-snowmaking, we would find that there are more trails and lifts open for this week than even existed in those days. An example is Sunday River. Early in the week they reported 33 trails and six lifts open. In 1970, when the area first installed snowmaking, a trail map showed 11 runs and three lifts — and those three lifts were all T-bars. The lifts on last week’s report were four quad chairs, the Chondola (six passenger chairs and eight passenger Gondolas) and one surface lift. We have become spoiled. What we consider limited skiing today is far more than a full operation during those early years, and surface conditions are far better.

Of course, we would like all the lifts and trails open, but for now we should just enjoy what we have, especially the days without the need for heavy parkas.

One group of skiers got some good news this past week when Saddleback announced the skiing would get underway in late January. When I learned of the pending sale, I immediately went to the resort’s web site www.saddlebackmaine.com to see how season pass holders would fare. Most of the stories in the press about Saddleback’s problems have focused on the complaints of those skiers who bought season passes to take advantage of early discounts. While the Berry Family had made it clear there would be refunds if the area failed to open, pass holders had to wait it out. If they bought a pass elsewhere and Saddleback operated, they would be stuck with money invested in two passes.

Now they have options. Those who choose to wait for opening day will receive a credit equal to 50 % of their pass price to be used anywhere in the resort this year or next. They also have the option of converting their pass to a gift card, again with the 50 percent bonus to be used at the resort for everything from lift tickets to lessons and food and beverage. A third option is anytime between now and opening day, request and receive a full refund. Details of these options can be found on the website.

I was not surprised by this offer. From the day Bill Berry walked into then general manager Tom McAllister’s office with the offer to buy the resort, it was obvious he was doing it simply to save the area from closing. At that time, owner Donald Breen stated that if he didn’t find a buyer, the area would not operate. Bill Berry didn’t let that happen.

As a retired UMF professor of geology, he and his family were comfortable. There was no need to take the risk of owning and operating a ski area, especially one facing an uphill battle. From the early 80s, Saddleback had been in a battle with the National Park Service over the Appalachian Trail that crosses the top of the mountain. For more than 20 years the resort’s growth was stymied, while Sugarloaf and Sunday River were adding lifts, trails and beds, increasing their capacity in every way.

When Bill Berry acquired Saddleback, it was in need of everything, such as snowmaking, grooming, lifts, base lodge capacity and lodging. The lodge was transformed into a modern facility while retaining the rustic décor in keeping with its surroundings. Snowmaking and grooming were increased to provide a skiing product as good as any to be found. The difficult upper T-bar was replaced with a quad chair, making the top of the mountain accessible to all levels of skier and a new beginner area with its own quad was created. The Rangeley Chair was extended down below the base lodge, eliminating the need to ride a short double before skiing over to the area’s longest lift.

This took $40 million, but more was needed. The Rangeley Double needed replacement. It could not compete with the modern lifts at Maine’s two giants, and on mountain lodging was also critical. As Bill Berry told me, “If I build the hotel without replacing the chair, I’ll have lift lines. If I build the new chair, without the hotel, I can’t pay for the lift.”

This was the dilemma faced by Bill and Irene Berry and their family this past summer, so they decided it was time to sell.

It would have been better for all concerned if the sale had gone through sooner to avoid the anxiety of the pass holders, employees and everyone in the Rangeley region, but it has now happened, and under the new owners, maybe Saddleback can reach its full potential as a true year round resort. Whatever the future may bring, all concerned owe Bill Berry and his family a debt of gratitude for rescuing this resort so vital to the community and laying the ground work for its next steps. Let’s hope the new year brings colder temperatures and bountiful amounts of snow to get the new owners off to a good start.

Colder temperatures are in the forecast for next week, which could help all of our ski areas to move toward full operation. Of course, a big dump of natural snow would move things even faster than relying on only the snowmakers to open more trails. If we get the kind of temperatures expected this time of year, look for the snowguns to be going full blast 24-7 over the rest of the vacation. Get out and enjoy some skiing and join me in my annual resolution to ski more days.

See you on the slopes.