FARMINGTON — Megan Roberts, general manager of Titcomb Mountain, recently passed the baton to a former intern of the ski area.

With over 30 years devoted to the ski industry, Roberts is moving on but not too far away.

“There are a few other things I want to do,” she said.

First, she plans to write a book about the history of Titcomb Mountain. Other books may follow, she said.

New General Manager Seth Noonkester will start in July. He shares two basic objectives with Roberts: They both are devoted to keeping Titcomb Mountain the friendliest mountain around and to carrying on the history of the family-oriented ski area that opened in 1939.

“Titcomb is a place where everyone feels special, safe and taken care of,” Roberts said.

Her advice for the new manager is “to keep it friendly, be friendly.” 

“Titcomb is different than most mountains,” Noonkester said. “It is a family mountain. Everyone knows everyone. As an intern, I fell in love with the mountain.”

He was a student at the University of Maine at Farmington when he worked as an intern under Roberts’ supervision, taking on tasks including ski lift operator and ski instructor. He served as an intern and worked for the mountain under Roberts’ supervision.

Noonkester graduated from UMF in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in outdoor recreation business administration. Within days of graduation, he accepted a position as Farmington Parks and Recreation assistant director where he has served until recently.  

Roberts was the first female hired as general manager at Titcomb for the Farmington Ski Club in 2000. She served four years but left to take care of her father. She has just completed another four years in the position.

Some accomplishments undertaken at Titcomb during her tenure include installation of the pony lift for beginners in 2003. It helps kids learn to ski and be more independent, she said. 

There have been continual upgrades over the years and the amount of funding received, much from grants, has helped keep prices low, she said. Membership in the Farmington Ski Club is up. She credits the many volunteers who step forward to help keep Titcomb Mountain running and growing. 

Growing up in Farmington, Roberts started skiing at Titcomb as a young child. She competed on the high school ski team and became a Division I racer at Plymouth State College. After college she headed for Colorado and powder skiing.

She coached and taught in the Breckenridge race program before returning to Maine where she worked for the Snow Bowl Race Program in Camden.

Roberts served on the board of the Ski Museum of Maine and was instrumental in securing space to display the history of skiing in Maine. Started in Farmington, the museum has since moved to Kingfield.

Roberts was inducted into the Maine Ski Hall of Fame in 2016.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

Megan Roberts and Seth Noonkester share an objective to keep Titcomb Mountain the “friendliest mountain around.” Roberts is leaving the position of general manager of the Farmington ski area. Noonkester starts as the new general manager in July.