Saddleback ski area’s future unclear as 2015-16 season arrives
What is going on in Rangeley?
Saddleback Maine
As most other ski resorts in New England are ramping up for the winter season, Saddleback in Rangeley, Maine sits oddly quiet, its future in question.
It’s been five months now since Saddleback owners announced that the mountain would not open for the 2015-2016 season unless it could raise $3 million in financing to replace the aging Rangeley Double Chair, the central chairlift at the mountain, connecting skiers and riders to a wealth of some of New England’s most unique terrain, including the Kennabago Steeps and Casablanca Glades. Season passes for the the upcoming season have been sold, but with no word if there will actually be a lift-serviced season with which to use them.
Despite a self-imposed August deadline for securing funding, there’s been no definitive announcement on Saddleback’s status for the season, only rumors percolating. The resort wasn’t among the exhibitors at the annual Ski and Snowboard Expo that wrapped up over the weekend at the Seaport World Trade Center.
“As soon as we have something, you’ll get what you need,’’ Saddleback general manager Chris Farmer told Boston.com on Thursday when asked for an update.
Saddleback, which has been for sale by its owners, the Berry family, since 2012, is a 229-mile, four-hour-plus haul from downtown Boston. Rangeley, located only an hour from behemoth ski resort Sugarloaf, is an area primarily known more for snowmobiling than it is destination skiing.
But distance and competition haven’t been factors in the mountain’s ability to raise its profile, particularly with the gnarly Kennabago Steeps, a dedicated group of glades and chutes billed as the largest steep skiing riding section in the East.
According to Farmer, the push for a new lift came as a means to better serve growing crowds at the resort, not because of safety concerns attached to the 51-year-old chairlift.
“We’re a victim of our own success,’’ he told SKI magazine in July. “Our days are too busy, and there’s not enough capacity to get skiers out of the base area and up the mountain. For the sake of the long-term sustainability of this resort, we need to replace that lift.’’
In a pair of posts on its Facebook page in September, Saddleback announced that a lack financing meant a lift upgrade could not happen for this season and outlined various sale scenarios involving potental buyers. At that time, Saddleback’s stated goal was to have a “clear future’’ by the first week of October.
On Oct. 8, another Facebook post indicated “serious negotiations’’ were in progress with a buyer who intended to open the resort this season.
Since then, silence.
Until a deal is finally announced though, other resorts like Shawnee Peak, two-and-a-half hours away in Bridgton, Maine, are taking advantage. All current passholders at Saddleback can purchase a season pass at Shawnee Peak, with no blackout dates, for only $150.
Meanwhile, Sunday River, in Newry, Maine, has been open on-and-off for a month now, while many other ski resorts are getting ready to spin the lifts over Thanksgiving weekend for the first time this season.
But they remain dormant in Rangeley, a mystery as yet unsolved with the resort refusing to offer many clues.
Contact Eric Wilbur at: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @GlobeEricWilbur
Photos: Autumn opening at Sunday River
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