Saddleback Maine (ski Resort)
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Saddleback Maine is a
ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...
located in Sandy River Plantation, near
Rangeley, Maine Rangeley is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,222 at the 2020 census. Rangeley is the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a resort area. The town includes the villages of Rangeley and Oquossoc, as well as ...
, on the northwestern slopes of Saddleback Mountain. It is the largest independent ski area on the east coast, in terms of number of skiable acres (600). It has (6) lifts, (85%)
snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...
percentage, vertical drop (), and skier days.Ski Maine Association
/ref>Saddleback Maine
/ref> Saddleback Mountain was sold to the Arctaris Impact Fund and reopened on December 15, 2020, after 5 years of being closed. All the trails at Saddleback are named after famous fishing flies created in Rangeley by anglers Carrie Stevens, Bud Wilcox, and Dick Frost. Some of these fly names include ''Supervisor'', ''Peachy's Peril'', ''Royal Tiger'', and ''America''. All of the chairlifts at Saddleback are named after popular
fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...
rivers, such as the ''Rangeley'' River, ''South Branch'' (of the Dead River), and the ''Magalloway'' River. It was awarded the “Best in Maine” ski resort for 2022, 2023 and 2024 by Down East Magazine, beating out the larger mountains of Sunday River and Sugarloaf. Updates since the Arctaris Impact Fund purchase include
RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...
scanners at the new Rangeley quad lift, a new mid-mountain lodge, EV charging stations, A-Frame condominiums, repaved mountain road, high-speed residential internet, affordable on-mountain employee housing, and mountain biking trails. Future plans include the addition of a solar farm.


Terrain

Saddleback's terrain consist of 38% Beginner trails (25 trails), 29% Intermediate trails (19 trails) and 33% Advance and Expert trails (22 trails). There are also six (6)
ski lifts A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial ...
, which include two, fixed grip quads, a high-speed detachable quad, a t-bar, rope tow, and moving carpet. The mountain is broken up into three sections, the upper, middle, and lower sections, which consist of terrain from double black diamond (hardest) to green circle (easiest). Each section of the mountain is serviced by a variety of lifts. The lower mountain consist of 18 beginner trails, and is serviced by the South Branch Quad, and the Sandy Rope Tow. The terrain is very mild and flat, and most of it is located below the base lodge which helps to keep skier traffic to a minimum. Saddleback sells a separate ski ticket on certain weekends and holidays, which is only good for the South Branch Quad. This allows for the ski area to reduce the price of the ticket because it only allows access to a limited amount of terrain. Since the new ownership, eleven new trails have been cut in this area and two quad chairlifts has been installed.Saddleback Maine Trail Map
/ref> The middle mountain consist mostly of intermediate terrain, with a few expert trails thrown in. The terrain is serviced by the Rangeley high speed quad and the Cupsuptic T-Bar. One beginner trail ''Hudson Highway'' (a former
jeep trail Jeep trail is a term originating in the United States to designate unpaved roads designed and maintained for use solely by high-clearance four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles, regardless of the vehicle manufacturer. Only the more difficult unpaved roads ...
) runs from the top of the Rangeley lift and Cupsuptic to the base area. This section of the mountain consist of notable trails such as ''Grey Ghost'', which has many head walls, flats, and curves, making it a fun and popular trail. ''Blue Devil'' is another popular trail because of its classic
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
style, which is very curvy and narrow to protect the snow on the trail from the wind. Since the new ownership, four new trails have been cut in this area. The upper mountain, also referred to as "The Kennebago Steeps, consisting of mostly advanced and expert trails". It is serviced solely by the Kennebago Quad chairlift, which was installed in the summer of 2008 to replace the Kennebago T-Bar. It has such famous trails as ''Muleskinner'', ''Intimidator'', ''Governor'', and ''Nightmare Glades''. It also has two intermediate trails, ''Tri-Color'', which runs from the summit, and ''America'', which is the continuation of the former jeep trail. Since the new ownership, seven new trails have been cut in this area. In 2013, Saddleback cut an extensive glade trail named "Casablanca", and skiers and riders have travelled to the mountain to experience this steep trail.


History


The 1990s

Through the 1990s, the ski resort's prior owner, Donald Breen, engaged in a protracted dispute with conservation advocates over the
Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...
corridor, which runs across the ridge at the top of the ski resort. Breen settled the dispute with the National Park Service, which manages the trail, in 2000, and in the fall of 2003, Breen sold most of the resort to the Berry family, for $7.5 million.


The 2000s: ownership by the Berry Family

The Berry family built a new base lodge, six new trails, and a new quad chairlift (the resort's first new chairlift in 30 years) in 2004. In 2007, the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission approved Saddleback's 10-year development plan, which calls for a major expansion of lifts, trails, vacation homes, and other facilities. In the summer of 2008, Doppelmayr constructed a fixed grip quad to replace the Kennebago t-bar at the top of the ski area, along with new trails. The Kennebago quad provided easy and faster access to the high-elevation advanced terrain with views of the lakes and Western Maine Mountains. In 2009 a new yurt was built at the base of the Kennebego lift. It is equipped with heat, power, and composting toilets. A glade area, Casablanca, was cut between Muleskinner and Black Beauty for the 2009–10 ski season. In 2010, two new Pisten Bully Snow Groomers were added to the mountain's fleet of groomers. During the summer of 2010 a new glade area was cut between Jane Craig and Professor. This section is unnamed. Since the purchase in 2004, terrain has been increased by over 44%, snowmaking increased to over 85%, the grooming fleet has been replaced, and the Rangeley Chair has been upgraded and lengthened so it can be easily accessible from the base lodge. A new Lodge has been built, along with three new condominium complexes, and the mountain Saddleback's real estate office known as Saddleback Village.Saddleback Village
/ref>


The 2010s: new ownership

In December 2012, The Berrys announced that Saddleback Mountain was for sale. Of 400 acres of land, the mountain was placed on the market for $12 million, that include ski trails, lifts, the base loge and the surrounding 121 condominium units. However, the family still hopes to retain 7,600 undeveloped acres around the ski area. Later, Saddleback entered into a lease/purchase agreement for Oquossoc Cove Marina.


Seasonal closing

During the summer of 2015, the Saddleback owner, Mark Berry, announced in a release that the ski resort would not open for the 2015–2016 season unless the outdated and slow Rangeley double ( GMD Mueller) was replaced; costing them nearly $3 million. The 4,717' double chairlift was inadequate for the capacity needs of the resort. Berry stated that "...we’ve been actively seeking the necessary financing to replace the chairlift, however, time is running out. We only have a few weeks to make this work. In order to open this winter, we need to order the new lift by early August." As such, the mountain's future plunged into one of uncertainty. As the year progressed into 2016, Saddleback officials said they were not opening for February school vacation week, keeping its patrons concerned and sending the future of the mountain into uncertainty. Though not yet declared by Saddleback, Joey Morton, a local from Rangeley "doubted the mountain will open at all this winter season." Furthermore, the lack of snow and the uncertainty of Saddleback's opening affected the local businesses and the town of Rangeley.


Majella ownership

Since the Berry family was not able to replace the Rangeley in 2014 and 2015, the mountain and lifts sadle idle. On June 28, 2017, it was announced that the Australian Majella Group had an agreement to purchase Saddleback from the Berry family. The Majella Group had contacted
Doppelmayr USA Doppelmayr USA, Inc is an aerial lift manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a subsidiary of the worldwide Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. The United States company was formed in 2002 after the merger of Garaventa of Goldau, Switzerland, and ...
, who had already begun the survey, engineering, and design work. It was initially announced that a fixed grip quad would replace Rangeley, while the Cupsuptic T-Bar would be replaced with a new wind resistant version. However, with the arrest of Majella Group CEO Sebastian Monsour in 2018 on fraud in Australia, the mountain's future plunged again into uncertainty. Critics also questioned Monsour's intentions after he was quoted in Maine news reports as saying he was motivated by the EB-5 program that offers foreigners permanent residency if they invest in certain U.S. real estate projects.


Arctaris Impact Fund offer

In March 2019, the Arctaris Impact Fund based in Boston made an undisclosed offer to purchase Saddleback Mountain. They also pledged between $25 million and $30 million after the sale to help revitalize the mountain The news of an offer was sent out through an email by Andy Shepard, former CEO of the Outdoor Sports Institute and Tom Federle, a Portland attorney. Shepard has stated that " have been very impressed with their commitment and capacity to not only buy the mountain, but doing so with a long term view to make the mountain successful." He further told the press that this investment firm's offer is the "real deal and that
e's is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in '' Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003, to Febr ...
hopeful for the Berry family and for the people of western Maine that ecan get a deal done." The two have strong connections to the region and Saddleback. Federle owns a Saddleback condo and Shepard has strong interest in preserving the mountain and its role in the economy of the region.


Arctaris Impact Fund purchase

After months of negotiations, the Berry family agreed to sell the ski resort to Arctaris Impact Fund after seven months of negotiations. The new general manager of Saddleback Mountain, Andy Shepard announced he hopes to reopen the mountain for the 2020–2021 season, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2020. The mountain has been closed since the 2014–2015 season. On January 31, 2020, Saddleback was officially sold to Arctaris Impact Fund. In February, it was announced that Rangeley would be replaced by a new high speed quad constructed by Doppelmayr, accompanied by lodge upgrades, new snowmaking, and a fair ticket pricing approach. On March 18, the new Saddleback Mountain website went live, which allowed for season pass and locker sales, as well as a section detailing the investments for the 2020–2021 season. During February, March, and April 2020, the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
caused massive disruption to the ski industry and global economy, however, Saddleback announced that their investments were moving forward as expected, with the opening date scheduled for December 15, 2020. The ski area officially reopened to the public on December 15, 2020.


Saddleback reborn


First season back

After Saddleback's successful first season operating since 2015, they surpassed their expected skier visit goal of 70,000 people. Throughout the season, Andy Shepard, the General Manager, released plans for next season such as mountain biking trails, a new Cupsuptic T-Bar, solar farm, and a mid-mountain lodge set to be located at the top of the Rangeley quad. Saddleback had released a plan to open in late November, however the date revised to December 15, due to delays in completing the new Rangeley quad.


Lifts

Saddleback has six lifts.


Trail Maps

Last Updated: 1/29/22


Gallery

Image:Saddleback Mountain seen From Maine State Route 16.JPG , Saddleback Maine seen from
Maine State Route 16 State Route 16 (SR 16) is a numbered state highway in Maine, United States. SR 16 runs from the New Hampshire state line (signed as NH-16) at Wentworth Location (near Lake Aziscohos) in the west to Orono at the eastern terminus. S ...
Image:Saddleback ME newlodge.jpg , Inside the new base lodge. Image:Lower Intimidator Glades.jpg , Entering the lower part of the Intimidator Glades.


References


Sources

*http://www.newenglandskihistory.com/Maine/saddleback.php *http://bangordailynews.com/2012/12/15/outdoors/saddleback-mountain-ski-resort-up-for-sale/


External links


Saddleback Maine Website

Trail Map

Trail Conditions

Saddleback LodgingRangeley Lakes Trail CenterSki Maine Association

Saddleback Information PageMaine Land Use Regulation CommissionSaddleback Forum on SugarloafToday.comMaine Outdoor Journal
{{Ski Areas in Maine Ski areas and resorts in Maine Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Maine Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Maine Tourist attractions in Maine