joshua_segal
Given the history of the sale of Saddleback I'll believe it when the lifts are spinning.
Given the history of skiing, not too many ski areas over 500' vertical have been out-of-business for 5-years or more that have returned and lasted for 5-years or more. As a matter of fact, Crotched Mountain is the only one that comes to mind. Tenney is trying; Granite Gorge tried and failed.
conrad
Magic Mountain is another one of the few that beat the odds after closing more than 5 years.
joshua_segal
conrad;c-39996 wroteMagic Mountain is another one of the few that beat the odds after closing more than 5 years.
You are right: Magic closed at the end of 1990-1 season and re-opened for the 1997-8 season. (Data from
https://www.newenglandskihistory.com/Vermont/magicmtn.php)
TomWhite
Peter Landsman (first below) had this post on his Liftblog.com. But the Press Herald (second) he links to contains old news about the lift type. More recently we’ve heard it will be a fixed grip quad. Perhaps they now think they can do a HSQ. Whatever the case, they’re moving ahead.
Arctaris officially owns Saddleback and plans to order at least a detachable quad.
Saddleback finally has a new owner, with plans to reopen slopes next season
Arctaris Impact Fund finalizes a $6.5 million deal for the Rangeley-area ski resort, which has been closed since 2015.
BY PETER MCGUIRE PRESS HERALD
Updated January 31
A Boston investment firm has completed its purchase of Saddleback Mountain ski resort and said it intends to reopen the mountain at the end of this year.
Arctaris Impact Fund completed the reported $6.5 million sale from the Berry family on Friday afternoon, said Andy Shepard, principal at Harraseeket Consulting Group and the resort’s future general manager.
The new owners “will immediately shift our focus to getting ready to reopen the mountain at the end of 2020,” Shepard said in an email.
Saddleback, in Franklin County, is Maine’s third-largest ski mountain, and has been closed since 2015. Prospective buyers have come forward since, but no sale had materialized until now.
On Monday, the company secured a $2.5 million insurance package for a $12.5 million loan from the Finance Authority of Maine that will go toward making upgrades to the resort. The company also has received a $1 million loan from the Maine Rural Development Authority.
When news of the impending sale was announced last fall, residents of Rangeley, a resort town near the ski area, expressed hope the deal would serve as an economic engine to bring new jobs and investment to the rural area. Arctaris plans to invest $38 million into the mountain.
Shepard has previously said that upgrades will include the replacement of an old chairlift with a high-speed quad chair that will reduce waiting lines; installation of a new T-bar; a new kitchen and bathrooms in the lodge; expanded daycare and retail space; and new equipment to increase snowmaking capacity. The company also plans to hire 200 to 240 full- and part-time employees.
A call to Shepard seeking additional details of the deal was not returned Friday night.
At an elevation of 4,120 feet, Saddleback is Maine’s eighth-highest mountain. It offers 2,000 vertical feet of skiing and some of the toughest expert terrain in the East, according to the previous owners of the ski resort. At its peak, Saddleback boasted more than 110,000 annual skier visits and was the county’s largest employer.
ME2VTskier
Like someone else said, if they plan on doing mountain biking, then odds are it's gonna be a detach.
NewEnglandSkier13
ME2VTskier;c-40146 wroteLike someone else said, if they plan on doing mountain biking, then odds are it's gonna be a detach.
Why? Most mountain bike lifts are fixed-grip.
ski_it
Mt Snow uses their Canyon detachable. I think it is bike and riders on separate chairs maybe? Of course the only fixed they could really use is the older Ego chair
ME2VTskier
NewEnglandSkier13;c-40148 wroteME2VTskier;c-40146 wroteLike someone else said, if they plan on doing mountain biking, then odds are it's gonna be a detach.
Why? Most mountain bike lifts are fixed-grip.
Guess I've only been to Burke and Killington biking. All detach. But someone else posted that about Saddleback on the FB page I believe.
conrad
I would assume that having a detachable chair instead of a fixed grip would make operations easier and/or faster for a bike park. That being said, there are a number of examples like Suicide Six that use fixed grip chairlifts. And there are several bike-park-only locations that have fixed grip chairlifts solely for bikers: Highlands Bike Park, NH (formerly ski area), Spider Mountain, TX (specifically built as bike park).
TomWhite
I think Waterville's bike park is at Snows Mt., a fixed double.
NewEnglandSkier13
Sunapee, Powder Ridge, Jiminy, Okemo, Cranmore, Mt. Abram, and Plattekill all also have at least one fixed-grip lift used for biking.
JimK
Very happy about the news that Saddleback is BACK! Such a beautiful ski area. I hope the new owners take things slowly and carefully and plan for the long run. But hopefully they have enough initial capital to take care of some basic functional infrastructure needs.
One of my favorite ski areas in the mid-Atlantic was "saved" by a well meaning, but under-capitalized local buyer-group and is struggling mightily to hang on.
lotsoskiing
JimK;c-40172 wroteVery happy about the news that Saddleback is BACK! Such a beautiful ski area. I hope the new owners take things slowly and carefully and plan for the long run. But hopefully they have enough initial capital to take care of some basic functional infrastructure needs.
One of my favorite ski areas in the mid-Atlantic was "saved" by a well meaning, but under-capitalized local buyer-group and is struggling mightily to hang on.
Sno/Montage?
TomWhite
WGAN radio, Portland doesn’t have the text of their report on their site yet. They had a report about an hour ago. It was a few sentences. Here is my verbatim attempt at two: “He (Andy Shephard) says that his group has invested $38 mill. in the ski area. Plans call for replacement of 5 lifts, including a high speed detachable quad that will take riders to the top of the mountain in 4 min.” The reporter used the past tense for investments. That’s a mistake. Five lifts include two quads built in 2004 and 2008. Those can’t be due for replacement. On the other hand, Arctaris may be back to replacing the Rangeley with a HSQ. While it won’t go to the true “top of the mt.”, a reporter wouldn’t make-up that type of lift.
Then they aired a clip of Andy Shepard. He simply spoke about attracting former and new skiers to the area. Nothing specific.
TomWhite
It just aired again. They actually said, "replacement of all lifts." They have five.
NewEnglandSkier13
TomWhite;c-40238 wroteIt just aired again. They actually said, "replacement of all lifts." They have five.
That makes no sense at all. This whole thing seems vague and strange.
rickbolger
NewEnglandSkier13;c-40239 wroteThis whole thing seems vague and strange.
THANK YOU!!!
I have been searching for the right words to describe my take on the recent news, sale, and goings-on related to Saddleback, Arctaris, and Mr. Shephard et al ...but I have held back, because I didn't know a nice way to say it.
skelley19
I will be up in Rangeley this weekend. I will report back with any information I can get. Hopefully at least 1 lift will be spinning next season.
z1000307470
If the Rangeley goes to the top from its current bottom terminal location, it would be around 6000 feet long. Maybe they could position it in such a way to keep it out of the wind. If they go this route it would have to be a high speed lift.
mapnut
I don't see any reason to do that; the current summit chair perfectly serves the large pod of expert trails, while the Rangeley serves a beautifully diverse mix of trails. Experts wouldn't want to ski all the way down to the base, even for a 6-minute ride back up.
