Big Squaw/Big Moose Mountain Improvements

NewEnglandSkier13

The NE Ski Industry article (https://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=893) notes that Perry Williams used to be employed by Majella. Looks like he sued them over unpaid wages (https://www.centralmaine.com/2018/03/15/former-employee-sues-prospective-buyer-of-saddleback-resort/).

TomWhite

Yes I saw that. Interesting but anyone can get taken once. I don't know anything about him.

NewEnglandSkier13

TomWhite;c-48375 wroteYes I saw that. Interesting but anyone can get taken once. I don't know anything about him.

Yeah, I don't know if it means anything, just interesting.

joshua_segal

He is a big-shot in the Rangeley area. His support for Majella's "smoke and mirrors" probably sank the SMF proposal.

TomWhite

joshua_segal;c-48377 wroteHe is a big-shot in the Rangeley area. His support for Majella's "smoke and mirrors" probably sank the SMF proposal.

That doesn't give me a good feeling about Big Squaw. I was at a B & B in CT with a woman from Greenville. I didn't get a chance to ask her about this project.

NewEnglandSkier13

According to Lift Blog's new lifts page (https://liftblog.com/2021-new-lifts/), the new lift could be a Poma detachable quad. That would make it only the second full Poma detachable in Maine.

newpylong

I don't see it happening this year. They have a tremendous amount of trail work including a new snowmaking system on the upper mountain to put in simultaneously. Then you have all of the base area work. That's a lot to take on in one year without being shovel ready on 4/1.

NewEnglandSkier13

newpylong;c-48441 wroteI don't see it happening this year. They have a tremendous amount of trail work including a new snowmaking system on the upper mountain to put in simultaneously. Then you have all of the base area work. That's a lot to take on in one year without being shovel ready on 4/1.

Theoretically they could just install the new lift and cut back brush on the upper mountain trails. They could operate out of the lower base area and the upper mountain usually sees ample natural snow. Not sure that they would do this though.

newpylong

Yes, theoretically you could do a lot of things, but no one is going to spend the kind of coin to put in a HSQ with no snowmaking or no base services nearby to support it. If they did, well, they probably shouldn't be managing a mountain...

z1000307470

newpylong;c-48443 wroteYes, theoretically you could do a lot of things, but no one is going to spend the kind of coin to put in a HSQ with no snowmaking or no base services nearby to support it. If they did, well, they probably shouldn't be managing a mountain...

ORDA says Hi! They installed the $7 million Burnt Ridge HSQ at Gore summer of 2008 and installed snowmaking the following summer.

newpylong

I rest my case :)

joshua_segal

z1000307470;c-48444 wrote
newpylong;c-48443 wroteYes, theoretically you could do a lot of things, but no one is going to spend the kind of coin to put in a HSQ with no snowmaking or no base services nearby to support it. If they did, well, they probably shouldn't be managing a mountain...
ORDA says Hi! They installed the $7 million Burnt Ridge HSQ at Gore summer of 2008 and installed snowmaking the following summer.

ORDA is a different animal. The last HSQ installed without without government funding and without appropriate snowmaking was a failure. Crotched Mtn. is grateful for their (Ascuney's) mistake.

TomWhite

This article has 15 proposed/major expansions N Am ski areas. There are two for the NE,
Balsams and Big Squaw. "State of the Art base village." Hum, that must mean they turn all guests into artists!

Maine:

Moosehead Lake Ski Resort
Currently known as Big Squaw Mountain, this proposal could end up rebuilding the fourth largest ski area in Maine. Current management of the area is under pressure from the court system to rebuild some of the mountain, but other entities have much bigger plans. Provident Resources Group in Louisiana has proposed spending around $100 million on improvements to make a year-round resort complete with hotels, ziplines, and of course, new chairlifts. The end result would be a 1,700 ft. vertical mountain with a state-of-the-art base village.

Source: Friends of the Mountain

Which resorts are gonna get built? Which are you most excited about?

https://unofficialnetworks.com/2021/04/29/north-americas-unbuilt-ski-resorts/?fbclid=IwAR3QcVD-pXzFPGa

joshua_segal

TomWhite;c-48494 wroteThis article has 15 proposed/major expansions N Am ski areas. There are two for the NE,
Balsams and Big Squaw. "State of the Art base village." Hum, that must mean they turn all guests into artists!

...

Interesting that the Balsams is listed. I thought that project was dead!

riverc0il

TomWhite;c-48494 wroteWhich resorts are gonna get built? Which are you most excited about?

I'd be more excited about Big Squaw than Balsams (based on the original footprints).

I think Big Squaw may have more local support to build from and it is closer to a skier base (less than two hours from Bangor, just about 3 hours from Portland... essentially 3 hours or less from most of Maine except NH to Biddeford). Balsams only has Concord, NH at less than 3 hours, but you need to literally drive right past all of Ski 93 to get there, so it is going to feel much longer than that (and no population centers within 2 hours, unlike Bangor for Big Squaw).

Big Squaw's biggest issue is Saddleback reopening. And, I don't think a lot of Boston area resort skiers are going to give up on Sugarloaf to ski a mountain half its size with fewer resort amenities. Though, Big Squaw could draw guests from Quebec City (Balsams could as well). Big Squaw just has more going for it with the existing footprint (Otten's mega plans are nuts and never going to happen).

z1000307470

On what planet would somebody consider spending $100 million on Big Squaw/Moosehead Lake? Are the Berrys advising on this deal? Does Provident Resources Group in Louisiana have an office in Australia, too?

newpylong

riverc0il;c-48507 wrote
TomWhite;c-48494 wroteWhich resorts are gonna get built? Which are you most excited about?
I'd be more excited about Big Squaw than Balsams (based on the original footprints).

I think Big Squaw may have more local support to build from and it is closer to a skier base (less than two hours from Bangor, just about 3 hours from Portland... essentially 3 hours or less from most of Maine except NH to Biddeford). Balsams only has Concord, NH at less than 3 hours, but you need to literally drive right past all of Ski 93 to get there, so it is going to feel much longer than that (and no population centers within 2 hours, unlike Bangor for Big Squaw).

Big Squaw's biggest issue is Saddleback reopening. And, I don't think a lot of Boston area resort skiers are going to give up on Sugarloaf to ski a mountain half its size with fewer resort amenities. Though, Big Squaw could draw guests from Quebec City (Balsams could as well). Big Squaw just has more going for it with the existing footprint (Otten's mega plans are nuts and never going to happen).

The small metro areas that you are calling local to Big Squaw are similar or further away as Montreal is to the Balsams. Montreal is 4 million people and 2 hours flat to the Balsams. That is like 8 times the population of QC and an hour less of a drive. Also the current footprint for the Balsams is irrelevant as the plan was (is?) to reopen with an exponentially larger number of acres, or not reopen at all.

Of course, believe it when you see it. Frankly I think both proposals are nuts given their remoteness, but no matter how you slice the pie, the Balsams has access to more people, and closer.

TomWhite

While I, like many of us, get excited about ski area expansion plans. I also scratch my head why some one/group wants to spend $100 million on Big Squaw.

rickbolger

TomWhite;c-48494 wrote Which resorts are gonna get built? Which are you most excited about?

Just a few years ago I had a couple ski trips & vacations take me through Colorado Springs and Pueblo area when my daughter lived in the Springs. It's a shame that the Ormes Peak thing sputtered, that would be an instant success in a rapidly growing area. Cuchara is also very cool, saw that from relatively nearby, but there isn't really any "there" there. So I don't think it has much of a chance. Reminds me of Big Squaw in that regard.

Part of me would be pleased to see Balsams restored to what it was (rather than the Les Otten fantasy) but as I've said before, times have changed and the calendar never goes backward.

powderstud

The Balsams fantasy is dead dead dead. Les Otten & Company put it up for sale. He can say as much as he wants that this was always the plan. Yes, that's true, and we have always been at war with Eastasia. Dead dead dead. (As it should be - it was a fantasy from the start.)

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