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Saddleback (Maine)
Encyclopedia
Saddleback Maine is a ski resort
located in Dallas Plantation, near Rangeley, Maine
, on the northwestern slopes of Saddleback Mountain
. It is the third largest ski area in Maine, in terms of number of trails (66), number of lifts (5), snowmaking
percentage (85%), vertical drop (2000 ft) and skier days.
All of the trail names at Saddleback are named after famous fishing flys 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
rivers, such as the Rangeley River
, South Branch (of the Dead River), and the Magalloway River
.
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 Double Chair. 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.
The middle mountain consist mostly of intermediate terrain, with a few expert trails thrown in. The terrain is serviced by the Rangeley Chair and the Cupsuptic T-Bar. One beginner trail Hudson Highway (a former jeep trail
) runs from the top of the Rangeley Chair and Cupsuptic T-Bar 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
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.
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 its current owners, the Berry family, for $7.5 million.
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, a second quad chairlift was built to replace the Kennebago t-bar at the top of the ski area, along with new trails. The Kennebago Quad is a Dopplemayr quad chairlift that has replaced the Kennebago T-bar, and services 15 trails and glades. The new chair provides easy and faster access to the spectacular high-elevation advanced terrain with incredible views of the lakes and Western Maine Mountains.
In 2009 a new yurt was built at the base of the Kennebago Quad lift. It is equipped with heat, power, and composting toilets. It offers hot and cold beverages, soups, chowders, sandwiches, and snacks.
A 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) glade area, Casablanca, was cut between Muleskinner and Black Beauty for the 09-10 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 just recently entered into a lease/purchase agreement for Oquossoc Cove Marina.
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
located in Dallas Plantation, near Rangeley, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, on the northwestern slopes of Saddleback Mountain
Saddleback Mountain (Rangeley, Maine)
Saddleback Mountain is a mountain located in Rangeley, Franklin County, Maine.Saddleback is one of the highest mountains in the State of Maine, and one of the fourteen with more than of topographic prominence. The mountain is the site of Saddleback ski resort.Saddleback is flanked to the northeast...
. It is the third largest ski area in Maine, in terms of number of trails (66), number of lifts (5), snowmaking
Snowmaking
Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun" or "snow cannon", on ski slopes. Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliability of their snow cover and to extend their ski...
percentage (85%), vertical drop (2000 ft) and skier days.
All of the trail names at Saddleback are named after famous fishing flys created in Rangeley by anglers
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
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
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
rivers, such as the Rangeley River
Rangeley River
The Rangeley River is located in Franklin County, Maine, in the United States. It is only about a mile long, connecting the outlet of Rangeley Lake with Mooselookmeguntic Lake.It is part of the Androscoggin River watershed....
, South Branch (of the Dead River), and the Magalloway River
Magalloway River
The Magalloway River is a river in northwestern Maine and northern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River, which flows to the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine, near the Atlantic Ocean...
.
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 five (5) ski lifts, which include two, fixed grip quads, two fixed grip doubles, and a T-barThe 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 Double Chair. 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.
The middle mountain consist mostly of intermediate terrain, with a few expert trails thrown in. The terrain is serviced by the Rangeley Chair and the Cupsuptic T-Bar. One beginner trail Hudson Highway (a former jeep trail
Jeep trail
Roads that are only suitable for off-road vehicles are often called jeep trails.The most famous is the Rubicon Trail located near Lake Tahoe in California. The so-called "Jeep Trail Capital of the World," however, is Ouray, Colorado...
) runs from the top of the Rangeley Chair and Cupsuptic T-Bar 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
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
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.
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 TrailAppalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
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 its current owners, the Berry family, for $7.5 million.
New ownership
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, a second quad chairlift was built to replace the Kennebago t-bar at the top of the ski area, along with new trails. The Kennebago Quad is a Dopplemayr quad chairlift that has replaced the Kennebago T-bar, and services 15 trails and glades. The new chair provides easy and faster access to the spectacular high-elevation advanced terrain with incredible views of the lakes and Western Maine Mountains.
In 2009 a new yurt was built at the base of the Kennebago Quad lift. It is equipped with heat, power, and composting toilets. It offers hot and cold beverages, soups, chowders, sandwiches, and snacks.
A 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) glade area, Casablanca, was cut between Muleskinner and Black Beauty for the 09-10 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 just recently entered into a lease/purchase agreement for Oquossoc Cove Marina.