Saddleback needs $3M to open for winter season
Photo / Courtesy of Saddleback
Two skiers on Saddleback Mountain.
The owners of Saddleback ski resort in the Rangeley area said it will not open for the upcoming winter season if it doesn’t secure $3 million in financing within a few weeks.
The family-owned ski resort, which has been on the market since 2012, said in a Monday announcement that the $3 million is needed to replace its 51-year-old chairlift, which serves as the resort’s main access to the top of Saddleback Mountain.
The stakes are high for Saddleback, which said it is Franklin County’s third-largest employer, with up to 300 employees during the winter season. The ski resort said it has informed all employees and mountain property owners of the potential closure this winter, adding that all season pass holders would be reimbursed and that vendors would be paid in full.
Mark Berry, a Saddleback owner, said the upgrade is required for the ski resort’s long-term sustainability, and that it needs to happen soon.
“For the last several months, we've been actively seeking the necessary financing to replace the chairlift, however time is running out,” Berry said in a prepared statement. “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.”
Saddleback was purchased in 2003 by Bill and Irene Berry, whose family has invested millions of dollars in the ski resort ever since, the ski resort said. That investment represents the Berry family’s desire “to protect the resort’s economic significance for Rangeley and its historic importance for Maine,” the ski resort added.
“This is certainly not where we hoped to be given our success in growing this mountain,” Berry said. “It is our sincere hope that the funding will come through in time to purchase the new lift and have it operational for this year's ski season. We are now calling on those who treasure what Saddleback is to the people of Maine to help us find a solution.”
Karen O'Gulnick, executive director of the Rangeley Chamber of Commerce, told the Maine Public Broadcasting Network that if Saddleback doesn't open this winter it would have a major economic impact on the region.
"Saddleback, for Rangeley, is critical, not only in terms of the tourism which brings, obviously, dollars and people to the town, and also to the employment landscape," she said.
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