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Skowhegan Ski Area Won't Open This Winter

December 21, 2009 - SKOWHEGAN -- Eaton Mountain Ski Area, a popular destination for families and school ski teams, will not open for skiing or snow-tubing this winter, the owners said Wednesday.

This will be the second consecutive year that the ski area off Route 2 will be closed.

David S. Beers, president of Eaton Mountain Inc., said finances and bad weather have hamstrung the operation.

"We're far from giving up on the place," Beers said Wednesday. "I just want to have it done right and take our time to get this done – probably after the snow melts – and we'll be able to come back next season."

Beers and his wife, Donna, bought the business a year ago for about $400,000. The couple, who live in Wallingford, Conn., hoped to get the snow-tubing park open for this season with a new lift, lights and snowmaking.

Startup costs total about $100,000, he said.

Electrical problems discovered in October were compounded by work delays from persistent summer rain and mud, Beers said.

"It's been a real setback for us and is surely a big disappointment for customers who had been looking forward to Eaton coming back to life after not operating last season," he said. "We will continue to move forward with our plans for the area, just not as fast as I'd like."

Beers said he found out in October that he would not be able to use the existing electrical system for snowmaking and night skiing. Bringing everything up to code, he said, even for just a few trails, would be a major undertaking, requiring a significant amount of time and money.

"We were trying to get the electric work and everything done for a new handle tow for the snow-tubing park, but with all the mud that we had from all the rain, the guys couldn't get it all done – it's still only about half finished," Beers said. "There was no way we could have gotten it ready for Christmas."

Skowhegan Town Manager John Doucette Jr. said Beers wants to make sure the lodge and the ski slopes are top quality before Eaton Mountain reopens.

"Hopefully he'll be able to do something with it," Doucette said. "We'd really like to see that; it would be a big plus for the area. He was making sure everything was done right and making sure he opened a good facility, and I'm sure that's what he's still thinking about."

The mountain opened in the late 1920s for hiking and skiing, according to a history written by Greg Sweetser, executive director of the Ski Maine Association.

By the late 1930s there were two trails, according to Sweetser, who said the ski area opened with a rope tow during the winter of 1961-62, with three trails and a lodge.

Most recently, the ski area had 18 potential trails, with a double chairlift, snowmaking, a snow-tubing area and a terrain park for snowboarding.

A fire in January 2005 destroyed the lodge and the electrical lines that lit the slopes for night skiing and ran the chair lifts. The mountain reopened later that season.

Sweetser said Eaton Mountain's 620-foot vertical drop makes it one of the largest community ski areas in Maine.

Beers said he and his wife are not giving up on the region or Eaton Mountain. He said they both work regular jobs during the week and try to come to Skowhegan every weekend.

"We have been encouraged by a high degree of support from the local community and are dedicated to cleaning up and rejuvenating the ski area," he said. "I am not in a position to make any promises for next winter, but it is our intention to at least have snow-tubing and natural-snow daylight skiing."

For more information go to www.eatonmountain.com.

By DOUG HARLOW, Morning Sentinel December 17, 2009


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