Ski Big Squaw 3-31-13

[Ride Delaware ?]

If you like big mountains, like snowmaking, like high speed lifts, and still aren't sure what it means when someone says a mountain has soul, stop reading here (GSS?). It will save you a bunch of time since this is likely to be a long trip report. I never know until I am done writing them, but I feel a good one coming.

 

In my various online searches for new and interesting mountains to ride, I came across Big Squaw. As a little background, Big Squaw is a 1,700' vertical mountain in Greenville, ME. It has two chairlifts that span this vertical. Both are fixed grips with the lower mountain lift being a triple, and the upper mountain lift being a double. In 2004, the double lift, which starts mid mountain at the hotel, derailed and several people were injured. The owner decided to forgo the expensive process of getting the lift fixed, and shut down the lift permanently. After that, the lower mountain lift was run on and off until 2010. The owner, who supposedly bought the mountain as a trophy, had no management experience, and let the place deteriorate under years of no maintenance. Since 2010, the mountain remained dormant and the lower mountain lodge and hotel incurred vandalism from local teenagers. In 2011, the town voted not to plow the access road unless the resort was operational. At the beginning of 2012, a group of interested locals decided that the town of Greenville, which is a wildly popular tourist spot in the summer due to the regions lakes and mountains, could truly become a year round tourist destination, and that the mountain needed to be saved before it could no longer be repaired. The Friends of Squaw Mountain formed a non-profit, began negotiations with the owner, and began fundraising. After lengthy negotiations that spanned into early 2013, the owner of the mountain finally agreed to lease the property to the organization for one year for $1. The group found many eager volunteers and they were able to clear the trails, fix and inspect the lift, and get the lodge in an operational state within a month. The resort, which has some snowmaking infrastructure, but no snow guns, needed natural snow to open, and on February 10, 2013, it was finally able to open to the public with the lower mountain lift cleared to spin.

 

I am a huge underdog fan, and thats why I love resorts like Magic so much. When I did my research and found this mountain, I figured I would try to get there this season to support it. At the very least, I would get to try out the mountain in case it goes defunct again. After injuring my ankle, I haven't had many free days, but now that we are down to 4 day work weeks, I decided to go on my extra day off. They have a funky operating schedule (Mon/Wed 12-4, Fri-Sun 9-4), and today happened to coincide with a day off. It also happens to be their last day of the season. Considering they operate with natural snow only, and the days have been warmer, I decided I better get up there while I could.

 

I woke up today as if it were a normal weekend work day at 5:15 and quickly got ready. I left the house for the 3 hour drive at 6:05. I got gas and energy drinks in town, and finally got on the road at 6:15. I used Google Maps instead of Waze as my GPS option today, and it went well... Most of the way. Eventually I was told to turn off on a side road, which went from a lined road one way in each direction with shoulders, to a narrow road with no lines and tons of dirt. Eventually that road led to just a muddy morass of a road with huge divots in it. My first instinct told me I was going the wrong direction, but I had read online that they had stopped plowing the road several years ago, and there was a sign to that effect. Furthermore, I know some resorts happen to be in the middle of nowhere, so I figured this must be the case. As would be the case, Pandora started crapping out on me due to bad service, so I knew I would be in a pickle if it was the wrong direction. 5 miles later at 25 mph, my fears were confirmed as I got to a sign that said "end of country road, private road ahead." Google Maps had the wrong address. I have since reported it. Luckily I had enough extended service to correct the address. I was only 20 miles away, but close to 45 minutes. 45 minutes later, I arrived at Big Squaw Mountain in Greenville, ME. I went to park in the first lot, but it was a muddy mess, probably 8 inches deep, so I followed the other 3 cars there, and parked on the road.

 

After walking up to the lodge, which is pretty small, and definitely in need of some TLC, I walked in and bought my lift ticket for $25. I was maybe the 10th person there. The lift tickets and rentals happen to share a little room on the ground floor. The room is maybe 12' x 30', so it is pretty tight. Apparently most of the rentals used to be based out of the hotel/lodge, but that is not in operation at this time. Right around the corner was the bathrooms which are also pretty tiny. The mens room consisted of a single urinal, two stalls, and two sinks. Upstairs in the lodge is the kitchen and a small seating area, a game room for the kids, and a spillover seating area that is twice the size of the main one. I usually go with the PLB, but since it was pretty dead, I booted up in the lodge and left my bag there.

 

The lift is maybe 50 feet away and slightly downhill of the lodge. I put on my board, rode down, and hopped on the lift. The whole lift ride takes about 6 minutes and services the 9 lower mountain trails. The first thing I noticed is how surprisingly good the coverage was for being all natural snow. The mountain leased a groomer, and all the open runs were groomed. I was surprised to find it to be 20 degrees when I woke up this morning, since temps have been hovering in the upper 20's at night lately, so that meant the first couple runs were a combination of firm and soft depending on the sun. I wish I could tell you all the names of the trails, but they dont have any trail maps with names, and Im not motivated enough to look up an old trail map. That being said, I do know several of the names of trails. There were two runs off skiers left of the lift. They were Alligash, which winds through the woods, and Exterminator which is the liftline. All of the runs are very tight up top, maybe only 25 feet wide, so the snow keeps very well. Alligash was pretty mellow for a Blue. It was tough to pick up and carry speed. Exterminator on the other hand, was the fastest run of the day by far. It was straight, had some nice little drops, and carried speed quite well. On skiers right of the lift was the Kennebec trail and the Fitzgerald trail, the latter of which winds around the outside of the mountain past the hotel/summit double. While both of these trails are listed as blues, I think that their rating system was quite generous. I think the only thing steep enough to be considered a black was the ungroomed top of the liftline.

 

After racking up 10 runs in a pretty short amount of time, I stopped for lunch. They have a limited menu since its a small kitchen, but I got a steak sub for $5. The burgers were $4, so the food is pretty affordable. They also offered free beer to kill the kegs since it is the last day of the season. Since it is a long drive, I ate quickly and headed back out to the mountain.

 

Today was ski day #33 for the mountain, and I am told they averaged about 100 skiers a day. There were maybe 40 people after lunch, as some slowly trickled in. The snow was really getting soft, and some of the open spots, where the trails are wider at the base, were really getting thin. Some puddles were also emerging. I decided on one more run on each of the trails before I headed out. I ended with a run down the lifeline. Overall, I was able to log 17 runs. It was a long drive, but definitely worth it and definitely fun. I packed up, bought some stickers, and prepared to leave. I ended up talking to the rental tech for a good while about the mountain. They are prepared to move forward this year and continue upgrades. The lodge, which now has a tarp over the overflow seating roof, will get a new metal roof. A company has also donated siding and windows for the back of the lodge. They are trying to buy the groomer, obtain a two year lease with the owner, and buy some used fan guns. The mountain has water pipes, hydrants, and a pump, but the owner sold all the snow guns and most of the electric boxes when he ran out of money, so they have to install some before they get started. It sounds like they have things under control and hopefully have a bright future.

 

After all that, I finally have some pics. It by far and away has the most beautiful mountain scenery I have ever seen. It is right behind the Moose Head Lake Region and has Khatadin in the background. All those "fields" you see in the picture are actually lakes. Enjoy!!!

 

Lift:

 

Top of the Mountain in background:

 

Old Handle Tow (Possible 2nd Life as Tubing Lift):

 

Little Hangout Behind Lodge:

 

Cars Parked on Road Behind Muddy Parking Lots:

 

Liftline (Right Side Groomed, Left Side Still Shrubby):

 

Typical Trail Width:

 

Scenery Pics:

 

Khatadin:

 

Water Pipes and Some Miter Boxes in Place:

 

Back of Lodge (Blue Tarp Roof to be Replaced Visible on Left):

 

Pics of Old Hotel off Fitzgerald (Half the Roof in Good Shape):

 

Tennis Courts Behind Hotel:

 

Thin Spots Bottom of Mountain:

 

Exterminator:

 

Roach/Kennebec:

 

Random Trail Pic:

 

Lodge Pics:

Edited April 1, 2013 by Ride Delaware ?

[Johnny Law]

This is super fucking cool dude, looks like a crazy interesting place. Going to have to try to check it out.

[Ride Delaware ?]

This is super fucking cool dude, looks like a crazy interesting place. Going to have to try to check it out.

 

It's even more to your taste, since you can skin or snowshoe to the top. I was told that the current lease agreement doesn't allow uphill traffic up there, but that while they don't encourage it, they won't stop you. I heard from many folks that the top is where the good stuff is. Much more technical and advanced. They are hoping for cat rides up there next season, and they are also calling in someone to estimate the cost of fixing the summit double. I don't think there are any chairs on it at this time. After 9 years of sitting dormant, I would imagine that they have their work cut out for them.

[Ride Delaware ?]

That place looks so ghetto..lol...interesting report..was only the lower mountain open? When I was in college Bolton Valley was shutdown for a few seasons and it was cool earning turns at the dormant resort. I never said I didn't like mom and pop ski areas..I've had alot of fun at Mad River Glen...and while I like fast lifts I don't think that hill needs them if they only do a couple thousand visits a season. That place makes Blue look like Aspen

Yes, only the bottom was open. Not enough money or public interest to rehab the upper lift yet. Also no services there as of yet. Next year the lodge will see some new siding and a new aluminum roof, so as they make improvements there, I would expect to see some work being done at the upper mountain area.

[JFskiDan]

That is pretty cool.....be neat to check someplace like that out....

 

For some reason "hot tub time machine" is replaying in my head though.

[Johnny Style]

Very cool. I love lost ski area stories.

[Ride Delaware ?]

If I lived closer, I would definitely volunteer my time to help clear some glades and do little projects. Since I don't, I will support them with a little free press and my lift ticket $

[trackbiker]

Nice report and pics. Love those "off the map" places.

[Ride Delaware ?]

https://bangordailynews.com/2021/01/20/news/piscataquis/knox-county-developer-proposes-75m-ski-resort-by-moosehead-lake/?fbclid=IwAR0lYkuDAS2mwB6n4XrCl-SfegSKobUPu_5Ht62bRkT5x5G1PNnJ57vK6-4

This is awesome news. I haven’t been back since this TR, but the potential in the area is awesome. It’s a great little town with an amazing view. Going back to the top would give it 1,700’ vertical and make it the 4th largest in Maine. It was sad seeing the main lodge and hotel rotting away. The volunteer group deserves a lot of credit for keeping the trails cleared, reclaiming the upper trails, getting some minimal snowmaking online, fixing up and operating the lower lift, and completely renovating the lower lodge. Without that, I doubt there would have been any interest and it would have had another 7 years of rust, cobwebs, and natural reclamation. Their goal was to get the mountain up and running as an economic driver and give the kids a place to ski and a reason to come back home. There’s still a long way to go, but if it goes through, they are the biggest reason. They aren’t open right now due to the reliance on natural snow (the previous owner sold some of the snowmaking pipes and all the equipment minus a small pump), but I wish them all the best. I loved the vibe and the friendly volunteers that just wanted this mountain to succeed. Some were in their 30’s, but most were deep into their second acts, and they worked as hard as anyone else to keep it going. I’d like to get back there before they renovate it next year, and change it, but I don’t know if that’s in the cards. Regardless, I’m excited for their future.