A Rangeley reunion after a lengthy separation from Saddleback

Saddleback serves up a 2,000-foot vertical and the highest base elevation (2,460) of any ski area in the East. (Andy Gagne/Saddleback)

RANGELEY, Maine — As you get closer to Rangeley, via northward way of Route 17, long past Fryeburg and Bethel, the trip turns into its own metaphor. For the potholes and frost heaves on this remote stretch of road, located in the backwoods of Maine, present some rocky stretches, much like nearby Saddleback Mountain has had over the past decade. 

It was in 2015 when the ski area’s former owners shuttered operations, leaving Saddleback dormant for five years. That time period included some false belief in the likes of an Australian developer eventually charged with fraud, but nothing that gave the town of Rangeley the hope it had when Arctaris Impact Fund of Boston purchased the ski area in 2019 with the intent to invest in the mountain and the community. “This is going to be, legitimately, one of the top resorts in the East when we’re done,” former general manager Andy Shepard, who was instrumental in the deal being struck, told New England Ski Journal at the time.

I had fallen in love with Saddleback following my one, and only, visit to the mountain in 2010. There was a minimalist vibe that I immediately appreciated at the ski area, where “fancy” might mean a napkin. I reveled in the uniqueness of the glades in the Casablanca Steeps, burned my thigh muscles on the challenging bumps of Muleskinner, and soaked in the majestic views of the Rangeley lakes. I had no idea then that it would be 13 more years before I returned. 

When my kids secured season passes to Saddleback as part of their equipment leases with Country Ski and Sport last fall, a visit to Maine became a no-brainer for this winter. We became even more excited upon the revelation that there were no holiday restrictions on the pass. That allowed us to plan February school vacation at Saddleback. 

It also was the perfect time to chase the snow to one of the most northern parts of New England. Ski season was in full swing and conditions were fine, but it isn’t a stretch to say the region was starving for a storm or two. The farther north we headed, though, was bound to bring us to an environment finally resembling winter. Indeed, albeit in a fashion we’re more accustomed to seeing in more southern parts of the region, the snowbanks on the sides of the road increased exponentially over the course of our three-hour trip from Madison, N.H., to Rangeley, promising good conditions over the course of our stay. 

That was evident during our warmup run on Hudson Highway, a meandering beginner trail that slows for stretches of flat terrain. My two teenaged sons and my 10-year-old daughter played around for a bit on Grey Ghost and took the Kennebago Quad up to the 4,120-foot summit to make turns — and snap photos of the awing surroundings; skiers and riders can see for more than 200 miles on a bluebird day — on what would turn out to be a couple of their favorite trails, Tri-Color and America. They were, no doubt, some of the best conditions that we would have been able to find at that time in the entire Northeast. 

But even though Saddleback was one of the few ski areas in New England to be 100 percent open at the time, the availability of every trail didn’t necessarily speak to its attraction. My daughter isn’t especially keen on steep terrain yet, never mind taking her into the Kennebago Steeps, one of the largest areas of lift-served steep skiing and in the Northeast. Saddleback’s own mountain report for the day warned of the bulletproof conditions of the snow in the Casablanca Glades, which meant, barring a fresh dump, their first experiences in that terrain would have to remain on hold. Which was probably just as well, seeing as my 12-year-old son put himself to bed that evening immediately after dinner and a shower. To be honest, the other two and myself weren’t far behind, which, as we all know, is the true sign of a good day out on the mountain.

I had skied Saddleback, one of Maine’s 14 4,000-foot mountains, only once prior to last month’s visit, but I had visited Rangeley a handful of times in between, fascinated by the remote attraction of northern Maine. And there just so happened to be this amazing mountain, its trails starting to grow over ever so slightly, sitting dormant nearby. “It’s painful,” Rob Welch, owner of Rangeley bed and breakfast Pleasant Street Inn, told me in 2018, when Saddleback was about to enter its fourth consecutive quiet season. “It’s painful to watch trees grow up in the middle of trails. It’s painful to watch all the equipment rusting. It’s painful to watch business, locally, that say, ‘Boy, if the mountain would just open we might survive.’ ” 

Rangeley, a four-season destination, has kept afloat mostly due to the region’s thriving snowmobiling and fishing communities. But the ski area remained the area’s heart. To watch it remain dormant put pause in the town’s hopes, not to mention its wallets. When Arctaris purchased the mountain in 2019, locals had every right to be skeptical. That doubt probably started to disperse during the summer of 2020, when Saddleback installed towers for the new high-speed detachable quad chairlift, an event that welcomed some 400 viewers who were eager to cement the reality of the situation — Saddleback was back. So, too, was its authentically friendly approach. 

Now three seasons into its rebirth, that vibe is made contagious by the staff working at the mountain. From the lift attendant who made sure to salute my daughter every time she disembarked from the Sandy Quad to the cheery greeters who hover around the skier drop-off area, the Saddleback charm is on full, unprovoked display. It is as bona fide a skiing experience as you’re likely to have in all of New England. 

Arctaris spent more than $30 million over its first two years at Saddleback. That included the replacement of the Rangeley Quad (the lift that is the centerpiece of the ski area’s traffic), snowmaking improvements and a major renovation of the lodge. The old layout of the ski area was embraced, offering 68 trails over three distinct pods that keep expert skiers separated from beginners on the mountain. 

Arctaris, an impact fund, aims to “solve some of the challenges facing every rural community: affordable housing, affordable childcare, workforce development and transportation.” Saddleback also convened task forces to develop strategies for getting seasonal workers year-round benefits — which doesn’t exist anywhere in the country — and to increase access to health and wellness care in rural communities.

In 2021, Saddleback announced the building of Saddleback House, designed to attract and retain staff who might work on Saddleback Mountain during the winter and at local restaurants, retail shops and other local businesses during the summer. “The goal is to make Rangeley, Maine, with its stunning natural scenery, rugged mountains, world-renowned waterways, plentiful jobs and down-to-earth, hard-working people a national destination for those who want to live and work in this remarkable community.” A mid-mountain lodge also is on the immediate horizon as far as improvements as concerned. 

What needs no improvement is the infectious, friendly vibe in Rangeley. While a social media clash between business owners and tourists would occur over the following days in another local ski community percolating with visitors, such a threat didn’t exist in quiet Rangeley, where the après action amounted to horse-drawn wagon rides through the downtown streets. There’s a realness that exists here that is in increasing importance in the local ski industry, an independence in both mountain and town that simplifies what it means to ski affordably on some of the best terrain in all of New England. 

Shepard once promised Saddleback would be one of the top resorts in the East by the time Arctaris was through with it. But there are those among us who know the dirty truth. 

It already is. Always has been.