New England ski areas weather the storm: Operating plans revealed amid recovery

Snowmaking returned to resorts like Bretton Woods this week in order to recover from the storm. (Bretton Woods)

As communities throughout New England continue to recover from the heavy rain and flash flooding that tore through the region earlier this week, ski areas hit hardest by the storm have begun announcing their operating plans for the weekend and beyond. 

Sunday River has been closed since Monday, when the Maine resort experienced damage to infrastructure, including impacts to roadways and trails (check out some of these dramatic images from the scene). Localized flooding caused a portion of the road leading to the Sunday River Grand Summit Hotel to wash away. According to the resort, crews have since completed the installation of a temporary bridge to the hotel, and are hard at work repairing road washouts, replacing culverts, and removing debris from base areas. 

“Despite facing power outages in their own homes, our lodging teams have gone above and beyond to ensure our guests are well taken care of,” the resort’s mountain report read Thursday.

As for the lifts at Sunday River, they’re tentatively scheduled to run again on Saturday, but access will be limited to season pass holders, ticket pack holders, Ikon pass holders, and guests who have already purchased lift tickets. Terrain off of the Barker 6, Locke Triple, Spruce Triple, the South Ridge Express and the carpets will be limited. 

The resort also stressed for its guests to keep in mind that Bethel and the surrounding area is still recovering from a storm that left some 600,000 on the East Coast without power. Services will be limited both in town and on the mountain.

A bit more to the north in Maine, Saddleback also plans on re-opening Saturday for skiers and riders, though getting there may be an issue. Many roads in northern Maine are reported to be washed out. Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a civil state of emergency for most of Maine, including Rangeley and Franklin County, noting the storm had “caused significant flooding and infrastructure damage, including to the state’s federal-aid highways.”

“Flooding continues to be a serious risk in many areas of the state,” Mills said. “If you live in an area that is hard hit, please stay off the roads as much as possible and stay away from flooded areas, including flooded roadways…We are looking at a multi-day recovery effort right now, and Maine people can do their part by exercising vigilance and caution.” 

Sugarloaf re-opened on Thursday with a handful of groomed trails. “Remember our community as well as neighboring towns still may have active recovery efforts taking place,” Sugarloaf marketing director Jessica Sechler wrote in Wednesday’s mountain update. “Be sure to triple-check your ‘normal’ route to Sugarloaf prior to traveling if you have questions as to whether or not it may be open.” 

On that note, two good resources for road conditions in Maine:

Franklin County EMA: www.franklincountyema.org 

DOT map: www.maine.gov/mdot/newengland511/

In New Hampshire, Bretton Woods re-opened and re-started its snow guns. On Wednesday, the resort had 15 trails open, with more terrain opening as they geared up for the holiday week. Elsewhere, ski areas across the Granite State were busy making snow after losing so much snowpack earlier in the week. However, Loon boasted no loss of terrain from the recent storm, offering 133 acres across two peaks. Cannon Mountain saw an inch of new snow as snowmaking crews begin a “route of progression” to make their way over to Mittersill. Night skiing at Gunstock has been postponed until Saturday. 

In Vermont, it was back to square one for ski areas like Magic Mountain, now in a race to recover from the loss of snow. “It will be touch-and-go to see if we can get enough down to open for the holiday week,” their mountain report read Thursday. Closer to the Canadian border, Jay Peak reported a couple inches of new snow to complement all the snowmaking taking place. Neither the Tram nor the Flyer lift will run this weekend. 

No matter your destination, be sure to check ahead with the ski area or resort, as well as any state highway agencies. Understand that services in these ski towns may be limited. Patience pays.