Shawnee Peak owner will restore Maine ski area’s original name

Shawnee Peak. (Shawnee Peak)

Another New England ski area has changed its name ahead of the 2022-23 skiing and riding season. 

Boyne Resorts, which purchased Shawnee Peak last October, announced Wednesday that the Bridgton, Maine ski area would return to its original name; Pleasant Mountain. 

The name change honors the 84-year history of Maine’s first ski area. 

“It gives me great pleasure to return to our original name,” Pleasant Mountain general manager Ralph Lewis wrote in a letter to season passholders. “I know that this ski area is poised for a great future so others may experience what many of us already have.” 

The name, Shawnee Peak, was chosen for the mountain  by the group that assumed ownership of the ski area in 1988, specifically to create brand alignment with another of its ski areas, Shawnee Mountain, in Pennsylvania. According to a release, “generations of loyalists have remained vocal and enthusiastic about the preferred name of their beloved ski area.  Feedback gathered in a recent survey was overwhelmingly in support of bringing back the original name.” 

The ski area formerly-known as Suicide Six in Vermont also announced a change earlier this year. Acknowledging the feelings that the word ‘suicide’ can evoke, the mountain is now known as “Saskadena Six.” The new name honors the ancestral land of the indigenous western Abenaki people. The word, “saskadena” means “standing mountain,” symbolizing a deep connection to the original inhabitants and the land. 

Boyne Resorts acquired Shawnee Peak in October, 2021 from longtime owner Chet Homer.  Pleasant Mountain is part of the company’s collection of New England resorts including Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine, and Loon Mountain in New Hampshire. 

Pleasant Mountain’s new logo — featuring a red pine tree (one of the oldest trees in Maine), polar star, and skyline wave — is inspired by Maine and the state’s rich history in skiing. 

“With the tremendous amount of history associated with this ski area, plus having new ownership and your support, I strongly feel that now is the right time to make this change,” Lewis wrote. “I treasure the many fond memories I have of learning to ski at Pleasant Mountain. Hours upon hours of riding up the East T-bar, Summit chair, and countless stops at the lodge for a five-cent glazed donut, live in my memory like it was yesterday. These memories and many more were instrumental in framing my passion for skiing and the outdoors. Pleasant Mountain changed my life, just as it has others.”