PRESQUE ISLE and MARS HILL, Maine — With several major snow storms already in the books for the 2018-2019 winter season, ski centers in central Aroostook have been extra busy preparing for visitors.
At Bigrock Ski Area in Mars Hill, preparations for the season are two weeks ahead of schedule with the opening day for slopes set for Saturday, Dec. 1, according to general manager Travis Kearney. The Bigrock trails have seen 18 inches of snow accumulate, which their snow groomer has reduced to a more compact and accessible six inches for future skiers.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen us be able to open two weeks early. We were originally scheduled to open on Dec. 15 this year,” Kearney said on Nov. 21. “If the snow and colder weather continues, I don’t see any reason why we won’t be open on Dec. 1.”
Bigrock typically uses its eight snowmaking machines, or “snow guns,” to produce 12 to 18 inches for 34 trails from mid-November to mid-December in order to compensate for any lack of snow in early winter. The snowmaking process can cost an average of $30,000 to $50,000 per season, but this year Kearney anticipates that the greater amount of natural snow will help Bigrock reduce that cost to between $15,000 and $20,000.
He also has seen around a 30 percent increase in sales of Bigrock’s season passes, especially for first-time members. Until Dec. 1, the ski area is holding an early bird sale on all season passes for children, adults, families and first-time buyers, for which more information can be found on the facility’s website.
“I think with all the snow that we’ve been receiving, people are thinking about the ski season a lot earlier than normal,” Kearney said.
At Quoggy Jo Ski Center in Presque Isle, located adjacent to the Nordic Heritage Center, manager Gene Cronin estimates that 14 to 15 inches of snow has already covered its seven trails. The center does not produce its own snow and relies entirely on volunteer support to maintain the trails and hold regular ski hours and children’s lessons.
Currently Quoggy Jo plans to open for the season on Wednesday, Dec. 26, in time for the holiday school vacation. Volunteers spend an average of fives hour each night grooming the trails before the first day and also work on maintenance throughout the summer months. The center is holding an early bird pass sale until Dec. 1 and the trails will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Tuesday afternoons for their after-school program.
“Our membership numbers have been very strong throughout the past five to six years. There seems to have been a renewed interest in skiing, especially with how the weather has been so far this winter,” Cronin said.
The most ideal ski conditions, Cronin noted, are when there is at least a foot of hard-packed, groomed snow on the trails and temperatures are in the mid-teens to the mid-20s. In past years, the center has closed for several weeks in January due to a “January haze” where temperatures increase to above average numbers for that time of the year with little to no snowfall. But there also have been days where crews have closed the slopes during regular hours due to below zero temperatures.
In the meantime, Cronin said he is looking forward to the start of this year’s ski season, a time where families often come to the center looking for a fun winter activity to take part in together.
“We often see three generations of families ski here together, grab a snack at the snack bar and then hit the slopes again for the remainder of the day, enjoying each other’s company,” Cronin said. “That’s probably what I’m looking forward to seeing the most.”
