PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — After a Christmas snowstorm brought fresh powder, Quoggy Jo Ski Center opened for its first day Dec. 26 but will have to wait out a few days of bitter cold.
The ski center will be likely be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week due to a cold front sweeping into the region that will bring wind chills well below zero, said ski center manager Gene Cronin.
The National Weather Service’s Caribou office is forecasting temperatures that will barely top off at above zero Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and strong winds that will make it feel even colder.
With good snow conditions, Quoggy Jo runs on weekends and during school breaks throughout the winter. But the ski hill, which caters to families and young skiers, will not open when temperatures are too frigid, Cronin said.
“It’s got to be above zero.”
Despite the setback of temperatures that are too cold to ski in for the next few days, Cronin said the ski hill’s staff and volunteers are looking forward to a good season.
“We did a lot of work over the summer. We put new roofs over the lodge and the garage and we painted and lift and ran a new com-line on the lift.”
The nonprofit ski center is coming off a multi-year fundraising campaign that met its $75,000 goal. With $50,0000 raised from the Presque Isle Rotary Club and a $25,000 grant from the Mark and Emily Turner Foundation, the ski hill was able to purchase a new trail groomer and make infrastructure upgrades, Cronin said.
