Mars Hill, ME – The nonprofit Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC), which has owned the Bigrock Mountain community ski area in Mars Hill since 2000 and has administered outside financial support from the Libra Foundation, announced on Tuesday that it is ending its relationship with the mountain, its second such termination this summer.
Now without the funding from the Libra Foundation, a charitable trust set up the late Betty Noyce, the ex-wife of the co-founder of Intel, and the operational expertise of the MWSC, the organization hopes that Bigrock is now ready to swim on its own.
“When we bought Bigrock Mountain in 2000, with the funding from the Libra Foundation, the intent was to give the mountain a meaningful opportunity at being sustainable for the long term,” said Andy Shepard, President and CEO of the MWSC. “At that point we envisioned turning the mountain over to a non-profit, community-based ownership. That time has now come. Bigrock has made significant progress over the past 13 years and we are proud of the work that has been done, it’s time to see if it can become a truly community-backed enterprise again, as Black Mountain recently has become.”
(file photo: Bigrock Mountain)
The MWSC announced on June 25th that it would be stepping away from Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine, after 10 years of ownership of that facility. On July 19th it was announced that the community ski area had raised the necessary funding to take over operations and remain open. The MWSC and Libra Foundation then donated the mountain as a gift to the nonprofit Black Mountain of Maine, which is led by a local board and which has assumed responsibility for operating and funding the mountain moving forward.
The MWSC hopes to replicate this process at Bigrock Mountain, which at 980 feet of vertical is the tallest ski area in northern Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. The Maine Winter Sports Center bought the mountain in 1999 and since that time the Libra Foundation has invested over $6 million in improvements, including a dramatically expanded snowmaking system, a new beginner/intermediate area with a triple chair, a glade park, a magic carpet lift in the ski school park and a tubing park.
The mountain changed its business model radically last year, with a focus on making skiing more accessible to the region and on reaching profitability. It reduced day ticket prices to $15 and season passes to $150, significantly expanded seating capacity in the lodge and added a new retail area and pub. To help market the mountain a new website and advertising campaign were also created.
“Season pass sales were up 13% last season, day tickets were up 18% and rentals were up 42%, with overall revenue up six percent,” Shepard explained. “The mountain still required outside support to remain open last season, but I believe there is a lot of growth potential at Bigrock, with significant opportunities toward creating a stronger connection to the active population in western New Brunswick, Bangor and Aroostook County.”
It nevertheless failed to turn a profit in 2012-13.
“Bigrock has been a fixture in the winter economy and culture of the region for over 50 years,” added Shepard. “The improvements from the past decade-plus are now firmly in place and there should be great opportunities for the people of Aroostook County to keep Bigrock Mountain going.”
Community leaders fear the detrimental effect that a closed Bigrock would have on the area. It draws overnight visitors to the region who contribute handlily to the area’s economy.
The MWSC also owns two cross-country ski areas in Maine, the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle and the 10th Mountain Ski Area in Fort Kent. Officials indicate that the organization only plans to step away from its alpine operations.
