Greenwood, ME – Mt. Abram ski area in Maine has partnered with Mountain Rider’s Alliance (MRA), a group that advocates a back-to-basics approach to running ski areas. Both entities say that the new joint effort aims to boost regional visitation, increase sustainability awareness, and create a business model for other community-oriented ski areas worldwide.
This partnership with Mt. Abram represents Jackson, Wyo.-based MRA’s first conversion of an existing ski area into what it terms an MRA Mountain Playground. Mt. Abram will remain open to the public without significant changes to its operating plan. As part of this partnership, membership shares will be available via MRA, which will offer a variety of benefits and privileges, reciprocation at other Mountain Playgrounds, as well as allow for elections to represent membership in dialog with ski area management.
“We started this movement in 2009,” said MRA co-founder Jamie Schectman, who resides in California near Lake Tahoe. “Since then, we’ve seen thousands of passionate folks around the world support the preservation of our sport. It’s about the local communities, generating our own energy, reducing our carbon footprint, and most importantly sliding downhill on snow. With Mt. Abram’s dedication to the community and environment, we couldn’t ask for a better partner. Supporting this mission is just the beginning. We’re building a replicative model to save what we love about skiing, and offer a new direction for ski areas around the world.”
Mt. Abram is a 560-acre privately owned and operated ski area, located 90 minutes from Portland, Maine, near Sunday River Resort and the town of Bethel. It offers 1,150 feet of vertical drop and Maine’s first boundary-to-boundary policy, and possesses a low-key vibe when compared with nearby resorts. It is owned and operated by Maine businessman and recent Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Matt Hancock.
“Mt. Abram’s greatness doesn’t have to be restricted to Maine,” said Hancock. “There are a number of other independent ski areas that would fit well into this model. Mt. Abram’s collaboration with MRA is about skiing, plain and simple: a thriving business model away from the commercialized, overpriced, factory outdoor experience at the mega-resorts. Mt Abram’s niche – soulfulness, great terrain, skier-centricity, and enjoying the outdoors with family and friends – is what attracts people to the sport. MRA was founded to instill and promote these same characteristics in an industry that is moving away from what we love about skiing.”
The partnership between MRA and Mt. Abram is expected to be finalized next spring.