“Ski The View”
 

This story was Published in The New England Ski Journal 

Published: December 2002

By Heather Burke

 

Kids raised on detachable quads and buffed to perfection white carpet boulevards would do well to spend a weekend skiing natural snow and riding a long, slow double chair to the summit of an unpretentious ski mountain. Mom and Dad could use a break in their wallet, a reprieve from lift lines, and front row parking might be refreshing too.

Families will find all this and more, for less, at Big Squaw. This is a Mad River Glen style ski area, only even less discovered due to its remote locale in central Maine.

During our lengthy drive to the isolated town of Greenville, we see only snowmobile trailers, not one ski rack. Moosehead Lake, Maine’s largest lake, is a magnet for winter fun seekers. Snowmobilers, snowshoers, moose spotters and ice fisherman have discovered this outdoor retreat, but few skiers are aware of Squaw.
 

A few miles west of town we are finally comforted by indication of a ski area. “Ski the View,” the vintage billboard reads at the base of Squaw’s narrow access road. This is the only promotion for Big Squaw Mountain Resort you are likely to see, as they don’t have a marketing campaign, no color brochures, not even a web site.
 

The photocopied trail map states, “Maine’s Own Little Gem.”
 

We set out to explore this self-proclaimed jewel first by riding the lower mountain triple (yes, a triple) chair. Here we ski a handful of meandering intermediate trails with contours, nooks and crannies, ol’ fashion trail skiing – we tell the kids.

 

We delight in having the Saint John trail all to ourselves. “There’s no one here,” says my daughter. The soft, quiet natural snow underfoot is a delicacy.
 

Squaw’s principal lift is the 1967 summit double, which climbs to the summit of the 1,750’ vertical in about 12 minutes. As we are scooped up by the temperamental old lift, I have a flashback of riding a chair just like this as a kid. Flash-forward, I am seated next to my child, professing about skiing in the good old days when I wore Rossi Stratos and a hat with a huge pom-pom.

Along the ride, massive Moosehead Lake and mile-high Mt. Katahdin come in to splendid view. Now I “See the View” and can begin to appreciate the genius behind the ski area slogan, “Ski the View.”

At the top, there’s a rustic warming hut and aging signs pointing to a choice of time-honored trails. Black diamond runs like Seboomok, Piscataquis and Saint Croix offer respectable pitches from the summit mixed in with twists and drop-offs for unpredictability along the way. The lift line trail serves up surprising steeps, erratic jumps, and craggy cliffs – skiing the way Mother Nature intended.

The exceptions to these challenging trails are the two and a half mile East Branch trail and two-mile Penobscot, these more wide-open staples have substantial snowmaking and daily grooming, making them popular for cruising and incredible sightseeing.

32-year ski patrol veteran Sandy McFarland explained that Sel Hannah, the legendary trail designer, laid out Squaw’s trail system, including recently developed glades that were part of his original plans. “The Penobscot Trail was mentioned in Sel Hannah’s obituary as his best work,” said McFarland.

If American Skiing Company resorts represent the so-called new school with snowmaking, high-speed lifts, and terrain parks; then Big Squaw is old school. Little has changed since 1963, when Scott Paper began this mountain playground. “Here at Squaw, we’re mired somewhere between 1968 and 1972,” says McFarland.

Some of the lift towers are padded with mattresses shrink-wrapped at a local Moosehead marina. There are no half pipes, but the entire mountain plays like an adventure park with natural contours and snaking glades. Resourceful riders hand-pack their own jumps and hits.

New at Squaw, (an oxymoron), are 50 acres of glade trails. Rich Mailey, who did much of the trail cutting said, “We doubled the size of our glades this summer. We now have more glades than Sunday River or Sugarloaf.”

Beyond the unbelievable view and unaltered terrain, there is an indomitable aura at this time-tested ski area.

Big Squaw Mountain is humorously humble. There is neither resort village nor mid-mountain eateries. The base lodge is pure 70’s, hosting a rental shop, game room and bar. Lunch is a buffet table lined with crock-pots of homemade soups and chili.

“Who could ask for more?” reads the print material. At 50 cents for a hot cocoa, I couldn’t think of anything. The prices are old-fashioned. Lift ticket rates actually went down this year to $15 midweek and $25 on weekends for adults, kids 4 and under ski free.

“Our owner wants to make skiing more affordable for families,” said Willie Charles, the ski area hotel manager. The “new” owner, as of 1995, James Confalone of Miami car wash wealth, has focused on renovations to the modest on-mountain hotel, which are now complete, with rooms available at $79 per night midweek, $89 on weekends.

Having stayed there, I wish to lower your expectations of wild après ski; there isn’t even a swimming pool - yet. Settle on a good book, building a snowman with the kids, and the forgotten art of conversation, since the in-room TV selection is very limited.

During one of our many ascents, my son shared with me an “issue” from school that was bugging him. He would never have gotten the words out during a whiz bang high-speed quad ride. So that’s what they mean by quality time.

For now, things remain rather rustic and unchanged. That includes the controversial name of Squaw itself. “No one wants to offend anyone, it’s an historical name,” said McFarland.

If you long for ultra-wide man-made corduroy, high- tech lifts, cushy chairs, slopeside spas and boutiques, then Squaw is not your ticket. If however, you want to get away from that scene and ski some truly awesome New England terrain on real snow that holds up all day due to minimal skier traffic - head to Squaw.

Fulltime patroller E.J. Gerrier said, “Come here on a weekday and 30 people on the hill is a lot.”

On a February weekend, we parked within a stone’s throw of the base lodge, skied two- mile-long trails without seeing another skier, and a peak lift line was maybe ten people.

Leave the fancy ski outfit at home, but go ski this “retro” alpine treasure above the shores of Moosehead Lake. Big Squaw, with two chairlifts, a handle tow and t-bar, can be reached at 207-695-1000; they even have music on hold.

 

(Note: Squaw's summit lift is in need of repair and not scheduled to operate for the 2005-06 season, therefore the only lift is the lower mountain triple accessing 800' vertical of modest beginner/intermediate terrain)

 

 

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