Community-Backed Maine Ski Hill Touts New Chairlift and Snowmaking Upgrades

BigRock's mission is to provide Mainers "family-friendly skiing at an affordable price," and their new Doppelmayr quad will further that mission. The new lift is replacing a lift that was already 25 years old when it was installed at the 501(C)(3) non-profit ski area.

During the late fall of 2021, BigRock Mountain rolled out a capital campaign for donations to put in a new ski lift. Project Lead and Maine Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Inductee Mike Chasse explained that "the project, at that point, was solely centered around putting in a new chairlift to the top of the mountain."

"Right around that same time, we started working with Northern Maine Development Commission to write a grant to the Economic Development Administration for more significant upgrades: a chairlift, snowmaking improvements, and then just some overall mountain infrastructure improvements."

"We requested a grant for $6.1 million, and they partially funded the project."

"The greatest part of the project with the combination of raising a million and a half dollars of private donations and then receiving upwards of $4 million of federal funding, is that we're going to be able to do all these infrastructure improvements and not significantly increase the debt load of the mountain."

"But the biggest thing is that the new lift is going to let four people go up at once. Instead of families having to break their groups into an adult and a kid per chair, families of four are going to be able to go up together."

This lift serves as BigRock Mountain's primary ski lift. Chasse said, "now, we will have a lift that has a good another 30, 40 years of life left."

At this point in the process, the bull wheel at the top of the mountain, all of the towers, and the bottom lift shack have been installed. Chasse explained that the construction crew is "beginning construction of the top lift shack, and Doppelmayr is pulling the haul rope this week."

"Right now, the whole rope is kind of dangling from the towers, but they're getting it pulled all the way around and tight. It's going to be spliced sometime in early September."

The plan is to have the lift ready for this winter's season.

Chasse reported that the community has been overjoyed at the progress and installation of the new lift. "Everyone's so excited. They really like the new location, which lets skiers off about twenty feet further up the hill."

"This lift is going to serve the entire trail network better. With our current double, when you get off, you've got to kind of hike up around twenty vertical feet to get to all the expert terrain. Now it's going to get people off at the height of the land so you can access everything."

"The other big thing that this is going to have every bit as much impact to our skiers is that we are quadrupling our snowmaking output."

BigRock, being in Northern Maine, already gets cold temperatures, but before the snowmaking upgrades, it used to take BigRock upwards of 20 days to open all of their terrain. Now, the ski area will be able to do that in five to seven days.

Chasse said, "we're an independent, nonprofit mountain that's run by community leaders and business owners. People in the community stepped up to make sure BigRock stays open. We've been working our butts off to make sure it stays liable and affordable and improves."

"Core to our mission is keeping that older, small field of skiing where it's all based around families and kids. It's not about commercial, big-ticket prices. It's about giving our community and families and kids of Maine a place where they can make some great turns at an affordable price."

BigRock and its honorable mission has made significant strides with this project. Now, all they need is a good, cold winter for ample snow, or if the snow doesn't come quickly enough, they can make it themselves.

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