Big(ger) Rock Mountain

WRITTEN BY AISLINN SARNACKI

In December, after years of planning and fundraising by northern Maine residents, BigRock Mountain will open with a brand new chairlift and a beefed up snowmaking system.

This $5.6 million project to upgrade the long-running ski area is a big deal for Aroostook County. It will lengthen and stabilize the ski season on Mars Hill, while also making room for more people to enjoy the mountain.

“The cost of these upgrades would have been insurmountable without the support of the community and the grants [we received],” said Aaron Damon, BigRock assistant general manager. “It’s really testament to the importance of this operation to the community and as an economic engine for our town.”

The new four-seater chairlift will replace the mountain’s aging chairlift that leads to the top of the trails.

Fun fact:BigRock has named the new lift The Sunrise Quad. This is a nod to the fact that Mars Hill is one of a few locations where you can see the sunrise first in North America.  (The location changes depending on the time of year. Cadillac Mountain in Mount Desert Island and Quoddy Head in eastern Maine are the other two locations.)

“It’s an integral piece of our operation,” Damon said of the lift.

The snow system upgrade will include six new snow guns, plus motors and pumps to feed water to them. It’s predicted to quadruple the mountain’s snowmaking output.

“Before, it’d take almost a month to get the mountain open with snowmaking, and now we can get it done in about a week,” said Mike Chasse, a member of the BigRock board of directors who has been heavily involved in the project. 

With this in mind, mountain staff hope to open about two weeks earlier than usual this season.

“I think we’re all a little tired. It’s been a big project,” Chasse said. “But we’re also excited and appreciative and humbled. There’s been a lot of effort from our board members and local community and mountain staff … I think once the community gets to experience it, it’s going to bring them all together and be really special.”

BigRock administration started talking about the need for a new chairlift back in 2018, but it wasn’t until 2021 that they kicked off a major fundraising effort for the project.

Over the next few years, the project received $4.1 million in federal grants and funding, including a $2.5 million Economic Development Administration tourism grant. And the rest — $1.5 million — was raised through private donations by individuals and area businesses. 

The nonprofit ski mountain has served as a hub of recreation for surrounding communities for more than 60 years. 

”It was created by a small Junior Chamber of Commerce group that felt that skiing needed to be an aspect of this community,” Damon said. “They really believed in it, and their work created a whole new generation of skiers. Their grandkids are out there now.”

To date, the mountain features 29 trails, a terrain park with more than 20 elements, a tubing park, rental equipment, and a cafe offering homestyle meals. In the future, more trails may be added to that winter wonderland, Chasse said.

Youth engagement has always been a big part of the nonprofit’s mission. Last season, the mountain worked with 10 districts throughout Maine to offer ski rental equipment and lessons to students at the mountain for just $20 per student, per day. This program, called Ski4Life, is steadily growing, with 2,200 visits last winter.

“On any given day, you could have 150 to 200 kids,” Damon said. “You’ll see just a mob of buses coming in and kids running up the hill to go skiing for the first time.”

In recent years, as Maine’s winter weather has trended warmer due to climate change, many people are looking to the northern reaches of the state for snow sports.

“We’re colder than the rest of New England,” Chasse said. “As there are becoming more and more of these rain events in Maine, we’re generally staying colder and getting less rain. We get more snow and have more opportunities to make snow. That was a big focal point of this project.”

The improvements will allow the 1,748-foot mountain to handle more skiers. Staff aim to see a 30 percent jump in business, from an average of nearly 21,000 skiers per year to around 27,000. And they’re ready.