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To our wonderful Saddleback family we have some news we want to share with you:

Over the past couple of years it has been more and more apparent that in order for Saddleback Mountain to be sustainable the Rangeley Double Chair has to be replaced by a fixed grip quad similar to the South Branch and Kennebago Lifts. This will more than double the number of skiers per hour that can be transported up the mountain.

We have spent the past few years looking for funding; a total of $3,000,000 is needed for the new lift. At this moment, we are still waiting for a yes or no from three different lenders. In order to have the lift installed for the 2015-2016 season we need to place the order within the next two weeks. We have made the decision not to run the current Rangeley Chair for another season.

The lodge will continue to host weddings, functions and limited food and beverage offerings. If you have already purchased season tickets they will be refunded at a later date if we do not open on schedule. A copy of the press release is going out later this morning is included below.

Our main purpose for making this announcement now is to ask all of you - if you can recommend a good resource for obtaining financing in short order for the lift in case our current resources do not come through. If you have a viable option please give us a call or send us an email. Otherwise have a great summer and we hope to see you this winter or this fall at Fall Festival and Oktoberfest! We will keep you posted as to our progress.

Thank you very much for your continued support

The Berry Family

"Saddleback Maine exists to share its exquisite gift of beauty, peace and happiness with all who visit. We most especially want to secure it for anyone regardless of his or her position in life. Saddleback is magnificent and accessible, and shall remain so. We hope those who experience this treasured place, will respect it, care for it, and in some way, if even for just a little while, become a part of it."
-The Berry Family

PRESS RELEASE:

Saddleback Down to the Wire on New Lift

Berry Family Announces Ski Resort will Not Open for 2015-2016 Ski Season Unless $3 Million in Financing isSecured to Replace Aging Rangeley Double Chairlift

Rangeley, ME -July 20, 2015 -Saddleback, Maine, the third largest ski mountain in Maine and the third largest employer in Franklin County, announced today that it will not commence winter operations unless it can secure $3 million in financing to purchase a new four-person chairlift to replace the aging 4,717-foot Rangeley Double Chair. The 51-year-old lift is the main access from the base lodge to the top of Saddleback Mountain and is at the end of its useful life according to mountain officials.

"In order for Saddleback to be sustainable for the long-term, we've decided the lift must be replaced," said Mark Berry, owner, Saddleback, Maine. "For the last several months, we've been actively seeking the necessary financing to replace the chairlift, however time is running out. We only have a few weeks to make this work. In order to open this winter, we need to order the new lift by early August."

In 2003, Bill and Irene Berry of Farmington, Maine, purchased Saddleback, Maine. The Berry family wanted to protect the resort's economic significance for Rangeley and its historic importance for Maine. During the ski season, Saddleback, Maine, employs up to 300 people. The Berry's also had a vision of providing a ski mountain that the average Mainer could afford. The family has invested millions in the mountain since 2003. Improvements include a new base lodge, the installation of two new quad chairlifts, the addition of many new trails, expanded snowmaking and glade skiing. Today it remains one of the few family-owned ski mountains in the Northeast.

Berry continued: "This is certainly not where we hoped to be given our success in growing this mountain. It is our sincere hope that the funding will come through in time to purchase the new lift and have it operational for this year's ski season. We are now calling on those who treasure what Saddleback is to the people of Maine to help us find a solution."

The Berry family informed year-round Saddleback employees and mountain property owners of the potential changes in winter operations. The Berry family has guaranteed that all season pass holders will be reimbursed and all vendors will be paid in full if the mountain does not open for the ski season. The ski area and thousands of acres of surrounding woodlands remain for sale.

Saddleback officials also confirmed that all weddings and summer/autumn events will continue as planned regardless of the winter operation decision.