Maine
Maine Ski Area Back On The Market Following Failed Redevelopment Proposal
Greenville Junction, Maine — The saga regarding the future of one of New England’s most underrated ski areas continues.
Friends of the Mountain, which operates Big Moose Mountain (formerly referred to as Big Squaw), announced that the property is back on the market. Developer Perry Wiliams, who wanted to revitalize the property, has officially dropped out, meaning that the Maine ski area is again being offered for sale by owner James Confalone. Friends of the Mountain is operating the ski area while all this gets sorted out, as their contract is active through December 2027.
This is surprising, given the recent news about those developers reviving their efforts to build the ski resort. The Piscataquis Observer reported in May that he had re-engaged with the owner and was finalizing the contract details. This summer, the developer planned to fix up the snowmaking system that was damaged by last December’s flood and tear down the buildings filled with asbestos.
Big Moose has had a complicated history. First opened in December 1963, It slowly grew its trails, lifts, and vertical drop over the coming years. While remote, the ski resort became known for its stunning views and slopeside hotel. It was eventually sold to entrepreneur James Confalone in 1995.
In 2004, the upper mountain chairlift failed, resulting in four injuries. In addition, the hotel closed in the 2000s and has fallen into disrepair. The upper mountain has remained without lift-serviced skiing since, although the Friends have brought cat skiing operations up there for the past two winters. Rather than fixing the issues, Confalone allegedly illegally harvested timber to pay off millions in loans. This illegal timber harvesting and failure to maintain the property caused a lawsuit from the state of Maine, which could see Confalone pay more than $4.5 million in damages. In addition, James Confalone has refused to change the name of the mountain, despite most of the country now deeming the word squaw as offensive. However, the non-profit has begun referring to the ski area as Big Moose.
After being closed for several winters, Confalone leased the lower slopes to the non-profit Friends of the Mountain in 2012. They’ve done great work revitalizing the mountain, spending $200k last offseason to renovate the lower mountain chairlift, renovate the snowmaking pumphouse, and start a cat-skiing operation.
For years, developer Perry Williams has sought to revitalize the ski resort. Some of the proposals include a new hotel, a base lodge/conference center, summer attractions, dining options, and a detachable chairlift to the summit. While they got the approvals from the state of Maine, they never could finalize the contract with Confalone. The development team dropped the plans in late 2022. Perry Williams recently tried to revive these efforts, but he failed again.
The asking price is around $5 million, depending on whether the buyer acquires additional development acreage around the mountain. If you’re interested, please email Skibigmoose@gmail.com. If you want to support the non-profit, click here to donate to the Friends of the Mountain.
Image Credits: Friends of the Mountain, North Woods Aerial