Maine
Many Maine ski areas relatively confident despite uncertain winter
Snow guns blow a mist of snow over skiers as they make their way down Hayburner trail on opening day at Sugarloaf in 2022. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald
The ability to make snow has Maine’s ski areas optimistic about the winter season and confident they can bounce back from the heavy rain and warm temperatures predicted for later this week.
Many of Maine’s ski resorts are capable of making their own snow when Mother Nature fails to provide, Ski Maine Executive Director Dirk Gouwens said.
“Truthfully, we really don’t need a lot of natural snow. It’s really more to make people feel like it’s really winter,” Gouwens said in a phone call Monday evening. “We do need cold weather, obviously, in order to make (snow).”
They might need to, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, which says this winter could bring warmer-than-average temperatures and a limited amount of snow – though overall precipitation could be near-normal.
Some slopes have already opened and are reporting strong numbers for the early season and relatively high sales of season passes, Gouwens said. He said ski areas set a statewide attendance record two years ago, and last year’s numbers were slightly lower but still “well over our 10-year average.”
He said snowmaking machines are among the most significant expenses at most Maine mountains, but improvements in the technology have lowered energy needs and costs in the past 25 years. Meanwhile, pandemic-driven surges in attendance, as well as the availability of energy-minded grants, has enabled many of Maine’s peaks to install new and more efficient equipment in the last few years, he said.
Natural snow, however, can serve as a powerful marketing tool, especially when enticing out-of-state tourists to Maine, he said.
“If it doesn’t seem like winter, people don’t travel,” Gouwens said. “If you’re from Boston, for instance, and it’s green grass in your backyard, you might not think that it’s snowy on the mountains.”
But not every mountain has the luxury of artificial snow.
Chris Kilcollins, operations manager at the Quoggy Jo Ski Center in Presque Isle, which relies solely on natural snowfall, said his crew was “optimistically pessimistic” about the winter forecast.
“We’re hoping for a really good winter. We’re off to a pretty good start,” Kilcollins said on a phone call Monday evening. “As long as we don’t lose it all in the rainstorm.”
Rain is expected to fall over much of Maine later this week, and forecasters say it could melt away parts of the snowpack.
Workers at Quoggy Jo plan to shovel snow from open areas into larger piles Monday night and Tuesday morning, in hopes of insulating most of it from the rain, Kilcollins said. Once the rain passes, they will spread what they can back onto the slopes.
Quoggy Jo usually budgets for about 12 weeks of skiing each year, he said. Last season, they barely got half that, leaving a roughly $30,000 deficit operators hope to make up for this season, he said.
“It’s a nightmare, honestly, not having consistent snow,” Gouwens said.
A collective of environmental, arts and Indigenous-led organizations is collaborating to produce We Are the Watershed, a two-day event aimed at reconnecting humans with nature and revitalizing the health of waterways, estuaries, and the bay in Peskotomuhkatikuk (traditional Passamaquoddy territory). Events, including theatrical performances, music, culinary experiences and an exhibition of submitted artwork, will be held on May 1 and 2 at Eastport Arts Center (EAC). A publication of written and visual works will also be released with proceeds to support conservation efforts and spreading awareness of their impacts.
Submissions sought:
Written and visual works are currently sought from artists and creatives on both sides of the border across Peskotomuhkatikuk for the publication, which will be sold by donation at the May event. Proceeds from the sale will be dedicated to related community-building efforts, public engagement, and continued restoration efforts. The deadline for digital submission for the publication is April 1.
Physical works can be dropped off at EAC Sunday, April 26 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to be a part of the exhibition, which will run May 1 through 15. Artists under 18 will receive 100% of the proceeds if they opt to put their pieces up for sale during the exhibit, which will run May 1 through May 15. Artists over 18 will receive 70% of the proceeds with the remainder going toward promoting awareness of and supporting conservation efforts for the Passamaquoddy Bay.
The Eastport Arts Center
Every week through Apr 01, 2026.
Friday: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Event Supported By
Eastport Arts Center
(207) 853-4650
info@eastportartscenter.org
Police in Maryland have charged a suspect with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 87-year-old Robert Fuller Jr., a former Maine attorney and philanthropist, inside his senior living apartment in Gaithersburg on Valentine’s Day.
Authorities said the suspect is 22-year-old Maurquise Emilio James, a med tech at the facility where Fuller lived.
Montgomery County Department of Police.
At a press conference Wednesday, detectives said they reviewed surveillance video from the facility showing James near a door that’s alarm was deactivated. A video clip released of the suspect walking in the courtyard of the facility generated tips that helped to identify James.
Early February 24, Maryland State Police conducted a traffic stop of a sedan without tags. Police said the driver fired at the trooper. The officer was not seriously injured.
Investigators said evidence collected at the scene included at least one 9mm shell casing that indicated the same gun was used in both the shooting of Fuller and the incident involving the trooper.
No motive has been given.
Fuller practiced law in Maine for more than 35 years and supported many institutions in the Augusta area.
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