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By BDN Staff of the Bangor Daily News: The owner of Big Squaw Mountain Resort area near Greenville announced Monday that three trails are now operating and more are expected to be available soon, ending what he termed a frustrating preparatory period marked by misinformation and misperceptions about his business. James Confalone said while the resort would be closed Christmas Day, it would reopen Dec. 26 and would remain open daily through Jan. 1, after which it will be open on weekends and holidays. Confalone said he wanted to set the record straight about a Bangor Daily News story on Dec. 13 headlined "Locals not optimistic about Squaw ski area." In that story the Greenville town manager and Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce heads expressed their frustration over not knowing what Confalone’s plans are for future operation, including this season. "We’ve been open [under my ownership] every winter" since 1995 (when he leased and later that year purchased the resort), Confalone said last week in a telephone call. He had declined to be interviewed for the Dec. 13 story, saying he was unhappy with a previous Bangor Daily News story. After the Dec. 13 story ran, Confalone said he had long telephone conversations with Chamber of Commerce President Bob Hamer and Greenville Town Manager John Simko. Part of the confusion over whether the mountain would open stemmed from the early December snowfall that overwhelmed grooming crews, Confalone said. Adding to that were confusing recorded messages at the ski area’s main number — earlier ones indicating no one was available, later ones indicating crews were out grooming. They have since been updated. The best way to get trail condition reports, Confalone said, is by checking the company’s Web site. As of Friday nine trails on the lower mountain were groomed, the ski shop and base lodge were ready to open. The only thing holding up opening, Confalone said, was repair of an electrical panel on the triple chairlift that services the lower mountain. The panel was repaired over the weekend. Confalone took issue with Chamber President Hamer’s comment in the Dec. 13 article that it "was unfortunate for the area that we don’t have the cooperation from the mountain" over whether it would be in operation. Confalone said he never received a call seeking that information. Hamer said Thursday that up until the past few days getting in contact with the mountain had been problematic. When callers tried the main number they were urged by an answering machine to leave a message. Hamer said he and Confalone had talked in the last few days and the answering machine situation was soon remedied. Better yet, Hamer said, Confalone provided him with personal and cell phone numbers so lines of communication would be open. Simko confirmed what he said in the Dec. 13 article — that for the past couple of years "we didn’t get official information" on the status of the ski area’s operation — but he said, he had taken the stance that if anyone wants to know the official word they need to go to Confalone for that. "It would be helpful," Simko said, for all involved to know about seasonal plans. Everyone "agrees that the ski area, when it is running optimally, is a huge economic engine." When it’s in full operation "everybody wins," he added. Confalone and Simko have talked in the past few days, and one result will be a link from the town’s Web site, www.GreenvilleME.com to the ski area’s Web site www.bigsquawmountain.com to help direct inquiries to the mountain. It’s a first step, Simko said. The ski area owner also vented his frustration over perceptions reported in the Dec. 13 article that he had not honored agreements last season to provide free ski days, that were subsidized to the tune of $1,000 a day by local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce. "We honored all our commitments to them, which accounted for three free ski days for customers," Confalone said. He said $1,000 was refunded to a donor because the mountain could not open one of the days due to icy conditions. The Chamber and local businesses raised money for and coordinated the free ski days, Hamer said, to help support the ski area, even though the ski area is not a member of the Chamber. Regarding a comment that local businesses were concerned after paying for the free ski days that there were no guarantees that the ski area would remain open all last winter, Confalone said no ski area could make that guarantee because of weather. He said the mountain was open for skiing until April 1 this year. The mountain did offer numerous free nighttime sledding opportunities for the community with free food and hot drinks, he added. He also praised the efforts of the many volunteers who have helped around the mountain doing such things as plowing driveways when it
snows, raising money for the Greenville High School ski team or helping with the snow making and grooming the trails. He said the volunteers
demonstrate there is local support for the facility. |