Sunday River, Maine - New England Ski Area Expansions

By Topic

Alpine CCC Ski Trails

Biographies

By State

Sunday River
Newry, Maine

Overview

Locke Mountain - 1961 - Open

The Locke Mountain area on the 1962 Sunday River trail map

After operating for two seasons as a smaller-scale T-Bar area, Sunday River expanded upward to the top of Locke Mountain for the 1961-62 season.

A new 2,200 foot T-Bar was installed above the existing T-Bar, extending the Cascade trail by 2,000 feet and Sunday River Punch by 1/2 mile. Lazy River was opened shortly thereafter.

Uppercut was opened in 1967-68 to relieve congestion, and, by 1970, four new trails had been added to the upper mountain since its inception.

In 1984, a new Borvig triple chairlift was installed from the Barker base area to the top of Locke Mountain, rising 1,394 feet over a run of 4,768 feet, complete with a midstation unloading area.

Locke Mountain on the 1970 Sunday River trail map

Locke Mountain on the 2008 Sunday River trail map

One of the Locke Mountain T-Bars in the early 1960s

The Locke Mountain Triple midstation (2007)

The top terminal of the Locke Mountain triple chairlift (2007)

Barker Mountain - 1971 - Open

The Barker Mountain area on the 2008 Sunday River trail map

In trying to keep up with rapidly modernizing ski areas, Sunday River looked to step into the chairlift rhelm in 1971. While retaining the T-Bars on Locke Mountain, Sunday River installed a new Pullman-Berry double chairlift on adjacent Barker Mountain, climbing 1,400 feet over a run of 4,800 feet. General Manager Josef Gmuneder was reported as leading the lift installation effort.

Along with the chairlift and connecting trails, the Three Mile Trail was opened.

The allegedly tempermental lift was eventually replaced with a new Yan high speed quad in 1987. As was the case with many other Yan detachables, Poma would later modify the lift.

The Sunday River Express (2007)

North Peak - 1985 - Open

North Peak on the 1989 Sunday River trail map

In its expansion northward, Sunday River expanded up to North Peak in 1985 (which would eventually become a gateway to the 1990s expansions). Increasing access to the bottom of the new peak, the Fall Line double, a 2,030 foot long by 308 foot vertical Borvig, was installed out of the South Ridge area.

Serving the new North Peak area was a new Borvig triple chairlift, climbing 981 vertical feet over a run of 4,205 feet. The new peak initially featured novice and intermediate terrain.

In 1990, the Peak Lodge was constructed atop North Peak.

In 1997 the North Peak Triple was replaced with the Perfect Turn Express Quad, a new Doppelmayr.

In 1992 the Quantum Leap triple chairlift was cobbled together with Hall and Borvig parts, installed as a way to get from the Aurora base area to North Peak and the rest of Sunday River.

North Peak on the 2009 Sunday River trail map

The Perfect Turn Express Quad (2007)

The Peak Lodge (2007)

Spruce Peak - 1986 - Open

Spruce Peak on the 1987 Sunday River trail map

After expanding over to North Peak, Sunday River continued its expansion by building a complex above it.

Part of a $3.5 million dollar expansion (including more snowmaking), Spruce Peak featured four new intermediate trails. Serving the complex was a new 1986 Borvig triple chairlift, 4,382 feet long by 1,211 feet vertical.

The Spruce Peak area would be the westernmost point at Sunday River for the next half decade, as subsequent expansions would focus on the eastern side of the area.

Spruce Peak on the 2009 Sunday River trail map

The Spruce Peak Triple (2004)

Whitecap - 1987 - Open

The first phase of the White Cap expansion on the 1987 Sunday River trail map

Though Sunday River co-creator Paul Kailey had originally wanted to start the ski area on the White Cap peak, the terrain was deemed too steep. Thusly Barker Mountain was developed in the 1950s for the opening of Sunday River.

Three decades later, as Sunday River was in the midst of major growth, the White Cap vision finally became reality. In 1987, a new 3,725 feet long by 898 feet vertical Yan fixed grip quad ("Little White Cap") was installed from the new White Cap base area to the existing Locke Mountain complex. The following year, the White Cap area was formally developed with the additional of two more Yan fixed grip quads.

The White Cap Quad, 3,135 feet long by 602 vertical feet, served novice and intermediate terrain starting from the base area. In addition, the White Cap Quad also provided access to the other new lift - the White Heat Quad. Climbing 1,294 vertical feet over the course of a run of 3,665 feet, the White Heat Quad served Sunday River's most challenging complex of terrain yet. The lift line, White Heat, was billed as "the steepest longest widest trail in the East."

Four years later, the Grand Summit Resort Hotel and Conference Center opened near the base of White Cap.

White Cap on the 2009 Sunday River trail map

The White Cap Lodge (2007)

The Little White Cap Quad (2007)

The bottom terminal of the White Cap Quad (2007)

The White Heat trail and quad chairlift (2007)

The top terminal of the White Heat Quad (2007)

The top of White Cap (2007)

Aurora Peak - 1991 - Open

The new Aurora Peak area on the 1991 Sunday River trail map

As Sunday River continued its rapid expansion, it looked to move northward. The first step toward connecting to the future site of the Jordan Grand Summit Hotel was to open Aurora Peak.

The new peak would add nearly 100 vertical feet to Sunday River's overall numbers in 1991, though the new Yan fixed grip quad on the peak would only climb 1,095 vertical feet. Eight trails were added to the count, generally intermediate to expert in nature.

The following year, the Quantum Leap triple chairlift was cobbled together with Hall and Borvig parts, installed as a second way to get from the Aurora base area back to the rest of Sunday River.

As the ski area continued to expand northward, crossovers were cut and/or re-rated across the Aurora Peak area, allowing novices to ski some of the terrain.

Aurora Peak on the 2008 Sunday River trail map

The top of Aurora Peak (2007)

The Aurora Quad (2007)

The top terminal of the Quantum Leap triple chairlift (2007)

The bottom terminal of the Quantum Leap triple chairlift (2007)

Jordan Bowl - 1994 - Open

The Jordan Bowl area on the 1988 Sunday River trail map

Expanding to its furthest point north, Sunday River opened the Jordan Bowl in 1994. While also bringing more terrain to the popular ski area, the new complex was also geared toward real estate, with a grand hotel and village planned.

The base of the new area was connected to the Aurora base area via a two-way 1,735 foot long Garaventa CTEC double chairlift. Running to the top of the peak was a new 4,715 foot long Doppelmayr detachable quad chairlift, which climbed 1,341 vertical feet. Isolated trails of novice, intermediate, and double diamond levels were cut from the top of the new peak.

In 1997, the The Jordan Grand Resort Hotel and Conference Center opened.

The Aurora side of the Jordan Mountain Double (2007)

Looking toward the Jordan Bowl on the Jordan Mountain Double (2007)

The Jordan Bowl side of the Jordan Mountain Double (2007)

The bottom of the Jordan Bowl Express Quad (2007)

The top terminal of the Jordan Bowl Express Quad (2007)

The Lollapalooza trail (2007)

The Jordan Grand Resort Hotel (2007)

Oz - 1995 - Open

The Oz area on the 2009 Sunday River trail map

The conclusion of the massive Sunday River build out of the 1980s and 1990s, the Oz complex was formally opened in 1995 (though some skiers would pass through the area on their way to the 1994 Jordan Bowl development).

Though there were novice connector trails at the top and the bottom of the area, Oz was primarily developed as an expert area, including double diamond glades. A new Doppelmayr fixed grip quad, climbing 1,051 vertical feet over a run of only 2,954 feet, was installed to the highest lift served peak at Sunday River.

Resources

Sunday River - NewEnglandSkiHistory.com

Sunday River Official Site

Last updated: November 30, 2011