Ever since the snow melted off the ski trails last spring, Maine’s ski areas have been in a race, a race that takes place every summer. It’s a race against time to take advantage of our short summer and finish all the necessary maintenance before it’s time to crank up the snow guns in the fall and start up the lifts.

Small areas spend thousands of dollars just performing normal maintenance on lifts, groomers, and other equipment and brushing out trails. Big resorts can spend a million dollars, and that’s not counting adding lifts and increasing snowmaking capacity. A lot of it we never see, but we can feel the results under our skis. This has been a busy summer around Maine’s ski areas and here are some of the highlights.

The only new lift this year is at Shawnee Peak. The top to bottom triple on the face of the mountain has been replaced with another triple, one with bigger chairs for a more comfortable ride. The ride will also be faster with a first-in-Maine that makes it possible to run 25% faster than the old lift. Loading the lift will be made almost foolproof on the new Emmegi Conveyor. When the gate opens, skiers will slide onto the moving conveyor belt which will automatically load them onto the faster moving chair. These are quite common in Europe but rare here in the states. The device is expected to decrease the times when the chair is stopped or slowed by 50%, reducing time to the top and standing in line. Another important improvement is the addition of snowmaking to Sunset Boulevard, the intermediate run from the top that opened last year.

The lift being replaced won’t be retired. In a couple of years it will be installed at Camden Snowbowl as part of a $6.5 million dollar Ragged Mountain Recreation Area Redevelopment. This town-owned ski area is working on fund raising and refining designs for improvements which will include a new base lodge. This year, look for a new terrain park glade and new regular glades, beefed up alpine racing programs under new director Chris Christie, and a new racing venue on a steeper hill.

Lost Valley has cleared a lot of trees, widening areas at the top for improved snow making, clearing on Bull Moose, and spruced up the base lodge with new carpet and renovated restrooms.

The big news out of Mt. Abram is 55 HKD tower guns to increase production and efficiency by 66%. This will mean more skiing earlier in the season and faster recovery following bad weather events. The area’s boundary-to-boundary policy is being enhanced with more trimming and clearing in the wooded sections of the mountain. A new and improved terrain park will be in a new location and, in the lounge, the new Mt. Abram Ale from Gritty’s will be introduced.

After several years of nonstop upgrades, Saddleback is working on a series of on-mountain improvements that involve more labor than capital. The landing areas will be improved at the top of both the upper and lower quad chairs to give exiting skiers more space, especially important as many skiers stop to take pictures in both areas. More chutes are being cleared in Casablanca Glade. At the base, 12 new condo units are under construction in the South Branch II area, all ski in, ski out with great views of Saddleback Lake.

Sugarloaf’s total terrain takes a huge leap with the expansion of glade skiing to Burnt Mountain. This year, 270 additional acres will be open, part of an eventual expansion of 655 acres. Skiers have been looking east to Burnt Mountain for years wondering when they would get a chance to ski it. During those same years, a number of local skiers have been poaching in those trees. Access will be off the top of King Pine Quad, with no new lifts planned at present. The expansion is the first phase of a comprehensive 10-year vision which will include many capital improvements, snow making, lifts, lodging, and more.

$3.5 million is the number at Sunday River with snow making improvements and upgrades on lifts the biggest on-mountain investment. More is being spent on lodging upgrades with new Boyne bed mattresses at Snowcap Inn and improvements at the Jordan Grand Hotel. Skiers looking to sun themselves on the deck at the Peak Lodge will find a new, heated concrete patio for added comfort while viewing adjacent peaks.