AUBURN, Maine - Going on what they say is a "leap of faith," the owners of Lost Valley in Auburn held a news conference today to announce a turn of events at the financially troubled ski area.
"We're going to open! Yay! We're excited, yes. We pulled it off," said Connie King, one of the owners of the facility, where legions of school children have learned how to ski since 1961.
But unpredictable winters, aging equipment, a sluggish economy and the lack of a solid business plan put the community ski area in jeopardy. In June, owners said they might have to close unless they raised $50,000. Today they announced they had reached nearly half that goal.
King says they're slashing season tickets to try to entice families to give Lost Valley another chance. "Right now, you can buy a student season pass - six- to 11-years-old - for $99," she says. "It's like, wow, we've never done anything like that before. This will generate more income to keep going because we always depend on our early season pass sales to get open."
King says Lost Valley is also investing in energy efficient snow guns and lighting to save money, and will rely on a network of volunteers to help maintain trails. It will also develop a long-term business plan to improve marketing and strengthen operations.
The small hill will open just one chair lift to start. There's also a new fundraising goal: $100,000 in order to be fully operational, with two chair lifts, sometime in the future.
