Birthday Blog

Now for many of you, it's a matter of trusting me when I write that I have been doing this for many years and living in the area since I was born. Granted, there are many more of you who have been doing both for longer, but I thought it might be fun to compare my history to Sunday River's - or at least since I was born.

I was going through the desk I used as a child back at my parent's house and came across my seasons pass from 1992/93. Mind you, I am 12 years old here, sporting braces and have been skiing since I was 10. To say that I was all-around awkward is an understatement, but I remember what it felt like to get my very first season pass (which I suspect is the one pictured below). I was so excited to have my picture taken and even more excited to finally have the same season pass that all the cool kids had. I was a geek then and really, not much has changed.

Now for fun, I am going to take what you've read on the history page of this site and add my own pieces of Sunday River history. Here we go:

1992     The slopeside Grand Summit Resort Hotel and Conference Center opens.

I totally remember this because it was such a big deal to those of us who lived in the area because of how many jobs suddenly opened up as a result of it. Even if you didn't ski or snowboard, you wanted to see what this massive hotel looked like and would drive up to the hotel just to get a peak. Four years later, when I was old enough for employment and had my license, I would find myself working at the Grand Summit Hotel in a variety of jobs including at Legends, Moonstruck Cafe and various banquets. It was here that I served grilled cheese to the cast of MTV's Real World Boston and where I made friends with those kids whose parents had access to the pool.

1993     The Sunday River Silver Bullet is introduced as the only ski train in the east.

I am sad to say that I never got to ride on the Silver Bullet but I remember what a splash it made in headlines across Maine.

1994     Jordan Bowl opens with a new high speed quad serving 100 acres of new terrain.

This was huge! Everyone who was at Sunday River then remembered when the Jordan Bowl opened and probably didn't sleep much the night before in anticipation of first tracks. Lollapalooza was a super fun cruiser and I started dabbling with snowboarding in the trees with Blind Ambition. There was also a rule amongst my friends that required you to load up on snowballs before boarding the Jordan Double. I will leave the rest of the story to your imagination.

1995     Oz is opened as Sunday River’s eighth peak with a fixed grip quad serving 40 acres of new terrain.

Another momentous occasion - it was like Sunday River was taking note from the Silver Bullet and was full steam ahead with expansion. This suited us locals just fine because it meant even more terrain to play on. We often joked that one day we'd be skiing to and from New Hampshire.

1997     The Perfect Turn Express replaces the North Peak Triple and five new trails are added. The Jordan Grand Resort Hotel and Conference Center opens.

By then, I had transitioned from the Grand Summit Hotel to the Jordan Grand Hotel and had also transitioned from skiing to snowboarding. I remember working one evening and in between taking orders, everyone's face was plastered up against the window because of how hard it was snowing. The executive decision was made to keep those of us working late at the resort so that we weren't driving home in the storm which also meant - first tracks! By morning, we probably had a foot of new snow. First tracks were amazing!

2008     Simon Dumont breaks the Guinness Book of World Records at Sunday River jumping 35.5 feet out of a quarter pipe. Sunday River joins the Boyne Resorts family.

This piece of history was funny because around the same time the Freeskier Magazine cover featuring Simon's World Record feat hit the stands, I was applying for this job at Sunday River. I remember going into my job interview with the magazine in-hand thinking, "I certainly have my work cut out for me."

2009     The only Chondola in the Northeast and 12-hour skiing are added as part of a $14 million investment in the resort. Sunday River hosts a Snowboarding World Cup and NCAA Nationals.

By far the busiest, most intense year of my life! I had been doing PR for a ski area in Colorado for five years up to this point, which was good preparation for what was ahead. It was exciting to be a part of such a great story that year. Between all of the capital investments and the events - it made my homecoming that much more special. And even after all of these years, I still love being here.

Sunday River is proud to donate $13,685 to the Sunday River Region Charitable Fund thanks in part to the proceeds from its weekend-long 50th Birthday celebration which included a food festival, fireworks and live entertainment. Within an hour of opening its doors, the resort sold well over 900 tickets valued at $15 for adults and $10 for kids.

“Sunday River’s 50th Birthday Party was possible thanks to the enormous support of our area businesses and restaurants,” said Dana Bullen, General Manager for Sunday River. “Each donated their product and time to be part of the celebration and to be able to donate $13,685 back into the community is a sign of the event’s success.”

Fifteen area businesses and restaurants including Gringo Harry’s, The Matterhorn, Liam’s Restaurant, S.S. Milton and The Phoenix House & Well set up food and drink stations throughout South Ridge Lodge to create an indoor food festival. Fire dancers and fireworks lit up the evening sky above, while live music by Dave Matthews tribute band One Sweet World kept the party going well into the evening.

The Sunday River Region Charitable Fund is a fund at the Maine Community Foundation and allocates money twice a year in April and October to cultural, community service and other organizations that request grants by submitting formal applications for specific projects. All requests to the Sunday River Region Charitable Fund must be submitted in writing by March 15 or September 15 each year to the Secretary, Sunday River Region Charitable Fund, Sunday River, P.O. Box 4500, 15 South Ridge Road, Newry, ME 04261.

Donations to the Sunday River Region Charitable Fund - Tax deductible contributions to the Sunday River Region Charitable Fund are accepted from the entire community. Community members may make contributions by check, payable to: MCF – Sunday River Region Charitable Fund, at Maine Community Foundation, 245 Main Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605.

At Sunday River, snow is what we do best. The resort has the largest, most technically advanced snowmaking system in the east, not to mention a veteran team of snowmakers who are passionate about what they do.  This combination has allowed Sunday River to beat out every other East Coast resort in the race to open, opening this year on October 14 and on Halloween in both 2007 and 2008.

As Sunday River celebrates its 50th birthday this season, it’s hard not to look back and time and see the significance of snowmaking and how it has shaped where we are today.  Sunday River’s very first opening day was December 19, 1959 but it wasn’t until the seventies that the resort recognized the need for a consistent snow product through the art of snowmaking. Josef “Sepp” Gmuender was hired as the new General Manager for the Sunday River Skiway in the summer of 1970 and it was he who proposed the very first snowmaking system at the resort. Sepp presented to the Board of Directors the need for guaranteed skiing in December in a report that outlined how much it would cost, what was needed to get it done, and what the return on investment would be.  In a matter of months, Sepp had the approval of the Board and Sunday River was well on its way to becoming the first alpine resort in Maine with a snowmaking system.

Today, snowmaking is still considered top priority. So much so that Sunday River's snowmaking arsenal includes over 1,900 state-of-the-art snow guns; enough to leave nearly every trail at the resort snow-covered for most of the season. These snow guns are spread out along 72 miles of pipes which cover 92% of the resort’s terrain.

In 2008, Sunday River introduced $14.2 million in capital improvements including 75 Boyne-developed Low-Energy fan guns designed for high-efficiency snowmaking. Sunday River also utilizes tower guns on many key trails which produce snow from a nozzle nearly 30 feet in the air, allowing the water droplets more air time to form into large snow crystals before landing. Additionally, Sunday River utilizes computers to control snow quality. While some ski areas rely on snowmaking crews to literally hold their coat sleeves in a plume of snow to judge its quality, a Sunday River snowmaker enters conditional information into a computer, which then calculates the optimum setting for the guns at that location. Conditional information is based on the air and water pressure and weather data relayed by five remove weather stations at different elevation bands on the mountain.

One result of Sunday River's snowmaking efforts is illustrated in the fact that Sunday River is the second largest ski resort in New England and one of the most visited with a half a million skiers and riders travelling to the resort annually. Averaging 167in of snow annually, Sunday River has made a name for itself as one of the best groomed resorts with 620 of the resort’s 671 acres shaped into perfect corduroy daily. This is why we can claim to have the most dependable snow in New England.

In producing the new Sunday River anniversary book, Sunday River: Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future, I have had the pleasure of getting to know the author Dave Irons. While I knew of Dave through various media outlets, I never had the chance to really get to know him. Dave is by far one of the sweetest men I know and a wealth of both humor and stories. His knowledge of the ski industry, particularly Sunday River, is for lack of a better word - impressive. Plus, the man makes a mean Manhattan. If you find yourself with a copy of the Sunday River book in your hands, you will not be disappointed. Dave has done an amazing job covering the five decades of our history and the pictures that supplement his words are pieces of art themselves. Until then, you can learn a little bit more about Dave here:

An Interview with Dave Irons


1) How long have you been skiing at Sunday River?
50 years as of Dec. 19.

2) What was the hardest part about compiling the new Sunday River book, "Sunday River, Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future?"
The hardest part was tracking down some of the people who played key roles. Burt Mill is in Montana, Chip and Wendy Seamans at Kirkwood in Tahoe, and Bill Jensen in Vancouver to name just a few.  The good news is that everyone was 100 percent cooperative.  

3) I am sure a flood of memories came rushing back with each person you talked to. Who was your favorite interview and why?
There were several that were especially memorable.  Avery Angevine who told me how they built the base lodge, the parking lot and road in had wonderful memories of the building of the ski area.  It was also a lot of fun to sit with Johnny Rolfe's widow, Ruby and her son Red to learn how the trails were cut and the first T-bar installed along with the operation of the area in the early days. 

4) You were here for Sunday River's very first opening day which you write about in the book - do you remember what skis you were on at the time? What skis are you on today?
They were a pair of Paris White Mountains.  Laminated wood with a plastic base, screwed on steel edges and a light blue top.  They died a year or two later when I plowed into a mogul of heavy wet snow on the last pitch of Lower Cascades.  I was relieved to learn that the sharp crack I heard was one of the skis, not a leg.  It must have been an entertaining crash for the folks waiting in the T-bar line.  Today I ski on various models of Volkl race skis ranging in length from 165 to 178 cm, considerably shorter than the 205's I broke that day.

5) As you know, Sunday River has grown from one peak to eight - what is your favorite Sunday River mountain and why?
I still prefer the trails in Barker.  Lower Cascades can be skied a half a dozen times with its varied terrain allowing a different line every time.  On cold mornings I like to warm up in the sun on Dream Maker off North Peak.

6) You met your wife Pat here at Sunday River, tell us a little about that?
It was at the annual ski club roast beef dinner Easter weekend in 1979.  I spotted her and used my best line, "How come I don't know you?"  I was taken aback when she replied, "You do."   Technically she was right.  She had been in the first aid room when one her sons was brought in and we had been at some of the same parties but I had never gotten to know her and didn't recognize her that night.  The party continued at the home of one of the members and I followed her to her chalet in Viking Village and she allowed me to drive her to the next party.  It wasn't easy but I convinced her that she should let me take her to dinner a couple of weeks later and we have been together ever since.
 
7) In your opinion, what has been Sunday River's single best improvement over the past 50 years?
The skiing product.  Les Otten realized that only a superior skiing product would make all the other things possible and by making sure that the snowmaking and grooming went along with the lifts he created the skier loyalty that remains today.  I like going out on the mountain in the morning knowing that I'll find the best possible snow conditions.

8) What do you hope to see in the next 50 years?
I don't know how many of those 50 I'll get to observe but I plan on skiing for another 20 at least.  On the mountain I hope to see the commitment to a great skiing product continue.  That will bring the skiers to pay for continuing improvements in everything from lodging to food service and other amenities.  I would also like to see the expansion of summer business, especially another golf course which could greatly enhance the attraction for golfers.

9) Is there anything that you wish you could have added to the book that you didn't?
Going through some of the pictures I realized that I could have done a better job on some of the special events such as the Santa weekend.  As a ski writer I often skip over some of these things choosing to write about other aspects of the sport, but some are a lot of fun and add more to the sport than we realize.  I'm sure when the book is in the hands of Sunday River skiers I'm going to hear a lot of "How about this?"  I look forward to it.

10) On your bio, it reads that you contributed stories to Playboy - what was your story about and did you get to meet Hef?
That was kind of a fluke.  I got word and the name of the editor who was handling it that they were looking for a story on what was new at ski resorts around the country and I called and got the assignment.  It was the year Big Sky installed the Lone Peak Tram and I got a neat quote from Dan Egan that it was great because they installed a lift just because they wanted to ski it.  He also told me about the A to Z chutes which would be within reach off the summit.  I had to submit all kinds of documentation and I sent about 1,000 words along with some pics.  What ran was one column, one third of a page with no pics.  But my byline was at the bottom and the check was for $750.  How's that for 300 words?!  By the following year that editor was gone and I never got a repeat, but my name has been in Playboy.  Phil Johnson was in charge of credentials for ESWA (Eastern Ski Writers Association) that year so I sent him a copy.  I'm reasonably certain that's the only time a ski writer got into one of the world's largest circulation magazines.  It was fun though I never left Maine for that one.  Never got to meet Hef, or worse, any of the playmates.

On Friday, October 23, Les Otten, former general manager for Sunday River, will be inducted into the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. As reported by Dan Cassidy in the Maine Outdoor Journal, "It would be hard to find an individual with a greater impact on the business side of Maine skiing than Les Otten.  Although the New York native was sent to Sunday River by new owner Killington in 1972, he quickly became a believer in Maine and its skiing potential.  When he couldn't get the parent company to allow him to expand the Maine resort, he convinced them to sell the area to him.  That year, 1980 the area drew 32,000 skier visits.  A decade and half later the figure was close to 600,000 and Maine had one of the top five ski resorts in New England, primarily due to the vision of Les Otten."

While most people know that Les Otten came to Sunday River from Killington, few people know that he took over as general manager for Sunday River at the young age of 24. Otten's vision for Sunday River helped form the resort into what it is today - a true destination resort with one of the best snowmaking systems in the country. People from all over the world come to Sunday River to ski because of its dependable snow and its vast amount of terrain. Imagine for a minute the amount of work that went into turning Sunday River into eight mountain peaks from just one all while creating a modern lift and snowmaking system. Pretty incredible accomplishments and certainly worthy of an induction to the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. 

Congratulations to Les Otten from Sunday River!