uncletim

New ownership. New high speed lift. https://www.saddlebackmaine.com/

If you haven’t been to Saddleback, it’s amazing. Obviously not as big as the ‘loaf, but big enough. Should be even better with the new lift.

Very few places in the east that can compete with Rangeley in the summer.

Interesting that you get summer relief as well. From the pics, it looks like you have rather open surroundings. How high above the town is your ridge? Just wondering which you feel is more beneficial in summer.

Not even much interest in the late night model runs, so even though I'm normally just a lurker I'll say thanks psuhoffman for the continued analysis and keeping hope alive.

Thanks for taking the time for a great write-up, as always. Somehow I remember a lot of suspense here in the wee hours of 2/10/10 waiting for the pressure to dive off the VA capes, which made me think it was the rare pure B that worked out. The specific reference to that one is a welcome clarification.

If you haven’t done it yet and if the air and roads are clear, take a drive up and to the end of Eustis Ridge Rd. For me, of the best views in all NE.

Cool, thanks!

Looking at their FB page, it seems like they deliver the fully assembled shell. Did that include the insulation? Can’t help being a bit nosy since we have considered something similar for our camp in Maine.

My $.02 - and worth no more than that - maybe a new Covid thread could be tried again, late in the year after the election and not in a regional subforum. At that point, hopefully, we could be faced with a unique situation in which multiple vaccines are pending and we all have decisions to make. Information and discussion might well prove invaluable.

Thanks! Checking out the Gazetteer, it looks like Coburn would present the right aspect, and I see what you mean about Kibby being more N. I've actually got a pic from Saddleback but I don't want to get so far afield from the thread topic.

Are these turbines actually near the summit of Kibby? I haven't been up around there yet, but from high spots in Rangeley/Carrabassett area you can see a prominent conical peak some distance to the NE that I thought might be Kibby, but I don't recall seeing turbines on it.

Scrolled through the photos for that listing on Zillow a few times. Can't beat it. Pics don't do justice to the scale of the view. It's funny how these real estate threads always bring out some of us "from away" who still know the beauty of NNE. Friends of ours often ask why we drive so far to Rangeley. Invariably, if they come to visit, they say "OK, now we get it". Nothing like it in the mid-Atlantic.

IMHO one of the other great mountain views in NE is the view of the Bigelow Range from Eustis Ridge, north of Sugarloaf. Not as massive as Katahdin or the Presidentials, but really striking relief over Flagstaff Lake.

Many years ago the old AMC Maine Mountain Guide had a line warning not to try to take shortcuts to the bottom of the Knife Edge; some had tried to do so, it stated, "with unfortunate results"...

I always get a kick out of how when you drive south from Berlin, even though you are several miles away, you have to dip your head a bit to see the tops through the windshield. At least I do...

I have often felt this same comparison. The northern peaks of the Presidentials are different from any other mountains in the east in sheer mass. They have the same complexity of features that one finds out west. The massive buttressing ridges are themselves larger than most eastern mountains. If I had to pick any view to walk out to every day, it would be from Randolph Hill.

Serious views is right, in Randolph. Enjoy!

Congrats, beautiful location. Best hiking spot in the east. You have a house all set? I wasn't sure whether you were just looking at land to build on.

It's anyone's guess what happens to the real estate prices over the next few months, but historically Rangeley waterfront prices tend to correspond to the size of the lake. Rangeley Lake and especially Mooselook (the Oquossoc shore of Mooselook is referred to as the "gold coast") are very expensive, but prices on any of the many smaller lakes and ponds tend to be much lower.

Concur with all of this about Rangeley climate and snow retention. It's more different than might be expected for its thousand foot advantage over surrounding lowlands, both summer and winter. Unique topography in which the lakes sit in a huge elevated basin which reminds me a bit of the Yellowstone caldera, on a topo map at least. Makes for a very long winter and generally very pleasant summer. I think the closest comparison in the east might be Lake Placid; Rangeley has the advantage in terms of the almost endless lakes while Placid has more spectacular mountain scenery and hiking. A sleeper spot that is a much closer to "civilization" is the 2000 ft. bench east of Manchester, VT at the base of Bromley - the Winhall/Peru area. No shortage of skiing and the contrast between there and the valley would be fun to observe in winter.

I chimed in years ago on the Radders thread referenced above with our experience buying in Rangeley, and my thoughts remain the same. We've never regretted it. I've kept a watch out for places that might be "better" and I haven't seen one. I will say that while I'm hoping that Saddleback will be with us for many years to come, I think given its troubled history I wouldn't necessarily depend on it. It's great to see actual lift work going on!

Depends on who you ask. But it's a living.

Anyone looking at Berlin/Gorham or Rumford/Mexico should at least check out Farmington, ME, along the same rt 2 corridor. A smidge farther from skiing (Sugarloaf and hopefully Saddleback), but a good sized town. Nice place. Still in the valley, so a different climate from Rangeley, however.