More New England ingenuity, more rural New England friendliness and an exciting economic development effort blossoms in Aroostook County – that big bulge in the upper right hand corner of Maine.  Quoggy Jo is part of a larger “community run non-profit ski areas” called Maine Winter Sports Center that include two world class Nordic biathlon centers and three Alpine ski areas.  Get a load of their mission statement…its great: “To re-establish skiing as a lifestyle in Maine; to leverage that lifestyle to create a new economic model for rural, isolated communities of Maine; To further leverage that lifestyle to create opportunity for the youth of Maine”!!  This is not just some fancy consultant language – these folks put a plan together and executed that plan and now have an up and running non-profit that is working.  You must check out their web site for yourself and see the success they have built - http://www.mainewsc.org/mwsc_home.asp .

Now back to Quoggy Jo.  A tight budget had no room for snow making equipment but true New England cleverness was not constrained by limited finances – if you can not make snow, then move it from somewhere else – namely the parking lot.  Its true, they reclaim the snow they push out of the parking lot and move it up to the slop to rocky or grassy areas – all to keep this area open to ski at $6 per day (that is not a typo) or $100 for a season pass for an adult – the second lowest daily ski pass fare that I have found so far.

That’s not all…the folks at Quoggy Jo could not buy the fancy snowboard rails and other equipment so they used picnic tables and freestanding benches – and you know….they work!  And more.  If you look carefully at the small bronze plaques in the top of each picnic table you will discover they were made at the “Work Opportunity Center – 1987” – a local vocational training center.  This ski area, a non-profit, was helping this training center by purchasing these tables.  Big hearts – quite persistence – and fun – all wrapped up in one ski area. 

One last funny aside; as I got to Quoggy Jo late, near closing time, I was asking the lift attendance when the lift would be closing each time I went up.  On my last run I asked him again and he said – “We close the lift exactly at 3:45” to which I said, oh – that is when you load the last skier for the ride all the way up?  “No – he said, we close the life at exactly that time…wherever you are on the lift”.  I said, really, you mean if I am half way up you will stop.  “Heeeyep” he inhaled.  I had never heard of this before in my decades of skiing but sure enough, I was 200 feet from the top when the lift stopped…. for the day….never to restart!!!  I still could not believe it; I looked around and sure enough, all the other people were getting off right where they stopped (they knew the routine).  I certainly was not angry at all – just amused at this unique lift closing policy.  I guess we need to add punctuality or at least rule adherence to that list of New England traits.

It was here that my friend Tim (see photo) from the area met up and offered to let me follow him to Quoggy Jo’s sister mountain Big Rock (in Mars Hill – about ½ hour away) and off we went.