The Sugarloaf Mountain ski area was founded in the early 1950s, but it was the addition of what was called “The Mighty Gondola” in 1966 that put Sugarloaf on the map for skiers everywhere. Built by the German company Pohlig-Heckel-Bleichert, the four-person gondola ran 2,410 vertical feet from base to peak. There were terminals at both ends, as well as a midway station. The new gondola opened Sugarloaf to ski competitions, and the mountain was even considered a potential site for the 1976 Winter Olympics, according to the website New England Ski History.
In the mid-1980s, the Sugarloaf Mountain Corporation got over its skis speculating on more development and filed for bankruptcy protection in 1986. In February of ’87, a counterweight cable on the lower section snapped, resulting in two injuries and the gondola lift’s closure. The section from the midway station to the top was reopened in 1991 and ran until 1997.
Today, you can still see the old peak terminus and many of the original towers. The gondola cars were auctioned off, but some are on display at Maine ski shops (the car at right was drawn from a shop in Bangor). Some have suggested a revival of the gondola lift at Sugarloaf, but the rest of us are content to consider it part of the mountain’s storied past.
Dan Kirchoff is a Belfast artist and illustrator. His work can be found at dankirchoff.com.
