During the halcyon decades from the 1940s to the 1970s, scores of ski areas of all sorts and sizes were in operation from one corner of Maine to the other.

Most were small rope-tow-served, mom-and-pop, community and club operations. Others were more substantial with surface cable lifts; still others were larger facilities with aerial lifts; and a few qualified as major development projects with multiple cable lifts and expansive base lodges.

Some 80 of those areas have fallen into the dust bin of history, and the reasons are as varied as were the facilities. Energy and insurance costs did some in, while others suffered from lack of snow or flagging use. Even more closed when larger areas were developed and their clientele opted for the terrain, lifts and amenities offered by the newcomers.

Despite the diminution of the number of areas and the fact that not a single new Alpine area has been launched in the state in more than 40 years, skiing today in Maine is a vibrant industry employing thousands, contributing to local economies, and entertaining throngs of Mainers and folks from away.

Today there are 17 Alpine areas operating in Maine (18 if Saddleback reopens) and 18 Nordic centers.

It’s hard to believe that at one time there were 36 ski areas operating within 30 miles of the coast, that there were another 20 in central Maine, and 25 others were introducing people to the sport in western and northern Maine.

The stories of how the majority of them were built and operated is as fascinating as the cause for their extinction. And for some of you older skiers, these memories may well bring tears.

For example, the ski slope in Belfast, a community project in the late 1960s, could be found by following a simple sign that just said “Ski Area.” The local Lions Club installed the rope tow, strung on poles donated by Central Maine Power and powered by an engine contributed by a local machine shop. Three trails and a 15-meter jump made the area a perfect site for school meets.

White Bunny in Fort Fairfield opened in the late 1940s with a rope tow and lights for night skiing as a result of the efforts of the local ski club. As the story goes, each fall club members who take a tire off a member’s farm tractor, replace it with one in which the thick tread had been cut to create a groove, back it into a shed, loop the tow rope around the wheel, and fire the baby up at the first sign of snow.

A bunch of guys in Machias picked up a rope tow from Bald Mountain in Dedham that was replaced by a newer one in the 1950s, moved it east, and Pumpkin Ridge was born.

In Island Falls, a local osteopath, Dr. Bill Daniels, opened May Mountain in the late 1960s after visiting relatives at Sugarloaf and being inspired to try to build a ski area in his adopted town. He put in a T-bar but after 20 years threw in the towel. Some locals resurrected the area in 1992 but eventually gave up the idea.

In Chelsea, near Augusta, Jim Perry put in three rope tows on a slope leading down toward the Kennebec River, named it Silver Hills Ski Area and operated it for locals on weekends. During the 1960s he offered free school clinics and specialized in family skiing.

At one point there were three ski areas serving the Augusta area.

Portland skiers trekked to Falmouth in the 1950s to assault the 200-foot Hurricane Slope, accessed by a 1,000-foot rope tow. The slope was lit at night, and lessons were provided by volunteer instructors.

Info about these and dozens of other abandoned ski areas, and stories about them, can be found at the Ski Museum of Maine in Kingfield.

John Christie is a former ski racer and ski area manager and owner, a ski historian and member of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. He and his son, Josh, write ski columns on alternating weeks. John can be reached at:

jchristie@fairpoint.net