NEW GLOUCESTER – Right about now around a small field 20 miles from Portland, young Nordic skiers are chasing the tracks in front of them, glad for the hard, white stuff under their feet at Pineland Farms.

Some 50 miles to the northwest at a similar site, skiers only dream of this.

Additional Photos

The decision to buy five snow guns last year is paying dividends this winter for the Pineland Farms Outdoor Center in New Gloucester, which has been able to open a small portion of its trails despite a lack of natural snow. Photos by Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

Matt Sabasteanski, the outdoor recreation director at Pineland Farms, checks the quality of the man-made snow used to cover the facility’s cross country trails.

Ben Susla, who constructed the five snow guns owned by Pineland Farms, attaches an air hose to one of the guns in preparation for more snowmaking.

“Nobody say the ‘R’ word. If we all could just think that, it might help,” said David Carter, the owner of Carter’s Cross Country Ski Center in Bethel, where there is no snow — but a definite disdain for “liquid snow.”

Last week, Pineland Farms fired up its five snow guns, the first the recreation center has owned since it opened in 2002. The guns were purchased last year with the help of a local Nordic enthusiast who designed them.

“I did not do it for free, but I did not make money on this,” said snow gun developer Ben Susla of Freeport, who also made the snow guns he donated to Portland in 2010.

What a good year for Pineland Farms to have made this investment.

For Alpine areas, making snow makes sense, and almost all Maine ski areas do so. But at Nordic ski centers statewide, snowmaking has never made economic sense. Man-made snow is harder to spread around on the tight tree-lined trails, snow guns are often too expensive to run at a low-cost cross country center, and most years they’re unnecessary.

But not this year.

“I am probably in the most perfect situation for snowmaking that exists anywhere. The main lodge is about a mile from the Androscoggin River. I have three major trails right in the area. Basically, if I had the finances, I could make snow on all those trails,” Carter said of his Bethel facility.

“This is actually the worst I’ve ever seen it. Usually by January there is enough snow so that no matter what amount you’re skiing on, you’re usually skiing on snow.”

Carter’s long-standing Nordic center beside the White Mountains is not alone.

Nestled in the White Mountains, the non-profit Jackson Ski Touring Foundation hasn’t opened for business, either. Snowmaking has never seemed a viable option for the 150 kilometers of smooth trail.

“Because our trail system is so large, we have literally different weather zones within trail systems. We frequently have snow in some sections and won’t have snow in another,” said Tom Perkins, president of the renowned non-profit facility.

“We still consider this early season, even though we’re waiting around for snow. Snow starts around this time. Sometime in the near future, we will start getting snow.”

The big wait is why it’s so exciting for the folks at Pineland Farms, where new snowmaking equipment is allowing them to string together a small but well-used track little more than a quarter mile long. It’s enough for dozens of youth to get a good workout.

“We have a lot of high school teams that train here. We make their season pass affordable at $45, so they can come on their days off. And if they come, maybe they’ll bring their parents to ski. This opens up some good opportunities,” said Matt Sabasteanski, Pineland Farms’ director of recreation.

“Word is out we’re making snow. The Nordic community is very small. Word travels fast.”

The cost to make the snow isn’t cheap, Sabasteanski said. It’s about $400 a night just for the electricity and overtime. It adds up if you’re making snow two to three straight days, which Pineland Farms did last week.

But in a winter like this, it’s worth it.

“This is white gold,” Sabasteanski says, picking up the puffy snowflakes he helped make.

Meanwhile around southern Maine — and most of the rest of the state — Pineland Farms is the envy of many.

“We’re all doing a lot of praying and snow dances,” Carter said. “If people could just learn to say freezing snow, and liquid snow, as long as people say snow, maybe we’d end up with a lot more snow.”

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:

dfleming@pressherald.com

Twitter: Flemingpph

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