UNDERRATED SKI AREAS IN NEW ENGLAND

How many times have you passed by on your way to Sunday River and not turned left into Mt. Abram? According to a piece that ran in the Globe earlier this month, Abram will be the first ski area in the country to team with Mountain Riders Alliance, a new organization whose long-term goal is to collectively market a network of member mountains where the focus is on quality skiing and affordability, harkening back to pre-1990. “That was the time when the ski industry was rapidly changing,” co-owner Mark Hancock said. “There was this chase, and everybody jumped into it. You had to have high-end real estate. Sushi bars. Starbucks. Water slides. Hundred-dollar lift tickets and $20 burgers. As an industry, this is not economically sustainable.” There’s just something inherently comforting about that statement.

Mt. Abram

By Eric Wilbur / Boston.com staff

How many times have you passed by on your way to Sunday River and not turned left into Mt. Abram? According to a piece that ran in the Globe earlier this month, Abram will be the first ski area in the country to team with Mountain Riders Alliance, a new organization whose long-term goal is to collectively market a network of member mountains where the focus is on quality skiing and affordability, harkening back to pre-1990. “That was the time when the ski industry was rapidly changing,” co-owner Mark Hancock said. “There was this chase, and everybody jumped into it. You had to have high-end real estate. Sushi bars. Starbucks. Water slides. Hundred-dollar lift tickets and $20 burgers. As an industry, this is not economically sustainable.” There’s just something inherently comforting about that statement. —308 Howe Hill Road, Greenwood, Maine

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