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Press Release, Sunday River Resort:
Newry, Maine: Sunday River Resort has announced that it will benefit from a $5 million capital improvements for the 2014-15 season. Last winter, parent company Boyne Resorts invested $5.7 million in Sunday River, and with the upcoming projects, Boyne will have invested more than $40 million in the Newry, Maine resort since 2007.
Chairlifts: Sunday River’s Spruce Peak Triple chairlift will undergo an upgrade in time for winter ahead. A new conveyor loading system is being added to the base of this fix grip lift, which will improve the loading experience, reduce stoppage time, and increase its speed by 20 percent.
Snowmaking: Already able to boast the most advanced snowmaking system in the East, Sunday River will continue to add to this reputation by allocating $1.1 million of this year’s investment package to the purchase of 60 more energy-efficient snowguns and 20 new controllable pressure valves for all of the resort’s water pumps. This combination will allow Sunday River to make even more snow using less energy than ever before.
Grooming: One reason why Sunday River can claim to have the most dependable snow in the East is because of its ability to make snow. The other reason is because of its ability to groom it well-something that will become even easier to do, thanks to the purchase of two new PistenBully snowcats, a 400 and 400 Park. The addition of these two new machines to the general fleet means that Sunday River’s Parks Crew will also have another cat at its disposal to maintain the resort’s six terrain parks.
More Terrain: Last year’s addition of 75 acres of new terrain simply wasn’t enough, so Sunday River will add another 10 acres for the coming winter with the addition of its new Hollywood glade. Located on Barker Mountain, this new 10-acre glade sits between the resort’s Agony and Top Gun trails and will have skiers and snowboards seeing diamonds-double black diamonds-in place of stars.
Better Terrain: In addition to new glade terrain, capital is also being invested in enhancing the resort’s dedicated race trail, Monday Mourning. Summertime earthwork has widened the racer entry point onto Monday Mourning from the T2 trail and come winter, will allow for better event flow, reducing the overall guest impact to neighboring trail Cascades.
Future Stars Program: Sunday River’s Perfect Turn Ski and Snowboard School will partner with Bethel’s Gould Academy and its Competition Program to offer kids ages 8 through 10 the new Future Stars weekend training program, designed to be equal parts fun and focus. Future Stars provides a natural bridge between the fundamentals that students learn through the resort’s River Runner weekend program and the competition skills that they go on to learn through the Gould Academy Competition Program.
Perfect Turn: Guests of Sunday River’s Perfect Turn Ski and Snowboard School will be pleased to see that its slopeside home base in the South Ridge base area is getting a facelift. New heated concrete decking will provide a seamless transition from lodge to learning center, and better branded directional signing will ensure that all participants get to where they need to go.
