Saddleback Progressing on Mid-Mountain Lodge Build

Over the Indigenous People's holiday weekend we took a trip to Saddleback to view the fall colors and check out some of the progress of the numerous projects that are going on around the mountain. We saw the new mountain bike trails being used, viewed the new T-Bar that is nearing completion and the observed that the A-Frame housing development in full construction mode.

We then took a hike up the Gray Ghost ski trail to the top of the Rangeley chairlift (fun fact - you can pick up the Saddleback Guest wifi network broadcasting from the Rangeley lift shack) to take a look at the progress on the construction the mid-mountain lodge. We wrote about the announcement of the lodge structure back in August, so we thought it was a good time to take a look in October to see where it is at. The site has been cleared and the leach fields have been installed. The earthwork was underway to prepare the ground for the posts that the lodge will sit on.

Lodge site plan from LUPC application (click to enlarge)

This is a very challenging structure to build. According to a recent article in the Portland Press Herald one of the bigger challenges is simply getting supplies to the site. It is over 3,600 feet in elevation accessible by a rugged mountain road. Additionally, the living roof element of soil and live plants is simply just... heavy. So careful engineering is needed to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle fit together soundly. The team of Saddleback, Barrett Made and Davies Toews Architecture are making steady progress.

Saddleback has confirmed they are targeting Fall-2022 for a completion date. When opened, it will be a fantastic addition to the Saddleback 4-Season experience!