Woody's Maine Odyssey
 Maine Tourism Association - Membership Information
 Maine Invites You 2007
 By Heather Burke


Most people have a big birthday party as they turn 50. Not George “Woody” Wood. He made 50 turns in 50 days at 50 ski areas with 50 friends. Born in Bangor, Woody learned to turn on skis as a youngster at Hermon Mountain and went on to race at Sugarloaf. Approaching half a century, he masterminded a mission to ski 50 ski areas, by seeking out more rural “mom and pop” ski areas throughout Maine and New England, since his Maine list only brought him to 13.

“Some of my best experiences were at community run areas in Maine,” said Woody (George Wood). “I found that smaller ski areas have more personal touch. When these folks heard my story, they treated me like a celebrity, opening the lift for me, or taking me up the hill on snowmobile if they were closed so I could get in my 50 turns. My Odyssey brought out the best in people, genuine kindness. I met the lift operators and the volunteers who keep these ski hills running so that local kids can get outdoors and enjoy winter.”

One of Woody’s favorite hills was Baker Mountain, where he met a volunteer named Parker who had already logged 300 man-hours in 3 months. Skiing at Baker cost $5 a day and ski rentals are $1. Woody insisted on giving $30 to Baker to cover the expense of his stopover, which the folks at Baker turned into a scholarship allowing six more local kids to ski.

During the winter of 2004, Woody sought out Maine areas most skiers have never heard of like Jefferson, Pinnacle Hill, Big Rock, and Titcomb in addition to the better-known resorts. One of Woody’s funniest encounters was in Aroostook County at Quoggy Jo, which is admittedly a funny name to begin with. Woody approached the T-bar just before 3:45pm. When he inquired about the sign, “lift stops at 3:45,” the attendant verified, “Heeyep, the lift stops at 3:45.” Sure enough, Woody was halfway up when the lift stopped, and folks just got off and started skiing from that point.

As part of Woody’s multi-mountain odyssey, he deemed Sugarloaf the most friendly big ski mountain. Squaw, overlooking Moosehead Lake, was awarded “best fireplace.” Woody described the Barker Lift at Sunday River that starts its ascent over a pond as; “the only mountain that I know of in New England that travels over water – a fun but somewhat eerie sensation.”

Check out more of Woody’s Maine ski anecdotes.

Woody said, “I encourage people to explore the rural areas in winter, stay in Maine’s local inns, and go to the smaller community run ski hills, get to know the people who load the lifts and keep these little areas going.” Woody’s resulting mantra is, “Life is a wonderful journey, full of delightful detours.”

What’s next for Woody? He’s working on a Lobster Relay, where he will travel via working lobster boats from Eastport all the way down the Maine seacoast.
 
All Photography by Greg Burke
 
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