Sugarloaf lodge steeped in tradition
Column by Heather Burke Jan. 13, 2008

If these walls could talk, they’d tell of ski racers dreaming of crystal World Cup globes, of one man’s mission to ski every day, and thousands of other tales from the trails at Sugarloaf.

The walls of the Lumberjack Lodge on Route 27 in Carrabassett Valley are layered with four decades of skiing history. The alpine lodge, one quarter mile from the Sugarloaf access road, looks as if it were plucked from the mountainside of The Matterhorn, with its dramatic sloping roof and overhanging eves designed for snow load. The rugged wooden building with brightly colored shutters conjures thoughts of cuckoo clocks and Maria Von Trapp singing Edelweiss from the balcony. This storied Swiss chalet now enters a new chapter, while honoring its past as a lodge to legendary Loafers.

Sonja Haag-Ducharme and her husband Scott of Kennebunk purchased the Lumberjack last July and worked until the week before Christmas sprucing up the lodge which was originally built in 1966. The story goes that Dick and Mary Fountain built the Tyrolean style building near Sugarloaf the same year the Gondola was installed.

John Christie, former GM of Sugarloaf and Maine Ski Hall of Famer, said, “I remember Dick and Mary Fountain's arrival well, and the sheer energy and commitment they put into literally building the Lumberjack with their own hands. They represented to me the best of what Sugarloaf was, and is, all about. They were among the early arrivals who shared our feeling about the potential for the place, and their efforts contributed greatly to the early development of Sugarloaf as a destination.”

The Fountains operated the Lumberjack as an affordable ski lodge for out of town guests during Sugarloaf’s heydays of the 1970’s. Next in the Lumberjack lineage were Paul and Chris Schipper, who bought the Lumberjack and continued to welcome ski guests from away in the 1980’s. Everyone at Sugarloaf knows Paul Schipper by his auspicious alpine name “Ironman of Skiing.” Schipper is famous for his streak of skiing every day Sugarloaf was open from 1980 until 2005, for a total of 3,093 consecutive ski days, a feat he carried on while running the Lodge.

In 1996, the Schippers sold the Lumberjack to Carrabassett Valley Academy, so it became a freshman dormitory for aspiring ski racers for the next eleven years. When the private ski Academy built a new dorm, the Lumberjack became available for the Ducharmes. Sonja and Scott are no strangers to innkeeping, they have plenty of experience from running a lodging property near the beach in Kennebunk.

Ducharme said, “The Lumberjack has always been an affordable place for skiers to stay. We want to continue that tradition.”

The eight renovated units in the lodge, each with its own kitchen, are available for rent at a reasonable $30 per person per night. The Ducharme’s eventually hope to sell the units as condominiums, Sonja said, “This is a tremendous opportunity for people who love Sugarloaf but thought that a place at the mountain was out of their price range.”

The Ducharme family, including three kids, admittedly used to ski at “other mountains” in Maine on weekends. Sonja said, “We thought Sugarloaf was too far, but when we first skied here in 1975 it was love at first site and we’ve skied at Sugarloaf ever since. I remember we used to ski the #5 T-bar (which is now the King Pine quad) all day to avoid the crowds.” She admits that at the time it cost extra to ride the gondola, and the Ducharme’s made many concessions to afford skiing, including Sonja volunteering as an ambassador at Sugarloaf, something she has done for 15 years.

The Lumberjack, with its European charm and alpine chalet design, tied in with Sonja’s Germany heritage, and also her love of Sugarloaf and her desire to share it with other families affordably. “The Lumberjack is an old-time name that fits right in with the trail names which are reminiscent of the logging on the mountain,” said Sonja.

Sonja has more plans in mind, including creating a small village on their 4-acres encompassing both sides of Route 27. “The one thing missing for non-skiers and occasional skiers is a place with shops and restaurants,” she said.

“The Lumberjack has such a rich history along with the ski resort, we hope to only expand on that,” said Ducharme. “It’s an exciting time at Sugarloaf right now, since becoming a member of the Boyne/USA family of resorts we are seeing some really pro-active improvements.”

So if you want to check out more of Sugarloaf’s steeped heritage, and stay in the house of the legendary ski streaker, or rest your head in a bed that housed a CVA racer, you may want to check in for a night at the Lumberjack.

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