Where in Maine?

snow-streaked Mountain
Photographed by John Orcutt

Do you recognize this snow-streaked peak?

Sixty-seven years ago, a guy named Winter cut the first ski trail on Maine’s second-highest mountain. Today, 162 ski runs stripe the massive cone, seen here from a freshly broken snowshoe trail. The solitude of the clearing contrasts sharply with the energy that’s undoubtedly flowing on the mountain: Forget the hype about trail miles, snowmaking, and super-fast lifts, because what really distinguishes this ski area from others is its clubby atmosphere. The hill has a legendary reputation as a neighborhood in the wilderness, a place where everyone knows everyone else, and they’re all fiercely devoted to the resort. “The closest thing to a ski cult I have ever encountered,” one writer has observed. As it happens, the mountain was not Amos Winter’s first choice for a ski area. He and his pals had enjoyed wilderness skiing on another mammoth peak, but when a dam project cut off their access, they took their dreams elsewhere and never regretted it. That inaugural trail is longer now, with chairlifts humming overhead and a condo village crowding its base, but it still bears the name of its founder: Winter’s Way.