Lost Valley

Per New England Ski History's Lost Valley page, Lost Valley opened for the 1961-62 season, founded by orchardist Otto Wallingford, veterinarian Dr. Camille Gardner, and former Maine Speaker of the House Willis A. Trafton Jr., with construction beginning in 1961. Circa 1988, Fern Pontbriand bought out founders Wallingford and Gardner to become majority owner; in the early 1990s he ceded day-to-day control to Lincoln Hayes, Diane Moreau, and Connie King under a five-year agreement giving them a 48% stake. Pontbriand died August 10, 2003, and in 2004 Hayes, Moreau, and King purchased his remaining 64% stake, declaring "We're in this for the long haul." By June 2014, per the Central Maine article "How Scott Shanaman gave Auburn's Lost Valley Ski Area the lift everyone hoped for" (published February 22, 2026), the same three owners said Lost Valley carried $1.6 million in debt and, after "10 consecutive seasons of losses," lacked cash to open for 2014-2015 without intervention. Locals "soon rallied and raised tens of thousands of dollars, ensuring the area would operate for the 2014-15 season," per New England Ski History, while a new owner was sought. Scott and April Shanaman took over Lost Valley for the 2015-16 season; Scott Shanaman was president of Aerial NDT Inspection Inc., a ski lift maintenance and inspection company, had worked with Lost Valley for a decade before the purchase, and had additional lift-operations experience at Sugarloaf, per the Central Maine article. Skier visits were "around 28,000" that first season and grew to 67,000 in the 2024-25 season, "a record for Lost Valley," per the same article, which as of its February 22, 2026 publication stated "Lost Valley says it's on track for another record-breaking season." Lost Valley Brewing Company, an on-site brewpub, debuted in February 2018, and a third chairlift was installed for the 2024-25 season, per New England Ski History.