The ski resort and banquet facility, located 35 miles southwest of Augusta, Maine, had been in financial trouble since June 2014. The previous owners were facing almost $1.6 million in debt.

Thanks to a crowd-funding project and through the support of events organized by a group called Friends of Lost Valley, almost $23,000 was raised, which allowed the ski hill to reopen in January 2015.

Lost Valley was founded in 1961 by Otto Wallingford and Dr. Camille Gardner. In addition to creating the first snowmaking system in Maine, Wallingford also created a grooming tool known as the Powder Maker that turned hard snow into groomed powder.