REMARKABLE – JAN/FEB 2008

By Candace Karu

Photography Francois Gagne

A Sugarloaf home to be thoroughly used and enjoyed

The aptly and poetically named Amos Winter of Kingfield is credited with discovering the abundant charms of Sugarloaf Mountain in 1950. The story, like many that eventually end happily, began with a series of unexpected complications. Winter, an avid outdoorsman and skier, was ever on the hunt for good skiing close to home. His first choice was Bigelow Mountain, located just north of Sugarloaf, but his plans were thwarted when Central Maine Power built Long Falls Dam on the Dead River, a move that created Flagstaff Lake and blocked easy access to Bigelow’s slopes. Winter and his friends—known locally as the Bigelow Boys—turned to Sugarloaf as their second choice. In 1953, the group installed a towrope, and in 1955 the Sugarloaf Mountain Corporation was officially formed.

In the intervening 58 years since Amos Winter and the Bigelow Boys cut the first ski trail down the mountain, Sugarloaf has evolved into one of northern New England’s premiere vacation destinations. In addition to the myriad of winter activities offered at the resort, the Sugarloaf Golf Club is a major summer attraction that consistently makes Golf Magazine’s annual list of Top 100 Courses You Can Play.

What isn’t captured in the brochures and advertisements for this spectacular recreation destination, however, is the palpable sense of community that has developed over the years. The skiers and families who call the Mountain home are fiercely loyal and proud to be known as “Loafers.” Perhaps even more than other popular ski resorts, Sugarloaf boasts a tight-knit, multi-generational community of dedicated skiers and skiing families who wouldn’t consider spending their winter weekends anyplace else.

It begins with the drive, which is not particularly easy on the best day, given the ever-present danger of logging trucks and a surging deer population. While the journey to Sugarloaf gets more challenging as winter progresses and driving conditions deteriorate, there are many families who wouldn’t want to start their weekends any other way. The trip often begins in the dark of a late Friday afternoon. The drive serves as a way of setting each person’s internal clock to Sugarloaf Time, allowing the stress and irritations of work and school obligations to recede into the background. Cranky little ones quickly fall asleep and teens plug into their electronic devices. And for parents there seems to be common agreement that the drive offers time to decompress, catch up, and reconnect in the intimate confines of a warm car headed to a beloved destination. By the time they take the turn onto Sugarloaf Access Road, even the most harried executives have lowered their blood pressure and gotten in touch with their inner Loafer.

A Second Home on the Family Plan

The sheer diversity of residents and visitors makes the prospect of defining the typical Sugarloaf family difficult, but the Wilsons—Lee, Mike, and their children, nine-year-old Portia and 12-year-old Cameron—certainly look like an advertisement for the benefits of time spent at this exquisite resort community. Well before the recent proliferation of condominiums, Lee’s family owed a chalet in Carrabassett Valley from the 1960s until it burned to the ground last year, and she and her brothers grew up skiing at Sugarloaf. Her husband, Mike, Ohio born and bred, had his first family-supervised ski lesson at Sugarloaf in 1986. Becoming a skier was not a condition of their engagement, but the fact that Mike took to her favorite sport so readily did not hurt his chances with Lee or her family. “He is an absolutely fearless skier,” reports his wife, admiringly. “What he lacks in finesse, he more than makes up for in courage.”

Lee and Mike skied Sugarloaf regularly during their courtship and first years of marriage, but they took a several-year hiatus after the arrival of Cameron and Portia. The Wilson children became Minicuffers—the ski school’s designation for Sugarloaf’s youngest skiers—at age three, which got Mike and Lee back on the slopes. Winter weekends were spent with Lee’s father in his off-mountain home or crashing with friends in the houses and condos sprouting up like spring flowers on and around the Mountain.

Four years ago, the Wilsons decided they were ready to make the commitment and buy a second home at Sugarloaf. “I wanted my children to have what I did growing up—the opportunity to experience the incredible beauty of Maine and truly take advantage of everything that Maine winters offer.”

The Wilsons’ primary residence is the same house that Lee grew up in, a 200-year-old Cape in Cape Elizabeth. Its many additions and updates add to its charm, and each room has a history and a story to tell. However, the prospect of decorating a brand new condominium—one with straight walls and level floors—was a project that Mike and Lee eagerly undertook. Having a place on the Mountain to call home was a defining family event, one that was immediately embraced by all.

As they started looking for their second home, the Wilsons discovered a project called Winter’s Way being developed and built by the Goduti brothers. Like Lee Wilson, the Godutis—Rick is the architect and Jamie the builder—had been skiing at Sugarloaf since they were teenagers. Though they had separate businesses in Cape Elizabeth and Portland, Winter’s Way was a project that appealed to them on both a personal and a professional level.

The 28-unit townhouse community is the lowest area on the Mountain equipped with ski-in/ski-out access. The brothers envisioned building mid-range vacation homes, relying on their ability to be flexible in meeting the unique needs of the skiing families. A cookie-cutter approach didn’t fit with their design philosophy. “Within these units I wanted to create diversity in the design,” says Rick Goduti. “I also wanted to design units that would attract new skiers to the area, but would be affordable for Maine skiers contemplating the purchase of a second home. In addition, these units needed to be completely skier friendly, with ski lockers at the entry and real buffers between the snow and the living areas.”

The last two units to sell at Winter’s Way went to the two Goduti families, who are enmeshed in all aspects of Sugarloaf life. The brothers are not only continuing their development projects on the Mountain, but they have also donated their time, money, and expertise to projects like the Timing Center and the annual Sugarloaf Charity Ball, which supports the Maine Cancer Center.

Old Friends in a New Setting

Lee Wilson’s joie de vivre translates readily to everything she does. She isn’t afraid to push the envelope, both on the slopes and off, and her ability to inhabit that narrow space between comfort and risk has become a defining characteristic of her personality. For 20 years, Lee and her mother, Mary Alice Reilley, owned and operated Mulberry Cottage in South Portland and Naples, Florida. The stores sold English and American antiques and an eclectic selection of home furnishings and accessories. The mother-daughter team took annual buying trips to England, with their loyal clientele eagerly awaiting “container days” when their latest purchases would hit the showroom floor. Lee and her mother were in the process of selling the business when the Wilsons decided to buy their mountain retreat. “I was completely frazzled at that point, but very excited to make Sugarloaf the kind of home that was laid back and comfortable but still had real style,” Lee stated. “In spite of how stressful a time it was, it was so much fun breaking into a completely new palette and starting a project from scratch.”

Lee’s eyes sparkle as she describes the process of finishing the family lodge. “I used only furnishings and accessories from the store that had not sold and had become shop-worn. Obviously, since I was the one who bought them originally, they were pieces that I loved. I wanted to put them in a setting that would make them beautiful again.”

Another commitment Lee made was to introduce vibrant, saturated color in every room. “Because I didn’t live here full-time, I felt I could be freer with color, more adventurous,” Lee reflected. “At home, living in an antique Cape, I use color to calm and soothe. This house is so new; I wanted it to look completely different.”

The artwork in the Wilsons’ Sugarloaf home is as deeply personal as the furnishings. Both Portia and Cameron share their mother’s artistic eye and flair for color and design. After choosing the colors of their rooms, both children picked their favorite personal artwork to grace their bedroom walls. Mike chose a beloved painting for the master bedroom, an ocean scene by Doris Kibler, Lee’s grandmother. The collage that hangs in the entrance to the living room (on the beadboard wall) is composed of antique golf paraphernalia which Lee found on one of her buying trips in the Cotswolds region of England.

While there has been a calculated effort to bring style and a decorative finesse to their condo, the Wilsons want to make sure their second home remains a vacation retreat, a place to be thoroughly used and enjoyed. While much of the decor is antique, Lee points out that it has all stood the test of time—there are no museum pieces here, just beautiful, serviceable furniture with a history.

“I often marvel at our good fortune. Look at this,” she says, gesturing to the spectacular view from her living room. “I want my children to understand how lucky they are to experience this mountain and all that it has to offer. I never want to take this kind of gift for granted.”