LETTER FROM THE EDITOR – November 2013
By: Kevin Thomas | Publisher

I’ve been traveling to Sunday River with my boys for 12 years. In the beginning, the sacrifices seemed significant; a four-hour drive from our then-home in Hampden, Massachusetts, time away from friends, no school winter sports, the constant packing and unpacking. But everyone quickly realized that there was really no sacrifice at all. We loved the mountain, the skiing, the board games, our regular haunts in Bethel, and lounging in front of the fireplace with our dog, Max, at the end of a day in the snow. Rather than complaining about the long car ride, my sons would be asking how soon we could leave for Maine, and how long could we stay. Our license plate read 2THERVR.

 By 2004, I was back in Maine full-time and the car ride to Bethel was now a very manageable hour and 45 minutes from Portland. We had a routine: We’d arrive in Bethel on Friday night and stop immediately at Suds Pub for dinner. We made friends with Suds servers Joyce and Stacie. The two of them knew our order without asking and watched my sons grow up. After dinner, we’d settle in early, maybe watch a movie, in anticipation of an early start the next day. Depending on the temperature, we’d be at South Ridge and at our ski locker by 9 a.m. Lunch was at North Peak, the Foggy Goggle, or the South Ridge Lodge and only occasionally at Barker. We’d often ski until mid-afternoon, but as the boys got older, and more confident, they’d insist on staying until the lifts closed. (And then, when night skiing started, they’d be back out again until lights out.)

Without a doubt, my best and most enduring family memories were made on the slopes and in the ski cabin. For personal reasons, I took a bit of a hiatus from being in Bethel every weekend these past few ski seasons, but my sons never stopped. When I announced this year that I had my 2013/14 season’s pass and was recommitting with a seasonal rental, my sons smiled broadly, clapped me on the back, and teased me that they’ll believe it when they see my boots on. At ages 20, 17, and 16, they have a lot going on in their lives, many pulls in many directions, yet the bonds they formed with each other in Bethel remain strong and important and worth personal effort. They learned something profound there, something I can’t take credit for. Their bags are already packed as are mine. My oversized Atomic bag filled with ski gear never left the corner of my room, my ski rack never came off my car, both constant reminders to get back to the mountain.

I was particularly proud to work on this Sunday River issue of MH+D with many 75 Market staffers who have had similar experiences with their families skiing in Maine and specifically at the River. We hope that this issue captures your own experience or inspires you to start your own ski tradition. If you do, I promise, you’ll never regret it. See you at the River.