HERMON, Maine — Editor's note: The video above aired Dec. 23, 2021.
Family-owned Hermon Mountain opened Monday, just in time for school vacation.
According to a social media post, the snow made recently on the mountain has been groomed beautifully and the trails are in good shape.
Co-owner Bill Whitcomb said they are open for skiers and snowboarders but tubing is not yet available. They hope to be open for that in February.
The family tries to open each year in mid-December but Whitcomb said that hasn't happened for a few years now. He's not sure if it has anything to do with global warming or not but the weather just hasn't cooperated.
"It was a very rough start because the snowmaking, ah, we just didn’t get the temperatures and we had very high humidity," he said. "Once we finally got things going, the snowmaking went fairly well and the crew just wouldn’t quit which is very special and we got it going."
Whitcomb said beyond the people in the greater Bangor area, the mountain draws very well from Mount Desert Island and Downeast because people pretty much have to come right by to get anywhere.
Whitcomb said they had a good turnout their first day.
New Hermon Mountain will be open 9-4 through Sunday.